Teamwork is not an activity; it's a result. As with a professional sports team, it's the result of the focused efforts of each individual utilizing his or her skills expertly and playing an assigned position well.
A team succeeds because the individuals who make up the team:
- Understand the team's ultimate goal -- the objective
- Understand their individual roles in achieving that goal
- Accept full responsibility for performing their functions competently
Working Well with Others
However, a team player is not necessarily a "people person" who gets along well with co-workers or who "works well with others." After all, some people work well with others because others do all the work!
In fact, being a team player often has nothing to do with working with others to achieve a result. The team player may work among others or even side by side on the same project, but all members of the team must perform their functions independently to make any contribution to the team. Their contributions are their individual efforts.
That's not to imply that getting along with others is unimportant. As a matter of fact, in a productive environment, the most detrimental conflicts arise when people don't do their own jobs, so accepting individual responsibility is crucial to getting along well.
Ask yourself: If all the members of your team, behind the scenes and on the front lines, perform their functions skillfully and completely, would the ultimate goal of turning shoppers into buyers be achieved more frequently? Without a doubt.
The Real Source of Teamwork
Is it OK to rely upon or even demand more of some members of your team -- your top salespeople -- to sell more to make up for the weaknesses of the others? If you think so, don't count on any team spirit. And don't attempt to inspire the team as a group when you want to get things moving. Go straight to the source: the individual.
In your pursuit of team players, remember that these are simply people who are devoted to knowing and doing their job well. Their connections to the team lie in their constant awareness of the roles of the other players, the effects of their actions on the other players and their obligation to the other players to hold up their end of the bargain -- to carry their weight and carry it well.
Build your team with these kinds of players, and you'll win big.
Harry J. Friedman Founder/CEO, The Friedman Group