![\"Teamwork](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Teamwork-in-Workplace-cover.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nWhat is teamwork?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
According to the definition by the Cambridge Dictionary,<\/a> teamwork is the process of working together with a group of people, preferably, towards a successful outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By their definitions, both teams and workgroups have common goals, so it\u2019s often easy to assume that these two concepts are merely synonyms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, while a \u201cwork group\u201d implies that each individual is given a task they will work on independently to achieve a common goal or purpose, a \u201cteam\u201d implies a more collaborative, cohesive, interdependent endeavor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to P. Harris & K. Harris<\/a>, teamwork is built on individuals who employ their individual knowledge and skills to work together and form a joint effort to reach that common goal or purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The simplest examples of teamwork can be found in sports. Every player has their own role and plays the best of their ability. But at the same time, they help boost each other\u2019s morale and work to achieve the goal. Together, they have enough general knowledge of the sport (and each other\u2019s roles) to be able to excel within its rules and limitations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The odds of a single basketball player scoring a point going against an opposing team are close to none.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In much the same way, there are no actual \u201cloner wolves\u201d in regular workplaces. Everyone chips in a little to keep the company moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, when a startup company releases an update for their app, other members of the team test it out and contribute feedback \u2013 it\u2019s not just the job of the QA department. Or, when a product manager needs to write a description that involves various technical terms, the programmers can help with their input instead of leaving the product manager to research and possibly miss some key features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like a sports team wanting to win a match, the employees want to see the business thrive. Similar to a trophy and a high ranking on a roster, it brings its own benefits: raises<\/a>, better working conditions, days off<\/a>, promotions, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With successful teamwork, a company can rise above and beyond its mission and vision. And as cheesy as it can sound, successful workplace teamwork pushes forward the personal development of everyone involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, this occurs because:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Employees don\u2019t need to go out for drinks or hang out personally to be effective teammates. In fact, the common thread that should connect them in the office is knowing each of them is an important part of the whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When everyone feels like their presence and work not only matters but also helps their colleagues, you have one happy employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The benefits of teamwork on boosting office morale are even proved by science \u2014 several studies<\/a> indicate that we are psychologically wired to feel better when working in a team, than working alone. This may manifest in the form of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When teamwork culture is nurtured the right way, it creates a great support system. People help each other with minor work issues, meet deadlines sooner, and are more likely to reach out and be honest about any mistakes. This begins to transfer to their personal life as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In general, teamwork allows the members of the team to take more risks and think outside of the box \u2014 in case they fail in some way, they have the support structure of the team to fall back on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are a part of a functional, accountable team, teamwork has the potential to reduce your stress levels at work \u2014 research<\/a> published at Oxford Research Encyclopedias shows that sharing responsibility for a workload makes you feel less pressured. On the other hand, an employee who is handling a heavy workload alone, is more likely to get overworked<\/a>, which may lead to burnout<\/a>. There is a psychological factor behind such findings. When you work alone, you\u2019re more likely to feel overwhelmed, and the \u201cblame\u201d of potential failure is all on you. But, when the work is divided into several tasks and assigned to team members, the tasks are perceived as easier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contrary to popular belief, some conflict and differences in opinion in the workplace are fertile ground for improvement. This kind of environment breeds good ideas and gets people to consider other perspectives and approaches to common problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, teamwork implies a blend of different skills and knowledge \u2014 so, the less experienced professionals are likely to learn something new and useful from their more experienced coworkers, even if you don\u2019t practice direct mentorship relationships within the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mark Twain once said<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n So, we may think that our ideas are unique, but we subconsciously draw most of them from our mental depositories of existing concepts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When two people hold a brainstorming session, they double the size of their depositors and repurpose \u201cnew\u201d ideas from a larger kaleidoscope of concepts. The more people are involved in the process, the more potential concepts you have to work with \u2014 this is called collective intelligence<\/a> and it grows with constant collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, everything we\u2019ve said so far makes it seem like teamwork is key to a tight-knit workforce. And on paper, the benefits are indisputable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But in most cases, transforming a group of employees into a team can be extremely difficult for multiple reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are all so different in the way we do things, perceive them, which ideals we uphold, and it all transfers to our workplace. These things alone can create friction among employees, or in other cases \u2013 cliques.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With such a starting point, it can be very difficult to achieve unity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How will you know who gets along and who has the potential to come to blows with one another?