Would you consider yourself a lone wolf when it comes to projects and planning?
Does the thought of collaborating with others leave you with a sense of dread?
Few jobs today don’t involve working with others in teams.
Teamwork skills are a vital element in today’s workforce.
Whether you’ve had a bad experience working in groups in the past or you
believe operating on your own is more efficient, there will come a time when
working in a group will not only be helpful—but also vital.
Henry Ford, American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company said:
“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”
True to these lines, it is a known fact that individually you are one drop, but together you are an ocean.
From something as big as running a country to something as small as doing a simple college project,
teamwork is the main factor that determines the success of the goal.
Even a Prime Minister requires his council of ministers to deliberate on matters and make decisions. It
takes a team to win a cricket match and a team of medical professionals to perform a surgery.
In all these cases, notice how it takes more than one person to achieve a goal.
Team work can be defined as a group of people working together, efficiently and effectively to achieve
a particular goal. It requires a harmonious partnership between people in order to perform.
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
to pull your weight
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
to pull your weight
take one for the team and
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
to pull your weight
take one for the team and
pitched in
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
to pull your weight
take one for the team and
pitched in
morale
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
to pull your weight
take one for the team and
pitched in
morale
gel with
To gel, to pull one’s weight, to pitch in, morale,
to take one for the team, to be on the same
page,
to pull your weight
take one for the team and
pitched in
morale
gel with
on the same page
MANY PAWS MAKE LIGHT WORK
People work together for a simple reason ~ it makes difficult jobs easier.
If you had to move a heavy piece of furniture from one room to another, would you
do it all by yourself, or would you find someone to help you? With someone helping
you, the job gets done much more quickly and neither of you are tired.
For similar reasons, animals use teamwork. In animal groups, each individual works
to help the group as a whole.
Coastal Bottlenose dolphins have developed a unique way
of catching fish which requires extraordinary teamwork.
The dolphins follow a school of fish creating a wave which
pushes the fish out of the water and onto the bank. In order for
this to work, each dolphin must rush to the bank at exactly the
same time, otherwise the wave won’t be strong enough, so a
high level of communication definitely exists between them.
If a bee finds nectar, it has two ways of informing its hive.
It may create a trail with the scent of the nectar, so that when the
other bees pick up the trail, they can follow the scent to the nectar.
Or the bee may perform “the Waggle Dance.”
The other bees understand what this dance means and then they
work as a team to collect the nectar.
A particularly intelligent animal and builder is the beaver.
Beavers live by rivers and streams and build dams to create pools of deep water which
help to keep their home safe. The whole colony, about five to six members, co-
operates to create the dam with trees they’ve cut down using their long, sharp teeth.
They then construct their home, which looks like a stick igloo, on the side of the bank.
“It’s smarter to travel in groups.”
De Lijn is a Flemish transportation company located in Belgium. As a
public transport company, they have created advertisements to
encourage more commuters to travel in groups and take the bus.
Although De Lijn has attracted the attention of hundreds of commuters
with their adorable animated commercials, there is also a hidden
message in their short clips.
It can be related to real life as it shows how simple tasks can make us
lead people into doing a certain action for their advantage.
It also shows us that No man is an island, and people should be
more aware about the benefits of good leadership and teamwork.
Idioms for Teamwork
Idioms for Teamwork
They remind us of the importance of unity, communication, and supporting one
another. They also emphasize the importance of individual effort and working
towards the success of the team as a whole.
When many people work together, the task becomes easier for everyone.
“It won’t take long to clear up this mess if we all work together ~ many hands make light work.”
Gives the idea that a group of people working together
can achieve more than one person working alone.
“Developing countries have realised that there is strength in numbers and
power in using that strength.”
Meaning that if one person is not working well in the
team, it will affect the overall performance of the team.
“Sam is completely out of shape. I don't want him on our volley ball team;
a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
“Sarah saw how stressed I was and helped me to come up with a plan
to save my report. A problem shared really is a problem halved!”
A reminder that without a team effort, it is less likely to achieve the goal.
“We finally finished renovating our home. There was a lot of labour involved,
but teamwork makes the dream work; I couldn’t have done it without her help.”
In 1986, shortly after he was forced out of Apple, Steve Jobs bought a small
computer manufacturer named Pixar.
In 2000, he relocated the company to an abandoned Del Monte canning factory.
The original plan called for three buildings, with separate offices for computer
scientists, animators, and the Pixar executives.
Jobs immediately scrapped it. Instead of three buildings, there was going to be a
single vast space, with an atrium at its centre.
But for Jobs, it was not just about creating a space: he needed to make people
go there. The primary challenge for Pixar, as he saw it, was getting its different
cultures to work together and collaborate.
Jobs saw separated offices as a design problem. He began with shifting the
mailboxes to the atrium. He then moved the meeting rooms, the cafeteria, the
coffee bar, and the gift shop to the centre of the building.
Brad Bird, the director of “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” said, “The
atrium initially might seem like a waste of space. But Steve realized that when
people run into each other when they make eye contact, things happen.”
❑ Do you prefer to work in a team or on your own?
❑ What qualities make a person a good “team-player”?
❑ What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team?
❑ Does a team always need a leader? Why or why not?