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TEAMWORK MYTHS: WHAT LEADERS NEED TO KNOW
Author(s) -
Tannenbaum Scott,
Salas Eduardo
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
leader to leader
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1531-5355
pISSN - 1087-8149
DOI - 10.1002/ltl.20518
Subject(s) - teamwork , mythology , excellence , harmony (color) , constructive , work (physics) , public relations , team effectiveness , set (abstract data type) , psychology , psychological safety , engineering ethics , social psychology , computer science , knowledge management , process (computing) , political science , engineering , law , mechanical engineering , art , visual arts , programming language , operating system , philosophy , theology
Working as a team can have great benefits, but it isn't easy. The way you lead your team has both short‐ and long‐term implications. In the short term, it can impact whether your team succeeds. In the long term, it sends signals to your employees about whether your organization values collaboration. There are many opinions about what makes teams work. Some are well‐grounded, most are pure conjecture. If you've been on a few teams, you almost certainly have developed your own implicit “theory” of teamwork or at least a set of beliefs about teaming. We highlight five myths that the research debunks and offer a few tangible tips associated with each. Myth 1: Focusing on teamwork is a distraction from getting real work done. Myth 2: If team members like each other and maintain harmony, the team will be successful. Myth 3: Being a team player means suppressing individual excellence. Myth 4: Teamwork can overcome a significant lack of talent. Myth 5: Teams are always the answer. The history of team dynamics is long and rich. When formed for the right reasons and led in a constructive manner, a team can tackle important challenges, producing positive results and work experiences.