<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, personalities clash and click in ways we can\u2019t predict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remote teams suffer greatly from this handicap. People have an innate desire to connect and belong to a group. And despite living in a digital age, we still prefer face-to-face communication. After all, body language accounts for an astounding 93% of our communication<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n People connect better when they\u2019re in each other\u2019s presence. Two colleagues who sit across from each other are likely to communicate easier and avoid misunderstandings than those who can only see each other\u2019s chat messages. We know from experience how much of the message gets lost in texts, chats, and emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 While it\u2019s hard to achieve perfection while trying to connect remote workers, you can still have high functioning remote teams. If this topic is of special interest to you, we have further reading in our post that discusses remote team management<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n The internal structure of a company and all changes within it very much dictate how teams will operate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Imagine having several teams and each of them works like a dream. They\u2019re in sync, the projects are running smoothly, problems are being solved relatively quickly and without a hitch\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But then comes a change \u2013 some team members leave the company, or there is a need for a switch-up of team members due to a new project or deadline. And all of a sudden, there\u2019s unrest between teams because people have grown accustomed to different modes of work. There is no universal set of rules and ideals to go by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have probably worked with people who seem very defensive when receiving criticism, are more likely to put blame on factors other than themselves, or think they can do no wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These kinds of people are the first to cause friction within a team. Their fear of failure and public shame makes them shirk accountability for their actions. And before you jump to any conclusions \u2013 a Harvard Business Review study<\/a> had famously proved that only 10-15% of employees within a company are actually self-aware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of team members will be aware of their strengths and abilities but ignore their weaknesses. For teams, this is bad because they won\u2019t know where to jump in and compensate when problems arise. This is why self-awareness is one of the biggest hurdles to cross.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to improve teamwork, you can first take a page, two, or a dozen, from examples of companies who already thrive because of successful teamwork. Moreover, you can also follow and implement additional, tried-out advice and tips on how to tweak work within your team, in order to build a creative and harmonious work environment for your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you better understand the concept of successful teamwork, here is how giants such as Google, Starbucks, Marvel Entertainment, Four Seasons, and Pixar approach collaboration within a team \u2014 and, more importantly, what you can learn from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Google hardly needs further introductions in terms of why they are considered a successful company, but many may not know that a large portion of their success comes from impeccable teamwork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After all, Google has even made the effort to scrutinize what makes the perfect team, and, as it turns out, it\u2019s not the perfect mix of the right individuals \u2014 it\u2019s the feeling of psychological safety<\/a> that may dictate how the said individuals interact with each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Psychological safety represents a shared belief that the team members are safe to take interpersonal risks, open up, and share with their teammates \u2014 and, according to Google, this factor is the most important one if you\u2019re looking to build a successful team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to establish psychological safety, team members need to respect each other’s opinions and emotions, have their own emotions and opinions respected by others, but also feel like they contribute to the joint endeavor equally. Such freedom helps people speak their minds, explore their creativity, and cultivate great ideas as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although various factors also build to its success, great teamwork has helped Google become the most valuable company in the world, with a worth of around $520bn<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main point to learn from teamwork at Google:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you establish psychological safety in your team and help everyone feel equally heard, valued, and appreciated, you help unleash creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nowadays, you can find a Starbucks at every corner. And, it may come as a surprise, but this expansion started way back in the 1990s<\/a>, when Howard Schultz, then the chairman and CEO of the company, started opening hundreds of stores across the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, this chain of coffeehouses was nowhere near as successful back in the day, and the expansion was deemed too ambitious for its own good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problems lied in customer service, employee engagement, but also a lack of proper communication between various levels of the Starbucks company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything changed in 1995 when Howard Behar took over as president of the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He focused on cultivating a work environment that would meet the needs of the employees, which proved crucial in helping the said employees serve their customers better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once everyone in Starbucks understood that they shouldn\u2019t just be offering excellent coffee, but also excellent customer experience, the business quickly blossomed into a multinational endeavor and the largest coffeehouse chain in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main point to learn from teamwork at Starbucks:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you cultivate the right work environment, you encourage the team to focus on providing a better customer experience, which is equally important for expansions and success, next to the impeccable quality of the products and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just like the Avengers themselves, the writers and comic artists who invented them also needed to assemble, in order to make a name for the Marvel comics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stan Lee would come up with an idea, and Jack Kirby (the comic book artists behind Captain America and the Hulk) or Steve Ditko (the comic book artist behind Spider-Man and Doctor Strange) would bring his ideas to comic-drawn life. The completed boards would then go to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These boards would later be sent to the printer before being distributed to comic book stores and sold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As evident, all the listed members of the team had separate obligations, but, they had to communicate and collaborate well with one another, in order to form a cohesive (and profitable) comic book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As just a small example from the entire comic book process, the writers and comic book artists needed to work together closely, in order to flesh out the now-iconic characters, build their conflicts, and guide their stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a result of a well-knit process (and a lot of great ideas), Marvel Entertainment grew over time, from a typical collection of children\u2019s comics to a global phenomenon<\/a> acquired by Disney in 2009, with over 20 blockbuster hits under its belt thus far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main point to learn from teamwork at Marvel Entertainment:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you ensure everything is well-communicated, you ensure that you get the end result you want.