“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”
Phil Jackson
You might not know who Phil Jackson is, but you would undoubtedly know the team that he’s worked alongside. As the coach of Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers, his career has seen a lot of success. Did success come easy at him, one might argue? Regardless, we certainly know how much importance he gave to teamwork, and his emphasis on teamwork may have had a role in him winning 11 NBA championships. But is teamwork that important in the workplace?
Whether you’re on the basketball court or sitting at your office desk, the importance of teamwork can never be understated. Our previous blogs have talked about the importance of team communication and shared ideas for team building, but the concept of teamwork in the workplace is still not very clear. This blog discusses what teamwork in a traditional and modern workplace can look like and the importance of teamwork for any organization.
What is teamwork in the workplace?
When it comes to organizational efficiency, teamwork is one of the most crucial elements. Though we can all agree that cooperation is vital, not everyone understands how powerful it is in the workplace.
Simply speaking, teamwork in the workplace occurs when a group of people works efficiently together toward a common objective. Your business may thrive when different individuals work together toward a single objective. Essentially, teamwork is the lifeblood of an organization, and its effectiveness depends entirely on how it is managed. But managing a team isn’t always easy, is it?
The modern workplace is not the same as the conventional in-person office. Because of the increase in hybrid working, there is less in-person participation, and one would believe the word “teamwork” is becoming obsolete. However, anyone who predicted that the development of remote and hybrid work would be the end of teamwork has probably altered their mind by now. The fact is that teamwork is more crucial than ever. Organizations require teamwork, especially in today’s increasingly digitized environment. According to studies, firms that prioritize cooperation innovate quicker, see flaws sooner, discover better solutions to issues, and achieve higher productivity.
Improving cooperation can boost productivity and performance for the organization’s benefit. Salespeople, for example, thrive on healthy competition, but they close more transactions and benefit the firm when they operate as a team. Let’s look at the importance of teamwork in the workplace!
Importance of Teamwork
Consider your company solely in terms of its primary objective. Are you attempting to sell a product, raise funds, or give a service? Don’t worry about relationships for a second. When considering your aim, you should analyze all company components that directly impact it. Reintroduce the connections — your people matter, and how your teams work together matters to your organization’s business goals. So why is teamwork important?
Teamwork is essential because it maintains an enjoyable work environment.
Teamwork fosters excellent employee connections since the more workers work closely together, the more they learn to know and like one another. They learn to live with each other’s likes, dislikes, strengths, and flaws the more they work together. When they work together for an extended period, the team naturally becomes more collaborative, resulting in a more enjoyable work environment for everybody. A pleasant work atmosphere leads to better productivity, which helps firms achieve their objectives more rapidly.
Businesses operate in dynamic, fast-paced environments, and managers frequently overlook their workers’ skills without recognizing them. The fundamental advantage of cooperation in the workplace is that teams tend to compensate for this carelessness by employing their awareness of each other’s skills and shortcomings to organize, evaluate, and steer their activities towards the intended goal.
Working together as a team can increase work efficiency.
According to teamwork data, 97% of employees and employers feel that a lack of team alignment impacts the effectiveness of a job or project.
According to statistics, employees who operate as a team do things considerably faster and more efficiently than those who work alone—working on multiple jobs as a group reduces burdens for all employees by sharing ideas and duties. Employees, particularly salespeople, are under intense pressure to reach sales targets in a shorter period. Teamwork is essential since it allows your team to share ideas and duties, reducing stress and allowing them to be careful and thorough while completing jobs. This will enable them to reach sales targets more rapidly.
Teamwork increases learning opportunities.
Employees in a company vary in terms of their job experience, competence, and talents. Collaboration allows this personnel to interact with one another while working on a project. This engagement is a terrific learning opportunity for new workers since they may gain abilities from more experienced employees that they did not have before. Furthermore, new staff might provide more experienced personnel with fresh and unique ideas. Moreover, the relevance of collaboration in business is that it allows new and more experienced employees to question one other’s beliefs and methods of doing things to come up with an agreed, effective solution that assists employees in completing the tasks at hand.
Teamwork leads to increased accountability.
Employees who work alone are more likely to have low morale and be less accountable. With collaboration, no member wants to let others down; trust is maintained. Working as a team also holds every employee accountable, especially if they are working with seasoned, respected employees who are known for their hard work and responsibility. Organizations may profit significantly from cooperation since greater productivity and efficiency allow staff to complete tasks ahead of schedule.
According to Gallup’s best-selling book, ‘It’s the Manager,’ five dialogues drive performance and provide a realistic structure for establishing expectations, continuously coaching, and creating responsibility.
Teamwork eliminates toxic work culture.
One of the advantages of cooperation in businesses is that it helps to reduce toxic workplace cultures. Drama, arguing, low morale at work, a lack of communication, and the boss’s fear are all signs of toxic work culture. Furthermore, the institution prioritizes policies over individuals. A hazardous work environment has an impact on employee productivity and well-being. This makes achieving the organization’s strategic goals impossible.
For instance, recognizing quality work and achievements of workgroups increases profits by 29%. This enhances the corporate culture and increases earnings. Meanwhile, statistics on workplace cooperation suggest that employees who are encouraged to work in groups produce 19% greater sales and a 7% increase in customer engagement.
Reduces higher employee turnover
Organizations that lack cross-departmental teamwork frequently face lower levels of production and growth. Consequently, it becomes more difficult for them to function efficiently, and as a result, they fail to achieve their long-term goals. Employees feel irritated and resign when they discover they cannot carry out their tasks. Focusing on the value of cooperation creates a welcoming environment where workers may easily carry out their obligations, which helps reduce employee turnover.
41% of team members who recognize their abilities had lesser absenteeism.
Few employees understand their capabilities, and even fewer are aware of those of their teammates. There are several advantages to cooperation in business, especially when team members are led to find and develop their unique abilities.
According to research, more strength awareness leads to greater involvement and, as a result, more desirable outcomes. Collaboration data reveal that, in addition to reducing absenteeism, turnover is concentrated in 24% of cases (compute your company’s turnover rate here), 17% of employees are more productive, and 21% of firms have greater profitability.
Importance of teamwork in the future?
The importance of teamwork in the workplace will only increase from here. The world has dramatically shifted from a time of the division of labour to the integration of delivery. With increasing accountability, team communication is one of the critical practices that managers work towards. Teamwork is a valuable tool to use in the workplace that comes with a multitude of benefits. Teamwork pulls your team together and provides clear communication, from creating trust to fostering problem-solving abilities. It may not be easy initially, but the rewards of working collaboratively as a team are huge. If you still don’t believe it, maybe ask Michael Jordan then.
