What's In It For Me?

Remember having team project s in school? Well, teamwork extends to the workforce in today’s businesses too, as shown in this excerpt from Dale Carnegie & Associates’ Teamwork in the American Workplace, (Training and Development, January, 1996).


What makes teams successful?
33% - getting along
29% - listening
21% - setting priorities
6% - feeling recognized
6% - having everyone agree
4% - deciding who’s in charge


When you look at the list, you might discover some interesting facts such as it is more important for members to get along than who is chosen to lead. Once a team approach for a project is chosen, what can be done to empower members to work together to accomplish their goal? This is when everyone needs to put away the “What’s in it for me?” attitude and join the “What’s in it for us?” club.


To have a successful team, everyone must be less concerned about individual rewards; appreciation, power, etc., and act more selfless in a cooperative way towards a specific goal. Teamwork also involves sacrifices, such as sharing rewards, blame, and discipline, along with suppressing personal opinions, which is difficult for many of us.


You can be proactive in preventing problems by making certain the team’s goal is clearly defined and each member’s responsibility is completely understood by everyone. As in all business endeavors, communication will be the most essential element of a successful team. Each member must trust the other team members and be willing to share their thoughts and ideas about the project, but then defer the final decision to the person responsible for that portion of the project.


The benefits of working on a team can be obvious, but some reasons might not be so obvious. Team players benefit and achieve more than isolated individuals by combining knowledge and skills, but the benefits also include making the best use of each individual’s strengths, common ownership, built-in mutual support, and increased creativity from more diverse ideas. The next time you have a large project; don’t be afraid to incorporate a team approach to accomplish your goal!

Teamwork

Teamwork: Several people working together, usually with each person doing a certain part, to achieve a common goal.

Dear Parents,
As tennis great Althea Gibson said, “No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.” She knew it would take teamwork to overcome the barriers she had to hurdle. Teamwork is a life skill all of us use, whether it is in school or the workforce, and martial arts classes are a great place for children to begin learning how to get along with others and share in their successes.

As your children learn teamwork, they will learn to communicate and listen to others and work well together. Like other life skills, teamwork requires practice and knowledge about why it is important and how to recognize it.

What can parents and caregivers do to help their children develop teamwork?

Demonstrate teamwork at home. Explain to your children, while you are doing chores, how difficult it would be to take care of an entire household by yourself. Show them how each part is just as important to the end result, i.e., making dinner begins with planning, shopping, preparing, cooking, setting the table, cleaning, etc.

Praise teamwork efforts. When you and your children are working together on a project, praise them for working together. Explain how nice it is to have help. When you work together, things are done quicker, and you get to spend time with your favorite people!

Teach teamwork. Unfortunately, when working together, tempers and personalities sometimes clash. When that happens, sit down and explain that everyone has an opinion, but sometimes we must compromise and meet in the middle, or, sometimes, one person has to have the final word.

Teach your children how to define a clear goal when working on a project. If, for example, you want a room cleaned, don’t say, “Clean the living room.” Try saying, “You pick up the toys, while he dusts the furniture, and I vacuum.”