Teamwork

When you work together, and when you work as a team, you achieve results. Whether you’re the newest employee, the owner of the company, or a job supervisor, you are part of a team and your efforts contribute to the team’s success and the financial well-being of the company. Each individual is required to perform to his or her best ability, but it’s the total team performance that determines success or failure.

Your favorite football team won’t ever win a game if each player tries to do everything alone rather than working together as a unit. There’s a certain amount of interdependence required of all members of a team for any endeavor to succeed. Each team member is 100 percent responsible for their own performance, and at the same time must depend on the work or contribution of others for overall success.

Teams either pull together or pull apart. When a team pulls apart, conflict and dissension can undermine self-confidence, disrupt concentration, and interfere with individual performance. The leader does their own part to set the example—guiding, pulling and pushing the others towards the goal line. A successful team leader makes sure each individual has the tools and the knowledge to do their part.

The following will help you get your team to pull together:

• Set goals and encourage everyone to work toward achieving them.
• Help your team see the consequences of pulling apart—poor individual and team performances, unhappiness, conflict, and so forth. Explain how pulling together will help the team be more successful and help everyone reach the goal.
• Hold each individual responsible for promoting this pulling together attitude by supporting and encouraging them.
• Identify and address any problem employees that are hurting company morale or are poor team members.

As a leader, don’t overlook your group as a source of information to improve the way your team works. Ask questions. Listen. Be open to feedback. Welcome new ideas. Above all, have the flexibility and willingness to change if there’s a better alternative. Remember, they say that a leader who doesn't listen, soon finds himself surrounded by people with nothing to say.

Empower people through teamwork. Don’t be afraid to delegate responsibility to others. If you believe you have a great team, you should have confidence in the individuals to whom you delegate responsibility. You should be fiercely dedicated to your team. If you aren’t, ask yourself why, and then build that team that you can be proud of and fiercely dedicated to.

The above content is extracted from Mike Holt's Leadership Skills textbook.

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Mike Holt is an author, businessman, educator, speaker, publisher and National Electrical Code® expert. He has written hundreds of electrical training books and articles, founded three successful businesses, and has taught thousands of electrical code seminars across the US and internationally. His company, Mike Holt Enterprises, has been serving the electrical industry for over 40 years, creating and publishing books, DVDs, online training and curriculum support for electrical trainers, students, organizations, and electrical professionals. 

Mike has devoted his career to studying and understanding the National Electrical Code and finding the easiest, most direct way to share that knowledge with others. He has taught over 1,000 classes on over 40 different electrical-related subjects to tens of thousands of students. His knowledge of the subject matter, coupled with his dynamic and animated teaching style, has made him sought after from companies like Generac, IAEI, IBEW, ICBO, NECA, and Fortune 500 companies such as IBM, Boeing, Motorola, and AT&T. He is a contributing Editor for Electrical Construction and Maintenance Magazine (EC&M) and formerly Construction Editor to Electrical Design and Installation Magazine (EDI). His articles have been seen in CEE News, Electrical Contractor (EC) International Association of Electrical Inspectors (IAEI News), The Electrical Distributor (TED) and Power Quality Magazine (PQ).