Training Course

Team-Working

Introduction

Above instance brings out the importance of team work which is in consonance with the goal set by Hon’ble PM of India that all the persons working in the group should develop themselves, there should be no weak-link and if there is any, the same has to be developed so that everyone contributes towards the development of nation Acronym of the word TEAM is TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE  which justifies the statement of Hon’ble PM.

The competency of TEAM WORK holds the key to collaboration of any kind. An organization that emphasizes good teamwork is typically a healthy, high-functioning workplace. It creates an atmosphere of respect, helpfulness, and cooperation, builds spirit, positive relationships and a pride amongst its team members.

Andrew Carnegie has rightly said "Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision and the ability to direct individual accomplishments towards organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."

SO, THE CONSTITUTENTS  OF TEAM WORK ARE:-

T -- Total commitment
E -- Empathy and awareness of teammates
A -- Adversity management
M -- Mutual respect
W -- "We" versus "I" thinking
O -- Ownership
R -- Relinquishment of the ego
K -- Kinetic Leadership

Author: Air Commodore SK Sharma

Description

SIGNIFICANCE OF TEAM WORK COMPETENCE

Teamwork competence are the qualities and abilities that allow an individual to work well with others during conversations, projects, meetings or other collaborations. Having teamwork skills is dependent on one’s ability to communicate well, actively listen and be responsible and honest. Doing so in an empathetic, efficient and responsible manner can help in accomplishing career goals, resulting in the growth of resume and contribute positively to the organization in which the individual is working. It can also help build rapport with others which can lead to deeper working relationships, new connections and possibly new opportunities.

Being a team player isn’t just one distinct quality. It’s a collection of many soft skills that may come naturally, or that can be improved on to make a more competitive applicant and competent employee. Few of the teamwork competence are given in the succeeding paragraphs.

DISCUSSION ON CONSTITUENTS OF TEAM WORK

Foster Open Communication:  The best teams are those in which every member shares his/ her thoughts and opinions with the group, and where decision-making is based on dialogue and not dictatorship. But open communication is not just about having an atmosphere in which people can talk freely but it's also about team members listening to each other and valuing each other's opinions.  The ability to communicate in a clear, efficient way is critical for teamwork.

Build Trust:   Trust is the cornerstone of all effective teams. Without trust, there really is no team, but a collection of individuals working together. Teams need to develop to a point where every member trusts that every other member will do the work required and be an active member of the team.  Trust within a team is essential for working well together. A supervisor needs to trust his team to get a job done, and employees need to trust that their boss is looking out for their best interests.

Set Clear Goals:      A team without specific goals will not nearly be as effective as a team with goals. Goals should be specific, including a deadline for completion. But goals should not necessarily always come from the leader of the team; all goals should be discussed by the entire team, especially in situations in which deadlines are tight.

Review Progress: Once goals have been set, the team frequently goes off to complete all the tasks to achieve its goal. In too many instances, new information or actions can affect the goal's completion. Thus, teams benefit from conducting regular check-ins with all team members -- perhaps something as often as weekly, to review progress and iron out any wrinkles or overcome obstacles that have arisen.

Encourage Cooperation, not Competition:     Despite being placed in teams with co-workers competing with you for your next promotion, you must find a way to collaborate with every member of the team. One of the worst labels in the workplace is that of "not being a team player." You will get plenty of time to showcase your personal accomplishments, but without your cooperation, your team may not succeed.

Focus on Professionalism:         The reality of life is that we all have certain types of personalities that clash with our own, but for teams to work, you have to put aside these petty differences and focus on the positive aspects of all team members. Remember that you are not forging lifelong friendships with your team, you simply need to work together to achieve your goals. Downplay people's negative traits and focus on their positives  just as they will yours.

Celebrate Differences/Diversity:            One of the best trends in society, as well as the workplace, has been a growing diversity of people by race, ethnicity, gender and age. Diversity introduces new ways of thinking and leads to new ideas and better decisions. Rather than feeling uncomfortable that most of the team does not look or act like you, celebrate their individual differences and the value that each brings to the team.

