Team Building and Collaboration

“Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people” – Steve Jobs 

One of the fourteen principles of administration given by Henry Fayol was “spirit de corps”, meaning that the organization must inculcate feelings of mutual loyalty and maintain group cohesion among members of the organization. Collaboration and team building lead to the joint action of the members of an organization working together to achieve the same goals. A collaborative mindset can be developed by encouraging and equipping the team members for actively participating in the group dynamic. 

Teamwork and collaboration can only be achieved if the people have the following qualities among them and if they thrive and work effectively in the professional environment.

1. Communication
2. Coordination
3. Cooperation

Communication is a key element in forming a collaborative team and working together. Good communication skills are required by all members of a team so they can interact together more professionally and this will improve their relationship with them as well. 

Coordination is a concept close to collaboration and teamwork in the sense that it is about working together and achieving efficiency in that work and telling people how and when they must do a certain task. It is the first organizational skill a group must have because if there is no coordination among the team members doing different tasks then it can never accomplish its goals.

Cooperation is another integral element of team building and collaboration and involves two or more people sharing ideas and activities in an informal process. This requires the least amount of dependence on other team members. 

Team building exercises are performed to improve the defined roles of the team members, and their communication and interpersonal skills. A collaborative team includes members having versatile and specialized skillsets, and belonging to diverse areas of expertise, which resolve their differences and work together as a group to accomplish the similar goals regardless of the animosity between them. A collaborative leader is not an ultimate authority rather someone who facilitates and leads the team members in their collective efforts.

Even though collaboration can spur multiple benefits for an organization, its success depends on the commitment of the team to work together, whether they have established some ground rules, if they have the required skillsets, and respect each other’s differences.

Some benefits of team building and collaboration include:

1. Increased productivity and output
2. Decreased conflict
3. Development of an interdependent and competitive organization
4. Learning from people of different backgrounds and expertise
5. Efficient and time-saving
6. Sharing of creative ideas
7. Networking
8. Principle-based decisions instead of power