Teamwork Philosophy - Essay Example

Teamwork Philosophy Present day business atmosphere is fiercely competitive and to gain a competitive edge over rival organizations, the importanceof role played by teamwork cannot be ignored. There is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of the manger who is put in charge of a team to satisfactorily accomplish a new project. As a conscientious manager who is trusted with such important and career-defining responsibility, I consider tolerance to be one of the greatest assets needed to motivate team members to work closely together. Because this happens to be my greatest professional strength fortunately, I believe that it can immensely help me in getting along with my teammates despite difference of opinion. Tolerance is a key element which is embedded in the roots of every successful team because it helps team members realize that the head of the team will always give them room to help them voice their opinions. Some teams are permanently organized, while others are temporarily formed to complete a project. The kind of team I have to work with as a manager belongs to the second category because it is a project team. Many important functions of such teams ranging from completing work to developing system innovations to delivering quality to customers heavily depend on good communication. This is why a recent research survey has revealed ineffective communication “as the biggest barrier to team effectiveness” (Cardon, 2014, p. 66). Good teams are based on a solid foundation of goals and norms. One of the most decisive goals is being able to negotiate or discuss options in a healthy way. There are many sensitive managers who want to avoid confrontation as much as possible and prefer to find escape in difficult times instead of addressing the problem at hand. Research has it members of effective teams consider it critically important “to spend most of their time discussing work issues” (Cardon, 2014, p. 67). This is the state of high-performing teams. In contrast, lower-performing teams do not make wise investments in discussing work problems which prevents team members from bonding around work issues. In order to accomplish goals on time, I intend to lead my team by developing a common sense of purpose. Research claims that organizing problem-solving meeting can help to align interests of managers and team members (Cardon, 2014, p. 68). Many times teams perform poorly because there are conflicting interests. This conflict becomes a hurdle in the way of achieving a common goal. As a manager, I am personally strictly against suppressing someone’s voice to advance my personal interests. I believe that the success of any project is embedded in teamwork and every member of a team should be willing to listen to others despite conflict of interests. I recognize that conflict of interests can be one of the most challenging issues to deal with while working as a team. On top of that, increasing global interdependence has created such situation that one gets to work “in groups with quite diverse composition” (Lewis et al., 2006, p. 360). However, an optimally effective way for a manager to address this challenge is by putting him/herself in other members’ places and actively trying to think about puzzling concepts from their perspectives. Egotistical leaders can find it quite tedious to implement this simple strategy, but it is still one which helps the person in charge to develop a deeper understanding of other team members. To empathize with others’ emotions and concerns in a professional and effective way, managers should be emotionally intelligent (EI). Research also shows that EI and good teamwork are inextricably linked to one another (Gujral & Ahuja, 2011, p. 178). EI helps to transform a loose group into an effective team. Empathizing with team’s concerns does not guarantee to eliminate all conflicts because that is not important. Research also claims that conflicts need not be completely ostracized, rather they should be addressed in a way that shrinks negative aspects associated with them (Sheard & Kakabadse, 2002, p. 135). When a team leader happens to be a perfectionist as myself, it can become a problem in the way of teamwork. This is because this particular aspect of a leader’s or a manager’s personality can make it difficult for team members to complete individual tasks assigned to them on time. Managers’ whose perfectionism paralyses workers and requires them to again and again revise their work can be a dangerous situation (Harvard Business School Press, 2013, p. 314). This attitude can enervate team members dragging them to procrastination which is a weakness that a manager or a leader has to put up with sometimes due to being a perfectionist. In such a situation, incentives in the form of bonus should be generously awarded to deserving team members because research has labeled them such a strong psychological force which decisively impacts a worker’s behavior, work quality, and persistence level (Waddell, Jones, & George, 2011, p. 4). It is important to not lose focus. When managers let themselves get side-tracked by temporary issues like procrastination while working with a team, it becomes a challenge to maintain focus. In order to overcome this challenge which can become a hurdle in the way of team success, I can try to turn this weakness into strength by becoming more efficient in managing time. Keeping things moving forward toward the step of completion is also an area in which I consider myself quite accomplished due to modest teamwork experience I have gained in my professional life as yet. Concluding, teamwork philosophy is becoming increasingly important in present day business atmosphere for effective operation of any organization. But, building a successful team is not an easy task. Many challenges work to slow down the speed of work during the process of completing a project. However, a person in charge of a team should not waste time in eliminating every single conflict or criticism. Rather, focus should be concentrated on dealing with such conflicts or criticisms in a constructive way because every conflict or criticism has something good to offer to a team. As a manager entrusted with the glorious opportunity of leading a team, I firmly believe in the principles of effective team communication amidst other tools. This is because present day business world thrives on good networking skills. References: Cardon, P. (2014). Business communication: Developing leaders for a networked world. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Gujral, H.K., & Ahuja, J. (2011). IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON TEAMWORK – A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SELF MANAGED AND CROSS FUNCTIONAL TEAMS. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 1(6), 178-185. Harvard Business School Press. (2013). Manager’s Toolkit: The 13 Skills Managers Need to Succeed. Harvard Business Press. Lewis, P., Goodman, S., Fandt, P., & Michlitsch, J. (2006). Management: Challenges for Tomorrow’s Leaders. Cengage Learning. Sheard, A.G., & Kakabadse, A.P. (2002). From loose groups to effective teams. Journal of Management Development, 21(2), 133-151. Waddell, D., Jones, G., & George, J. (2011). Contemporary management (2nd ed.). McGraw Hill Australia: Sydney. Read More