“Strength lies in differences, not in similarities” Stephen Covey.
There has recently been much talk about new key skills that will come into play with the digital economy and in an increasingly global market. Digital connectivity and communication, digital working and leadership, social intelligence, adaptive thinking, virtual collaboration and cognitive management are just some of the latest to emerge. Interesting, although many of them are related to the skill which we will be discussing in this post, teamwork, which is an old classic but no less relevant for it.
It is, without a doubt, one of the so-called core skills for any selection process, performance assessment or review in any organisation. It’s something apparently easy to understand but not so simple to put into practice, like everything in life it needs training. And it’s considered a core skill because it brings distinguishing characteristics to companies and guarantees, in many cases, the ongoing success of their business model. They tend to be collective in nature, that’s to say, applicable to the organisation as a whole and are hard to copy when they are part of the company’s DNA.
So, what’s team work? It’s the ability to work with others, inside and outside the team, establishing an efficient working relationship and fluid communication that contributes to meeting objectives. The team is truly a team when “me” turns into “we“. What links the individuals making up the team is the pursuit of a shared objective, and the manner in which to achieve it. A team only exists when it takes collective responsibility for something, whereas within the group the individual’s responsibility prevails.
Would you like to join our team? (+)
José Miguel Baeza
ACCIONA Corporate Training Department