Blog: Six values for life and workplace – Together we win

“We are aware that a stronger impact can be made on the community with a united effort. So, we stand together, work together with a common vision in order to make ourselves and our community, winners in all aspects of its connotation.”

Steve Jobs said, ‘Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people.’ This is the truest of things across all facets of life and an idea in which most of us have a lot of experiences to share.

The role of teamwork in success is something we have grown up hearing and continue hearing even now; right through famous historical figures to ordinary people who understood and imbibed the essence of group endeavours. Working together, winning together and sharing the spoils of the victory is what binds us together.

What are the tangible benefits that teamwork brings in?

Very often a leader is reluctant to let go of the control; more so from the fear of having to manage a team and drive results or due to lack of trust in the team driving towards a successful outcome with the same rigor and intention like her. However, if one can get past these limiting beliefs, a good team can ensure success of unimaginable scale and depth.

Better efficiency and productivity – With more people productivity increases. Work can be split into less intimidating and more manageable chunks.

Each person brings in their best without a feeling of being overwhelmed. The team works like a well-oiled machinery where each does their own roles to perfection. The role of the leader here is only to not let the team lose sight of the big picture and let them remember the importance of their roles.

Fresh ideas and blooming creativity – Each person is different in every aspect and the ideas brought in by them would be as diverse as well. People’s backgrounds, character, skill sets, perspectives are all so different and hence their ideas too would cover a large spectrum. While not all ideas are executable, the sheer volume and variety of new ideas that come from a team can be so huge to provide a broad spectrum of choice.

Higher quality – When there are more people each team member can focus on their particular task and role to do the job with better attention to quality. When people are not bogged down by over-work or having to multitask, they can do their roles better. They can even each check on one another, share responsibilities and reduce the margin of error.

Opportunities for learning and growth – Each team-member learns different lessons and when each of their insights are shared it becomes a huge rule book for avoidable mistakes and teaches everyone better ways of doing things. The whole team doesn’t have to make all the mistakes to learn the lessons. When people learn together lessons are learnt faster too.

Healthy competition – A nurturing leader can foster a sense of healthy competition in his team. In such an environment, people reach out seeking more responsibilities, try to achieve more, do what they do with better focus and overcome difficulties quicker. The role of the leader is just to keep the animosity or ill will at bay. The productivity peaks where competition exists

Quicker innovations and implementations – When a team of people are looking at solving a problem instead of one person, more solutions come up. In the same way when many people are facing the same difficulty, everyone puts their head down to find solutions for it. More innovations and solutions come up. The implementations of newer ideas are quicker because no one likes to prolong the agony of living with problems that have solutions at hand.

Sense of satisfaction, motivation and ownership – When more is achieved it naturally lends a feeling of satisfaction in all the stakeholders. The success and satisfaction that comes from action is the foundation stone of motivation and a sense of ownership about which we discussed in the previous blog. When people feel good, they work more and work better.

Strong interpersonal relationships and cohesion – The core human condition of us being social animals is fulfilled in teamwork. The sense of camaraderie and a unified purpose towards which everyone is working is enough to foster a sense of belonging. The environment also strengthens interpersonal bonds and provides a sense of trust and cohesion among them.

What are the things you can do as a leader to have a great team?

Taking enough time and care and not rushing into selecting the team members
Being unbiased in your treatment to them
Providing a challenging environment and opportunities for growth
Giving enough freedom to operate that matches with the responsibility they handle
Encouraging good work and appreciate the same
Delegating work and control according to capabilities displayed
Sharing credit for achievements by appropriate rewarding mechanisms
Evaluating people both as part of a team and individually to ensure fair assessment
Accepting the diversity of the team, being inclusive and providing equal opportunities to all with career progress purely based on meritocracy.
While hiring, taking time not just to evaluate their professional capabilities but also their soft skills, emotional quotient and resilience

Soft skills are important for you in both personal and professional life. They are an important component in your success and how far you would go in life. This is equally applicable for your team of employees as well. If you are looking for any soft skill coaching or mentoring for your team or for yourself do write to us at harish@harishrao.world to know how we can help you with it. We understand the difference the right mentoring and training can make to a person’s productivity. We would love to work with you on this or any other business coaching needs you may have!