Team work - Importance of team work

Team Work - Meaning

Team work is the process of working collaboratively with a group of people in order to achieve a common goal.

It means that the members of the team should

·         Members do not work singly. They are dependent on their fellow members for the achievement of team goals.

·         cooperate with one another,

·         coordinate their efforts,

·         use their individual skills for achieving the common goal,

·         Subordinate their personal interests to team interests in order to achieve common goals

·         provide feedback,

·         keep personal differences under check and

Importance of Team and Team Work

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success-Henry Ford”

The above proverb by Henry Ford can very well highlight the importance of working together in teams.

Importance of Team Work for the Individual and Business

1.     Tasks are accomplished faster by a team than they would be if the members work as individuals.

2.     Work does not suffer if one or more members are unable to attend their duties for some days. Others are there to take care of their duties in their absence.

3.     Every member tries to contribute his best. So there is healthy competition among the workers which inspires them to use all their skill and energy.

4.     Relations among the workers improve. Strong personal ties are forged as members work for the attainment of a common goals and their interest is the same.

5.     Members gain from the mutual competition as well as from the skills and knowledge of one another. Every member tries to give his best to gain the respect and admiration of others. Also, every members is a critic of others. If there is any flaw in his performance, it is pointed out by others. Similarly, if any members needs some help from some other member, it is readily offered as the goal of all the members is the same.

6.     Team members also learn new knowledge and skills from their team mates during the pursuit of the common goal.

7.     When members work singly, the projects they execute take longer to be completed. So each member works on fewer projects. As every project is an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience, he gets fewer opportunities to upgrade his knowledge and experience.

8.     Work does not come to a standstill even if some members have to stay away from work due to some unforeseen reason.

9.     Working on a team increases accountability as members are always under the watch of their fellow members.

10.  When you work alone, the progress is slow. This lower your morale. But when you work on a team, the work moves on at a faster pace. As a result, the morale of all the members remains high.

Educational Importance of Team Work

1.  For the school kids, team work is an opportunity to learn social skills. They learn to share their views, to listen to others, make friendships, coordinate and cooperate with others, to assert when they are sure of being correct and to be persuaded when they are convinced of being wrong. They also increase their vocabulary, learn patience and learn to take turns. They also get valuable lessons in conflict resolution.

2.  Each students feels valued as he contributes to the team work. As a result, his self-confidence and self-esteem increase.

3.  Students get exposure to new ideas and new ways of thinking. As a result, their mental horizon expands.

4.  Team work at school offers an opportunity to learn more in less time. Students do not have read everything to gain new knowledge. Each member can gain from what the other members of the team have read.

5.  Team work is an opportunity for every member to shine by showing his skills, knowledge and intelligence.

Social Importance of Team Work

Team work is very important not only for the individual but also for the society as is clear from the following:

1. Team work gives us an opportunity to learn a number of social skills which prove to be useful to us di our career and help the society to maintain harmony and discipline as well as in increasing production of goods and materials to be used for raising the standard of living of the people and making life more comfortable for them. While working as a member of a team, we learn the following social skills:

i. Expressing One's Views - While working as a team member, we have to share our views with the other members of the team. Doing so is an art which we learn as we work as a part of a team. It needs good communication skills. We learn these skills by listening to others and then practise them while expressing our views.

ii. Cooperation: For a peaceful and prosperous society, healthy cooperation among its citizens is very important. In a team, members have to cooperate with other members to achieve the team goals. The lesson so learnt helps to maintain peace and good relations in a society. We put into practice the lesson of cooperation learnt as team workers in our social life also.

iii. For the achievement of team goals, the activities of the members have to be coordinated. Similarly, the activities of the members of a society also need to be coordinated for the development of the society as a whole. 

iv. Leadership - Every society needs good leaders to guide it. Individual citizens learn the qualities to become leaders while working as the members of a team.

v. Discipline - For the successful achievement of any goal, the members of a team must abide by the rules and obey the team leader. This lesson stands us in good stead as members of a society also.Without discipline among its members, it is difficult for any society to maintain law and order and achieve progress.

vi. Subordinating personal interest for the larger interest of the society - In a team, members have to give the greatest to the interests of the team and sacrifice their personal interests. Similarly, a society cannot make progress and live peacefully if its members do not put the interest of the society above their own interest.