As the 2010 year comes to a close and I sit at my desk in the final hours in an empty office I was thinking about why are teams so hard. Come to a few of my meetings during the course of any week and you will undoubtedly hear the words: team, collaboration, get people around the table….
I came up with a quick list of why in 2011 we should work in teams and why we should not….see what you think and see you on the flip side:
Why work in teams?
Better coordination across all areas of the institution
Better ideas (2 heads are better than 1)
The more ideas the more people involved the better the product (maybe)
The more people from across the organization on the team the more complete product can be delivered
Why not to work in teams?
My schedule is already busy and I have too many meetings working in teams takes too much time
Working in teams is hard
When you work as part of team you never get everything you want – you almost always have to compromise
Hey Paul, Happy New Year! Just wanted to let you know you received a comment about this blog on our LinkedIn group. If you were interested in responding, the URL is http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=1843455&item=308724996&type=news&goback=.gmp_1843455&trk=NUS_DISC_N-nd_mr
Thanks – I just replied. Happy to New Years!
My frame of reference has been team-focused for so long that I almost can’t imagine the question. Yes, it’s worth it.
1. work teams build cohesive relationships (people in the trenches together establish bonds that are almost always useful later)
2. work teams are an exceptional professional development opportunity (it is THE way that we develop skills and expertise on our team)
3. it’s not just two head are better than one, it’s that one + one doesn’t equal two (you get something that is more than the sum of the parts)
4. teams are essential for taking a good idea to the next level (the synergy from team discussion and idea generation can really polish a rock into a gem)