3 killers of teamwork

Today, in the modern workplace, teamwork is necessary to achieve success. The digital revolution has made communication easier. Employees are able to connect with each other instantly. So, it is essential for teams to know what to avoid to achieve great teamwork.

Low levels of trust

Trust is the foundational pillar of teamwork and is necessary for cohesive teamwork. What’s your definition of trust? When we talking about working together and accomplishing big things, it means that employees know that the intentions of other employees are good towards them and that they can feel secure no matter what.

How do people achieve trust? Trust is built when people are okay being vulnerable with each other. They are comfortable sharing their weaknesses and shortcoming. Many people think that trust is developed when team members have been consistent in producing great work. Trust is when team members know that there is no need to stay protected against each other all the time. They know that they can expose their weaknesses and shortcomings and they won’t be used against each other.

This also increases employee productivity as the workers focus their energy on producing results rather than staying involved in politics or other work.

Teams that don’t have trust among them find it extremely hard to communicate, produce stunning results and stay happy at the workplace. They dread taking risks because they think that if they make a mistake, it will be used against them and people won’t protect them. If the trust levels are low, companies also see a low retention rate.

Not having enough debates and conflicts

Many people think that not having conflicts and arguments indicates that there are high levels of trust and harmony among the team members. No, it is completely the opposite. It shows that team members are scared of calling each other out. They fear that if they present their ideas or point of view, they might upset some other team member. This makes the team meetings boring, gives birth to politics within the organization,

Passionate debates and arguments are essential to exceptional teamwork. It is important for teams to discuss ideas and concepts. And, when team members present ideas in the meeting, conflicts (constructive) are inevitable. The reason is people come from different backgrounds, upbringings and sometimes cultures. This means they are going to have different perspectives.

Productive conflicts help team members get the best possible results in the shortest span. When people at your workplace avoid having conflicts to avoid hurting each other – they become passively aggressive towards each other. And, this resentment just grows. And, all of this is nastier than heated arguments.

Absence of commitment

When we talk about working together, commitment is the name of two things: the first one is clarity and the other one is buy-in. Teams with remarkable teamwork are able to make exceptional decisions and they move forward after getting buy-in from each member. These teams can leave rooms confidently without any doubts in their minds. They move forward without doubts even if they don’t totally support the decision. Bad teams take too much time making decisions, they wait for data and show a lack of confidence.

If you head a large team, it is impossible that all of your team members are going to support one decision. Seeking consensus is dangerous. You become indecisive and you see opportunities go. The purpose of a team meeting is to hear out each individual. Not to reach a consensus.

Some times teams have to make decisions when things are unpredictable and there is no data to make thing certain. This is when great teams are able to get complete buy-in from each member. They then move in the same direction with clarity. And, even if the decision is wrong, they still pull out huge things just by incredible teamwork.

If you want to develop teamwork at your workplace, make sure to avoid these dysfunctions. You can also hire a Growth Mindset Assessment firm in UAE to help you improve teamwork.