WHY DOING IT ALONE, GET A TEAM
Have you been a developer who has been doing your job all by your self? just because you think you know it all, why always thinking that you need no help, that you can do it all by your self, No !, you are wrong, GO GET A TEAM.
stay healthy, stay strong, stay committed and get a team that’s all you need to get your project done. you might be asking why do I need a team? , well, TEAMWORK SKILLS are important in every field of business. A good team enables you to be productive both as a group and as an individual. Today’s teams are different from the teams of the past. They’re more dispersed, digital, and divers but while collectives face new challenges, their success still depends on a core set of fundamentals that make a team a good team.let me share a story of a well-known tech company named ‘google’
AFTER YEARS OF INTENSIVE ANALYSIS, GOOGLE DISCOVERS THE KEY TO GOOD TEAMWORK
In the last decade, Google has spent millions of dollars on measuring nearly every aspect of its employees’ lives — from which traits the best managers share to how often particular people eat together. The tech giant was determined to find out how to compile ‘the perfect team’.
The company’s executives worked hard on finding the perfect mix of individuals necessary to form a stellar team. They believed that building good teams meant combining the best people. But it wasn’t that simple.
In 2012 Google ran a project known as Project Aristotle. It took several years and included interviews with hundreds of employees. They analyzed data about the people on more than 100 active teams at the company.
“We looked at 180 teams from all over the company. We had lots of data, but there was nothing showing that a mix of specific personality types or skills or backgrounds made any difference. The ‘who’ part of the equation didn’t seem to matter.’’ — Abeer Dubey, a manager in Google’s People Analytics division
Google’s intense data collection led to the same conclusions that good managers have always known: In the best teams, members show sensitivity, and most importantly, listen to one another.
Matt Sakaguchi, a midlevel manager at Google, was keen to put Project Aristotle’s findings into practice. He took his team off-site to open up about his cancer diagnosis. Although initially silent, his colleagues then began sharing their personal stories.
At the heart of Sakaguchi’s strategy, and Google’s findings is the concept of “psychological safety” — a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.
Google now describes psychological safety as the most important factor in building a successful team.
Google ended up highlighting what leaders in the business world have known for a while: the best teams are mindful that all members should contribute to the conversation equally, and respect one another’s emotions. It has less to do with who is in a team, and more with how the members interact with one another.
here is another story of individuals who finds it interesting practicing together as a group or team.
A ROLLING STONE GATHERS NO MOSS
Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Keith Richards, and Ronnie Wood — The Rolling Stones — have played together for more than 50 years. However, they still recognize the importance of practicing together.
They understand that for excellence to become a habit, you need to define a shared approach to working together. You need to practice it over and over until it becomes second nature.
Before every tour, the band typically commits two months to rehearse. They appreciate the opportunity to reconnect with their collective rhythm. The practice enables the band to perform with almost telepathic communication.
Richards says that he knows exactly what’s happening by simply watching Watts’ left hand. If the tempo ever drags, one glance from Richards to Wood speaks volumes. Together they will then step up the pace.
The Stones’ success comes from each member having a distinctive yet complementary role. Richards is their spiritual leader, Watts the band’s backbone, Wood the mediator, and Jagger is in control of everything he can be — a chief executive in many ways.
Each of the band’s members is a talent in his own right, but it is the chemistry the band has on each of them that works best. Being part of the Rolling Stones remains the best way for each member to achieve their individual goals. The best teams are those who combine individual drive with understanding the importance and power of the team.
This is the secret to becoming an excellent team: There is no substitute for the ongoing commitment and deliberate practice required to build better teams.
my aim of sharing these stories is to make you understand the benefits of having a team and how interesting you can find it as a member of a team here is another story of a team of about 35 employees.
TEAM-BUILDING EVENT
A team of about 35 employees had come together for a team-building event. They were a young, bright and enthusiastic team.
However, one big problem this team had was they wouldn’t share information or solutions. The leader felt they were too focused on self and not enough on the team.
So she started with a fun team activity that would allow her to teach the importance of each team member working together and sharing more.
She brought the team into the cafeteria. All of the tables and chairs had been stacked and put away. Placed around the room were fun decorations and hundreds of different colored balloons.
Everyone was excited, but not sure what it was all about. In the center of the room was a big box of balloons that had not been blown up yet.
The team leader asked each person to pick a balloon, blow it up and write their name on it. But they were instructed to be careful because the balloon could pop!
A few balloons did indeed pop and those members of the team were given another chance but were told that if the balloon popped again they were out of the game.
About 30 team members were able to get their name on a balloon without it popping. Those 30 were asked to leave their balloons and exit the room. They were told they had qualified for the second round.
Five minutes later the leader brought the team back into the room and announced that their next challenge was to find the balloon they had left behind with their name on it among the hundreds of other balloons scattered in the large cafeteria. She warned them, however, to be very careful and not to pop any of the balloons. If they did, they would be disqualified.
While being very careful, but also trying to go as quickly as they could, each team member looked for the balloon with their name. After 15 minutes not one single person was able to find their balloon. The team was told that the second round of the game was over and they were moving onto the third round.
In this next round, the leader told the team members to find any balloon in the room with a name on it and give it to the person whose name was on it. Within a couple of minutes, every member of the team had their balloon with their name on it.
The team leader made the following point: “We are much more efficient when we are willing to share. And we are better problem solvers when we are working together, not individually.”
Often members of teams create obstacles that get in the way of teamwork by solely focusing on their pursuits and goals. They hoard information, avoid collaboration and distance themselves. It is bad for the team and it is bad for that individual.
Every member of a team should ask themselves regularly what they are doing for the team and can do for the team.
I will be ending this article by sharing the Elements for Effective Teamwork;
commitment and Trust
All members of a high-impact team must be fully committed to achieving the team’s mission and goals. Each member must devote a reasonable amount of time and energy to advancing the team’s mission and must be able to trust that all other team members are doing the same. Mistrust stemming from unbalanced workloads can lead to petty political moves, such as high performers slacking off to close the gap between team member outputs.
Open Lines of Communication
Effective teams must have open lines of communication. Communication must be honest and flow between all team members equally. Team members who understand each other’s unique communication styles, or who agree on a single style of communication from the outset, are more likely to move the team in a productive direction that everyone understands and supports. Team members must never be hesitant to communicate with other members about issues and concerns, as well as new ideas or personal observations.
Diversity of Capabilities
Teams that possess a wide range of professional competencies can be more fully equipped to meet a wide range of challenges. When building teams, take time to ensure that each team member possesses skills and strengths that complement the skills, strengths, and weaknesses of other team members. Bringing together people with common skill-sets can lead to a great deal of discussion with little subsequent action. Ensuring that each team member possesses a unique specialty allows team members to trust each other for certain aspects of performance, while fully understanding what their own contribution is expected to be.
Adaptable to Changing Conditions
High-powered teams must be flexible and adaptable to changing conditions. Team strategies, goals, tasks, workflows and even members can change over the life of the team. Team members should be able to rally together and meet new challenges head-on, rather than splintering into ideological factions or banding together to resist change. Change is an unavoidable part of modern business, and the most effective teams have the ability to roll with the punches and change the way they work together on the fly.
Confidence and Creative Freedom
All team members should feel free to think creatively — to try new things and fail without the fear of consequences. This aspect of teamwork brings together all of the other elements for effective teamwork. Team members must trust that others will listen openly to their ideas, they must be able to confidently and openly communicate their new ideas, they must be trusted enough in their area of expertise to lead the way in new initiatives and they must be adaptable enough to accommodate the changes inherent in bringing new ideas to realization.
