Tag Archives: teamwork

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Group Think

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Working with a group of others to produce or create something as part of a common goal can be a very powerful way to achieve high-quality results efficiently.

There is a danger this cooperation might result in individuals setting aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group (i.e., groupthink).

Individual and Group

Collaboration is most effective when the participants do not lose their own identities within that of the group.  Being able to carefully balance the power of the whole with the diversity of the many is a key feature of high performing groups.

This task, incorporating the skills and abilities of individuals into a cohesive whole without loosing what everyone brings to the table but adhering to the needs of the group, is extremely difficult but also rewarding.

Dysfunctional

The practice of Independent thinking within a team or similar organizational construct without becoming advisarial requires all stakeholders to seek value from each other.

This does not mean to forgoe your independence to avoid conflict, which can lead to dysfunctional behavior and irrational compromises.

We are many but we are also One

Combining the best ideas or morphing disparate ideas to something greater and more effective requires only a strong believe that everyone is important and adds value.

If all members of the group practice this value. without deciet or prejudice everyone benefits and no one needs to sacrifice thier core beliefs to do it.

Avoiding group think starts with individuals seeking  the best solution without compromising their own identity.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Building Teams

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As I have commented in numerous past posts we are not alone.  Working with others, leveraging their skills and abilities as they leverage ours is an optimal approach to getting things done.

That is not to say solitary behaviors (i.e., solely individual activities) are not important and don’t play a role in how we live our lives.  However,  living without interacting with others is almost impossible.

Optimizing the Experience

While,at the core, your life is about you, unquestionably in my mind, we need to be aware of and sensitive to other peoples needs wants and desires.

This could simply be because of  your own committment to personal integrity, (i.e., being honest and showing consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values which include respecting others.)

Or it could be more selfishly motivated.   Positive engagement with others well is needed to influence them and achieve your goals.

Teamwork

If a group of people work together effectively (usually for a common objective but not necessarily)  there is a higher probability of a positive outcome for all.

However when its not effective, that is everyone is acting as an individual, it is worse than going it alone.

Basically effective teamwork relies on the all the team members practicing one core value, “everyone is important.  Everyone believes and acts like everyone else is valued (highly valued).

Teams are not mandated they are founded on this simple value.  If everyone practices it results are extraordinary.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

A single note

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The harmony of the team changes with the fading of a single note.  In this context harmony is defined as simultaneous actions to produce a common result with a pleasing effect. 

Team harmony is a very specific and necessary attribute underpinning high-performance teams.  Without the presence of harmony, high performance is unlikely.  

Every note matters

Consider each team member represents a note.  If the performance of the note is not the exact pitch and timing needed to create harmony with the others, the results can be discordant. 

For a cohesive high performing team, in order for all the notes to play in tempo and complementary pitch according to the arrangement, desire must be present and practice is needed. 

Creating Harmony

A team of professional musicians can come together and jam, in this case, to a large degree the quality of the music relies on the individual skills of the players.

Practice allows for repetition and feedback,  which leads to high-quality sustainable results.  To achieve harmony among the notes the players much want it and then work to achieve it. 

Dealing with Bad Notes

Sometimes it is just not possible to get all the notes to perform together in harmony.  In this case the score needs to be revisted.  

Perhaps the bad note needs to be discarded from the team.   This should be avoided to the greatest extent possible, adapting the score and fixing the issues can be a much less drastic approach than rebuilding with a different set of notes. 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Teamwork

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Business buzz words are often over used but sometimes they are very accurate.  Collaberation and teamwork are such  oft overused phrases, sometimes they become just lip service.

I did some volunteering today giving out treats at U of A green and gold day.  The day is an annual celebration of the institutes spirit with a parade, special events, beer tasting, food trucks and best of all free Tim bits and maple leaf cookies.

Teamwork works

At the treats table there were three of us handng out treats.  This entailed placing a napkin and adding a Tim bit and cookie.  My observation was when two of us coordinated the tasks (i.e., teamwork) we could set out three times a many treats as the third person working alone.

Ah ha, teamwork really is more effective.  Best of all my co-volunteer and I had loads of fun poking at each other.  So we were fast and having fun.

Duh

I can hear the feedback to this post, “really that’s the best topic you could find for todays post..Wow, your creativity needs a jolt.”   Un moment s’ll vous plait (hold on a minute please).

Todays scenario was an eye opener for me because it was such a simple use case, the impact of teamwork versus individual effort was imminently measurable.  So the theory becomes a law.

It’s logical to assume teamwork or collaberation is better than individual effort, now I know the theorectical assumption can be, in fact, proven to be true.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

The power of people

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Often a quote will get me thinking.  Todays subject is about the power of working together, triggered by a quote from Helen Keller.

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”

About Helen Keller

Many will have heard of Helen Keller, she accomplished much in her life time.  Helen was the first deaf and blind person to receive a bachelor of arts degree.

Her life is a shining example of individual achievement.  I can’t image graduating from University without the sense of hearing let alone without sight.  Of course without hearing, learning to talk alone is pretty tricky.

What is so illuminating about this quote is not the content, probably a bit intuitive, but rather the source.  That such a pillar of individual strength and achievement would highlight the benefit of a team.

Without Others

Setting her goal, understanding/ creating personal motivation and perservering are all key hallmarks of Helen Kellers life.  Yet even Helen realized, and clearly voiced it, she might not have been able to do it alone.

People collaberating, joining forces, supporting each other every step of the way create a powerful and effective force.  Where an individual might struggle a team will often forge ahead and succeed

Step One

There are many books and tools around effective teamwork practices.  The ideas and  techniques are of great value but the first step is recognition and understanding of the power of a group over an idividual.

That is the first step to unleashing the power of teams.