Myths

About Teamwork
 “Teamwork is a group of
individual interdependent
successful efforts.”
Are you struggling to keep your team on the right track and bring out the best results from
them? The reason behind this might be some of the myths related to teamwork that you
are following. Below we have discussed 14 teamwork myths that you must get rid of.
Myth # 1: Individuals aren't responsible for the quality of their team experience
because teamwork is a group skill.
Truth: This is a popular belief that causes even the smartest and most highly skilled individuals to
excuse their poor performance by saying, "I got put on a bad team." Individuals make a vast
difference on teams and should act on all of their personal abilities to affect their entire team's
performance.
Myth # 2 : Managers and consultants are responsible for building teams.
Truth: Teambuilding is a series of specific communications or conversations that occur between
people who share responsibility to get something done. Team members can and must learn to
have these conversations on their own, particularly since a manager or consultant isn't always
there.
Myth # 3: It all depends on the leader.
Truth: The most powerful thing a leader can do to foster effective collaboration is to create conditions
that help members competently manage themselves. The second most powerful thing is to launch the
team well. And then, third, is the hands-on teaching and coaching that leaders do after the work is
underway. Leaders are indeed important in collaborative work, but not in the ways we usually think.
Myth # 4 : Team members' skills are more important than their motivation.
Truth: When teamwork is important, skills should come after factors like drive, energy, interest,
motivation, and enthusiasm because it's shared desire-not talent- that creates teamwork. It's
also true that low motivation is more infectious on teams than high motivation. And while skilled
individuals act within their roles, committed team members improvise to get the job done.
Myth # 5: For a team to be really successful, its team members must like one
another.
Truth: Teams that encourage affinity for a shared task-not for one another-create the strongest
group cohesion. Rather than using exercises and techniques to promote friendships, they work
together to adopt a common focus so that team members see good reasons to work with one
another.
Myth # 6 : Harmony helps.
Truth : Conflict, when well managed and focused on a team's objectives, can generate more creative
solutions than one sees in conflict-free groups. So long as it is about the work itself, disagreements can
be good for a team. Indeed, slightly grumpy orchestras played a little better as ensembles than those
whose members worked together especially harmoniously.
Myth # 7 : New members bring energy and fresh ideas to a team.
Truth : The longer members stay together as an intact group, the better they do. As unreasonable
as this may seem, the research evidence is unambiguous. Whether it is a basketball team or a
string quartet, teams that stay together longer play together better.
Myth # 8 : Bigger is better. Larger groups have more resources to apply
to the work.
Truth : Excessive size is one of the most common--and also one of the worst—impediments
to effective collaboration. The larger the group, the higher the likelihood of social loafing
(sometimes called free riding), and the more effort it takes to keep members' activities
coordinated. Small teams are more efficient--and far less frustrating.
Myth # 9 : Team members must subordinate their self-interests for the
good of the team.
Truth: Responsible team members retain their personal power. They find a way to align their self-
interests with the team assignment, knowing that "going along" without passion or commitment
can take the team to where no member wants to go.
Myth # 10 : Team members must choose or compromise between getting the job
done and treating one another humanely.
Truth: The best teams believe that the task can get done and that team members
can have an extraordinary experience.
Myth # 11 : Teambuilding means taking time away from "real
work" at offsite events.
Truth: Teambuilding happens in the course of work.
Myth # 12 : A team that starts on the right track stays on the right track.
Truth: A number of events can occur during the life of a team to break the team's healthy
dynamics. To stay "built," team members should pinpoint problems as they arise and
address them immediately.
Myth # 13 : Face-to-face interaction is passé.
Truth : Teams working remotely are at a considerable disadvantage. There really are benefits to sizing
up your teammates face-to-face. A number of organizations that rely heavily on distributed teams have
found that it is well worth the time and expense to get members together when the team is launched,
again around the midpoint of the team's work, and yet again when the work has been completed.
Myth # 14 : Teamwork is magical. To gather up some really talented people and
tell them in general terms what is needed--the team will work out the details.
Truth : The best leaders provide a clear statement of just what the team is to accomplish, and they make
sure that the team has all the resources and supports it will need to succeed. Although you may have to
do a bit of political maneuvering to get what is needed for effective collaboration from the broader
organization, it is well worth the trouble.
 Leaders need to focus more on an individual team member consistently performing their unique
responsibility to the best of their ability so that teamwork can manifest. How a leader does this is
by effectively communicating the big picture and how that individual’s contribution makes a
difference in helping the team achieve its ultimate objective. Is it time to evaluate your team?
“Teamwork never fails,
individuals fail
teamwork!”

Thank You Very Much

Sompong Yusoontorn