Make Teamwork Simple

Define teamwork. What I get in response when I ask clients to do this varies so widely that I believe it is the root cause of poor teamwork. Even when I ask this question of leaders in the same organization, the answers can be in direct opposition to each other.  It only gets worse the deeper I go into the organization.

Why is it important?  Stronger teamwork is a common long term goal of many of my clients. Leaders and managers everywhere are frustrated with their efforts to build a stronger team. They certainly spend a great deal of time and money trying to improve it.  Employee retreats, trust falls, ropes courses, motivational posters and speakers, teamwork videos and football analogies are common.  Actual strong teamwork isn’t. 

Teamwork has a direct correlation to another common initiative and catchphrase, “Employee Engagement”.  I define engagement as willingly involved and working. If people are working on a common goal it is the basis of teamwork.

There are so many videos online that illustrate teamwork.  There is a great one showing a town in India where a fallen tree has blocked traffic and everyone is frustrated.  A little boy tries to push the tree to no avail. Then one-by-one others get involved until enough people working together push the tree out of the way.  There are many that show soldiers working with each other to overcome an obstacle that requires everyone to ensure that no one is left behind.

So, what to do.  Start by defining teamwork. I like this one, “Everyone engaged in a common activity”. Everyone doing something small will net more results than a few people doing something dramatic. 

​How do you attain it?  Start by determining something that everyone can do. Following is an example.  I was working with an organization where there was rampant negativity and a sense of helplessness.  My client was concerned and exploring what he could do to change it.  Most teamwork initiatives seem overwhelming or risky leading to inactivity. Inactivity long enough leads to that sense of helplessness.  I asked him to start with something simple everyone can do, ban sarcasm.  It is easy to identify and something everyone has within their control. It might even be fun if administered as a challenge or game.  Doing that one small and common activity would mobilize everyone in the organization to accomplish a task.  The task would be relatively easy and the benefits obvious.