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 listening. 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.
Organizing can be viewed as the activities
to collect and configure resources in order to implement plans in a highly
effective and efficient fashion. Is a broad set of activities, and often
considered one of the major functions of management.
