The Power of Teamwork: Forging Positive, Professional Relationships with Your Team

Teamwork is together power. Teamwork is a powerful concept that involves a group of people combing their effort of individuals pooling their skills, knowledge and resources to accomplish tasks that would be challenging or impossible to achieve alone.

Teamwork is powerful, but it takes a lot of individuals committing to having positive, professional relationships with each other for it to work. That’s a skill that each of us can practice and get great at so we can all be stronger as a team. To have a positive, professional relationship with someone, we have to follow certain social rules that will help us create this kind of relationship. 

Here are the relationship tenents of creating positive relationships with your team: 

1. Be respectful: Treat everyone on your team with respect. Things as simple as saying “please,” “thank you,” and ensure everyone feels valued and appreciated, creating a positive atmosphere.
2. Be trustworthy: Our actions impact the entire team’s performance, so we have to build trust by being reliable and taking ownership of their roles and responsibilities. We all have duties on a team, and when we fulfill those obligations, we show that we respect all the other individuals on the team. 
3. Listen: When someone is talking, listen carefully without interrupting. Everyone deserves a chance to share their thoughts and ideas. When you listen, you understand better, and teamwork becomes smoother.
4. Respect boundaries: Maintain healthy boundaries in your interactions. Avoid gossiping, spreading rumors, making jokes or comments that could be hurtful, or talking negatively about other people on the team. 
5. Celebrate success: Supporting each other is one of the best parts of teamwork. If something good happens to someone on the team or you achieve something great as a team, take some time to high-five, smile big and congratulate each other. 

Questions

1. Think about the social rules mentioned for creating positive, professional relationships within a team. How do you practice these principles in your interactions with your teammates?
2. Have you ever had a conflict within your team in the past? Knowing what you know now, brainstorm how you would handle that conflict using respect, listening skills and respecting boundaries.

Resource

https://www.mindtools.com/aorqe4z/building-good-work-relationships