Team Effectiveness - Essay Example

Companies that utilize teamwork have a greater chance of achieving work synergy. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the topic of team effectiveness and team performance. The video Bridge’s Story – A Teamwork Aniboom Animation tells the story of a rabbit that thought he could survive on his own without the help of the other animals in the forest (Hoang, 2011). Instead of applying teamwork this rabbit was a destructive force to the other members of his habitat. He played with the food of the ants, harassed the birds, and destroyed the bridge the turtle was building for the animals to cross.

The rabbit found out when he was drowning in the river that he needed a helping hand. This rabbit realized by working as a team with the other animals he could accomplish more than he ever would as a loner. The second video, The Power of Teamwork, discusses the importance of teamwork by focusing on the work performed by the Blue Angels pilots (Beare, McMillan, 2013). Share values are the foundation of good teamwork. It is imperative for a team to align its mission, vision, and its actions. The team has to be the priority of all members who must sacrifice their self-interest in order to achieve team goals.

The use of teamwork must be present at all times within an organization. A good effective leader is able to lead others by example. A good leader identifies each team member’s strength to take advantage of them and improve performance and productivity in the workplace. Trust is an important element of teamwork. Trust can be defined as the belief that someone is good, reliable, honest, and effective (Merriam-webster, 2013). Achieving peak performance should be the objective of all teams. Synergy occurs when common people align their objectives (Beare, et al., 2013). Good communication is also an important factor that leads to team success.

Communication in the workplace is of utter importance towards achieving the goals of a company. Managers that want for employees to work together as a cohesive team unit must build a bond of trust with the workers by effectively communicating with them. Teamwork without communication does not work. To effectively guide the actions of a team its leader has to maintain the lines of communication open at all times. Improper communication within a team can cause the employees to feel tensions and anxiety (Gluck, 2013).

There are different strategies that the person in charge of a team can use to improve communication. For instance programming weekly meetings between the team members to openly discuss any issues anyone is facing is a good way to foster communication. A second strategy that can be used to improve communication within a team is to implement a feedback system. A third way to improve communication in a team is by practicing active listening. Active listening skills can help a person improve their productivity, their ability to listen, persuade, and negotiate with others (Mindtools, 2013).

There are common characteristics that effective teams share. Some of the characteristics of effective teams include common purpose and goals, interested in own processes, continually listen to each other, differences shared freely, identify and resolve conflicts, roles are balanced, trust, and commitment towards performance (Drexel, 2013). Effective teams must work together towards accomplishing common goals. A team member that is not focused on the goals of the team becomes a liability. Team members must