Day: November 15, 2012

Teamwork Essentials in the 21st Century: And It's Not About Technology

Team effectiveness is driven more by EQ and CQ (emotional and cultural intelligence) than IQ. Why? Because it’s the interpersonal skills that will draw out the fullest intelligence of the team. Setting operating principles, protocols and clear team goals are critical processes to ensure team members from varying backgrounds and preferences are truly engaged.

Chron Small Business "How to Boost Teamwork in the Workplace"

“A workplace lives and dies on the synergy and cooperation of its employees. A cooperative, functioning team leads to increased productivity, more efficient problem solving and a fairer distribution of responsibilities.” The article talks about the qualities of frankness and honesty as well as empowering and encouraging your team.

Harvard Business Review: "Candor, Criticism, Teamwork"

“The desire to avoid conflict is understandable, but it’s one of the most debilitating factors in organizational life. Lack of candor contributes to longer cycles times, slow decision making, and unnecessarily iterative discussions.” Insightful advice can be found in the article based on 50 large companies over the past three years that speaks about candor and criticism in positive light.

Career Builder “How cross-training can benefit your team”

“Remember, cross-training isn’t about having employees teach others about all of their finer responsibilities but rather is about concentrating on the most critical components of their work. At the same time, you’re building stronger teams, because people who understand the unique pressures and challenges faced by colleagues are more likely to be supportive and work together more effectively than those not cross-trained.” The article presents the basics to begin a cross-training process.

Forbes " 5 Tips for Virtual Collaboration"

“Various studies have shown that it is more difficult to get virtual teams to bond, harder for informal leaders to emerge, tougher to create genuine dialogue, and easier for misunderstandings to escalate.” Through this article you will find ways to help to make virtual teams successful.