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Steve Wynn, the founder of Wynn Resort & Casino, the famous hotel chain, Four Seasons, can pride itself on impeccable teamwork that delights its guests. Namely, while he was vacationing in Paris, he stayed with his family in the Parisian branch of the Four Seasons hotel chain, where he witnessed an unusual, but not unwelcome practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On one morning, his daughter left half of a croissant from their breakfast selection for later, and the family went to explore the city. Once they returned, the croissant was gone, so they assumed that the housekeeper had removed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, they then found a message from the front desk on the telephone that elaborated on the following chain of events:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Wynn concluded, every member of the hotel staff understood their roles in establishing impeccable customer satisfaction and made every effort to fulfill the said roles. So, it\u2019s no wonder that Four Seasons is one of the leading, luxury hotel names in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main point to learn from teamwork at Four Seasons:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n When everyone fulfills their role within a team, customer satisfaction thrives, and the name of the brand gains recognition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In November 2000, Steve Jobs purchased an abandoned canning factory spanning across 16 acres \u2014 this was to be Pixar\u2019s new headquarters. The original plan involved three separate buildings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, Jobs scrapped this architectural plan in favor of a single space, that included an atrium at its center<\/a>. This atrium was envisioned as a workspace suitable for the employees from different departments to interact with one another, in a space akin, but still different from an open office<\/a>. So, Jobs made the effort to encourage people from different departments to go to the atrium, meet, and interact. He first moved the mailboxes to the atrium. Next were the meeting rooms, the cafeteria, the coffee shop, but also the gift shop, and even the only available set of bathrooms. Computer scientists, animators, and executives had ample opportunities to meet and interact, which helped the Pixar team create at least a dozen box office hits and instant classics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The main point to learn from teamwork at Pixar:<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you increase the chances of people from different departments interacting with one another, you help the team see a wider picture of their common goals, and work together towards the said goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following in the footsteps of companies who already understand the importance of great teamwork and how to establish it, is just the start \u2014 here is what HR consultants, culture coaches, communication and conflict management coaches, people and culture development experts, solutions coaches, and other relevant experts, studies, and general tips have to reveal about creating and promoting teamwork in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Biljana Rakic<\/b>, our very own head of HR and people and culture development expert here at Clockify<\/a> by CAKE.com, emphasizes the importance of introducing the right values early on, in order to help the team make the joint effort towards a common goal:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen talking about teamwork, we are actually talking about the values \u200b\u200bwe share as a group of people. It sets us apart from others, directs us straight towards the goal, and helps us achieve better results. The values \u200b\u200bthat are important should be promoted by the team of leaders, superiors, and the management, and these values include:<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Rakic<\/b> further emphasizes, providing recognition to individual team members is another crucial factor in helping people cultivate the motivation to pursue their roles and responsibilities within a team:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn increasing engagement while achieving a goal, recognition is crucial, both on the level of the team and on the level of the individuals. A person who feels appreciated will always do more than what is expected. When people feel that their work has a purpose and contributes to the development of something or someone, when they see their business goals clearly and strive for them, they will always do more, and will always approach every future task with increased motivation.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Demonstrating the importance of each employee can be done in several different ways, in accordance with team members, their characteristics, and aspirations. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n One convenient solution for this is to implement joint meetings, during which values \u200b\u200bcan be connected with the content of the work, tasks, etc. In addition to clear goals and measurable achievements, it is necessary to reflect from time to time, to remind yourself of past work, and the valuable results you already achieved.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Lorraine Segal<\/b>, a communication and conflict management coach who offers solutions for a harmonious and productive workplace at Conflict Remedy<\/a>, successful teamwork requires the team leads to perform some preparations in advance, and think about how they want to approach their duties:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEstablishing successful teamwork in a workplace starts before the team even meets \u2014 in setting your intention as a team lead and then following through. That\u2019s easier than trying to make changes once bad patterns are established.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n To highlight her point, she offers an example of how you can best set your intention as a team lead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou can set guidelines for yourself as a leader and for the group. Here are some I\u2019ve found most helpful. First and most important, believe and demonstrate that everyone has something of value to offer, that different views and expertise strengthen team decisions and problem-solving. And then act accordingly. In meetings, both group and one-on-one, help people feel comfortable to contribute, by welcoming all ideas, making space for people who aren\u2019t naturally outspoken, and thanking people for their efforts and contributions. Keep meeting topics and goals clear, including who is responsible for which follow-up action.