Team work has always been a very conscientious issue for me. I have always believed that team work does not work for a number of reasons. Firstly because individuals who form a team have different interests and motivations. Secondly people in teams always want to get noticed for any input and of course the competitiveness of individuals. For some they may see a team as a front to hide behind and be lazy choosing to blame others for lack of cooperativeness. Some may want tasks delegated to them in a team instead of taking their own initiative. Most important teams can fail because people may not understand the concept of team working or because people do not know how to harness the particular talents of all the members in it.

I think that teams can work if people are willing to embrace the differences and the qualities that each individual has. But this has a problem in itself because sometimes people may not want to waste their time getting to know other people. It may be important to some to just get the work done without all the being nice preparations. This requires commitment from everyone if all are to keep their eyes on the ball. Personally I don’t believe teams can work but I was convinced today that given time and commitment it has its own advantages of getting the work done in little time and conserves the organisation’s intellectual capital. I have always believed on the one hand that work is best done in an individual setting where one has the freedom to exploit all resources available to them and above all focus. On the other hand, if tasks are delegated properly in a team setting work can be done expeditiously, creatively (satisfying the old adage that two hands are better than one) and effectively.

My knowledge and how to use teams to achieve organizational goals will be put to the test when I go into a work setting. I am no longer in the defensive mode about teamwork because I now possess the knowledge about the strengths and weakness of teamwork and how to harness them properly to obtain organisational goals.