The 11 psychological keys to teamwork

Knowing how to work in a team is a skill that is increasingly in demand in the labor market, where multidisciplinary performance of professionals specialized in various areas is often necessary. However, achieving this is not simply an individual process: it is possible to intervene in the group to enhance the work performance of the entire team "from the outside", or rather, focusing on the whole of people as a Unit.

So, here we will see some of the psychological keys of teamwork most used in the context of organizations.

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What are the main psychological keys about teamwork?

These are the psychological keys to teamwork that must be incorporated both individually and collectively to perform efficiently.

1. Create information channels

The channeling of information is essential for the proper functioning of any work team, and its importance is greater the greater the number of participants in the common project. Do not wait for communication channels to emerge spontaneously, you have to design them in advance, since otherwise there will only be informal communication, which is based only on personal affinities and not on the general vision of the team.

Many collective projects fail due to poor organization of information, because of assuming that important data reaches its destination spontaneously; For this reason, it is of great importance to establish clear and concise channels for the flow of strategic information.

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2. Motivational strategies

Motivation is another of the essential elements that contribute to achieving success in teamwork and this can be achieved in many ways both at a general level among all members of the organization and at the level individual. It is essential to always bear in mind that payment for working hours, although it is one of the main motivational pillars, is far from the only one.

Thus, you can use the example of others as a motivational strategy to improve your own performance: seeing the progress made by colleagues helps to give a "boost" to the whole group in general.

3. Common and individual goals

To achieve greater involvement in a work team, it is recommended that part of the goals or final objectives are common to all members of the same, and another part are of a individual.

In this way, a double motivation is achieved on the part of each member, which has a collective goal shared with all his colleagues, and in turn has a personal motivation to achieve a goal that concerns only him.

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4. Know how to delegate

In any hierarchical organization it is essential to know how to delegate efficiently to ensure its proper functioning and not overload any of the members with work.

This ability to delegate is especially important for team leaders and middle managers., since they are in charge of maintaining a correct organization and are usually the ones who must carry out more tasks simultaneously throughout the day.

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5. Global vision

A global vision of the work in which all the relevant elements that are part of the team and also the interactions between them are taken into account is essential to identify possible work overloads in any member or parts of the process that are not working correctly.

Common success depends on the particular performance of each of the members of the organization, that is why it is It is so important to carry out an analysis with a global perspective in which each participant of the job.

6. Effective leadership

A good leader is someone who knows how to organize the tasks of his subordinates, who inspires, and who is capable of setting the direction of the organization in times of uncertainty.

That is why it is of great importance to be clear that a leader it should not be simply concerned with "commanding", since your commitment and dedication will set the course for the final success of the job.

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7. Time management

Correct time management is another of the characteristics that define efficient teamwork, since more hours of work is not always synonymous with higher production.

But this is not just an individual process (although it is clear that each team member should try to optimize their use of working hours); Workflow problems must also be detected to avoid traffic jams and unnecessary waiting periods in general (which may be caused by a poor distribution of tasks). Let's remember that the simple fact of assigning many jobs to many workers does not make the whole of that distribution make sense.

To achieve success during work in the shortest possible time time management and productivity experts are essential, since, as the Parkinson's law, "The work expands to fill the available time."

8. Clear incentives

Some incentives, such as promotion and promotion processes, are essential in any work team, and usually also act as motivational mechanisms for each of the members of the organization.

These promotion processes must be clear and transparent to motivate and not be used as tools for unfair treatment., something that also favors the orientation and pursuit of professional goals of each worker.

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9. Meeting effectiveness

Meetings are one of the classic elements of teamwork; However, on many occasions they end up being little productive, inefficient and completely unnecessary, since sometimes they are used as a "fetish" as if their simple existence is a good thing.

Holding business meetings should always be linked to a specific purpose or objective and it is not advisable to extend them too long without a specific purpose.

10. Take into account the emotional

Any organization worth its salt takes into account the emotional side of the team members, something that is very useful to achieve a positive result at the end of the work.

Inspiring and recognizing the emotional needs of each worker has a positive effect on her emotional, physical and work status. After all, a team cannot be managed as we would manage a machine composed of gears: for the good and for the bad, emotions cannot be separated from decision-making by workers.

11. Diversification of work

In any teamwork there are people with different areas of expertise and with different training paths, and this should be reflected in the division of tasks. That is why these should be assigned based on the skills and abilities of each member.

In addition, it is very important that each person be very clear about where their scope of intervention begins and where it ends, so that in case of detecting problems or a lack of efficiency, the people involved quickly know that they have to take the initiative to correct the situation without waiting for instructions given "from above".

Do you want to learn more about team management?

If you are considering training in team management, you may be interested the International Team Coaching Program, a training program organized by the European School of Coaching (EEC).

It is a 100% online course based on the systemic gaze, approved as CCE (Continuing Coach Education) by the International Coach Federation (ICF). 53 hours long, divided into 5 journeys. To know more, Get in contact with us or visit our website.