Tuesday, July 10, 2018 was a great day as news that the remaining Thai soccer team members and their assistant coach had been successfully rescued from the cave they’d been trapped in within Northern Thailand. I was personally thankful and grateful for this miracle that God performed utilizing over 10,000 people, including 2,000 soldiers, 200 divers, and representatives from 100 government agencies, according to the New York Times. Now that is what I call teamwork! Amazing what was accomplished when this team pulled together to rescue the Wild Boars—a team of 12 boys between the ages of 11 – 16, most who did not know how to swim.

Teamwork can also provide collective strength and staying power for your business or organization. Whether you’re managing employees or volunteers, a strong team can help your group be more productive and create a friendlier, more open environment. By instilling positive teamwork habits, you can build a powerful group that can tackle even the toughest problems

Who’s on your team?

Let’s look at your team. Your company has maybe 5, 10, 50, 100, or even 500+ people that comprise the team you work with every day. What can your team accomplish as you pull together to focus on common goals? What are key elements in teamwork? Let’s begin with these:

Leadership – A team leader should be a role model for the team members. He/she plays an important role in guiding the team members, holding team members accountable, empowering team members, communicating the team goal(s) clearly, and motivating them to stay focused.

Open Communication – A team is able to communicate effectively when there is a feeling of open communication between all members of the group. Issues within a team are handled predominantly by face-to-face communication. Email is a secondary means of communication. And team members do not talk behind each other’s back because of the standard that has been set and out of respect for one another.

Decision-Making – A team has a hierarchy and a built-in decision-making system that helps it to react quickly and effectively to all situations. The members of the group are respected for their various areas of expertise, and the leader of the group has developed the ability to obtain the group members’ opinions to formulate the group’s response. This applies to all types of decisions made within the team.

Participation – In order for a team to act as a team, everyone must be participating in the goal that is at hand. Within the team, each member has a specific role or position to play. Each member of a team is essential to the team’s success, and when the group is given a task, each member knows what their job is and sets out to put in their fair share of the effort.

For example, in football, not everyone on the offense can be the quarterback. For the 11-member offensive team on the field to score a touchdown, all 11 members have a key role to play including the Left Guard, Center, Tight End, Running Back, Wide Receivers, and yes, the Right Tackle. It takes all 11 team members executing their specific tasks to enable the team to accomplish their goal – TOUCHDOWN!

Getting in the game

We are beginning the 3rd quarter of the year which is a great time to assess your team and your team goals. What needs to be done to focus your 5, 10. 50. 100, or 500+ person team to accomplish the team goals at hand? 10,000 people faced with a crisis rescued 11 boys and their assistant coach from a cave that was underwater in 18 days. This was an amazing effort put forth by each one of those members who made up that team of 10,000.

It shouldn’t take a crisis for a group of people to pull together to accomplish a goal. Look at the next six months and focus your team on the goals that you all have at hand for your company, whether it is customer service goals, quality assurance goals, business development goals, financial goals, or community involvement goals. Put the power of your team to work and see what your team can accomplish working together well.

If you’d like assistance with team leadership, developing a team culture, setting team goals, and/or other HR and leadership matters, Close HR can help. Contact us to discuss your needs and how we might assist you.

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