Teamwork
Teamwork
(OP)
Does anybody have a good example of (even better: recipe for) successful teamwork?
My theory (slightly exaggerated of course for the sake of the discussion) is that true efficiency can only be achieved when you do something on your own. A team is a necessary evil to achieve something you can't receive on your own, like carry the washing machine. But oh my gosh, how lousy is the efficiency when two try to move a washing machine compared to when you carry something slightly lighter on your own. And the efficiency tumbles to a ridiculously low level when a team of 500 try to do something, like run a refinery.
Teamwork... can't live with it, can't live without it??
My theory (slightly exaggerated of course for the sake of the discussion) is that true efficiency can only be achieved when you do something on your own. A team is a necessary evil to achieve something you can't receive on your own, like carry the washing machine. But oh my gosh, how lousy is the efficiency when two try to move a washing machine compared to when you carry something slightly lighter on your own. And the efficiency tumbles to a ridiculously low level when a team of 500 try to do something, like run a refinery.
Teamwork... can't live with it, can't live without it??





RE: Teamwork
Then I had a really good team experience in college--four minds really were better than one. We divided the labor, we checked each other's results, we came up with more ideas than we would have individually. Sold me on the team idea, at least on the notion that it *can* work. On the other hand, in grad school I was on a team project that was so awful that the professor authorized me to leave my group and work on my own even though "teamwork" was supposed to be an essential part of the course. (That was still valuable; it was my first (and so far only) experience firing anyone.)
If handled well, teamwork can be divided into a bunch of individuals doing their part, and the leadership that assigns the parts. That I can handle. Either I have my assignment and then I can go do it, or else I'm the leader and do what I need to do or delegate to someone I trust to do it right and then don't worry about it. The problem comes when (a) there isn't someone reliable to delegate to, or worse, someone unreliable that one *has* to delgate to, or (b) when the individual bits can't be put together because of bad communication. Good leadership can take care of (b), except when it's impeded by (a). And of course (a) is often the result of bad management at the hiring and personnel management level.
In real life, there's lots and lots and lot of (a) going around, and not enough (or good enough) leadership to take care of (b) even if (a) weren't a problem.
Do y'all see a difference between "teamwork" and "collaborating", or are those just two buzzwords for the same thing? I do a lot of what I'd call collaborating. If I'm in charge of getting a task done, I contact a lot of people to see what they have to say on an issue, and sometimes I demand that they complete chunks of the task themselves. Other times I'm the one contacted for my chunk of a task that someone else is responsible. This works well, but this is an (a)-free situation--people are brought in precisely because of what they know. I love working this way--I get far more and better information than just working on something on my own, I get to share responsibility, I can sometimes palm the parts that I find annoying off on someone else who doesn't mind as much. This is the way it ought to work. When I have to deal with particular people because of the positions they hold rather than because of what they know how to do, I become disgruntled.
Hg
RE: Teamwork
The purpose sometimes isn't to surround yourself with like minds for the most efficient resolution.
The purpose sometimes is to surround yourself with dissimilar minds to discover what you might be missing.
RE: Teamwork
Hg
RE: Teamwork
Regards,
RE: Teamwork
RE: Teamwork
Hg
RE: Teamwork
As to efficiency of a team, it is not very just to compare efficiency of a team to compare with that of an individual. Its like comparing an athlete with a football team and comparison is meaningless to say the least. I have very high respects for performing individuals, but if they can not play the cog in the machine, there is enough reason to showcase them in a glassbox than have them in the team on the ground of action.
RE: Teamwork
If I need help with a stress problem I go to the stress guy and he helps me out, sometimes we will go visit the materials guy to figure out if the particuar material that was heat treated out of spec will effect the material properties.
Sometimes I need to talk to the thermal guy to make sure there are not localized conditions that effect performance of the part(s).
Yea, we all do our own thing we don't need any of that team stuff.
RE: Teamwork
Perhaps every cog in the machine can <b>rightfully</b> claim that he is working independent of the other and I see no reason why anyone can object to it. But it remains a team stuff by definition to me.
Whether or no teamwork, we still need to work our own stuff and this is a painful reality. :-(
RE: Teamwork
Monkeydog:
Maybe I am mistaken, but the working environment you described- going to the local expert for help- sounds to me like you are tapping into the resource of a teammate, however loose or unstructured that team might be.
If you are truly independent and "don't need any of that team stuff", then what use do you have for anyone else at all?
RE: Teamwork
RE: Teamwork
RE: Teamwork
In my last job and current job, there are small projects, every-day type work, that require just my input or execution. However, these tend to benefit the whole of the department, plant, and/or company, not just me as an individual. When a larger, more encompassing project occurs, a team of individuals (each unique with their expertise) is assembled to attack it from many angles. Through the use of individuals, the project points are addressed more quickly than had an individual pursued them. Personally, I wouldn't have it any other way. The difference between these perspectives works (and has worked).
An example of the latter is my last job. We used 6-sigma and teamwork to increase the profitability of an alloy. Individuals assessed their areas, reported back to the team, and the team made informed decisions. Before the project, each team member had kept track of certain metrics concerning the alloy, but no real progress toward improvement had been made. When the team looked at the bigger picture, kept track of the right metrics, and attacked the problem areas in a constrained order, the prime production of the alloy increased 3 times, cost savings were realized (to the tune of millions of dollars), and the profit margin increased substantially. Individually, none of us could have achieved that. But together, communicating as a team, we were able to.
Just remember, there is a time and place to be an individual, even a maverick if you will. But teamwork does have it's advantages.
~NiM
RE: Teamwork
"Eat well, exercise regularly, die anyways."
RE: Teamwork
You cannot win the Stanley cup with 7 right wingers in your starting line-up.
This says it all...
RE: Teamwork
The resulting product was a stunning success in the marketplace, very popular with customers, on time, on budget, reliable, and relatively easy to make. The second generation was even better; more features, easier to make, faster, better in every possible way.
It was a wonderful experience. I don't use words like 'wonderful' often.
Every other current product was pretty much a disaster. Top management took notice. They reassigned my manager to 'assist' the manager of the least successful product, and scattered the team among all the other disasters.
The best team builder I've ever met was eventually forced into early retirement, and the company was sold and gutted.
Sorry. I wish the story had a happy ending.
Mike Halloran
NOT speaking for
DeAngelo Marine Exhaust Inc.
Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA
RE: Teamwork
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