How to Improve Your Teamwork Skills

You can be incredibly smart on your own and still benefit from working with a team. Research shows that small teams are more creative and able to reach their goals more effectively than a genius working solo.

Teamwork offers multiple benefits, including improved problem-solving, boosted innovation, and an opportunity for personal growth. You can learn a lot by sharing information and learning from their experiences. Working as a team may open your eyes to your own strengths and weaknesses, enhancing your ability to grow personally and professionally.

In addition to an increased ability to tackle projects and challenges, working as part of a team also releases oxytocin, one of your brain’s “feel good” chemicals. Before you can effectively improve your teamwork skills, it helps to understand what they are and why they’re so essential to everyday life.

What are teamwork skills?

The term “teamwork skills” covers a variety of abilities, all of which contribute to your ability to cooperate and collaborate with others. Teamwork is essential in the workplace, but it’s equally important outside of work. Sharing the load increases emotional support and reduces burnout in your professional and personal life. Teamwork skills include:

• Communication: Conveying thoughts and information in a clear way, both verbally and nonverbally

• Time management: Remaining organized, and prioritizing and delegating tasks to reach your goals in a timely fashion

• Transparency: Being honest to build strong relationships, working through conflicts, developing trust, and effectively working together

• Problem-solving: Using critical thinking or creativity to deal with challenges and issues along the way; working toward a solution for the team's success

• Building rapport: Actively listening, focusing on others' interests and needs, and having empathy for others on your team to communicate more effectively and become a stronger, more efficient team

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Teamwork Skills: Communicating Effectively in Groups

Recently revised and updated! Effective teamwork and group communication are essential for your professional and personal success. In this course you will ...

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Average time: 1 month(s)

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Skills you'll build:

teamwork, diversity, Communication, Conflict Management, technology

Why is it important to improve your teamwork skills?

You will inevitably have to work as part of a team at some point in your life. At work, you may collaborate with others to complete projects. At home, you might work with family or friends to accomplish specific goals. Collaboration is a fundamental part of the human experience and a driving force in your ability to successfully meet your goals and objectives. Honing your teamwork skills can also help you build rapport and deeper relationships with others, add to your resume, and uncover new opportunities.

How does improving teamwork in the workplace help you?

Even if you work independently and complete most of your duties on your own, keeping the organization's goals, objectives, and needs is critical. You must also communicate with leaders and others working in the company to ensure they are aware of your accomplishments and progress. That's a form of teamwork all on its own.

No matter your role, working well with other people is vital to success in the workplace. Improving your teamwork abilities can help set you apart while helping you move the company closer to its goals.

How can you improve teamwork?

Teamwork is among the skills employers often seek in candidates. It’s a skill that can benefit you outside the office. It can take time to improve your teamwork skills and teamwork in the workplace as a whole. These steps can help get you moving in the right direction.

Clearly state the team’s purpose and goals.

Having goals keeps everything moving forward. Set personal goals to create your own achievable objectives and timelines for achieving them. The team at large should also have goals to keep everyone working toward common objectives. Everyone involved must understand what those goals are, why working together is essential to meeting them, and how each team member can help the team achieve its purpose.

Define team member roles clearly.

The team's structure and size are essential, and everyone should be clear about the structure, their roles, and why they have those tasks. Everyone brings unique strengths to the table, which can create a strong, effective team. Understanding your role helps you use your strengths and motivation for the good of the group. Remember, having defined roles is critical, but so is operating with a team mentality where you and everyone else work toward your shared purpose and goals.

Communicate.

Communication is critical. Both written and oral communication skills facilitate collaboration by allowing you to talk about expectations and progress, write reports and overviews, and talk openly about the team's objectives. Given the recent uptick in remote work and virtual communications, this skill has become even more critical for successful teamwork.

Promote positive mindsets.

Staying positive allows you to adapt to changes and tackle challenges more readily, while helping others remain more engaged too. Positive outlooks typically yield positive output. Conversely, complaining can destroy morale and upset those around you, with productivity often suffering along with your team’s mindset.

Use collaboration tools.

Given the number of people working remotely or adopting hybrid (partially in-office and partially remote) work schedules, collaboration tools are arguably more important than ever for keeping teams working cohesively no matter where they are. Tools like instant messaging facilitate quick chats, Microsoft Teams and Zoom help with meetings, and Slack provides a platform with messaging, file transfers, and other features.

Mediate conflict right away.

Left unresolved, small arguments and conflicts can become significant issues that erode trust and team spirit. Effective teamwork relies on prompt conflict management. Remain empathetic and keep the team's shared goals in mind as you navigate the way forward. Avoid placing blame on others or allowing other team members to blame each other in favor of fostering a learning-based team culture.

Be flexible.

Very few things go precisely according to plan. When you work as part of a team, you’ll need to effectively adapt to changes and resolve conflicts. Remaining flexible will mitigate any harm to a harmonious group dynamic. This can also help strengthen your relationships, while remaining steadfast despite possible obstacles.

Avoid micromanaging.

Leadership helps foster effective teamwork. It's also a skill you can cultivate while working within a team. However, micromanaging, or trying to control all aspects of the process and your team, can damage relationships and hinder productivity. Micromanaging can also cause mistrust and limit the team's ability to grow. Reflect on your own behavior to remain aware, but also ask for feedback from your team members to get a handle on the type of team member you are.

Celebrate wins.

Instead of focusing on the negatives, celebrating wins builds a positive dynamic and a cohesive team spirit. In addition to rewarding successes and providing recognition for positive performance, sharing others’ victories and giving pep talks as needed to keep morale and motivation high is vital.

Develop your teamwork skills

Build your effectiveness at working in groups with Teamwork Skills: Communicating Effectively in Groups from the University of Colorado Boulder on Coursera. Learn to make better decisions, manage conflict, negotiate, and improve communication in virtual environments. Do you lead a team? Enhance your leadership abilities with High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation from Northwestern.

course

Teamwork Skills: Communicating Effectively in Groups

Recently revised and updated! Effective teamwork and group communication are essential for your professional and personal success. In this course you will ...

4.7

(3,061 ratings)

186,235 already enrolled

BEGINNER level

Learn More

Average time: 1 month(s)

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll build:

teamwork, diversity, Communication, Conflict Management, technology

course

High Performance Collaboration: Leadership, Teamwork, and Negotiation

Are leaders born or made? Learn the essential skills to develop and expand your leadership repertoire, design teams for collaboration, and craft win-win ...

4.8

(2,763 ratings)

91,728 already enrolled

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Average time: 1 month(s)

Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll build:

Negotiation, Leadership, Team Management, Collaboration