We spend a large part of our lives working as a team with other people, however, it is common for us to develop rejection of the practice. That's not surprising, because despite our best efforts, teamwork sometimes fails and it becomes very stressful. techsmartinfo
Often the reason behind this failure is the implementation of false beliefs and even our own expectations about how to work as a team. That is why today we will talk about 5 things that you did not know and that you should implement to improve the efficiency of your teams.
High-performing teams work together in perfect harmony
We tend to think that perfect harmony is helpful. Allowing a
fluid interaction between the members of a team and avoiding debates that are a
"waste of time". However, this may not be true.
The term groupthink refers to the phenomenon, in which the
members of a team accept what the majority thinks; although they do not
consider it to be the best decision, only in order to avoid going against the
current.
As a consequence, this leads to the suppression of
individual opinions and creative ideas, which can result in poor and
ineffective decisions. So disagreements, when managed well and focused on team
goals, can come up with better solutions.
A practical tip is to encourage criticism and constructive
feedback . Looking for objective, impersonal and timely opinions.
The bigger the team, the better?
Two heads are better than one, but twelve can make teamwork
worse. Team expansion has its limits and leaders often make teams too big by
trying to make them homogeneous.
Although larger groups may offer a wider range of solutions,
they can also easily slip into social laziness . Where people tend to
underestimate task completion time as team size increases. Therefore, small
teams tend to be more efficient .
More time together = better teamwork
It can often be thought that new members bring fresh energy
and opinions to a team and that without them, former members run the risk of
becoming inattentive. For this reason, on many occasions, members of different
teams tend to mix.
However, the longer members stay together as an intact
group, the better they will do, creating a better work environment.
Failing to plan is planning to fail
Almost any team has someone or a few people who are very
task-focused or very competitive and naturally just want to get on with the
job.
However, investing some time in planning the activities and
designating them is of the utmost importance for any leader, since it allows an
objective vision of the big picture.
Are people with the right skills all a group needs? … certain?
“Teamwork is practically magical. To reap its fruits, you
just have to gather skilled people and tell them superficially what is needed
”. This is a very common misperception when creating teams.
Actually, careful thought is needed when building a team.
Having members with the right skills is not always enough, and sometimes it
takes commitment and dependability. Because if a team can commit to each other,
they will be able to come up with the best possible solutions and gather great
ideas.
In fact, knowing when to commit is not only beneficial for
results, but also great for team dynamics. For this reason, when composing a
team, it is recommended to look for members who are: excellent communicators
(receptive people, who know how to listen) and proactive.