TEAMWORK SKILLS

1. What is a team / teamwork to your mind? Create your own definition.

 A team is a group of players forming one side …

 Teamworking means the combined action of a group, especially when effective

and efficient…

2. Read the definitions below, discuss them with your groupmates and
suggest your own vision of a team:

A team is a group of people who collaborate on related tasks toward a common

goal. Each member is responsible for contributing to the team, but the group as a
whole is responsible for the team’s success.

Teamwork involves shared responsibility and collaboration toward a common

outcome.

Teamwork is the art of collaborating with others effectively and is vital in most
professions. Teamwork Skills are important because employers expect their
employees to be team players.

3. Answer the following questions:

1. Soft skills are a priority in the work market. Make a list of soft skills you are
aware of.

 Problem-solving
 Effective communication skills
 Self-direction
  Drive
 Adaptability/Flexibility
 Effective communication

 Teamwork
 Dependability
 Adaptability
 Conflict resolution
 Flexibility
 Leadership
 Research
 Creativity
 Work ethic
 Integrity

2. Do you work in a team in your everyday life? Provide examples of

teamworking. NO
3. How often do you do teamwork activities in your classes (often / occasionally
/ rarely)? Give an example. Never

4. Discuss whether you follow these stages of teamwork in the classroom,

who is usually responsible for taking decisions (students or a teacher):

- seeing clearly the outcome / objectives

- planning
- resources
- setting the rules
- dividing into teams
- engagement / defining roles
- assessment / evaluation

5. Who is an ideal team-worker – look through the table below and put +
or – suggesting which qualities an ideal team-worker should possess.

Ideal team worker:

yes / + no / -
 the one, who can listen to and hear the others +
 the one, who can accept his/her mistakes +
 respects the others +
 resolves conflicts +
 formulates his / her ideas clearly +
 plans activities with clear goals and deadlines +

* Are you an ideal team-worker? No

 6. Here are criteria of teamwork evaluation, fill in the table with the points
you would give for each criterion. Discuss your choice with your
groupmates.

Criteria of Teamwork Evaluation

Criteri Criteria Description Points (marks / percentage
a depending on a purpose)
as a group:
C1 involvement (of everyone) 10
C2 task fulfillment (goal achievement) 10
C3 timing (managed in time / not) 8
as an individual:
C4 as a team worker 6
criteria appropriate for your
subject / according to the task:
C5

10 points maximum

7. Here is a list of team work skills, classify them into the following
categories:
Top 5 TeamWork Skills
Communication Conflict Listening Reliable Respectful
Management
1,9,10,16 2,6,13 4,8,7,15 12,14,17,19 3,5,11,18,20

1. I communicate information by email and by phone

2. I am able to mediate problems between team members
3. I treat my co-workers with dignity
4. I listen to the ideas of my peers
5. I feel admiration for my co-workers
6. I am able to negotiate with team members
7. I make sure that everyone is happy with team choices
8. I listen to the concerns of my peers
 9. I communicate infomation in person
10.I am able to communicate clearly my ideas with the group
11.I treat people with politeness
12.I am a reliable team member
13.I am able to settle disputes with team members
14.I stick to deadlines
15.I ask for clarification
16.I use non-verbal cues
17.I complete my tasks
18.I never insult my co-workers
19.My team members trust me
20.My tone of voice is always friendly and professional

