Page 320 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

Project Name: Manual for Soft Skills
ACE Pro India Pvt. Ltd.
\\mtpdy01\Womat\Indesign\Bhatnagar-Manual for Soft skills\06-Pagination\06-A-Finals\06-AA-Appl\Bhatnagar_Chapter 15.indd

15

Team-building Skills

After reading this chapter, you will be familiar with:
• Characteristics of well-functioning teams
• Team roles
• Characteristics of good team-building
• Guidelines for team effectiveness

INTRODUCTION

Individuals do not work in isolation. Students, teachers, doctors, schol-
ars, and everybody, irrespective of their professional background, work in
teams. Team-working is the ability of a group of individuals to form into a
cohesive unit to achieve a common goal. Teams have significant advantages
over disorganized individuals in many work situations, such as (i) distribute
workload evenly and co-ordinate effort, as long as everyone on the team
contributes fully; (ii) shared responsibility for problem-solving, testing ideas
and decision-making; and (iii) better motivation and support through build-
ing rapport between colleagues.
However, building a successful team takes effort. To be successful, a team
needs to be united in the pursuit of a goal, with an agreed process to achieve
the goal. However, in addition to focusing on the goal and meeting dead-
lines, the needs of the team members should also be taken into consideration.
When working in a team, it is important to remember to treat colleagues
as you would your customers. You can use customer-service-skills (attitude,
active listening, assertiveness, negotiation, questioning, conflict resolution,
communication, and so on) to manage your relationships within the team.

Bhatnagar_Chapter 15.indd 308 2011-06-23 8:00:12 PM
Modified Date: Thu, Jun 23, 2011 06:36:00 PM Output Date: Thu, Jun 23, 2011 08:00:12 PM
TEMPLATE Page Number: PB