Working in a team environment

Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

 Identify team, team parameters, relationships, and responsibilities.

 Utilize resources efficiently and effectively to manage work priorities and commitments; and
 make appropriate contributions to complement the team activities and objectives.

Pretest: FIND YOUR MATCH

Direction: True or False. Write T if the statement is correct and F if incorrect.

1. Culture is the shared values of the people in the team.

2. People on a team collaborate on sets of related tasks required for the object’s completion.
3. The primary role of a team is to search for resources, competencies, skills, and bandwidth to
achieve organizational objectives.
4. Teamwork creates outcomes that make better use of resources and richer ideas.
5. The benefits of teamwork include increased effectiveness, the ability to focus different minds on
the same problem, and mutual support.

Team: composed of two or more people working together.

(Definitions from Oxford Languages)

A team is a group of people who work together toward a common goal.

Teamwork creates outcomes that make better use of resources and procedure richer ideas. Being in a
team increase higher efficiency works at a faster speed, provides a more thoughtful idea, and
contributes to greater effectiveness.

TEAM VS GROUP

Team: a unit of two or more people who interact regularly and coordinate their work to accomplish a
shared goal or purpose.

- have common goals

Key Components:

1. Two or more individuals

2. Work together regularly
 3. Share a goal or purpose

Group: comprises three or more people who recognize themselves as a distinct unit or department, but
who work independently of each other to achieve their goals.

- have individual goals

Characteristics of Effective Teamwork

An effective team accomplishes its goals in a way that meets the standards set by those who evaluate its
performance.

Shared values – a common set of beliefs and principles about how and why the team members will work
together.

Mutual trust – confidence between team members that each puts the best interest of the team ahead of
individual priorities.

An inspiring vision – a clear direction that motivates commitment to a collective effort.

Skill/Talent – the combined abilities and expertise to accomplish the required tasks and work
productively with others.

The Role of Teams in Organizations

The Team Environment Encourages Reasonable Risks

- The team creates an environment in which people are comfortable taking action. Team
members trust each other. Team members are not punished for disagreeing; disagreement is
expected and appreciated.

Respectful Communication is the Norm

- Communication is open, honest, and respectful. People feel free to express their thoughts,
opinions, and potential solutions to problems. People feel as if they are heard out and listened
to by team members who are attempting to understand. Team members ask questions to clarify
and spend their thought time listening deeply rather than forming rebuttals while their co-
worker is speaking.

Strong Sense of Group Commitment

- Team members have a strong sense of belonging to the group. They experience a deep
commitment to the group’s decisions and actions. This sense of belonging is enhanced and
reinforced when the team spends the time to develop team norms or relationship guidelines
together.

Team Members are Viewed as Unique People

 - Team members are viewed as unique people with irreplaceable experiences, points of view,
knowledge, and opinions to contribute. After all, the purpose of forming a team is to take
advantage of the differences.

Creativity and Innovation are the Norms

- Creativity, innovation, and different viewpoints are expected and encouraged. The team
members recognize that the strength of having a team is that every member brings diverseness
to the effort to solve a problem, improve a process, reach a goal, or create something new and
exciting.

Engages in Continues Improvement

- The team can constantly examine itself and continuously improve its process, practices, and
interaction of team members. The team openly discusses team norms and what may be
hindering its ability to move forward and progress in areas of effort, talent, and strategy.

Solves Teamwork Problems and Conflicts

- The team has agreed-upon procedures for diagnosing, analyzing, and resolving teamwork
problems and conflicts. The team does not support member personality conflicts and clashes
nor do team members pick sides in a disagreement. Rather, members work towards the mutual
resolution of problems and disagreements.

Keys to Team Success

Teams can benefit from team-building activities focused on helping groups of employees come together
as one.

One of the most important factors is follow-up. An activity should be designed to