The importance of teamwork (as proven by science) - Work Life

10 benefits of teamwork · 1. Great ideas don't come from lone geniuses · 2. Diverse perspectives help you come up with winning innovations · 3. Skiptocontent Atlassian’sfirst-everStateofTeamsreporthaslanded.LearnmoreaboutteamworktrendsfromknowledgeworkersacrosstheUnitedStatesandAustraliarighthere. × SubscribetoWorkLifeGetstoriesabouttechandteamsyourinboxSubscribe Overthepastfewyears,you’veprobablynoticedpeopletalkingalotmoreabouttheimportanceofteamworkandcollaboration.Open-officelayoutshavebecomethenormandteamproductivitytoolshaveexplodedinpopularity. Someseethisemphasisonopencollaborationasapassingfadorawaytoloweroverhead.Butagrowingbodyofresearchconfirmsthatwhenpeopleworktogether,smartly,itcanunleashenergythatboostscreativity,productivity,engagement,communication,andefficiency. “Eachindividualhasuniquegifts,andtalentsandskills,”saysJohnJ.Murphy,aspecialistinbusinesstransformationandauthorofPullingTogether:10RulesforHigh-PerformanceTeamwork.“Whenwebringthemtothetableandsharethemforacommonpurpose,itcangivecompaniesarealcompetitiveadvantage.” Teamworkisessentialtoacompany’ssuccess,saysMurphy.OK,butwhat’sinitforyou?Plenty.Scadsofrecentstudiesshowthatteammembersbenefitjustasmuchasthecorporationstheyworkfor.Lastyear,thejournalAmericanPsychologistreleased“TheScienceofTeamwork”–anentireissuededicatedtothepsychologyofcollaboration–packedwithevidencethatworkinginateamcanmakeyousmarter,morecreative,andmoresuccessful. Andthat’sjustforstarters.Herearealltheunexpectedwaysteamworkisworthit. 10benefitsofteamwork 1.Greatideasdon’tcomefromlonegeniuses AlbertEinsteingetsallthecreditfordiscoveringthetheoryofrelativity,butthetruthisthathereliedonconversationswithfriendsandcolleaguestorefinehisconcept.Andthat’salmostalwaysthecase. “Behindeverygeniusisateam,”saysMurphy.“Whenpeopleplayoffeachother’sskillsandknowledge,theycancreatesolutionsthatarepracticalanduseful.” That’swhyMurphyrecommendsthefirstthingyouneedtodoistoditchthetoo-pervasiveidolmentality.“TomBradyisallthat,butremember:hedoesn’twinSuperBowlsbyhimself.” 2.Diverseperspectiveshelpyoucomeupwithwinninginnovations AccordingtoFransJohansson,authorofTheMediciEffect,someofthemostinnovativeideashappenat“theintersection”–theplacewhereideasfromdifferentindustriesandculturescollide. GoDeeperReadmoreaboutDiversityinTechinourcuratedcollectionofarticlesonthesubject. “Mostpeoplethinksuccesscomesfromsurroundingyourselfwithothersthatarelikeyou,”saysJohansson.“Buttruesuccessandbreakthroughinnovationinvolvesdiscomfort.Discomfortpushesyoutogrow.Thisiswheredifferenceofexperience,opinion,andperspectivecomein.Diversityisawell-documentedpathwaytounlockingnewopportunities,overcomingnewchallenges,andgainingnewinsights.” ArecentreportfromtheconsultingfirmMcKinsey&Companybacksthisup.Itfoundteamsmadeupofmembersfromdiversebackgrounds(gender,age,ethnicity,etc.)aremorecreativeandperformbetterbyupto35percent,comparedtomorehomogeneousteams.Insteadoflookingatanissuefromyourindividualvantagepoint,yougeta360-degreepicture,whichcanleadtoanexponentialincreaseinideas. ResearchfromTuftsUniversitysuggeststhatjustbeingexposedtodiversitycanshiftthewayyouthink.Astudyonadiversemockjuryfoundthatinteractingwithindividualswhoaredifferentforcespeopletobemoreopenminded,andtoexpectthatreachingconsensuswilltakeeffort. 3.Teamworkcanmakeyouhappier Wesurveyedmorethan1,000teammembersacrossarangeofindustriesandfoundthatwhenhonestfeedback,mutualrespect,andpersonalopennesswereencouraged,teammemberswere80percentmorelikelytoreporthigheremotionalwell-being.Havinghappyemployeesisaworthwhilegoalinitself,butthecompanybenefits,too.ResearchfromtheUniversityofWarwickinEnglandsuggestshappyemployeesareupto20percentmoreproductivethanunhappyemployees.Andwhocouldn’tbenefitfromahappinessboost? 4.Whenyouworkinateam,yougrowasanindividual RelatedArticle What’syourvirtualmeetingIQ? BySarahGoff-Dupont InQuizzes Theremaybeno“I”inteam,butbeingpartofateamcanhelpyougrow.