Teamwork Is Spelled Incorrectly Teamwork = Communication

Communication World, April, 2000 by Larry Cole, Michael Scott Cole

Why, after all that has been written about the importance of teamwork, are working relationships plagued with frustration and disappointment?

Corporate communities continue to witness one department helping another to "not be successful" through "silo management." Or the up-line manager not keeping down-line people informed, because knowledge is power. One answer to the question is that we've been spelling the word "teamwork" incorrectly. Consequently, emphasis has not been placed on the correct teamwork attributes.

When we've asked employees to tell us what teamwork means within their work place, the following descriptions were offered:

"Successfully completing the roles and responsibilities to produce the product or deliver the service."

"Everyone doing his part of the process to complete the job successfully."

"Working together to get the job done."

"Meeting production/service goals to be profitable."

Note that the definition for teamwork emphasizes the "successful completion of the technical responsibilities" instead of "how people work together." That's not too surprising in view of the fact that employees are evaluated on completing job responsibilities, with the emphasis on improving product quality and the end product.

Let's look at teamwork from another perspective. What are the typical problems in working relationships? They include communication break-downs and a lack of "cooperation." Specific interpersonal skills also are mentioned, such as an "overbearing, micro-managing supervisor." These behaviors are the root causes for "breaking teamwork" and the subsequent interruption in production.

As we're addressing definitions, we would be remiss not to turn to our old friend Webster's Dictionary, which defines teamwork as "joint action by a group of people in which each individual subordinates his individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group; a coordinated effort."

Webster is on target, but there is more.

The correct spelling of teamwork is C-O-M-M-U-N-I-C-A-T-I-O-N--everything said, not said, done or not done sends a message. As Webster suggests, teamwork is a joint action, grounded in communicating through words and actions.

First, let's discuss what needs to be said through words.

Employees with whom we have worked often define communication so it can be seen. Their definition contains the following behaviors:

* ___ Keeping people informed.

* Presenting the facts of the issue/situation, i.e., honesty.

* ___ Providing accurate information.

* ___ Providing information on time.

* Encouraging others to express their opinions and ask questions.

As you can see, these behavioral definitions contain the "process" of sending words to each other that underpins the efficiency of people working together.

Another important teamwork characteristic is building each other's self esteem, which also relies on verbal communication. Nothing builds self esteem faster than being noticed. In the work environment, that means being recognized for a job well done. Hearing the words "thank you for a job well done" is music to one's ears.

Teamwork also depends on the coordinated effort that Webster spoke about. In our dialogues with employees, we have been told that cooperation depends on the following behaviors:

* [ldots] Understanding what is needed from each other.

* Completing the necessary behaviors to meet these needs.

* Voluntarily doing that which you know needs to be done.

* [ldots] Completing job responsibilities competently.

Another frequently mentioned leg to the teamwork stool is trust. Some employees feel that trust is the most important ingredient for working relationships. The behaviors that communicate trust are:

* Being dependable by doing what you agreed to do.

* Being kept informed with necessary facts and information.

* Keeping confidential information confidential.

* Allowing people to use their specialized knowledge and competence.

We could list additional behavioral characteristics of teamwork, but our point is that these definitions speak to how team members communicate with each other through words and actions. Interpersonal behaviors are the cornerstones for high-performing working relationships.

An examination of these behaviors reveals several important characteristics. First, these definitions are based on values and describe the desired work place behaviors.

Second, these definitions clearly illustrate a behavioral process or systems approach to teamwork.

Third, these "how to" descriptions emphasize the behaviors to be institutionalized to help each other to be successful. That is, these definitions provide a blueprint so that everyone knows the desired behavior and what is expected from him or her. Note that the emphasis is on "how to" work together rather than production or service delivery goals.

Fourth, these behaviors are easily repeatable and taught. For the most part they are already contained within an employee's library of behaviors.

Fifth, the end users can customize the behavioral definitions spelling teamwork for their work-place environment.