8 Ways to Improve Your Organization's Teamwork Skills During Covid-19

Effective teamwork was a challenge even before the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown has made things more difficult. Now, as work returns to a new normal, organisations need to renew their focus on facilitating teamwork. Having good teamwork skills is not just about getting along with others, but also about how well people work together and how effectively they deliver results.

What are teamwork skills and why are they important?

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. If all are moving forward, success takes care of itself/' - Henry Ford.

Teamwork skills are critical to the success of a team. And enabling people to succeed as they collaborate is an important part of the broader “employee experience.” As a leader, it’s your responsibility to bring individuals together as teams and bring teams together to ensure they succeed. So how do you do it?

First, it’s important to acknowledge that teamwork doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Many people are naturally good at working alone or at least don’t have the skills to work in teams. This empowers managers, as you’re always in control – you can influence and be the role model your team needs.

Second, teamwork skills do not develop in a “vacuum” – the team environment needs to be adequate and meaningful. Social and organizational psychologist Richard Hackman has identified three ‘enabling conditions’ for teams to thrive:

• A clear and compelling direction
• A solid and strong structure
• A highly supportive environment

Teamwork Skills in the Context of COVID-19

According to a recent study, 90% of companies believe their culture improves when working remotely. When working remotely, people expect a level of commitment to employee experience (EX). And leaders need to positively influence EX, ensuring that employees are empowered to work together in highly collaborative ways.

There are some tips to improve teamwork skills which are very important when working.

1. Set team goals and objectives

For a team to function, everyone needs to understand and buy into the common mission, then put it above their individual goals.

It is the leader’s responsibility to set a clear and compelling direction for his or her team members. Without it, a team has little chance of success. To maximize success as a team, people need to be committed to a common goal over individual goals. Think of some of the most successful rock bands in history; when someone’s ego gets bigger than their shared purpose, the whole thing starts to fall apart.

1. Be clear about roles

Team members must be clear about their roles and responsibilities. People need to understand and feel confident about the specific strengths they bring to the team. When performing work, team members must know clearly what they are expected to do, what their roles and responsibilities are. If the members themselves do not know what their roles are, it is not a working team.

Team size and structure are important, if a team is too small you won’t have the right mix of skills, thinking styles and behaviours. If a team is too large people can become lazy and more susceptible to groupthink.

Diversity is also important, work groups should strive to have a mix of ages, professional groups, personalities and genders. In a group with diverse members, innovation and creativity will be greater and will be a competitive advantage.

1. Effective communication

Working online, geographically separated, can affect communication because we receive fewer non-verbal cues. The Harvard Business Review confirms this in their article on the secrets of great teamwork: “In face-to-face teams, participants can rely on non-verbal cues and context to provide insight into what is going on.” Richard Hackman describes this as ‘incomplete information’ and highlights it as one of the key issues that prevent successful teamwork.

And the content of the communication doesn’t matter. As Mike Schoultz, president of Digital Spark Marketing, says, “How you communicate determines how effective your team is.”

1. Conflict Management

All teams experience conflict from time to time. The key to success is how it is managed and resolved. As leaders, managers need to address any conflict that arises promptly and empathetically. Keep the team’s common goals in mind and use this to guide everyone, refocus, and recover from conflict.

1. Recognize and reward team spirit

It's important that teams know when they're doing well. You can recognize good performance with extrinsic rewards - like bonuses - and intrinsic rewards - like praise from senior leaders. If you make it clear that the reward is for the whole team, this will reinforce the team's sense of belonging.

1. Encourage openness and trust

The guiding principle for sustainable team performance is to focus on trust. There is a good reason for this, as trust is a critical factor in team success. Without it, your teams will not communicate effectively and solve problems together.

Trust will begin to build when you encourage people to speak freely without fear of backlash or anger. You will also see insights and creativity begin to flow when people are less afraid to speak up.

1. Give constructive feedback

Giving effective feedback is a skill in itself. But it doesn't come easily to many of us. The good news is that it gets easier with practice. Teams grow and develop much faster when given constructive feedback than when left wondering how they're doing or just being criticized.

1. In charge of

If you want your team members to take responsibility for their part in team projects, show them how it’s done, be clear about your role, and be willing to take responsibility for both mistakes and successes. Remember, if your people see you blaming others, they will do the same.

Accountability involves having clearly defined roles and knowing what part you play in the success or failure of the team.

Teamwork is powerful, and the synergy of team members’ strengths and talents creates a formidable force. Leaders have the privilege of using their team members’ strengths to their advantage if your team works together. And as a leader, you must make strategic decisions, encourage positive behaviors, and create an environment where people can do their best work – not just as individuals, but as a team.

MSc. Pham Van Minh - Head of Soft Skills Training and Development Department