Be Enthusiastic:     Even if you generally prefer to work by yourself, the reality is that teams in the workplace are here to stay. One way to make the best of the situation is to jump into the team experience with as much enthusiasm as possible. Enthusiasm is contagious, so not only will your enthusiasm help you feel better about being a team member, it will lead other team members also to become more enthusiastic.

Share the Work / Do the Work:   The best teams are those in which each member plays a vital part that results in superior performance thus it is imperative that each member not only feels he or she plays a vital role, but actually does so. But sharing the work is only part of the equation. The other part is that once the work has been assigned, each team member must be accountable to complete the tasks. 

Clarify Responsibilities to the Team:    Often one of the main causes of team members not completing their work is not because they are "slackers," but because they simply do not understand their role or the importance that their work will lend to the team. The key here is that each team member must totally understand his or her role in the team and responsibility to the team so the team can succeed.

Time Management:  Being able to efficiently balance time can improve teamwork.This would include indicating and setting real goals, Planning ahead, Maintaining a strict schedule, Knowing and meeting deadlines, Prioritizing tasks, Immediately addressing issues so that the time is managed efficiently.

TEAMS THAT PLAY TOGETHER WORK TOGETHER

On 31 Jan 2021, Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during his address to the nation, through Mann Ki Baat, had congratulated the efforts of Indian Cricket TEAM. 

 “This month, we got good news from the cricket pitch. After initial hiccups, the Indian team bounced back gloriously and won the series in Australia. Our team’s hard work and teamwork was inspiring,”   

The appreciation was not for an individual effort but for the TEAMWORK which resulted in beating Australian team in their homeland. Thus TEAMWORK is not only in the office but forms major part of all the activities which are undertaken by more than one person collectively.

It is known fact that industry spends around 80% of its training budget on developing often short-lived skills which need updating on a regular basis. For any real value to be gained from team development initiatives, you must be able to get colleagues to recognise a whole range of contributions made by different team members.  One of the best ways of bringing about this recognition is to get the team away from the office environment. Putting groups of people together in new, fun or unusual settings, in which they depend on each other's individual strengths and attitudes to work through challenges and problem-solving can have immensely powerful consequences.

The relationships seen in the office are only the tip of the iceberg. To fully appreciate the qualities which colleagues possess, take time out and get rid of the 9-to-5 agenda. Far from wasting time, this enables  to develop new ways of working together based on the powerful experience of shared experience. So get out of the office: think about the added value that a really well-designed team-building event can add to the in-house training.

KEY TAKE AWAYS

Competency-Based Training (CBT) is training and development that focuses on specific competencies or skills. What makes this style of training unique is that the training programs are broken down into individual courses, or modules. These modules focus on a single skill at a time. This type of training may also be called outcome-based learning/training or skills-based learning/training. CBT program is like an obstacle course, whether it be climbing a wall or swimming through a pool, requires a different skill to complete it. In other words, employees that enter a CBT program will focus on skills or competencies, following the desired track until they have achieved the set goal. Civil servants work with elected officials, citizens and users of government services to form policy.  New skills are required for civil servants to effectively engage citizens, crowdsource ideas and co-create better services. Detecting and understanding the root causes of complex policy problems requires analytical skills that can synthesise multiple disciplines and/or perspectives into a single narrative.

For public policies to be formulated and implemented it is imperative for the civil servants and the policy makers to ensure that the policies before being framed are discussed and inputs taken from the concerned stake holders. This would ensure that the policies so chalked out are citizen centric, for the citizens who would be affected by the policies so formulated. Thus to ensure this, there would be requirement of taking all the members of the team together and seek their inputs which would result in formulating the public policies that would be CITIZEN CENTRIC and would stand the test of times to come.

