You must have heard the quote, “Teamwork makes the dream work” before. If not, a simple Google search will provide you with more than 23 million different formats, fonts, and colours in which these four words appear. 

Teamwork is an essential skill in every aspect of one’s life. When we were younger teamwork meant sharing toys with friends or passing the ball to the teammate who always misses.  

As you grow older teamwork means working together on a college assignment or helping a friend through a tough time.  

Then once you enter the working world, teamwork now means the difference between landing a million-dollar pitch or causing an entire business to sink. 

Here are a few tips on how you can improve your input as you focus on creating a dream team: 

Structure 

Before starting with a brainstorm or discussion about the project or campaign, there needs to be a clear structure of the entire process. The plan will ensure that everyone stays on track and is aware of any expectations.  

In this case, it is not necessary to reinvent the wheel with a new plan for each project. Once a structure has been created, it can be repurposed for numerous projects going forward. 

Talent 

Choosing the best team members for the project is essential when taking on a group project. Team members who are not passionate about the project are not going to give as much attention, passion, and hard work as those who are. Uninterested team members have the potential to slow down the group progress.  

Your team will also have some hiccups along the way. It is important to ensure that any conflict or confusion is sorted out as soon as possible in an effective way to ensure the team can move forward. 

Collaboration 

The team as a collective is only going to be as creative and helpful as they can be, when all are contributing. Allow everyone to give ideas, share insights and comment on others’ opinions. Although not every approach will be used, a brainstorm often sparks vital insightful lightbulb moments when discussions are cultivated in a safe environment.  

Leadership 

Once ideas are formed there needs to be a leader in the group that assigns tasks to the group. It often occurs that teammates work on various projects and have numerous responsibilities.  

Contributors need to be held accountable by a leader to ensure that they complete their mission.  

Deadlines 

Deadlines are also essential to every team effort. However, remember to discuss these deadlines with each team member to ensure that urgent deadlines are prioritised, everyone can comfortably handle the time frame and still be able to deliver quality work if the deadline is tight.  

If the workload is too tight and could possibly cause the project to be delayed, team members should be able to speak up and ask for assistance. Even when work is completed individually, a group project is only successful if team members collaborate consistently.  

Communication 

Most importantly, open communication is critical. Be sure to keep the team in the loop during every aspect of the project. Once a team member feels like they are unsure of what the latest status of the project is they can easily feel unmotivated or frustrated. 

There is a reason why the “teamwork makes the dream works” quote is relevant for teams today as most teams are collaborating remotely. From small campaigns in businesses and consultancies to working on multinational levels across borders – teamwork has the ability to change the world for the better.  

By Dohan Nel, Account Executive at Hatch Communication