8. Read and translate:

English Conversation | Corporate Teamwork

Teamwork is a corporate buzzword that you have no doubt, heard several times
over the course of your professional life. The complexity of today’s business
environment necessitates the formation of strong teams that can achieve what
individuals alone cannot. However, the concept of teamwork is not limited to the
professional space. You have probably been part of various teams since early
school days, starting with the small sports teams your physical education teacher
assigned you to and the class-wise quiz or debating teams that you were a part of.
Being part of a team comes almost naturally. However, in all the situations
mentioned above, communication is essential for any team. English conversation
can help facilitate a healthy exchange of thoughts and ideas.
Let us now explain to you why teamwork can be a big part of your professional
life.
9. Discuss with your groupmates:
What Teamwork Teaches You
1. Are you a good team member? Why?
2. Do you always put all your effort towards achieving the best result of your
team?
3. What is more important for you – your personal result or the result of your
team? Why?
4. Try to remember the excitement when your team in the classroom won the
contest/quiz? Tell about it.
5. What skills can you learn while teamworking with your group mates?
(collaboration, contribution, and leadership)
6. What teamwork qualities are you expected to display in your professional
life?
An Example of Leadership in Teamwork
Look around you and you will see many examples of teamwork that correlate with
how teams function in the workplace. Take the sport of rowing, for instance. As a
competitive sport, rowing is considered the ultimate team experience. Though the
team functions as a single unit, individual team members have different roles,
strengths, and capabilities.
Balance is an Important Part of Teamwork
The team is a mix of roles, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses that
complement each other and make up a unit that works together to meet a goal.
Without that diversity, the team would be rather bland and would probably not
perform to win.
Develop English Conversation Skills Build Better Relationships at Work
In the contemporary business landscape, which is getting increasingly globalized,
speaking the same language and communicating effectively is crucial. Today,
employees with good English conversation skills can be an asset to most corporate
organizations. They normally require their employees to have a strong command
over their spoken English. That is why as an employee, it is a good idea for you to
try and learn English to the best of your ability. Learning English will not only
allow you to excel at your job, but will also open doors to many other opportunities
in life.
Learning English takes effort, but small steps every day can make a big difference,
especially with regard to your career path.

* Additional Reading / Effective Team-Working Skills

10.Read below the description of the roles that any one person can take on
in a team and choose which roles suit you better, explain why:

Roles that a Person Can Take on in a Team

1. Shaper – drives work forward and gets things done, has a clear idea of the
desired direction of travel;
2. Implementer – also gets things done, looking for ways to turn talk into
action and generate practical activity;
3. Completer-Finisher – focuses on completing tasks, and tidying up all the
loose ends;
4. Coordinator – manage the group dynamics, often in a leadership role;
5. Team Worker – helps the team to work effectively by supporting personal
relationships;
6. Resource Investigator – gathers external resources and information to help
the team;
7. Plant – generates ideas and creative solutions, not all of them practical;
8. Monitor-Evaluator – good at critically assessing ideas and proposals, and
at making decisions; and
9. Specialist – brings expert knowledge to the group, not always necessary to
effective functioning.
Research shows that the most effective teams have someone who can take on each
of the nine key roles. That doesn’t mean that a team has to contain nine people, as
most people can take on two or even three roles at a time.
Teams that struggle to operate effectively, however, tend to lack one or more of the
nine key roles.

11. Team roles can be divided into Task and Process roles. Read the
explanations below and decide whether you are task- or process-focused team
player:
Task vs. Process Team Roles
 Task roles focus on ‘what’: the job in hand, and getting it done. The key
‘task-focused’ team roles are Shaper, Implementer, Completer-Finisher,
Monitor-Evaluator, Plant and Specialist.
 Process roles focus on ‘how’, and particularly on the people involved. They
include Coordinator, Resource Investigator, and Team Worker.
The most effective team-workers are those who can see what skills are available
within the group, and use their own skills to fill any gaps. People tend to be either
task- or process-focused, rather than a mixture.
It is perfectly possible to learn to take on the other focus, if you want to do so, and
this will make you a highly effective team member.

