How to develop teamwork

There are several key steps that can help to develop teamwork in an organization

Set clear goals and expectations

It is important for teams to have a
clear understanding of what they are working towards, as well as the
roles and responsibilities of each team member. This can help to ensure
that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal.

Encourage open communication

Effective communication is essential
for successful teamwork. Encourage team members to share their thoughts
and ideas openly, and create an environment where everyone feels
comfortable speaking up and providing feedback.

Foster collaboration

Encourage team members to work together and
support each other in achieving their goals. This can include things
like sharing knowledge and resources, providing assistance to team
members who are struggling, and working together to solve problems.

Provide support and resources

Make sure that team members have the
tools and resources they need to succeed. This can include things like
training, access to technology, and support from managers and other team
members.

Celebrate success

It is important to recognize and celebrate the
accomplishments of teams and individual team members. This can help to
motivate and inspire team members, and foster a positive and
collaborative team culture.

Underperformance reveals failing teamwork

Other symptoms may be:

Fake performance and hiding facts
Emotional conflicts, anxiety, and bad atmosphere
Defensive language and low energy
Rebelling or passive behavior
Difficult individuals

Good leaders ensure a strong start for a new team, and react fast when a team is struggling.

Why teamwork?

Every, every group tries to collaborate. Depending on the skills and context, the result will be excellent, bland, or dysfunctional.

Learning teamwork, great collaboration, results in:

Getting the work done
Broad individual learning
Knowledge creation and innovation
Sharing workload, competence, and leadership
Resilience, courage, and motivation to face challenges as one team
Trust, care, and love for the shared mental and physical space

Trust, care and love

Teamwork in large units

Teamwork wisdom applies to larger goal-oriented units like projects, departments, value streams, communities of practice or LeSS requirement areas.

Clarity of goal, behavioral norms, supporting structures, and other conditions have a similar impact as in small teams. Even remote work improves when you base your leadership on understanding teamwork.

What happens naturally in small co-located teams, requires skill and knowledge in these larger units.

The only antidote for bureaucracy

A teamwork-based organization is adaptive and manageable. Own teamwork of the top management is critical for big strategic bets.

Teamwork is the only antidote to bureaucracy. Only teamwork can solve the wicked problems of improving the system, overcoming the silos and narrow roles of the middle management.

Unlike bureaucratic silos, teamwork at the front line is able to solve new ambiguous interdependent tasks, in service, product development, and organizational improvement.

See slides from a thorough webinar

(Co-)facilitate your team launch

The critical moment of truth

Day 1

"Success is created 60 % at pre-work, 30 % in the launch, and 10 % by coaching the ongoing work." -- Richard Hackman.

From a group of hesitating individuals to a team working as one

Initiate the instinctive social team development process - the affective, ethical, and normative commitment.

Become visible in the team as an individual and learn about each other
Clarify the essential conditions for success
Work with trust, ownership, and taking responsibility
Fundamentals of group dynamic development

Trust, care, and love for the shared mental and physical space

Agree and guard the team culture
How to talk to people
Practice feedback, skillful dialogue, and Nonviolent Communication
Conflict resolution exercise

Day 2

"First the team (as a team) accepts only motivating coaching. After a mid-term crisis, the team accepts process coaching." --Richard Hackman

Reflect on Day 1 and the group dynamics of this team. The focus is now on the practical work. The topics are based on emerging interests or planned beforehand.

Map the environment: on the wall or organizational constellation
Clarify the direction/purpose
Retrospective to find the biggest Pain. Analyze and improve the selected Pain, for example work management, Backlog, process problems, or the surrounding organization
Plan the teamwork-friendly process dreaming-thinking-doing
Do some work together

The trainers have decades of experience in Agile, organizations, and teamwork. There is plenty of room to drill into the specific questions of the participants.

Learn to build great collaboration

Create the conditions for teamwork and facilitate the five essential patterns.

Day 1 is the launch of the training group. We spend our time practicing facilitation and doing exercises. The essential theory is learned by reflection and short theory inserts.

1 - The Individual

Trust and safety
Needs and feelings
Intrinsic motivation
Taking personal responsibility

2 - The Launch - clarify the confusion

Prework - prepare Hackman's conditions for success
Business sponsor's contribution
Initiating the normative, affective, and ethical commitment of individuals
The goal and context
Facilitating the dependent group dynamics - agreeing to be led
Agreeing to nurture constructive norms

3 - Conflict resolution

Clarifying explicit reasons like misunderstandings, or conflicting interests and assumptions
Working with individual needs and feelings using Nonviolent Communication
Group dynamics related to emerging individuality and autonomy
Practicing a conflict resolution tool using participant cases

Day 2 focuses on continuous improvement. Related key concepts are studied from the perspective of Agile organization, teamwork, and knowledge creation.

4 - Cohesion

Recap the development of group dynamics
Facilitating cohesion, courage, and commitment

5 - Retrospective and Continuous Improvement

Significance of Retrospectives for Group Dynamics
Facilitating a multi-phase retrospective to find the Biggest Pain
Continuous Improvement
- For in-house training, we work on real company topics
- In public training, we draw from different participant cases

Topics based on the needs of the training group:

Team dysfunctions
Workflow management
Bureaucracy vs teamwork
The human work process dreaming-thinking-doing
Teamwork in larger units, like projects, departments, or communities
Psychological concepts like power, resistance, or personalities

In-house training

Please enquire about in-house training, coaching and workshops. Call +358 400 308 304 or fill in the form.

Free Meetup

Teamwork Meetup →

Venue	Time
Brainlab headquarters	19.7.2023 – 19.7.2023	→ Register

Interactive talk and exercises. Please look at the registration link for the exact agenda.

Public training

Teamwork Wisdom →

Venue	Time
München, Germany	11.1.2024 – 12.1.2024	→ Register

Release the hidden potential of your organization. Invite everyone to contribute to great collaboration and performance.