Work in a team
21 Nov 2019

5 Ways To Effectively Work In a Team

Unlike the 80s and 90s, when an individual employee’s targets mattered more than the department’s efforts, companies today seek employees who can work in a team. Considering how important it is to work in a team in a workplace, colleges today are increasingly focused on developing teamwork skills in their students.

Why does working in a team matter? The thing is, when you work in a team, you hustle together while jointly working on your strengths and shortcomings. Take Apple for instance. Apple’s office has a vast empty space called ‘the atrium’ in the centre, which was ideally created to encourage its employees to work in a team. The main philosophy behind it was that. “the best creations occurred when people from disparate fields are connected, especially in an age of intellectual fragmentation.”

How can you effectively work in a team?

  • Get involved

Working in a team doesn’t mean that you form groups and solely wait for instructions to do something. If you genuinely want to work in a team, get involved in team activities. From idea generation and discussions to decision making – you should participate and collaborate with your team members.

You see, everyone has a role to play in a team. It implies that you put in your share of the work. It doesn’t matter how insignificant you think your purpose is, or how absurd your concepts are. As long as you work in a team as a part of it, you’ll be good to go.

  • Communicate

The core concept behind working in a team is sharing ideas, beliefs, and views. To pull this off, the team must have an open communication system. Of course, it’s easier said than done – and let’s not forget that your ideas can get rejected. Nonetheless, that’s what it means to work in a team and build your teamwork skills. You speak your mind, accept the criticism and learn from it. Remember to help your teammates grow too, and communicate your misgivings clearly.

  • Trust and respect

Admit it: When you work in a team, you’ll probably end up dealing with people you don’t like. However, it would be best if you didn’t let this hamper the entire team’s harmony. Instead, you should be able to put your hostility aside and foster mutual trust and respect. How does this shape up when you work in a team? If you’re the team leader, you should trust your members to do their part and respect their competencies. Simultaneously, if you’re a team member, you should trust your leader to guide you.

It’s also essential to understand that, when you work in a team, you’ll have to collaborate with people who have different levels of capabilities. For instance, some of your teammates might take a longer time to understand or plan things out. On the contrary, some might be fast learners who can take up any task you toss their way. Or some might be visual learners who work better when they’re taking notes or using diagrams, charts, etc.

The bottom line is: You should not only be familiar with your own skills but also acknowledge your teammates’ attributes. This will help you to build better trust amongst your team members, and work in a team effectively.

  • Conflict management

When you work in a team with people from different backgrounds, there’s bound to be a clash between opinions and perspectives. When you work in a team, you have a shared goal that every team member wants to achieve. However, this doesn’t mean that every disagreement has to end in a fight. Working in a team is all about finding that common ground, and mutually putting your individual differences aside.

The question remains: How do you manage conflict in the first place? Whether you can work in a team or not depends on how mature you are at handling tense situations. Start by taking responsibility for your actions. Don’t be a hardhead like Donald Trump; be the bigger person and communicate with your teammates.

  • Listen

Nobody likes a blabbermouth – especially when you work in a team. Instead of forcing your ideas like a dictator, it’s crucial that you listen to your teammates. Try putting yourself in their shoes. Imagine waiting for your turn to speak and end up ignored. It could potentially provoke misunderstandings and result in conflicts. Now that’s something you don’t want when you work in a team. How do you steer clear of this problem? Listen – even if the issue is as minor as rescheduling a meeting. The bonus here is: Listening also helps to initiate animated discussions, meaningful interactions, and debates.

Wrapping Up

Working in a team is a great way to learn new things, but most importantly, you learn to have the patience to deal with people. The way organizations work these days, and you can’t be the next Wolverine and do things on your own. You’ll have to step up your game, try to fit in, and work in a team.

Realizing the need to develop teamwork skills, at LBEF Campus, we have a training and placement cell that prepares our students for the corporate world. Regarding this, we also provide intensive and comprehensive training, internships, industry projects, guest lectures, seminars – all of which give the students at LBEF Campus the required boost for a head start in their career. Our aim is to implant the curiosity to try and willingness to learn into our students. LBEF Campus is the first college in Nepal to introduce Outcome Based Education (OBE).  Outcome-based education (OBE) is an educational theory that bases each part of an educational system around goals (outcomes).

 

For more information, contact us.