Companies want employees with team skills. They should integrate well with the staff and work together as a team. If the cooperation is right, the results are also right – that’s the idea. Before that happens, there is often a long way to go. Becauseteam competence does not fall from the sky and not everyone brings this important skill with them. What distinguishes this competence and what it means for companies …
Definition: what does team competence mean?
Teamwork is often synonymous with teamwork . It is an important social skill that characterizes the way employees interact with one another. The stronger the team competence of individual teammates, the more the ego recedes for the benefit of the common goals. As a result, the cooperation is much more harmonious, the communication is more appreciative and there is a feeling of togetherness.
At the same time, one mistake must be prevented here: team competence and harmonious cooperation are not synonymous with harmony addiction . Teammates do not always agree and arguing is very possible. But those who are capable of working in a team deal with differences of opinion in a constructive manner. Not individuals try to push through their personal goals and views, but everyone contributes to the mutual success.
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Which competencies does team competence include?
Important: Team competence is not a character trait . Rather, the term describes a competence that can be learned and is characterized by various individual competencies :
1. Willingness to cooperate
Team competence requires the will to cooperate. Lone fighters with knowledge of domination have bad cards here, because the realization of their own goals takes a back seat in view of the company’s goals. This can also be seen in the willing to exchange information so that others can of course share in the knowledge. This in turn requires common values. If, on the other hand, conflicting interests emerge, this reduces team competence.
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2. Interdisciplinary
Even if employees have specific areas of expertise or even come from different departments, a process of communication takes place. Problem-solving can rarely be driven by one-dimensional thinking. Instead, the team members use different mindsets, approaches and methods from different areas. The more general knowledge is available, the better the success. On the other hand, if specialist knowledge dominates, this makes cooperation more difficult, as certain overarching knowledge is missing and must first be acquired.
3. Communication skills
Clear, unambiguous communication is an art. Employees do not always succeed in expressing themselves clearly. Misunderstandings on the job are often the cause of disagreements. If those affected cannot resolve these quickly, this will have a negative impact on the working atmosphere and productivity..
4. Reflective ability
That means constantly reviewing decisions and working methods in the team. Which approach leads to success, which mistakes can be avoided? This sub-area requires self-reflection: At which points does the employee see a need for action? To what extent has he himself contributed to certain developments? Sometimes giving constructive feedback and admitting to wrong business decisions can be tricky for leaders, in this case collaborating with corporate trainers can be very beneficial, these experts will offer you opportunities for feedback and collaboration and help you master your managerial skills, learn more about Langevin certifications and workshops to learn about their professional workshops held online and on-site.
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5. Structural ability
In order to perform well in a team, an employee must have the ability to work in a structured manner. He is able to independently prioritize tasks and process them accordingly or postpone them.
6. Initiative
Team-competent employees are characterized by the fact that they also take their own initiative . You recognize where action is required and trust yourself to do the job. Instead of waiting for someone else to ask, they take action themselves. It is not about seizing power on one’s own initiative and outside one’s own area of responsibility. Rather, sensible measures are recognized and implemented. Often, this approach enables another colleague to work and thus contributes to success.
Why is teamwork so important?
Compared to the last century, technical progress is taking place in fast motion. This in turn increases the pressure on many companies: in order to remain competitive and stand out from the competition, they have to be innovative. That doesn’t just mean constantly throwing new products onto the market. It means having a feel for what customers want. In addition, the changed world of work demands being able to react quickly in the event of difficulties. So companies have to be flexible and agile. This is exactly the agility they expect from their teams.
In the past, when selecting applicants , HR managers primarily made sure that they were as consistent as possible with the company’s values and goals. So you chose the best of the best, but you also got fairly uniform teams with very similar traits. However, no problems can be solved with the same approaches and ideas . Diversity has therefore been the buzzword in recent years.
Why is teamwork important and what are the benefits of teamwork?Companies hope that diverse, agile teams will be able to provide answers to urgent questions. Therefore, companies are increasingly looking for employees who have a different background, think differently and approach challenges differently. This is the approach behind the Belbin team roles .
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Team roles according to Belbin
British psychology professor Meredith Belbin found that excellence alone is no guarantee of success. Accordingly, a good team (or a good teamwork rather) needs nine different personalities who complement each other and thus contribute to the greatest possible team competence:
- Doer
Show the courage to overcome obstacles. Urges pragmatic action, but is impatient. - Converter
An organizational skills , the plans put into practice. Effective and disciplined, but inflexible and stubborn. - Perfectionist
Is careful and conscientious about details. Tends to be control addicts and finds it difficult to delegate . - Coordinator
Ideal team leader , advances decisions and highlights good ideas. Own skills less pronounced. - Team worker
Supports others, is cooperative and diplomatic. But it is difficult to make decisions . - Switchman
Retains communicative external interfaces in mind. On the other hand, erratic and sometimes overly optimistic . - Inventor
Creative mind who brings fresh ideas. Lateral thinker and provocateur. Difficult to adhere to formal requirements. - Observer
skeptic who soberly and critically examines proposals for feasibility. Has a demotivating effect on others and slows them down. - Specialist
Is committed to bringing his great expertise to the table, but often gets lost in technical details.
How employees become team-competent
Team competence includes team-oriented thinking and acting. What sounds so natural is not always the case: some employees may have little experience with teamwork . For example, career starters or colleagues who are returning to a permanent position after a long period of self- employment . In other cases, new teams are formed: Here too, the employees first have to find each other as a team. Team competence does not mean having a template for all cases. Rather, a team-competent person has the teamwork skills that are important in contact with others.
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Various team building measures ensure that the above mentioned competencies emerge when dealing with others. This gives everyone the chance to work on possible weak points (some of the advantages of teamwork). On the one hand, this can include events such as bowling, or the teams have to work on specific tasks. If, for example, challenging exercises reveal that a person only has limited conflict ability, this is certainly a topic for the reflection phase and / or an employee interview .
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