“Teamwork is an individual skill.” – Avery, 2001
When team is effective, emotions of enjoyment overwhelm us leading to everyone in the team feeling satisfied. As productiveness increases, trust grows stronger and satisfaction enhances success and efficiency. The result is a productive team which easily reaches goals.
The question is how productive can teamwork be in a business setting? The answer can be quite simple: since we are egoistic beings and find content in success, if we commit ourselves to our team to that extent to be egoistic about it, our actions will be oriented toward the team succeeding.
Where lies the success of a team? It lies in an achieved common goal.
Does the same apply in the modern world to distant/virtual working? Of course it does. It has become obvious that the number of virtual businesses, virtual departments and virtual teams is on the increase. Cisco reports in their study from 2009 that virtual teams perform better. What was once an obstacle (such as working in an office), is now overcome (with the help of the internet and cloud platforms). Availability and no space constraints are the new reality. In addition, when talking about success, it is crucial to note that teams perform better when they are composed out of men and women, rather than homogenous groups.
A virtual platform, such as Tally Fox, can guarantee ease and safety of communication, increase in productivity and quality of performance through implementing the following teamwork strategies:
Commitment. There is not a single person in this world who has not learned from everyday experience that if we commit ourselves to something, we are already half way to succeeding. In fact, Canadian Olympic Gold medalist Adam Kreek lists commitment as the thing that determines whether a team will be made or broken. He believes that in order for a team to be effective, team members must let go of their ego, the need to control and in some cases their own ideas which have not been accepted by others.
It is, indeed, difficult to change attitudes, standards, routines and even work ethics. Committing to the team means embracing their attitudes, ideals and routines, growing closer to them and to the common goal.
