by Sudeepa Nair

Created on: March 03, 2009

The secret to good teamwork is a mystery to many. Effective teams often seem to do things effortlessly. They enjoy work, enjoy each other's company, follow their leader and help each other. Often, teams of great individuals fail to achieve what a team of average individuals achieve with great teamwork. In order to improve teamwork, we should first give some thought to the barriers to good teamwork. They are:

1. Lack of communication

2. Unhealthy competition

3. Team goal undermining individual goals

4. Magnifying or ignoring individual differences

5. Lack of effective leadership

How do we address these barriers?

A lack of communication among team members can not only hamper progress but can also create utter chaos. Existence of an open communication channel, on the other hand fosters sharing of resources, knowledge, expertise and credit for work. Good communication among team members helps everyone to appreciate and respect each other, leading to a better team spirit.

A team performs well when there is a healthy competition within the team. Team members should compete for perfection in work rather than the type of work or the number of hours worked.

A common mistake that occurs in a team environment is the neglect of individual aspirations and goals which get undermined by the team goal. Of course, the goal of a team is the most important but in the process, if the team members are not nurtured, then the team falls apart, bringing with it low morale and motivation.

A team consists of individuals and this should not be forgotten while building a team. Often, in the quest of the perfect team, individual differences either tend to get magnified or totally ignored. Both are extreme ways of handling the individualities of team members. Individual differences have to be acknowledged, understood and differences in opinion, if any, should be reconciled to improve teamwork.

Finally, all the above can be done, only if the team has an effective leader. The team leader should be willing to lead by example and not merely give orders. The team leader should be willing to praise, encourage, caution as well as reprimand when needed.

To end this article, I will narrate an old tale on how teamwork can go awry. A Maharaja in ancient India appointed a team of five cleaners to clean his throne room. On the first day, all five reached the throne room on time to begin work. The first cleaner, who was a go getter, wished to clean only the throne since it was the most prestigious thing to do. The

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