Using teams to enable common people to attain uncommon results

THE difference between success and failure is a great team. For an organisation to succeed it needs a good team. A team is important if a business has to grow. A one-man business has limited potential to grow. A business grows if it has teamwork within its management.
The French language describes teamwork as esprit de corps which means a sense of unity, of enthusiasm for common interests and responsibilities. Teamwork is the glue which keeps a team together, a bond which promotes strength, unity, reliability and support.

It is also the oil that makes the team work. It enables smoother movement towards targets; it can help teams to overcome obstacles. There are a lot of benefits to be gained from teamwork.

Effective teamwork is expressed well in sports where a team with average players will outperform a team with star players who have individual skills but does not work as a team. This is achieved because teamwork is more a means to a synergistic way of working, where the sum is greater than the parts.

Vince Lombardi, the legendary football coach, defined teamwork as “Individual commitment to a group effort: that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”

Teamwork brings success to an organisation. In teams, people can work together and accomplish much more than they could by themselves. It is frequently said that it is the teams that work best together that accomplish great things. A company can accomplish great things when everyone is working together toward a common goal.

In big organisations most people are experts in their fields. Working in teams therefore teaches colleagues to work together more effectively and frequently new ways of doing things are discovered by team members working together to solve a problem.
In most teams especially sports, team members work together in order to win. In the process individual weaknesses can be minimized through the efforts of the team. In companies employees are placed in teams where their strengths can be best utilised. Weaknesses can be reduced when employees concentrate on their areas of strength.

Work is more fun when you are a part of a team as you can build on other people’s ideas and share in completing the assignment together.
You also have someone checking on your work thus reducing errors and mistakes. It has also been proven that having fun and laughter reduces stress at work and thus increases effectiveness on the job. Teams that enjoy working together can accomplish great things for the company and achieve their goals most of the time.

Working on a team increases accountability. There is so much peer pressure when working in a team and this forces someone to work harder.
This happens quite often particularly if you’re working with people whom you respect and don’t want to let down, the motivation to help your team succeed can override any experiences in low motivation that you encounter on days when you’re not at your best.

There is collaboration in teams and this keeps employees accountable to each other, which increases motivation.
Teamwork is very critical for increasing creativity in the workplace, improving the quality of work, and also fostering healthy and productive employee relationships.

Teams can accomplish work more quickly and effectively than people taking on projects on their own and being collaborative at work also keeps employees accountable to each other, which increases motivation.

Teamwork is important in an organization because it provides employees with an opportunity to bond with one another, which improves relations among them. Workers who constitute a team working on a project often feel valued upon the successful completion of such tasks.
A situation in which all of them find a chance to contribute towards the tasks improves relations within the team and enhances their respect for each other. Improved employee relations also result from the fact that teamwork enhances cohesion among members.

Helen Keller said about teamwork, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”
The only way to build a successful company is to build a great team. As an entrepreneur your success depends on your ability to build and inspire a team to work well together towards a common vision and goals. A great team gives your company the competitive edge that you need to outperform your competition.

l Stewart Jakarasi is a business and financial strategist and a lecturer in business strategy (ACCA P3), advanced performance management (P5) and entrepreneurship.

He is the Managing Consultant of Shekina Consulting (Pty) Ltd and provides advisory and guidance on leadership, strategy and execution, corporate governance, preparation of business plans and on how to build and sustain high-performing organisations.

For assistance in implementing some of the concepts discussed in these articles please contact him on the following contacts: sjakarasi@gmail.com, call on +266 58881062 or WhatsApp +266 62110062.