University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Wake Up and Smell the Coffee
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Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

The Imperative of Teams

Simon Mac Rory
LID Business Media, 2018
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Well Structured
  • Concrete Examples

Recommendation

Team development specialist Simon Mac Rory offers a comprehensive guide to strengthening teams. The ability to work in teams is a significant human advantage, yet some people seem to abandon their innate teamwork skills at work, and firms often fail to pay attention to how their teams are working. However, companies with a proper plan for improving team effectiveness can boost their productivity and profitability. The author argues that the gig economy and the advent of millennial employees makes it imperative to position teams as central to your strategy. He enriches his argument by drawing on related academic findings.

Summary

People at work seem to abandon their innate teamwork skills.

Evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson suggests that mastery of teamwork is a significant advantage that human beings have over other species. People work together in many different ways, including interaction within families or in social settings. However, people seem to abandon their innate teamwork skills once they get to work. In addition, most leaders seem to think that teamwork should occur naturally and without much effort. This may help explain why organizations often don’t pay sufficient attention to their teams.

Companies that institute effective plans for teamwork increase their efficiency and improve their results. When diverse members of a team focus together on a problem, they can resolve it much faster than any single person could. Teams boost creativity and, unlike most individuals, they don’t restrict themselves to the safest solutions.

Organizations must re-evaluate teams to incorporate gig employees.

The growth of the gig economy provides an important reason for companies...

About the Author

Team development specialist Simon Mac Rory, PhD, consults with leading private and public sector organizations. In 2011, he established The Odd Company, which offers cloud-based team development tools and methods.

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