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READING
E
XPERIENCE
8: P
ERFORMING
IN
T
EAMS
AND WITHIN
A
C
OMMUNITY
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L
EARNING
TO
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EARN
: B
ECOMING
A
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ELF
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ROWER
Teamwork
Teamwork is defined as the joint action by a group of people in which individual interests become
secondary to the achievement of group goals, unity and efficiency. In other words, teamwork involves a
group of people actively cooperating in an organized manner to achieve a goal. The benefits of teamwork
are numerous. When an effective teamwork process is employed, more can be accomplished with higher
quality outcomes. Many interpersonal skills are developed as a result of teamwork. Also, individuals
within a team benefit by:
• teaching others new skills
• learning to negotiate
• exercising leadership
• working with diversity
• being part of a team effort with individual accountability
The skills associated with teamwork are presented in the following table.
Table 1
Teamwork Skills
Team Building
Performing in a Team Team Maintenance
defining team roles
commitment to a group
team goal setting
planning
following
collaborating
cooperating
performing within a role
group decision making
negotiating
supporting
compromising
resolving conflict
politicking
attending to group needs
Note that teamwork skills can be separated into three areas, 1) skills used when the team is first formed and
being developed, 2) skills related to doing a job or performing within the team, and 3) skills to maintain
the team when there’s conflict or difficulty.
As you can see, Sam seems to be a strong team builder. Even in their first team meeting, he worked hard
to open the discussion and begin the team task of assigning roles. A natural leader, Sam also demonstrated
that he knows when to follow—he supported Sandra’s suggestion which demonstrated cooperation, and
he excelled at facilitating group decision-making. But what about the rest of the team (Fred, Jennifer,
Sandra, and Ken)? What strengths did you see (at this stage you may have only seen one)? What do you
think each team member needs to do to improve his or her performance in the team? And, based on what
you’ve seen so far, what insight do you have into the team dynamics overall? If you could rewrite their first
interaction to make them a stronger, more productive team, what would you have them do?
The use of teamwork is fast becoming commonplace throughout organizations in all areas of society,
including business and industry, health care, public service, government, and education. Since most of you
will more than likely be in team situations in your careers, it is to your advantage to develop proficiency
with a wide range of skills from Table 1.