12. Which skills are important to your mind to be a good team worker? Read
the information file below and decide which of them you possess:
Key Task-Focused Team Skills include:
Organising and Planning Skills
Being organised is essential to getting tasks done. If you don’t know what needs to
be done, and by when, it’s quite hard to make it happen by your deadline.  Shapers,
Implementers and Completer-Finishers are all characterised by good organising
skills, and can usually be relied upon to put in place strong systems for managing
projects well.
Some people are naturally more organised than others, and if this is an area in
which you struggle, take a look at our pages on Organising Skills and Time
Management for some ideas. For larger projects, have a look at our pages
on Project Management, Project Planning and Action Planning.
Decision-Making
Being able to make decisions is also crucial to moving things forward.
Although it may be important to take time to gather information to ensure that the
decision is right, there may come a time when any decision is better than none.
Group decision-making often requires compromise, and sometimes a willingness
to give up one’s own point of view in favour of the group’s shared decision.
Shapers and Monitor-Evaluators are both good decision-makers. Shapers, however,
tend to make their own decisions quickly and then may struggle to compromise.
Monitor-Evaluators tend to look for the right decision from the available evidence,
and may be slow to make a decision if there is a shortage of evidence.
Problem-Solving
Task-focused people are often adept at problem-solving, especially if the problem
relates to the task.
Plants look for innovative ideas to solve the problem, and Implementers will turn
ideas into practical action.
Shapers will see the ‘big picture’ and the overall plan, making sure that the
solution to the problem does not result in a change of direction.
Key Process-Focused Team Skills
Process-focused skills tend to be about people, and about building rapport within
the group and making it work cohesively and effectively. Those who take on
process-focused group roles tend to have very good interpersonal skills, and in
particular:
Communication Skills
Good Coordinators, Team-Workers and Resource Investigators are good at Verbal
Communication, Listening, and Questioning. They work hard to ensure that the
group communicates well, helping to make sure that there are no
misunderstandings or unexpressed difficulties between team members.
Ability to Build Rapport
These people are also good at developing a sense of harmony within the group.
They help to build rapport with others, creating a coherent team.
Persuasion and Influencing Skills
One of the key areas of process skills is in persuading and influencing. If the group
is to come to a shared decision, for example, several members may need to be
persuaded of the merits of a particular course of action.
Facilitation Skills
Managing a process is basically about facilitating it, or making it easier. Good
facilitation skills are therefore vital in team-working, although they are often
wrongly seen as crucial only for managing workshops.
Feedback Skills
Giving and receiving feedback well is essential in any team-working situation.
Being able to give clear and effective feedback to others is vital to keep the group
process running effectively, and to plan. It also helps to ensure that you do not get
irritated and angry with the way that others are behaving. It follows that you also
need to be able to receive feedback gracefully, and then act on it calmly.
Skills in Chairing Meetings
Group work often involves meetings, whether those are committee meetings or
much bigger and more formal meetings. Skilled Coordinators often have highly
developed skills in chairing meetings, and use them in small and large groups
alike.
Conflict resolution
Finally, you have to recognise that there may be situations when you need to deal
with difficult people or situations, or even resolve a conflict.
And Finally…
…it is important to remember that all team-working situations are fundamentally
about working with other people.
If you have good interpersonal skills, and are open to receiving feedback and
improving them as a result, then you will become, and be, a good person to work
with in a team. It truly is as simple as that.

13. Make a list of the roles you can take on in a team and the teamworking
skills, you are good at:
Roles that You Can Take on in a Teamworking skills, you are good at
Team

Organising and Planning Skills

Shaper Decision-Making
Implementer 
* Additional Reading. Part 2
How good are you in teamwork
by  Susan M. Heathfield 