Few of the take away points for better team working are as under:-

  1. Practice at Work:    Pay close attention to teamwork interactions throughout the day both in and out of work. Take mindful steps to practice the specific qualities that are required to be built in the team.
  2. Get Honest Feedback:      One of the easiest ways to develop goals for teamwork skills is to ask team members for feedback. Finding a trusted friend, colleague or mentor that can offer honest feedback about teamwork strengths and weaknesses can help improve the working of the team.
  3. Observe Team:       There are probably people on team who are being admired for their ability to collaborate. Observe their behavior and words to find out what exactly is admirable about them.
  4. Set Personal Goals:  After the areas of improvement have been identified, set concrete goals. Using the SMART goal framework set appropriate goals.
  5. Set Team’s Mission and Purpose:        For a team to work, everybody needs to understand and buy into the shared mission and then put it above their own individual goals. But for maximizing teamwork success, everybody needs to commit to goal.
  6. Be Clear about Roles:       Team members should be clear about their roles and responsibilities, and everyone needs to understand, and feel confident about, the particular strengths they bring to the team.
  7. Recognize and Reward:  Recognize good performance with extrinsic rewards like a bonus  and intrinsic like praise from senior leaders.
  8. Encourage Openness and Trust:          Trust is the vital ingredient in team success. Without it, teams won’t communicate effectively and solve problems together. Trust will begin to build when people are encouraged to speak freely.
  9. Take Responsibility and be Accountable:      Be clear about role and be prepared to take responsibility for mistakes as well as successes. Accountability helps team members feel they can take risks and be vulnerable. 

CONCLUSION

It is a well-known fact that teamwork is not only the foundation of successful management, but the means of improving overall results in organizational productivity. To succeed the team should have all the talent, knowledge, organizational clout and technical / professional know how needed to complete the assigned task. An effective team is composed of people who collectively bring all critical competencies to into resultant output within the laid down time frame. When it comes to solving problems, teamwork pays off in terms of a plethora of solutions a team provides. “We’re in this together!” This simple sentence describes one of the benefits of teamwork – the increase in overall satisfaction at work.

Curriculum/Resources

References

Articles

  1. Alvarez, A. (2019, May 2). The Basics and Benefits of Competency-Based Training. Https://Calipercorp.Com/Blog/Basics-Benefits-Competency-Based-Training/. https://www.calipercorp.com
  2. Ariella, S. (2021, May 11). The Most Important Teamwork Skills. Https://Www.Zippia.Com/Advice/Teamwork-Skills/. https://www.zippia.com
  3. Collaboration, T. (n.d.). 9 ways to improve your organization’s team working skills. Https://Www.Workplace.Com/Blog/Team-Working-Skills. Retrieved October 2, 2021, from https://www.workplace.com
  4. Indeed Editorial Team. (2021, September 9). 7 Examples of Important Teamwork Skills. Https://Www.Indeed.Com/Career-Advice/Career-Development/Teamwork-Skills. https://www.indeed.com
  5. Miller, B. (2017, May 25). What is Competency-Based Training? Https://Hrdailyadvisor.Blr.Com/2017/05/25/Competency-Based-Training/. https://www.hrdailyadvisor.blr.com
  6. Skills for a High Performing Civil Service. (2016). https://www.oecd.org/gov/pem/

Mann Ki Baat

  1. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses 2021’s first Mann Ki Baat.. (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/prime-minister-narendra-modi-addresses-2021s-first-mann-ki-baat-highlights). (2021, January). THE TIMES OF INDIA.
  2. Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses Nation Mann ki Baat  (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/). (2021, October). THE TIMES OF INDIA.

Books

  1. Maxwell, J. C., & Arnold, H. O. (2020). The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team (Unabridged ed.). HarperCollins Leadership on Brilliance Audio.
  2. Ramesh, T. (2013). Teamwork & Indian Culture: A Practical Guide for Working with Indians (1st ed.). CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.

Video (Ted Talk)

  1. Cahill, K. (2017, September 13). Teamwork Reimagined [Video]. YOUTUBE. https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_cahill_teamwork_reimagined
  2. Lehti, T. (2021, April 22). The Magic of teamwork [Video]. YOU TUBE. https://blog.weekdone.com/ted-talks-inspire-better-teamwork/

Overview

Faculty

Dr Neetu Jain

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