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Nathaniel<\/strong> Measley<\/b>, the founder of Your Culture Design<\/a> and a culture coach who has worked in HR\/Talent, Development & Training for nearly 15 years, you should devote extra time to building your team early on, and getting to know them better, in order to understand how working with them may be like in the future:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnsure team members not only know each others’ capabilities, but personalities, characteristics, goals, and previous experiences and backgrounds. Energy upfront when forming or developing teams will save time, money, and energy later on. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the life of any project, any team may win or lose. It is important to know how people will respond. It will help to form a response from others. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, talent plays a factor in how successful your team will be with their projects. But, in order to reach success, you should also harbor communication \u2014 Measley<\/b> further advises that you should also give your employees enough space to get to know themselves<\/i> as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAllow individuals to work on themselves, their own skills, knowledge, and approaches. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Allow those individuals to share those results with others who are practicing active listening. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n The better and deeper a team understands themselves, and those around them, the better they can complete tasks and overcome challenges. After all, teamwork and communication can win over talent in most scenarios.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n To help you get to know your employees, but also help them understand themselves better, you can turn to professional assessments of employee personalities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, the now-famous Myers Briggs personality test<\/a> is globally used by HR to assess their employees in terms of personality type:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understanding this will help HR, managers, but also employees themselves understand what kind of workers they have (or are), the ways in which they accept and give criticism, or how they are likely to behave in certain situations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most importantly, this data will provide invaluable insight when assembling teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Time tracking software used by millions. Clockify is a time tracker and timesheet app that lets you track work hours across projects.<\/p>\n\n We come in all shapes, sizes and with a myriad of different personalities. It\u2019s only natural some of us will cooperate better, while others will clash more often. Looking into the previously mentioned MBTI tests and engaging your HR or professional coaches to discuss office communication can help greatly. Conflict breeds new ideas and expands the perceptions of others. It can be good and constructive when solved with dialogue instead of office outbursts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Laura MacLeod<\/b>, an HR consultant, a licensed social worker who specializes in group work, and a Licensed Master Social Worker at From The Inside Out Project\u00ae<\/a>, good leadership, and a clear purpose are the two pillars on which successful teamwork is built on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClear and authoritative leadership helps create structure, expectations, and accountability. But, you mustn’t forget to also nurture leadership that welcomes all voices and collaboration. <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n When it comes to the purpose, it answers the question of \u201d What’s the end result the team is working toward? We all need to know WHY \u2014 what’s the benefit and reason for actively participating and contributing?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n She illustrates how work in a team may look like if you disregard the above points:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have many examples of poor and ineffective teamwork due to the failure of the above. Ex: Staff group at a non-profit agency. The direction is authoritarian and punitive (get clients or we’ll need to lay you off) and the staff is anxious and burned out. No recognition of this and no emotional support in a tough time.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n She provides an example of positive and effective teams that mirror how successful teamwork in the workplace can also look like \u2014 the example involves her classroom where she teaches as a professor in an MSW program:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy class is taught as a group \u2014 I am clearly in charge \u2014 assignments and expectations are clear. I model a culture of participation \u2014 I invite students \u2014 no forcing, no putting on the spot. I reach out because I want to hear what they have to say and I make it clear that the group will benefit too. We collaborate. Student sharing \u2014 whatever it may be \u2014 contributes to the learning.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Until people get to really know their employees and coworkers, it\u2019s all too easy to form prejudices and stick to old rivalries. These are big obstacles towards true teamwork, and Segal<\/b> proposes you make the effort to better understand the people from your work environment, and work on forming a partnership with them instead:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI helped one newly merged team at a mid-sized corporation work together successfully after having been rivals. The key here was helping the two leaders model deep listening and collaboration.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Letting go of judgments that are not fact-based is also helpful. One of my recent coaching clients, a CFO at an investment firm, said one member of her team, \u201cDidn\u2019t want to learn.\u201d I challenged her to reframe, and instead assumed the person did want to learn; I then asked herself and the other person: <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat is getting in the way of her learning? What is missing or blocking her?\u201d <\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n When the CFO worked on this, she was able to release her assumptions and shift their interactions toward shared problem-solving. They were able to work together in an effective and mutually respectful way after that.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n We already talked about how a lack of self-awareness encourages people to be defensive towards criticism, while fear of public shaming encourages people to avoid accountability. The key here is to place a greater emphasis on finding solutions than assigning blame. When mistakes are made, they should be addressed respectfully and without pressure. Alternatively, when we concentrate more on the person behind the mistake than on finding the solution, we unknowingly ostracize them. Which makes them more likely to hide their mistakes next time or deflect responsibility completely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \ud83d\udca1 With a time tracker like Clockify<\/a>, you can solve the issue of self-awareness by simply creating projects within the software, and assign team members to their tasks\/roles. Then, as they track their time, you have complete transparency over who is doing what at any given time. The more transparency there is, the less finger-pointing incidents you\u2019ll experience as a team.