It’s nothing monumental when someone says that the key to success is teamwork. We all know that through teamwork we can integrate different perspectives, identify hidden issues, and achieve challenging tasks – We all know that ‘teamwork makes the dream work.’ It’s a fact that has been drilled into my head as early as I was able to recite the Girl Scout pledge, then up through college, and even now as I enter the workforce. However, repeating the importance of working as a team does not make teamwork any less of a challenge in and of itself. It’s something that is encouraged throughout the entirety of our lives because as we grow, some of our egos might as well.
Teamwork requires humility, effective communication, conflict resolution and commitment. These things aren’t being fulfilled without being honest with yourself and attempting to be the best version of yourself as you can be. Overall, working on a successful team requires a certain level of emotional intelligence. Managing your own emotions as well as being able to identify other people’s will create an environment for a team to feel more comfortable, trusting, and a sense of group efficacy. Successful teamwork does not only encourage efficient performance, but also encourages the personal development of each team member.
As someone who participated in business school, it felt as if I had more opportunities to work on a team than to work solo. Teams can work together and grow to become successful, and a team is something to be built, even if the team is a group of strangers randomly chosen to be together.
Ahead of joining the NowSourcing team, I had a few different perspectives under my belt. While there may be more depending on your definitions, I was familiar with four common types of teams with multiple types of interdependence. If you’re as lucky as I was, you can walk into a job that is nonexclusive and work as a cross-functional, virtual, self-managed, and problem-solving team. These are the types of teams that are commonplace within the workforce. While interning on the promotions team, I was able to view how these interactions work in real life.
In the simplest way possible, the typical process at NowSourcing goes from ideation to design to promotion. We have help from virtual team members who work autonomously, contributing ideas without the groupthink that can easily happen when brainstorming in the same room. There are also instances that require our team to be self-managed, such as being trusted to complete our work individually to meet again over our shared goal like the satisfaction of our client.
Whenever an issue arises, a problem-solving group comes together to fix the specific issue. The most common type of teamwork that I’ve experienced would be cross-functional. Throughout the entirety of the process, members from each department bring forward their expertise. Through incorporating several angles of teamwork into the process of our company, we are able to gain new insights, engage as employees, develop management and communication skills, and overall build team spirit.
NowSourcing is design-thinking based where it is especially important to leverage different ideas, big or small, to contribute to the success of our infographics and happiness of our clients. It is critical for each member to understand the idea of teamwork and their role as part of a team effort. Gaining team spirit does not always come easy, we’ve all had experiences where someone doesn’t pull their weight or is too close-minded to work with others. Not all teams are a group of friends, and they don’t necessarily need to be in order to be effective. However, teamwork can foster a comfortable and fulfilling way of working with others and can be one of the most enjoyable aspects of work if you put in the work.
Rachel Jones is a Junior Promotions Specialist at NowSourcing.