“Bysharinginformationandessentiallycrosstrainingeachother,eachindividualmemberoftheteamcanflourish,”saysMurphy.Youmightdiscovernewconceptsfromcolleagueswithdifferentexperiences.Youcanalsolearnfromsomeoneelse’smistakes,whichhelpsyousidestepfutureerrors. Youmightevenlearnsomethingnewaboutyourself,saysSusanMcDaniel,PhD,apsychologistattheUniversityofRochesterMedicalCenterandoneoftheguesteditorsof“TheScienceofTeamwork”. “Weallhaveblindspotsaboutourbehaviorsandstrengthsthatwemaybeunawareof,andfeedbackfromateammembercanexposethem,”shesays.Recognizingthesestrengthsandaddressingtheweaknessescanmakeyouabetterteammember,andevenabetterperson.“Maybeworkinginateamyou’lldiscoveryoucouldbeabetterlistener.That’saskillyoucangrowin,andthentakehomeandusetoimproveyourfamilyinteractions,”McDanielpointsout. 5.Sharingtheworkloadeasesburnout ArecentGallupstudyofnearly7,500full-timeemployeesfoundthat23percentofemployeesfeelburnedoutatworkveryoftenoralways.Another44percentsaytheysometimesfeelthisway.Whathelps?Sharingtheload. Teammemberscanprovideemotionalsupporttoeachotherbecausetheyoftenunderstandthedemandsandstressofcompletingworkevenbetterthanmanagers,saysBenWigert,leadresearcherforGallup’sworkplacemanagementpractice.Managersreadingthis:you’renotoffthehook.Thestudyalsofoundthatknowingyourbosshasyourbackalsoprotectsagainstburnout. 6.Dividingtheworkletsyougrowyourskills Collaborationintheworkplaceisn’tunliketeamworkonthebaseballdiamond.Whenthepitcherandoutfielderseachexcelattheirindividualroles,theteamhasabetterchanceofwinning. Offtheplayingfield,thatideaismoreimportantthanever.Changesintechnologyandincreasedglobalizationmeanthatorganizationsarefacingproblemssocomplexthatasingleindividualsimplycan’tpossessallthenecessaryknowledgetosolvethem,saysWigert.Whenteammembersusetheiruniqueskillstoshineintheirownroles,itcreatesanenvironmentbasedonmutualrespectandcooperationthatbenefitsthewholegroup,notesMurphy. 7.Recognitionfromotherteammemberscanimproveyourproductivity Gettingapatonthebackfromthebosscanboostanemployee’smotivation,butreceivingkudosfromateammembermaybeevenmoreeffective.The2014TINYpulseEmployeeEngagementandOrganizationalCultureReportsurveyedmorethan200,000employees.Participantsreportedthathavingtherespectoftheirpeerswasthe#1reasontheygotheextramileatwork. 8.Workinginateamhelpsyoutakerisksthatpayoff Whenyouworkalone,youmightbehesitanttoputyourneckontheline.Whatifanideayousuggestfallsflat?Whenyouworkonateam,youknowyouhavethesupportoftheentiregrouptofallbackonincaseoffailure.Thatsecuritytypicallyallowsteamstotakethekindofrisksthatcreate“Eureka!”ideas. Buthere’soneplacewheresizedoesmatter.Themostdisruptiveideasoftencomefromsmallteams,suggestsrecentresearchinthejournalNature,possiblybecauselargerteamsarguemore,whichcangetinthewayofcomingupwiththosebigideas. WhartonBusinessSchoolresearchersalsodiscoveredthatsmallisthesecrettosuccess:theyfoundthattwo-personteamstook36minutestobuildaLegofigurewhilefour-personteamstook52minutestofinish—morethan44percentlonger. There’snodefinitiveidealsmallteamsize,butconsiderfollowingAmazonCEOJeffBezos’2PizzaRule:nomatterhowlargeyourcompanygets,teamsshouldn’tbelargerthanwhattwopizzascanfeed. RelatedArticle Thebest(andmostfun)virtualteambuildingactivitiesfor2021 BySarahGoff-Dupont InTeamwork 9.Whenyouworkinateam,you’llfeellessstressed Ifyourteamhasgoodenergy–youencourageandinspireeachother,andyouhavefuntogether–you’llfeellessstressed,saysMurphy.“Studiesshowthatstressmakesusstupid,andleadsustomakemoremistakes,”saysMurphy. Ofcourse,theconverseisalsotrue:whenyourteamfeelslessfrazzled,you’llmakefewererrors.That’sworthkeepinginmind,especiallyifyou’reoneofthe61percentofworkerswhociteworkasasignificantsourceofstress. 10.Goodcommunicationboostsyourcreativity Stalesolutionsoftencomeoutofworkinginavacuum.Whenpeoplewithdifferentperspectivescometogetheringroupbrainstorms,ontheotherhand,innovativeideascanrisetothesurface–withonecaveat.Researchshowsthiscanonlyhappenwhencommunicationwithintheteamisopenandcollaborative,notesWigert.Themostcreativesolutionscanonlycomeupwhenthere’saleveloftrustthatletsteammembersask‘stupid’questions,proposeout-thereideas,andreceiveconstructivecriticism.  SubscribetoWorkLifeGetstorieslikethisinyourinboxSubscribe Theimportanceofteamwork(asprovenbyscience) Facebook Twitter Linkedin Pocket Email Email*