Principles of Effective Teamwork

Teamwork is an important factor that determines the success of any entity. So much has been written about teamwork that sometimes individuals know the theory, but fail to put it into practice. If you have been associated with the task of recruiting candidates for your organization, you would have seen applicants enlisting 'an ability to work in a team' or 'teamwork' as one of their attributes in their resume. But, the fact is that teamwork as a quality has been used so languidly over the years that in some cases, it has ceased to be what it stands for and has rather become a cliché. So, it is important to remember for everyone that rattling off the theory would do no good unless and until it is put into practice. We will give you a primer on the principles that lay the foundation of building a strong team with the hope that you will try to inculcate these principles to achieve the desired results.

Teamwork Principles

• One of the first principles of an effective teamwork is that while a team is formed, there should be a clarity as to what the team wants to achieve. It is important that you view the team as an entity and have clearly articulated goals in place. In the absence of an objective, the team members may not be able to understand their responsibilities, which can cause ambiguity.
• The team members should be willing to learn from each other. There may be some members who may be excellent with the process, while some may require some time and guidance, so it is essential that there is a willingness to teach and learn new ideas. Team members should not be hesitant in seeking help from the senior members of the team and the senior members, should in turn step forward to help the new members.
• There should be a two-way communication among team members about the roles that they are assigned,