It is common sense to us that collaborating with others is beneficial. However, why is it so crucial, and what does effective teamwork and collaboration actually look like? Here’s how to start improving your teamwork abilities.
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What does it mean to collaborate with others?
When individuals discuss having the ability to collaborate with others, they are typically referring to a set of “soft skills” that allow you to work together on a project and establish fruitful working connections. How does this appear, then?
How about we define teamwork?
Teamwork and collaboration are inextricably linked. 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 definition, teamwork emphasizes a common goal over each member’s desire for individual success by focusing our abilities towards it. 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 strong 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 most prepared to accept and apply it?
What makes collaborating with others so crucial?
Sometimes it seems as though interpersonal skills are optional and that hard skills like degrees and certifications are more significant than interpersonal skills.
Soft skills, however, are essential for success. A study conducted by Queens University of Charlotte found that 73% of top executives felt that soft skills were more important than job-specific skills, and 44% of them thought that soft skills made up the majority of the US skills gap.
Nearly 75% of employers in the same survey said that cooperation and teamwork were “very important.” But only 18% of workers receive feedback on their collaboration in their performance reviews.
Professional relationships are important for reasons beyond simply making our lives better. Gallup uses the question “do you have a best friend at work?” as part of its methodology to gauge effective management, which includes measuring relationships at work.
Success indicators typically rise when the response is in the affirmative. Women who strongly agree that they have a best friend at work are more than twice as likely to be engaged employees (63%) than 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 demand for remote team-building and bridging office-based positions with frontline or desk-less workers grows.
The importance of social ties
However, it goes beyond technology. Companies will need to comprehend how their employees interact and the value that these social interactions bring, as they will be depending more and more on the knowledge and skills of their workforce. That procedure has already started. In a recent report, the Economist Intelligence Unit attempted to ascertain how businesses can prioritize and support stronger social bonds and networks in order to facilitate better teamwork.
According to a survey conducted among more than 200 directors and C-Suite executives, executives deeply recognize the role that “social” media plays in fostering success. However, they also show the benefits that these kinds of social ties can have for both individuals and groups.
Businesses that score highly on traits linked to strong social capital—such as trust, openness, collaboration, and closeness to superiors and peers—are more likely to perceive themselves as innovators and to have higher current and projected revenue growth.
Workflows that are socialized, like staff members working together on a single task, increase quality and make sure that everyone is aware of decisions and methods of operation.
Companies that have higher self-reported social capital tend to onboard new employees more quickly; 35% of them say it takes less than two weeks.