<\/p>\n
In my\u00a0third post on the topic of helping, I consider teamwork as a helping relationship (see here for my first<\/a> and second<\/a> posts).\u00a0Below\u00a0are\u00a0 some notes\/quotes\/ideas on teamwork from Chapter 7 of\u00a0Schein’s book “\u201cHelping: How to offer, give and receive help\u201d.<\/p>\n Teamwork as perpetual reciprocal helping<\/strong> (title of Chapter 7)<\/p>\n Early on in his book, Schein<\/a> refers to teamwork as ‘perpetual reciprocal helping’ and the phrase stuck with me because it offered an interesting\u00a0perspective on this word and concept. Traditional definitions of teamwork, such as the one found at Merriam-Webster online<\/a>, go something like this: “work done by several associates with each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole.” Unlike this definition, Schein’s\u00a0emphasizes trust and exchange, which I believe are important.<\/p>\n https:\/\/flic.kr\/p\/ozLoE<\/p>\n About subordination, Schein notes that\u00a0teams work best when the higher status person exhibits some humility, and \u201cacknowledges that others are crucial to good outcomes\u201d. Thus, for effective team functioning, the higher status team member\u00a0should create space for other members to develop\u00a0identities and roles that\u00a0feel equitable within the context of that group. \u00a0One way of doing this is by taking on the process consultant role<\/a> and helping members figure out responses to the following issues:<\/span><\/p>\n He rightly notes that members should\u00a0not strive for equal status and rank within the group. Rather, teammates should strive to be comfortable with the status that corresponds with their role. \u00a0The goal is mutual acceptance\u00a0because that is essential to the\u00a0development of the trust, which is needed to sustain group performance. “Effective teams do not have to be love-ins, but members must know each other well enough as fellow team members to be able to trust them to play their roles in the accomplishment of the group\u2019s task.\u201d (Schein, 2009, p.111).<\/p>\n The previous quote resonated with me because I used to think that even workload distribution was an essential feature of good teamwork. However,\u00a0as I think back to my experiences of teamwork and collaboration, clarity of role expectations has been a much more important\u00a0factor. Effective teamwork happens when people understand, agree upon, and stick to, their roles. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Clearly, good teamwork needs more than clarity around role expectation; however, this is a piece I plan to pay more attention to \u00a0in future\u00a0collaborations.<\/span><\/p>\n *(Schein, 2009, p.107)<\/p>\n\n