Comments on: Teamwork Gems & Newly Defined Create Startling Results

By: Kate Nasser

Kate Nasser — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:29:02 +0000

Love your comment about the “how did we get here” conversation. By then, it’s often too late. Thanks for contributing Joshua. I am always glad to see your teamwork insights!
Kate

By: Kate Nasser

Kate Nasser — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:27:40 +0000

Absolutely Guy. You stated it so clearly — self-aware individuals who are able to work with others without getting their stuff all over them! Bravo.
Kate

By: Guy Farmer

Guy Farmer — Tue, 17 May 2011 19:32:11 +0000

Great ideas Kate. I really like the concept of people looking within first and then working with each other to create a successful team. Effective teams are often made up of self-aware individuals who are able to work with others without getting their stuff all over them.

By: Joshua Symonette

Joshua Symonette — Tue, 17 May 2011 13:33:49 +0000

Love this post Kate! I like to say that teamwork is an on-going relationship. You have to work on it constantly or it will dissolve. Before you know it, you are having one of those “how did we get here conversations”. One of the biggest barriers to the relationship is embracing conflict. Great teams understand that it is a necessary component to finding the best solutions.

By: Susan Mazza

Susan Mazza — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:24:27 +0000

One of the things I like about your new definition of teamwork is that it begins to crack the context of teamwork being a bunch of individuals with assigned tasks (implied in “working”) and shifts the context to the need to do what it takes to be successful (implied in your use of the word “adapting”).

The metaphor of the gems is also very creative and especially appreciate you putting the “I” back in Team. Until everyone relates to the success of the team as being up to them as individuals there isn’t a team, just a collection of people who commit only to do their part without owning the success of the whole team.

By: Jesse Stoner

Jesse Stoner — Thu, 12 May 2011 23:20:45 +0000

Great post, Kate. I think you are totally on target. Change-ability is the hallmark of a great team – the ability to flexibly adapt to an ever changing environment. I love your metaphor – clever and creative.

By: Joe Williams

Joe Williams — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:55:31 +0000

Thinking about emerald, how does one get dissenters to be constructive? Here is my thought. Most of the time the resistance of the dissenters arises from a fear of change. Therefore, get the dissenters involved in identifying what is best about the status quo – those things that ought to be preserved, or the standards that must be met – as a way to get from critic to contributor.

By: Kate Nasser

Kate Nasser — Thu, 12 May 2011 16:26:32 +0000

Chris .. I love the “mutual accountability” aspect you mention. I do believe that “adapting to changes” needs to be a part of the definition of teamwork!

Thanks for your addition to this post.
Kate

By: Chris Edmonds

Chris Edmonds — Thu, 12 May 2011 13:14:13 +0000

Great post, Kate! Thought provoking, to be sure. At Blanchard we use a slightly different definition of teams: “Two or more people who must work together to accomplish a common purpose and are mutually accountable for the results.” It is critical to embed mutual accountability to ensure the right results are delivered consistently – your post hits that hard!

Cheers!

By: Simona

Simona — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 20:57:10 +0000

Wonderful lessons of teamwork dear Kate!
I don’t have anything to add, only to say thank you for these useful advises.

My best regards,

By: Anne Egros

Anne Egros — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 11:56:57 +0000

Hi Kate Your article gives a perfect vision on what teamwork means today for success.
Anne

By: Audrey Williams

Audrey Williams — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 19:46:42 +0000

The usage of the Gems to define Teamwork is an excellent idea since it has given new meaning with focus on the “I” in the team. The major factor is “Self Esteem” (beginning from the inner-man) since this initiates your contributions to the team by being flexible and adaptable to the learning culture, builds confidence in the leader, success through a combination of various activities and recognition for your worth as an individual.

By: Kate Nasser

Kate Nasser — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:55:59 +0000

Hi Liam,
Thanks for commenting on my teamwork post. As for the change aspect, I wasn’t speaking of changing processes — I was speaking of team members willing to change their attitudes, interactions, etc… That is what makes teamwork work! It is the missing link. People come to a team, have a common goal, maybe even inspired to give their all — yet they don’t think of adapting to others’ personality types, listening with another listening style, understanding how they come across to others, and working on honesty w/diplomacy, and the list goes on.

Your reply pointed out that I could have made that distinction clearer and I thank you for that!
Warmest wishes,
Kate Nasser

By: Liam

Liam — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 11:10:08 +0000

Hi Kate

Thanks for showing me this.

This is an interesting angle on teamwork.

I think it’s very important to validate the individuals within the team. All too often, in working environments I have seen, ‘teamwork’ becomes another word for a totalitarian culture where a person’s personality, experience and values have no value.

Regarding the change aspect, I would tread with caution, because there are a great many teams which are required to conduct operations but not change them, and any changes have to go through a long and elaborate change request process before they will even be considered. On the other hand, if teams were more engaged in the manner you suggested, then the ‘front line’ workers might pay more attention to their processes and suggest improvements using the meetings as a filter before the change requests get submitted.

This might improve the quality of the change requests.

Best wishes

Liam

By: Laura Rivchun

Laura Rivchun — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 04:31:57 +0000

Very clever, Kate. I agree with Ric that your usage of gems is a great way to illustrate a point. I particularly like the comparison you make on the “emerald” gem to the Wizard of Oz.

Teamwork is important in every aspect of our lives. It shows a sense of committment, fair play and enthusiasm. People tend to be creative when working in a team environment and learn things about themselves they wouldn’t have otherwise. When I was a recruiter, being a “teamplayer” was always at the top of the client’s “requirements” list. No one works in a vacuum. It’s a great feeling knowing your contribution has made a difference. Your success is the team’s success and vice versa. One of my financial clients said, “I want an employee who has a sense of ownership”. That ownership should be a shared experience.

You hit the nail right on the head with this one, Kate. Kudos to you.

Keep the gems coming!
Laura