Teamwork and the Power of Being Unique

“Teamwork” feels like an underwhelming word, but the world around us has been built almost exclusively thanks to our ability to work together. These collaboration skills are, in large part, due to our diversity as a species. We look differently; we think differently; we act differently. A singular or uniform approach creates efficient solutions to any given problem, but it also ensures a lack of flexibility for new problems. This has been true across industry and throughout time.  We need construction workers, we need doctors, we need factory manufacturers, we need truck drivers, we need librarians, we need teachers. Those jobs all matter and require different skillsets to do those jobs correctly!

This principle applies to any group of people, but today’s newsletter focuses on the idea of a team. A high functioning team is composed of three main factors: 

1. Having a diverse skillset
2. Understanding its diverse skillsets
3. Applying its diverse skillset 

These three factors may seem like the same thing, but there are crucial distinctions to make. Every group will naturally have its own series of strengths and weaknesses; many of these are even fairly predictable. You can guess how an accountant’s skillset may differ from a college professor’s. The second step is where most organizations start to falter. Groups and teams constantly autopilot; “we do this because that’s always the way we’ve done things.” As people move to new organizations and personnel changes, the remaining people pick up their tasks and make-do. The status-quo may work fine – but it is rarely the best path forward!

It is important for organizations to pause, every so often, and take inventory. Who is responsible for what? Is that an effective use of their time? Would they be more effective somewhere else? Not every task can be placed with a worker who would effectively accomplish it, nor can every worker be responsible for only things they are good at – but there is almost always room for optimization.

OKA is in the business of teaching teams and organizations to understand themselves by understanding the people who make up these teams and organizations. Our core founding principle is that greater self-awareness leads to greater self-management. There are tons of different tools or models which can provide this self-awareness: the MBTI, the EQ-i, the DRiV, the ISI, and the CSI are all designed specifically to illustrate what makes someone unique. They are different windows into how people think, feel, and act, and each come with action plans on how to do that strategically. These tools all have one absolute truth in common: every team functions better when each of its members get to do the things they’re good at. It sounds so simple, but the results are profound. It leads to workers who are more productive, who are happier (and therefore less likely to leave,) and leads to strategic innovation.

To learn more about how to increase your teamwork, or what kinds of tools, workshops, or certifications are right for you, reach out! Get connected with OKA’s Director of Business Development, Catherine Germinario (cgerminario@oka-online.com) and we can discuss on how best to help your organization.