The key to effective cooperation is interpersonal communication. What are the advantages of teamwork, and how can one develop excellent teamwork skills?
Read More: Moez Kassam
Working effectively with people is something that we all naturally know to be beneficial. However, why is it so crucial, and what does effective cooperation and collaboration actually look like? Here’s where to begin if you want to improve your teamwork abilities.
What is meant by “collaborating effectively”?
When someone describes their capacity for collaborative work, they are often referring to a set of “soft skills” that allow one to collaborate on a project and build fruitful working relationships. How does this appear, then?
Working well with others is defined by the Nebraska University of Law as:
The ability to communicate clearly, work together, cooperate, and resolve problems with others in order to complete tasks
Recognizing the cultural background of the individuals you engage with, such as clients and coworkers
Making choices both alone and collaboratively
voicing one’s thoughts and honoring those of others
Being adaptable
The meaning of collaboration
Teamwork and collaboration are inextricably related. The definition given by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: “Work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole.”
According to this concept, cooperation emphasizes a common objective over each member’s drive for individual success. It also focuses our strengths toward that purpose. Put another way, a team player prioritizes the goals of the group.
Experts concur. Renowned social psychologist J. Richard Hackman is credited with developing a five-factor model for team success that describes the attributes and circumstances necessary for productive group work.
Is the group a true team with well-defined roles, mutual reliance, and long-term membership stability?
Does the team have a well-defined goal that is both difficult and significant? Does it prioritize goals over means?
Does the task, makeup, and fundamental rules of behavior of the team promote or hinder teamwork?
Is there a robust social network and communication within the team that facilitates teamwork?
Is there qualified coaching available to assist members in overcoming obstacles and seizing new opportunities? Is coaching given when participants are best prepared to accept and use it?
What makes collaborating with others so crucial?
Sometimes it seems as though interpersonal skills are merely nice-to-haves and that hard skills like degrees and certifications are more significant than interpersonal abilities.
Soft skills, however, are essential for success. A study conducted by Queens University of Charlotte found that 73% of senior executives felt that soft skills were more essential than job-specific abilities, and 44% of them said that soft skills made up the majority of the US skills gap.
Almost 75% of employers in the same survey said that cooperation and teamwork were “very important”. But just 18% of workers receive feedback on their teamwork in their performance reports.
Professional connections are important for reasons beyond simply making our lives better. Gallup’s technique for assessing effective management includes a statistic called “do you have a best friend at work?” that is used to measure relationships at work.
Success indicators often get better when the response is “yes”. Women who firmly think that they have a best friend at work are more than twice as likely to be engaged workers (63%) as are those who disagree (29%), according to a Gallup poll.
Collaboration is more crucial than ever in the modern workplace, where we spend more time together than ever before. Additionally, organizations will need to identify procedures and resources that can facilitate efficient business collaboration and communication as the need for remote team building and bridging office-based positions with frontline or deskless workers grows.
The importance of social bonds
However, it goes beyond technology. Companies will need to comprehend how their workers interact and the value that these social interactions offer, since they will be depending more and more on the knowledge and abilities of their workforce. That procedure has already started. In a recent analysis, the Economist Intelligence Unit attempted to ascertain how businesses should prioritize and encourage stronger social relationships and networks in order to facilitate greater cooperation.
According to a poll conducted among more than 200 directors and C-Suite executives, CEOs deeply recognize the role that “social” media plays in fostering success. However, they also show the benefits that these kinds of social ties may have for both people and groups.
Businesses that perceive themselves as innovators and report higher present and expected revenue growth are more likely to score well on traits linked to strong social capital, such as closeness to peers and superiors, openness, collaboration, and trust.
Workflows that are socialized, such staff members working together on a same task, increase quality and make sure that everyone is aware of decisions and methods of operation.
Companies that have stronger self-reported social capital tend to onboard new employees more quickly; 35% of them claim it takes less than two weeks.
