Despite signifying quite a general concept, the word “team” tends to be primarily associated with the sports. Most frequently it implies a relatively small group of people involved in some common activity. However, in a modern society this word is already widely used in many different spheres that presuppose and focus on the humans’ interaction and, as a result, it can most brightly show its essence and value. The concept of team became often applied in regards to the working environment, since exactly the workplace is where people need and have to cooperate most to see some results, gain some profit, achieve some goals, etc. What is moreMoreover, each workplace team can be differentiated as based on such core factors as the distribution of responsibilities, mutual trust, the degree of interaction and interdependence and others. Therefore, in their diversity the workplace teams frequently resemble the sports team.
Defining the team model
After a thorough consideration, my work team is defined to most closely resemble a football team. The main reasons for that are that each person is assigned to a specific position or task to perform, and the whole workload is divided within the members of one sub-group that is for some time responsible for covering it effectively. All members of the sub-team have their own responsibilities and should back up the teammates depending on priority and urgency of projects. To some extent, they all have to interact due to the various reasons: to exchange the information, to help, to advise, to cover all the tasks in the most optimal way. Similarly, as the tasks/projects are also coordinated between each other, the colleagues are rather interdependent, as it matters a lot to what extent they succeed or fail in managing the workload and covering each other.
Despite the fact that the general football team model is attributed to the team under analysis, the process of individual working in some particular way resembles baseball. It can be explained by the fact that each person is more concentrated on one’s own tasks and is helpful the most until he/she is doing his/her work well. If general performance of this person is quite good and productive and all his/her tasks are processed well, there is not much of cooperation then. The best way to help another person and not to let anybody down is to do your own work well. However, the interaction is active in some particular cases, when two/or more members of the team are trying to cover more work and speed up the process due to strict deadlines. In some urgent cases a hand from the colleague can save, but otherwise, it can distract a little or even spoil the work done by other person. Though the situations can be very different. Nonetheless, in terms of common results and achievements, our work team is still closer to a football team model. It is, for example, presented in common quantitative and qualitative results, like weekly/monthly statistics, profit, etc. If somebody does not contribute and is not doing his/her best, the team members know it and become discouraged. Similarly, being quite dependent on the team, there is still a lot of place for personal breakthroughs, extra miles and other things that can help somebody to become a quarterback.
Initially such team model was quite new to me, but soon I found it very interesting and convenient. According to the stereotypes, everybody receives the task and works on it restlessly until it is done. Now, the new standards and principles of cooperation allow people to communicate more, to interact more, to rely on and trust more, to help more and actually do more in order to make one’s own contribution and prove to be an indispensable part of the whole. Such closeness and cooperation really inspires. I really like most of the people I work with, because they are real professionals and very cooperative and helpful colleagues. I look up to them and they inspire me to do the best I can for my team just the way they do it.
Suggestions and reasons for improving
Notwithstanding, there are always different people in a team and they perceive it and evaluate such responsibility in a different way. There are always some reticent and pensive people who resist cooperation or interaction. There are always people who care more and those who care less. That is already the task of the team leader to create a climate of trust, facilitate relationships and maintain the interaction between the team members in order to foster cooperation and create the most comfortable, respective and productive working environment. (224) In addition, in my opinion, our team leader should be more open, initiative and interactive as it is this person who influences the atmosphere and relations in the team most. These points can greatly help the team to achieve common purposes. Being alone and egocentric, we simply cannot make it. (223)
