How to ensure you’re part of a winning team
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Working in a team can be a daunting task because of different personalities and work styles. However, there are a few strategies you can use to ensure you are a part of an effective team:
- Set specific goals for each of your assigned tasks. Formulate each goal around the: who, what, when, where, why and how. A recent study released by Leadership IQ, a training company based in Washington, DC, found that women were 5% more likely than men to put off acting on a goal because they could not mentally visualize what they wanted to achieve. Use the 5 W’s and 1-H to enlighten the group of your vision as your colleagues’ may unearth “gray” areas in your goals.
- Consider your strengths and weaknesses. In The Globe and Mail article, The Power of Teamwork, author Wallace Immen says to “make yourself aware of your colleagues’ strengths and skills”. By first identifying where you stand with respect to your skill level, you can then feed off your groups’ strengths to fill in any voids-and they can do the same.
- Learn to Compromise. Within any team, there will be conflict and often compromise is the best way to deal with it. According to Ralph Kilmann and Kenneth Thomas, who developed conflict styles, “compromise is useful when the cost of conflict is higher than the cost of losing ground”. Discuss the ideas and come to a reasonable compromise between both parties. Show your willingness to change by using words like “possibly” and “alternatively” in your discussion.
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