In simple words, Teamwork is the group of two or more than two individuals working together to achieve some goals. According to Webster’s dictionary;” teamwork is defined as; a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group.”
This definition explains that every individual is different from other, hence each one of us has our one way of thinking and opinion and there are possibilities that the opinion of one individual may vary from others.
However, this principle of individuality also applies in teamwork but when you are involved in teamwork you have to think as a team.
It does not mean at all that you suppress your individuality somewhere, but your priority would always be the achievement of the team goals. Members of the team work independently as well to achieve their personal as well as team goals.
In long term approach teamwork is something beyond the collection of individuals, because within the boundaries of team work every individual is affecting the other individual with his or her behavior which defines the particular characteristics of any team.
When we talk about the characteristics of any good team, it includes the sense of “WE” feelings among the team members, a sense of unity, the similar behavior of the team members, their reciprocal relations and common interests. These all characteristics work as the spices in the cuisine of teamwork. And the results of teamwork are dependent upon the characteristics of any team.
Teamwork is practiced with various teams having certain different characteristics according to the nature of their goals, which they have to obtain. Individuals come together when they have any similar goal or goals to achieve, and form a team.
Teamwork is then, done to obtain maximum information about any team or group and to know the various factors involved in it. Often the teamwork aims to develop a good leadership and recognize self-determination among the team members.
It motivates the teams for spontaneous progress and knows the status of an individual with in the team. The members while working in the teamwork develop a sense of responsibility, and efforts to give respect and listen to every member’s views and opinions. Members of a team work together and exhibit their talent and experiences to achieve the team goals in best possible ways.
The important aspect of teamwork is the leadership, which grows out of a team. Every member gives their opinion but they know that the leader will take the final decision. As a part of human nature, individuals often react when conflict arises.
Conflict is a normal part, when individuals come together in a form of a group or a team. However, it is the duty of the leader who will constructively resolve all these conflicts in the group. All the members of the group or team are compelled by the leader to actively participate in-group discussions and work hard in the achievement of the goals.
For the successful and positive outcomes of teamwork it is necessary that the team must have competent members. The team must have clear goals alongside with a collaborative environment where every member gives respect to another member’s point of view.
A team must have a high standard and it is necessary that every member should understand them. It is necessary that at the end all the members must agree on the everything decided by the group as a whole.
Teamwork grows in terms of various stages. First, a team is formed and this is the stage of forming where individuals come together to understand each other and the behaviors of one another. The individuals identify their roles in the group in this stage and test the supervision of their leader.
The next stage is quite complicated one, in this stage the members put their focus of attention on other members instead of being involved in the goal achievement process. This is the stage called storming. It is a difficult stage as the members become impatient regarding the progress of the group, they are faced with many innovative and unfamiliar circumstances and they often involve themselves in arguing about the steps to take for the team development.
The third stage is called norming stage, in this stage the team members start working within the team boundaries. The feeling has been established among them. Much of the conflicts are reduced and the members start understanding the teamwork and start working together for significant team progress.
In the performance stage, the team members have developed trust upon each other and they are confident enough to give their views and ideas regarding group progress. Much of the tasks are accomplished in this stage.
Hence, teamwork is the most part of our life in this era, to learn positivity and the principle of acceptance. With a true guidance and leadership, teamwork is an extremely valuable learning experience!
