Future Manager Italy Insights

The traits of an effective team (ENG)

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Author: Future Manager Research Center

 

A team is able to achieve a performance that an individual on its own cannot accomplish. However for a team to be effective, each individual must also recognize their personal responsibilities to the team.

Being part of a team means being open to other people’s ideas and perspectives in a positive discussion; for this reason team players have an open mind and actively listen the others.

Each member of the team should feel committed to the common goal, otherwise if they do not care for the project this will greatly affect the general performance. Committment to a project imply that there is an active partipation among all team members.

As communication is key for an active participation, assertiveness is a must. Being assertive means being able to express an opinion effectively while respecting the rights and beliefs of others. Open, honest and respectful communication should be the base of the team culture.

This means consider what they person talking is trying to saying and more importantly, why they believe that: team members ask questions for clarity and spend their thought time listening deeply rather than forming rebuttals while their co-worker is speaking. 

Flexibility to external or internal factors and getting over flops with a positive attitude are necessary to not be stuck in the past in the gears of progress and mistakes should be considered as a starting point to improve the situation and not as a personal failure: the best solutions will arise not from pointing fingers but from working all together.

Indeed, in an effective team all the members support and help their peers: sharing the difficulties with the group mitigates the risks of failure. Being reliable and responsible it mean also understanding personal limits and shortages and share them with the rest of the team.

Asking for help it also create a more “human” dimension to the team and it is easier to have a sense of belonging and experience a deep commitment to the group’s decisions and actions.

Even if the team is made of more people, it is always important to remember each member contributions: share credit and emphasizing the work of others, providing recognition and celebrating the others’ successes is a great way to build a strong team.