Working Efficiently In A Team

Every year more companies encourage their employees to work in teams. Some tasks and projects can be completed better, faster and more efficiently in a team. But the truth is that working in a team can also be very stressful. There may be differences of opinion, tension or conflict between the members, the team does not achieve the desired result or it is much slower than expected. Well, how do you then work efficiently in a team?

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.”

Michael Jordan

What exactly does it mean to work efficiently in a team?

Companies use teamwork for a very specific reason: to achieve their goals. So it would make sense to assume that a team will work efficiently if they take the given steps in the allotted time, right? While this is an efficiency factor, it is by no means the only one.

It is also important to check that members develop a group identity while working as a team. Why is that so important? Because it makes the team more sustainable, i.e. more efficient over a longer period of time. With a group identity, colleagues will want to continue working together. A team actually becomes more efficient when its members have been working together for some time. So it’s important to make sure people have time to adapt – that means a little more effort today, but more productivity tomorrow. In this context, we also emphasize cohesion and cooperation: If we can work cohesively and cooperatively as a team, we will undoubtedly be efficient. 

Let’s think about the individuals within the group. Fulfilling their expectations and their specific needs is also a prerequisite for being able to work efficiently in a team. And of course, every member of the group must have the necessary knowledge for this. In the end, it is also about promoting your well-being in the team.

“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities.”

Stephen Covey

In which tasks do teams even make sense?

We talked about achieving goals to see if a team is working efficiently. With this in mind, it must also be remembered that there are some tasks that not all members of the team need and should not participate. It is therefore important to think about which problems should be solved individually and which should be addressed by the group. If we want the group to achieve good results, the team must be assigned the right tasks to work on together.

Teams are like living beings in which psychosocial processes take place. These processes help people work together, and they determine the efficiency we are all looking for. And while the individual has a brain in which such processes converge, the team usually has a team leader. He is the head of the team and it is absolutely essential that he is able to assign specific tasks to each member of the group. That way , members are more likely to develop a feeling that they are getting more work done on the team.

Just like most things in life, efficiency in the workplace means that many small pulleys have to turn to move large loads.

“The achievements of an organization are the result of the collective effort of each individual.”

Vince Lombardi