How to Teamwork Your Way to the Top

by Barbara Stennes, CSP

You need to put a Herculean individual effort to get the same result that a well-knit team could easily achieve. The key to building a successful team is to instill in all the team members a sense of shared responsibility. In addition to sharing the responsibility, a wise team leader will also generously share the credit for success.

A second important element of success is rapport, which the manager or team leader bears much of the burden for creating. When each team member feels that s/he plays a vital role, the outcome will almost certainly be an enthusiastic, productive team. Note that this applies not only to teams but also to organizations in general.

Successful team leadership is therefore a bit of a balancing act. The leader must be able to inspire and motivate the team, which requires a certain amount of charisma, vision, trust, and strength of character. However, if taken too far, these traits may backfire on the leader. For example, the leader may overestimate his/her influence over the rest of the team, or grow arrogant, or push the team too hard. This sort of extremism can easily jeopardize the team’s performance; warning signs might include stress, short tempers, and the inability to meet deadlines.

Organizations that cultivate a culture of teamwork generally outperform their more individualistic competitors. Frequently, this leads to a virtuous cycle of self-improvement, as success breeds enthusiasm, which breeds better teamwork, which breeds yet more success. For this reason, teamwork is important for creating a healthy, prosperous organization.

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