Page 319 - Foundations of Learning, 4th Edition (Revised)

READING

Sam, Fred, Jennifer, Sandra and Ken sit in the small, overly air-conditioned
windowless classroom the teacher has assigned them to with instructions to “get to
know each other” and “examine team roles.” No one is talking yet. Jennifer can hear
the clock ticking in the hall. Sandra and Ken exchange looks of impatience. Sam just
feels sorry for everyone—including himself—but doesn’t know how to break the ice.

“Uh,” Sam says. “I guess we need to talk and team roles and the, uh, performance
criteria for each. That is, if everyone’s cool with that.”

“Chillin’,” says Fred.
Ken laughs out loud, a bit nervously.
Jennifer’s lipsticked mouth twitches.
“Sooooo…who wants to be the Recorder
and write all this stuff down?” Sam looks
around expectantly.
All I have to do is sit back and take notes,
Fred thinks. He raises his pencil.
“Great,” Sam says enthusiastically.
“Wait,” Sandra says. “Shouldn’t we look
at the performance criteria for each role
carefully before we just start assigning roles
to people?”
“Sandra, you’re absolutely right,” Sam
admits.

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

Chapter 12 — Communication and Teamwork 313