Talents in team must complement each other

A company will be successful provided it has the right talent in place. And this talent will bring in bigger success if it combines together to work as synergistic teams. Individual efforts no doubt bring success but it is the combined efforts of talented employees that make a difference.

A team is a combination of various skills and talents put together and the joint efforts of the members bring in effective results than a single person's efforts. When individuals work together as a team, they can achieve targets faster and also meet the customer's expectations. A team-based approach to tasks is not only beneficial for the employees but also the organisation.

When talented individuals work together as a team the ideas and solutions that are generated are much more effective than an individual's thought process. This is because teamwork also involves brainstorming where ideas are exchanged, solutions discussed and thoughts are enhanced. The number of options increases when more than one person is addressing the issue.

The excitement of team members working on a project is also contagious. The enthusiasm of one team member rubs off on the others and this means increased productivity. When members work together, it means a combination of their technical and organisational skills, which translates into efficient work that brings better results.

A healthy competition among team members will pose a challenge to team members and urge them to stretch their skills instead of settling with complacency. Such competition will increase productivity and also force team members to increase their output and its quality. A competitive atmosphere is an important motivating factor and gives a chance for peers to acknowledge others' abilities.

When teams have members who perform different job functions, it allows members to understand how each of them contributes to the final output of the team. The combination of different skill sets and letting team members' work together on a single project lets them recognise and appreciate what each person does for the team.

Teamwork allows employees to develop meaningful relationships with one another. The constant interaction and communication among the team members promotes a high level of camaraderie among them and help in forming groups that work in ways that are mutually beneficial and also have a positive impact on company's performance.

If teams have to have the right impact on the company's performance, the management should know which members should be picked for each team. Ideally each member can be an expert in one set of skills, so that the talents in the team complement each other.

The members should be open and transparent with each other so that the easy communication among them will foster mutual respect in the team. The members should have trust in each other to work efficiently. They should be aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses so that they can complement each other and maintain the checks and balances required to perform efficiently. Team members should also be clear about the individual expectations from each one of them so that everyone puts in equal efforts and has no doubts about the results they will have to achieve. There should be no room for confusion.

The teams in spite of having fixed targets and goals and specific responsibilities for members, will have to be flexible enough to accommodate any changes in the targets or circumstances.

Having talented individuals is no doubt important for the company's success. But combining this talent into synergistic teams can produce greater results. A team of talented individuals can do much more to take the company to greater heights.

source: http://thehindu.com

Enhance Creativity

Today, more than ever creative people are in great demand. This is because organisations across the globe are in need of innovative ideas to help them survive and thrive in tough economic conditions. This trend implies that your career prospects depend to a large extent on how creative you are. 

But not everybody is endowed with great creative talent. The good news however is you can develop creativity even if you are not born with it. Innovative ideas often emerge from fresh perspectives. The key to creativity therefore lies in surrounding yourself with lots and lots of new perspectives. Here are some ideas to help you do just that:

Practise collaboration 

Association with people from different backgrounds is the best means to gather fresh perspectives. One can gain completely new insights by associating with people not just from their team or department but with many others across the organisation.  To hone your creative abilities first you must learn to collect and comprehend distinct ideas and then connect them in meaningful ways. Don't just restrict your knowledge to your field of operations alone. Learn about radically different domains. When continuously fed with fresh inputs, your brain tries to make new connections.  The more frequently you expend efforts in this direction the more creative you become.

Move out

Quite often, we find it very comfortable to continue doing what we have always been doing. But to become creative you must get out of your comfort zone as often as you can. You must frequently question the assumptions behind the current practices you are following. Ask yourself 'why', 'why not' and 'what if' to try and discover new possibilities and better means of doing things to suit changing circumstances.

Observation

Keenly observe the world around you. Start noticing how people take different approaches to problems and manage to arrive at innovative solutions. Also try to understand the needs of people around you especially your clients, colleagues, superiors and suppliers. As the saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention always. When you know exactly what people want you can come up with better ideas to fulfil their needs. Force yourself to think on the lines of bringing about changes that make your own job or your colleagues' jobs easier, design a product in such a way as to increase its utility or cost effectiveness or better still come up with revolutionary ideas that set a new trend.

Try new ideas 

Unless you experiment you will not know if your idea is good enough or not. Learning through experimentation is valuable as long as you keep the costs low. Don't feel dejected if your idea does not get the nod from your superiors or colleagues. Treat failures as learning experiences and use new dimensions discovered to refine your idea but never give up in despair. To give a boost to your creativity and gain exposure you must also take an active part in brainstorming sessions at work. Acquiring knowledge on emerging trends in various fields is also of immense help because a broad knowledge base helps you to make new connections between seemingly unrelated issues quite effortlessly. 

So, start connecting with people on a wider scale now. Increase your creativity as well as you career prospects by leaps and bounds!

Understand emotions to build better team spirit

Emotions are so much a part of human life that they cannot be disregarded in the professional world. The ability to understand others' feelings, is necessary to build good workplace relationships. It helps one to become a better communicator and improves the ability to influence others.

Understanding emotions is an important constituent of emotional intelligence. Managers and relationship officers should possess this skill because their jobs have a lot to do with influencing people and clients. The success of all day-to-day activities like meetings, business relationships, conflict resolutions and performance management is based on the ability of the participants to understand others' emotions.

Each one of us displays emotions in a unique way. Learning to read another person's emotions from the cues he throws requires patience, but is worth it. Conclusions about responses of a person in different emotional states can be drawn only after careful observation and analysis of his behaviour.

And when we commit a mistake in our analysis and act guided by those conclusions, we may end up damaging our relationship with the person and leaving a deep scar on his mind. Here are some ways to comprehend others' emotions:

Self-study: Observe yourself to understand how your different emotions are displayed in different situations. By recognising how your emotions affect you, you can understand others' emotions.

Enquire: The best way to know how a person is feeling is to ask him. Ask your clients,you’re your staff; when you do this, you are exhibiting your concern for him. It will make him feel good and he will be glad to share his feelings. This way you not only get what you want but also develop a better relationship with the person.

Empathise: Empathy gives the ability to understand and evaluate. So by imagining yourself in the situation the other person is in, you will be in a better position to understand his feelings. Be in your client’s shoe to understand his needs

Analyse: There might be cases when it is not appropriate or intelligent to ask. Sometimes, the person might not be willing to share with you. Or he might take advantage of the opportunity to mislead you. At times, the other person could be unaware of his true feelings. So, whether to ask or not and how much to believe are up to your discretion. Again practise improves your judgement.

Frown, wide-open mouth, blank eyes, physical distance maintained from a person or contracted eyes have all messages about emotional state of the person. Non-verbal signs tell a lot about a person's feelings and usually more precisely.

For managers who aim to inspire and motivate others or relationship officers who  aims to create new relationships and fostering others, this ability helps to deal with people with different attitude and approach.

It is useful to avoid conflicts, build team spirit and mediate between disagreeing parties. It helps to cultivate a better way of thinking.

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