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Manage-Wise
Think we, not me
 The
final strategy that will bring success involves your willingness to be collaborative.
In today’s workplace, a vital point of everyone’s job description
is to be a team player. The better you are at this “job,” the more
valuable you are to your organisation.
Even if your current work situation involves mostly independent activity, what
you do workwise still affects others and requires some level of concern for
their welfare. If your current work situation involves mostly interdependent
activity, then your ability to collaborate is essential.
Collaboration does not come easily. There are many circumstances in which you
may be unaware of how you affect others. Without this knowledge, you may not
even have a sense of what you can do to assist them. And even if you are aware
of the kinds of collaboration that would be helpful, you may still be reluctant
to extend yourself. Including others can be frustrating, and you may prefer
to “do it yourself”. Figuring out what others need can often refer
guesswork. Your motivation to be a team player may be diminished by feelings
of or anger at the actions of others.
A complex relationship
Teamwork is perhaps the most complicated work relationship—or should we
say “relationships”? When you work with one other person, there’s
just one shared relationship. Add a third person and the number of relationships
jumps to six. Why? In addition to each person’s relationship with each
of the others (three relationships), each also has to deal with the alliance
(or conflict) between the other two people in the group (a total of three more
relationships). In a team of four people there are 24 linkages between group
members, in a group of five there are 120, and in a team of six people there
are 720 relationships going on! Each time a team is increased by one member,
its complexity rises geometrically.
Because teams are like an interpersonal traffic jam, it is imperative to recognise
that things take more time, processes go more slowly, and you sometimes have
to be more patient about getting your own point of view across. Even a team
composed of brilliant, socially adept individuals will face these constraints.
By some estimates, it takes several months for any team to perform effectively.
A long-term orientation is imperative.
Keeping this fact in mind, people-smart individuals understand that supporting
the team concept requires a special perspective.
Each of us comes to a team with out own talents. People-smart individuals come
with something else: the ability to blend their talents with the skills of others
around them. We also come with our own ideas and preferences. People-smart individuals
balance interest in what they are advocating with interest in what they are
saying. They also see themselves and others as team resources rather than as
individual egos. They act as if they are part of the team’s pool of knowledge,
skills and ideas and are successful in getting others to act that way also.
In essence, they think “we rather than me”.
You can think “we rather than me” in everyday interactions with the
people you work with. Here is a list of ten things to do, even if you rarely
or never meet together as a group.
Things team players do
- Pitch in and assist others: We have our own
job to do, but there may be moments when you take the time to help others
who are very busy or in need of our support in any way. Look for opportunities
to lend a hand. Maybe you have a special talent or skill others need. Even
if you don’t, a helping hand is always appreciated.
- Reach out to quite/new teammates: In any
group there are people who are more reticent than others. If group members
don’t engage such people, it becomes even more difficult for them to
open up and become part of the team. Look for opportunities to make these
people feel included. Converse with them and seek their opinions. Invite them
to join you for lunch or a coffee break. Find out what they need to be a part
of the group and contribute to its success. Help them to get to know you and
others in the group.
- Talk out differences: One of the most valuable
things you can do in any work group situation is to help people who are in
conflict resolve their issues directly between themselves. Often a person
will keep a safe distance from any squabbles among group members or allow
one of the parties to vent and complain to him or her as a safe third party.
Look for opportunities to encourage direct communication between the combatants.
- Share the credit: When public figures receive
awards they typically thank those who helped them achieve success. Such a
gesture may come across as just a moment of modesty or social grace, but it
doesn’t have to be that way. Others usually deserve part of the credit.
In work situations, the same requirement holds. When the credit is shared,
the recipients feel appreciated and motivated to support your efforts in the
future.
- Suggest team-building and problem-solving techniques:
Have you read, experienced, or received training in team-building techniques
such as brainstorming, problem analysis, process checking, and consensus building?
Any team tool you may know about may be very beneficial to the group you work
with. It is not necessary to be the team leader to suggest a different process.
Look for opportunities where the group may benefit from a process you are
familiar with.
Excerpt from 'Working PeopleSmart' by Mel Silberman and
Freda Hansburg. Reproduced with permission © 2005, Tata McGraw-Hill Publishing
Company Limited. E-mail: vishwanath_mum@tatamcgraw-hill.com
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