Teamwork and Ownership. This article is my personal view, based my observations, personal experiences and a few general conversations.
Deep inside the pain resides,
I tried so much, yet in vain I sigh.
Seeing the team going an extra mile chasing the way,
Yet a few work, and others do little to seize the day,
I wonder why we think this way!
I ask myself,
Is it because of one’s goals and future plans,
That they do what is important as per their action plan!
I wonder,
Why we struggle to share our plans?
Can’t we support everyone reach their goals, working together hand in hand?
And form a unified team again!!
You may see it as yet another perception or say it’s a discontent,
While our views may differ, I respect your views and request the same from you.
These lines are straight from my heart – Ritu Kapur
TEAM, ‘Tireless Efforts And Misunderstandings’. I say this when I see: misunderstandings and silent bitterness in the team, despite everyone in the team putting a lot of hard work. Relentless work but lack of communication and no coordination leading to misunderstandings and clashing egos!
No doubt effective teamwork leads to great successes; but if the team works in silos, then there is no Team. Even if each member is super qualified and good at individual work, the outcomes may not be desired just because the teamwork is missing.
The idea of having a team is to leverage the diverse experience and strengths that each member carries. That’s the reason while forming a team we prefer onboarding people with different skills and preferences to complement each other, leading to overall success through collaboration making it a TEAM – ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’.
My experience and team dynamics:
Working for almost three decades, both as a corporate employee and as an entrepreneur, I have witnessed a gradual shift in people’s preference from taking ownership to merely getting the task done.
Many times, I have observed a few taking ownership, doing everything on their own to make the project successful, while others completing the task using their delegation skills.
Understanding team members:
From being committed to participative is a trending approach towards the assigned tasks.
Participative People: Seeing ‘Work as Part of Life’ they work reliably following the rules but may not always be enthusiastic to go beyond their goals and vision. Good at prioritising what is meaningful, they manage work-life balance.
Committed People: Believing ‘Work Is Life’, work with complete ownership. Trustworthy and dedicated people, who build their credibility by working hard, owning responsibility. Ownership apparently is in their DNA and they proactively initiate and go beyond to make the project a success with or without the team.
These people often feel that the project will fall apart or the deadlines won’t meet if they take a day off. Thinking about the project all the time ‘eustress’ and ‘distress’ become integral part of their life, which sometimes disturbs their work-life balance.
Team challenges: Challenges arise when participative and committed people work together. I have been witnessing this throughout my corporate life, since both participative and committed team members approach the task in a different manner; different levels of commitment lead to misunderstandings, perceptions and stress.
Committed people like taking onus; seeing the committed person taking the lead, other team members sometimes take a back seat.
On the other hand, seeing people taking a back seat, the committed ones feel tricked considering this as an incongruent behavior as everyone would reap the same benefits of being a part of the team.
This imbalance creates storming in the team, leading to non-alignment. Overburdened, anxiety and despair are common emotions.
Personal reflections: I have often faced such a scenario while working with and leading teams. My style is to proactively address the additional work when the task is getting delayed. No doubt, sometimes overwhelmed with workload, negative emotions do flare up.
When stretched too thin, physical, mental and emotional energies drain resulting in negative self-talk. At times I ask myself: ‘Should I be doing others’ work?’, ‘What will I gain or learn if I do others’ work?’, ‘What will I lose if I do their work?’
How can I address such situations so that everyone takes ownership of their work and the project is successful?
While self-reflecting, I often hear my inner voice encouraging me by saying, ‘you have come so far in your project, you cannot let it lose because of any reason or irrational thought’; and so, I gather myself bringing my positive attitude again.
Managing Challenges: I believe it’s time to learn to manage these challenges. When I feel, that a team member is not doing the assigned work or is offloading the task on me because of no genuine excuse, I seek my project leader’s help. If I am leading the project, I make sure the following approach is implemented well in time, before it’s too late.
- Open communication, where every member can share their feelings
- Setting clear expectations while assigning tasks to each role holder at the beginning of the project
- Setting boundaries and assertively communicating the project ask
- Providing support to those who struggle with the tasks
- Seeking Project Leader’s help to address the systemic issues and reiterating the role holders’ responsibility.
This approach has always worked for me. By addressing the root cause and effectively communicating the expectations, everyone collaborates and works as one team.
My two cents!
Although it is taught to accept people and their preferences; recognising those who put in extra effort despite all the challenges is equally important. At the same time, I believe that articulating and showcasing the significance of even a small task can have great impact, whether the team member is committed or participative.
A thought to ponder upon:
TEAM – ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’ OR ‘Tireless Efforts And Misunderstandings’!
The choice is completely ours.