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n As we\u2019ve already established, nothing good can come from a stressful work environment \u2014 and, Rakic<\/b> proposes that you make a conscious effort to introduce specific stress-relieving activities into your team\u2019s routine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is important to recognize people’s right to rest and connect the work itself with a space for stress relief and rest. For this purpose, it is a great solution to organize stress relief meetings, i.e. smaller events meant to help you recognize that fatigue at work is a normal thing and that there is also room for rest in a professional setting \u2014 because, after a good rest, great results are achieved.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n Brainstorming sessions are a great way to launch the team\u2019s initiative and help people understand how everyone thinks, but also handle decision-making and problem-solving processes together. By proxy, these sessions are great to rundown everyone\u2019s ideas and select the best ones to further develop them, together. By holding regular brainstorming sessions, you\u2019ll encourage participation and collaboration. It\u2019s also a great way to help a new team get acquainted, introduce new team members, or introduce a new project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This point is actually tied to the previous point \u2014 in order to make the decision-making and problem-solving processes a joint effort and hold successful brainstorming sessions, the team members will need to be open to new ideas and suggestions. Everyone should feel encouraged to come forward with ideas and suggest different approaches to practices that may not be ideal in your workflow. If you are a team lead, try to make others more comfortable with accepting other people\u2019s ideas, by making it clear that your own ideas are also always open for further interpretations and improvements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be a true team player, you\u2019ll need to be willing to share your resources, knowledge, but also expertise in general, with the rest of the team. So, encourage people to be open about their processes, to ask for, and seek help, but also to contribute to all ideas they feel they have relevant expertise in. Once again, if you are a team lead, it\u2019s best that you approach this practice by setting an example yourself \u2014 make it clear that you are also more than willing to share your expertise on any matter you can help your team with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CEO of PDRI and an expert in building organizational and team capabilities that translate into business growth, Elaine Pulakos<\/a>, wrote about companies that employ what she calls \u201cARA \u2013 Adaptability, Resilience, and Agility\u201d. These are three qualities that ensure the workforce withstands any and all changes and bounces back as quickly as possible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When a company instills these or similar values in its employees, it becomes much easier to handle change and not buckle under stress. So instead of making every team function for themselves, enable each employee to work in any combination.<\/p>\n\n\n\nWhy is teamwork in the workplace important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork builds and boosts office morale<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Teamwork provides a support system<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork lowers stress levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork facilitates a constant learning environment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork builds \u201ccollective intelligence\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Why does teamwork seem difficult to achieve?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Vast differences in personality types impede teamwork overall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The lack of physical proximity impedes communication<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
People find it difficult to adapt to company changes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A lack of self-awareness makes people defensive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to promote effective teamwork in your organization
![\"How](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/How-to-create-and-promote-teamwork-in-the-workplace-cover-2.png\")
<\/h2>\n\n\n\nTeamwork in the workplace examples \u2014 what you can learn from other companies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork at Google, and what you can learn from it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork at Starbucks, and what you can learn from it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Teamwork at Marvel Entertainment, and what you can learn from it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Teamwork at Four Seasons, and what you can learn from it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Teamwork at Pixar, and what you can learn from it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Additional advice on how to promote teamwork in the workplace<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/How-to-create-and-promote-teamwork-in-the-workplace-cover-3.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nEstablish and promote clear values<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Provide recognition when and where due<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Define your intention as a team lead<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Help employees get to know each other (and understand themselves better)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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![\"Illustration\"](\"https:\/\/clockify.me\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/cake-blog\/theme\/images\/banners\/clockify\/default@2x.png)
\n <\/picture>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n\n\nDon\u2019t try to prevent conflict \u2013 mitigate it<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Establish good leadership and a clear purpose<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Let go of prejudices (and rivalries)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Concentrate on solutions, not mistakes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Help the team relieve their stress levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Hold regular brainstorming sessions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Encourage people to be open to suggestions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Encourage people to share their expertise<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Make the company changes easier to process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Encourage people to focus on the bigger picture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n