WORKING AS A TEAM

Man is a social being thus he needs to interact with people. Almost every individual has experienced, in one way or another, how it is to work in a group - from his childhood games to wherever he is now earning his living. Unfortunately, not every group succeeds in its objectives or goals. Failure is a possible consequence whenever we get into a challenge. However, we can always avoid this much dreaded "failure" if every member of a group would not fail to use or exercise TEAMWORK. Yes, every group of people must not only work as a GROUP where every individual works for his own advantage, but instead, every one should work as part of a TEAM - where he is working towards a common goal. When these "small contributions" build up, success is hardly unforeseeable.

How can a person work as part of a TEAM? It's actually so easy: just remember the word TEAMWORK as a guideline. Also remember that all these should work together - should be there hand in hand from the conception of the team to the achievement of the final goal. No one of these can be enough and can work in isolation to be able to come up with a successful team.

T is for Talent

By talent, I mean a person's knowledge or capabilities. It is of course quite necessary for a member of a team to be knowledgeable about the work that his team is going to do. Where can these knowledge be gained? Knowledge can explicitly be learned from some useful handbooks on whatever you are working on. However, implicit knowledge - that which is acquired through experience and practice, is found to be much more useful.

E is for Enthusiasm

But as we will later realize, talent alone is not enough. A knowledgeable team member must also be enthusiastic. He must seek responsibility, he must find ways to make the talents he has useful. He must always have the energy and the drive to work. Eventually, this enthusiasm will naturally come out of him and he will realize that his example becomes so inspiring and motivating enough for his other teammates to work - without him asking them any demands.

A is for Accountability

Every member is accountable not only to his team but to all his other work mates. We are not responsible only of ourselves. It is everyone's responsibility to keep others informed. Whenever someone keeps on forgetting what he needs to do, it is our responsibility to keep him reminded. What he failed to do is a reflection of what we were also not able to do ourselves.

M is for Management

Every member must know his specialization relative to what his other teammates can do best. A good organization is really needed in proper distribution of work. The best member of any group is he who demands work based on what he can do. When we are assigned to do or work on something, we must also know where to go for help (just in case we couldn't work out on something), and when those help must be asked. Ultimately, it is every group member's responsibility to ensure that everyone has a work to do and that every one is always the best man for his job.

W is for Work-able

When a person has all the talents and the enthusiasm in the world and yet he doesn't have free time to work, it all turns out useless. Availability of every member is very much needed to work as a team. If no one's there, who do you expect to pursue the team's goals? This work-ability is not all about free-time, however, it also entails a large amount of adaptability. Every member must be able to expect different possibilities and must know how to react on them should they arise in the course of events.

O is for Openness

Understanding among team members is a necessity in every team for every member to be able to work in the best of his abilities. Everyone must be open to new ideas and suggestions. Everyone must have the capability to understand people. It is in keeping the communication lines open that the team can more efficiently achieve its goals.

R is for Respect

Every team member must be able to practice respect so that he can expect to be respected in return. A team could discuss things and every member could voice out his own opinion in whatever matter they are discussing without degrading his teammate or his teammate's suggestions no matter how irrational they are. It is one thing to listen and be able to humbly object and it is another thing to just avoid to listen. Whenever a team is brainstorming, everyone must be able to raise his opinions without having any hard feelings.

K is for Keenness

Keenness is the final key in working as a part of a team. It is more than enthusiasm. Enthusiasm comes before doing the actual work. This keenness - this intensity, is manifested while going through the work itself. It is what pushes us to move on and keep on working until we are finally done.

1.       ....Remember that everyone on your team has a role. Being part of a team environment means recognizing your role, as well as understanding the value of everyone else's roles, so you may all integrate your roles for the purpose of accomplishing the team goal. Common roles include:

The technician is the person who assumes thorough knowledgeable about the task and process, and is a good source of useful information and practical guidance.

The innovator is the creative person on the team, and is good at conceptualizing new ideas, as well as out-of-the-box problem solving.

The motivator is the team player who keeps everyone on task by way of a positive attitude and openness to whatever it takes to get the job done.