IMPROVING TEAMWORK – WORKING AGAINST THE ODDS

we hear from team leaders – and from team members – on a regular basis. Of course, they’re not easy to answer, and teams are made up of all kinds, shapes, and styles of people. We seem to be working against the odds to improve teamwork; but without effective teamwork in place, we are doomed to be left behind by those organizations where teamwork is working. We believe the answers to effective teamwork are to be found by looking – and working – in three different areas: culturally, functionally, and in the use of behavioral tools. This article will cover these three areas sequentially. I. A teamwork culture In the U.S., and a number of other countries which share our individualistic heritage, the emphasis is on the value and the performance of the individual, not the group or team. It has been said that in the U.S. an academic graduation ceremony is where a whole lot of people gather, all dressed exactly alike, to hear someone talk about the value of the individual. Economist Lester Thurow (quoted by John Maxwell) puts it like this