Teamwork

"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."
-- Andrew Carnegie

In today’s society, having a great product does not always ensure a successful company. There are numerous elements that will make or break a business. One of the fundamental elements of a successful business is a team of customer-focused team players. According to Katzenbach and Smith a team is “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable” (Katzenbach & Smith 1999). A company’s great product will not get made, sold, or distributed if there is no team. There are five components for the evolution of a team. Leadership becomes a shared activity, accountability shifts from strictly individual to both individual and collective, the group develops its own purpose or mission, problem solving becomes a way of life – not a part-time activity, and finally effectiveness is measured by the group’s collective outcomes and products (Katzenbach & Smith 2005).
Becoming a True Team
To turn Google’s HR group into an actual team, they would first have to establish shared leadership. Shared leadership being the “collective leadership by the team members and is described by collaborative decision-making and shared responsibility for outcomes (Hoch & Dulebohn, 2013). Some advantages of shared leadership include the spreading of knowledge and power across members, members could develop leadership and management skills, and lastly, leaders at different levels who understand on the external environment as well as internal capabilities of the organization are seen as important trends for change (Chiung-Hui