 Have you ever wondered how some work groups exhibit

effective teamwork and other teams remain dysfunctional for the life of the team?
Effective teamwork is both profoundly simple and difficult at the same time and
the success of a particular team is also tied in closely with the culture of their
organization. Some organizational cultures support teamwork; others don't.
This is why so many teams struggle to get the relationships, the interaction,
and the task execution right. Their success depends on these factors. In fact, twelve
factors exist that have a serious impact on how successful work teams will be in
your organization.
People Are Both the Joy and the Problem in Creating Better Teamwork
No matter the team or its reason for existing, humans are in the mix, and
each team member brings along all of their baggage—for good and for ill. So,
diverse people with different life experiences, different work experiences, and
varying degrees of success working with former teams and the accomplishment of
prior team missions converge around a new mission.
Given the complexity of forming a team including consciously or
unconsciously developing team interaction norms and guidelines, ending up with
an effective, functioning team is downright amazing.
You can significantly increase the chances of the teams that you join or
oversee to make needed contributions. Given appropriate support and nurture,
teams can succeed beyond your wildest dreams. Don't let anything hold you back
as you help your teams succeed. 
Teams have basic needs that must be acknowledged and fulfilled if you
expect your teams to experience their greatest success. No team will succeed if
these basics do not exist.
10 Keys to Successful Teamwork
These ten tips describe the environment that must occur within the team
for successful teamwork to take place. Successful teamwork is the cornerstone for
creating a functioning, contributing team.
The Team Is Clear About Its Mission
The team understands the goals and is committed to attaining them. This
clear direction and agreement on mission and purpose are essential for effective
teamwork. Team members must have an overall mission that is agreed upon and
that provides the umbrella for all that the team tries to do. This team clarity is
reinforced when the organization has clear expectations for the team's work, goals,
accountability, and outcomes.
 The Team Environment Encourages Reasonable Risks
The team creates an environment in which people are comfortable taking
reasonable risks in communicating, advocating positions, and taking action. Team
members trust each other. Team members are not punished for
disagreeing; disagreement is expected and appreciated.
Respectful Communication Is the Norm
Communication is open, honest, and respectful. People feel free to express
their thoughts, opinions, and potential solutions to problems. People feel as if they
are heard out and listened to by team members who are attempting to understand.
Team members ask questions for clarity and spend their thought time listening
deeply rather than forming rebuttals while their co-worker is speaking.
They do this by formulating questions that will lead them to more deeply
understand their teammate's point of view.
Strong Sense of Group Commitment
Team members have a strong sense of belonging to the group. They
experience a deep commitment to the group’s decisions and actions. This sense of
belonging is enhanced and reinforced when the team spends the time to
develop team norms or relationship guidelines together.
Team members are viewed as unique people with irreplaceable experiences,
points of view, knowledge, and opinions to contribute. After all, the purpose of
forming a team is to take advantage of the differences. 
Otherwise, why would any organization approach projects, products, or
goals with a team? In fact, the more a team can bring out divergent points of
view that are thoughtfully presented and supported with facts as well as opinions,
the better.
Creativity and Innovation Are the Norms
Creativity, innovation, and different viewpoints are expected and
encouraged. Comments such as, "we already tried that and it didn't work" and
"what a dumb idea" are not allowed or supported. The team members recognize
that the strength in having a team is that every member brings diverseness to the
effort to solve a problem, improve a process, reach a goal, or create something new
and exciting.
Engages in Continuous Improvement
The team is able to constantly examine itself and continuously improve its
processes, practices, and the interaction of team members. The team openly
discusses team norms and what may be hindering its ability to move forward and
progress in areas of effort, talent, and strategy.
The team holds review meetings that assess the team's process and progress
in approaching and accomplishing the team mission. The team has a clear
understanding about the five stages of team development and the members know
what is required to move the team successfully through the stages.
Solves Teamwork Problems and Conflicts
 The team has agreed upon procedures for diagnosing, analyzing, and
resolving teamwork problems and conflicts. The team does not support member
personality conflicts and clashes nor do team members pick sides in a
disagreement. Rather, members work towards the mutual resolution of problems
and disagreements.
Practices Participative Leadership
Participative leadership is practiced in leading meetings, assigning
tasks, recording decisions and commitments, assessing progress, holding team
members accountable, and providing direction for the team. This means that every
participant on the team must actively contribute to leading the team to successful
outcomes and contributions.
Makes High Quality Decisions
Members of the team make high quality decisions together and have the
support and commitment of the group to carry out the decisions made. They also
gain the support and commitment of the people they report to in order to
accomplish and communicate the team's progress and success.
They gain the support and commitment from senior leadership by
demonstrating all of these ten teamwork necessities each and every day. The team
lives high quality interaction that is observable and an example for all other teams
to emulate.
If a team can get these ten factors right, success and a rewarding sense of
teamwork will follow. It's not always the task at hand that challenges teams in their
progress, it's the relationships and the little things that happen day-to-day. If team
members can rise above the trench, they can achieve greatness.