When we talk about team, the first thing that comes to one’s mind is a group or a bunch of people working together to achieve some common goal. More precisely, a team is a group of individuals who are interdependent with respect to information, resources and skills and seek to combine their effort to achieve a common goal.
The primary features of a team are
- Team members are mutually dependent concerning some common goal.
- Teams are closely knit and stable overtime.
- Team operates in a social system context
The motive behind the formation of a team is not to have people with tremendous skills to interact, easy-going, well-educated or even especially intelligent to build a team. The most important thing for survival is to be effective with customers using common sense and fundamental training ethics. The qualities that should be possessed by a team member for the smooth functioning of the team are,
- Focus: The team member must focus on the goals to achieve targets. The goals set are challenging and appeals to the personal pride such that they become a means to motivate. Focusing on the goal gives an opportunity to make a difference, only then can the goals be a powerful vision.
- Commitment: Most often it is believed commitment means long working hours, while to others it means productivity. When a leader says that everyone should be committed towards, some of you may have difficulties in making certain commitments. But this does not mean that you are not care or are afraid of commitments, it is only for that time period that you are caught in the process of doubt. Effective leaders impel this phase so that the critical mass of people can pass through this phase smoothly, moving forward towards genuine commitment leading to better results. Commitment contains some unknowns and a possibility of failure as well. When the leaders are unable to understand the commitment process they tend to seek accountability without providing any kind of support. The solution under such challenging conditions is to establish an atmosphere of trust and thereby encourage the team members for their inputs.
- Faith: It is very important for a team member to trust their working environment. Since only faith in the system can bring confidence in the team leadership and vision of the system. The existence of trust enforces the willingness to go through a difficult process, supported by ups, downs, risk and potential losses. With commitment to a clear vision, and a genuine plan to share risks and rewards helps in building faith and belief amongst the team members.
- Support and Serve: Most often it is seen that team members want to see the ability to lead from the front but they are also strongly motivated by the ability to lead from the back. There is a need to strike a balance between a willingness to take on any responsibility that need to be done by the team, and taking an inappropriate balance of roles so that the leadership is diminished.
- Enthusiasm, Energy and Inspiration: The team members must be self-inspired, self-motivated and full of energy and enthusiasm to perform any type of task. As a team member you must be ready to take-up any odd job. Not only should you be an enthusiastic at every point but also bring liveliness at work, else the system and your job will become monotonous and repetitive.
- Shoulder responsibilities: Team members are tested under pressure. At times, when challenges arise, as a member of the team you may also be required to take responsibility of the situation and assist your team leader in fixing the problem as far as possible. This also helps in strengthening the team spirit as a result. As a member of the team you are required to adopt a proactive stance to ensure the team is not hampered from any adversities.
- Ability to achieve: Teams only become a team only if there is understanding within the group i.e., the team process adds value to working of the system. You must have an understanding of different individuals, team roles, strengths and weaknesses of the system. It involves establishment of mutual responsibility within the team, thereby creating a team environment which is open to all and allows healthy and productive discussions.