TEAM, COLLABORATION AND TEAM MEMBERS
None of us are as smart as all of us; this is a Japanese proverb which is perhaps at the heart of why different people with diverse identities, distinct cultures and value systems come together in order to achieve a desired outcome. Humans are by nature the primordial team players. Our uniquely complex social relationships have served as a crucial survival advantage for us coupled with co-operation. This view of human relationships and co-operation in evolution is perhaps a radical rethinking of just what the famous phrase “Survival of the Fittest” means wherein today the definition of the term “fittest” is gradually taking the form of this esoteric quality of a group or an individual to consistently deliver.
It is believed that more knowledge has been generated in the twentieth century alone than in all of the history before and the rate of increase continues to accelerate as we enter the twenty first century and as a result the network or team of people to whom we can reach out for information and expertise is vital. We’ve come to depend on the group mind as never before. Subsequently in today’s workplace, this interdependence is a fundamental fact and as much as all of us would like to rely on ourselves, each of us has only a part of the information or expertise we need to get our jobs done and efficiently. Therefore if we do have to work in teams, the logical question that arises is “What does an ideal team comprise of?” Is it made up of highly intelligent individuals, a group of extremely talented people, or is it a hit and trial.
We can find an integral part of the answer to that question if we direct our attention to a man who created a team right from the ground up. This man is Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics. Billy Beane in the season of 2002 attempted to assemble a competitive team for the OA on a shoestring budget, by hiring players that were practically considered to be in the winter of their careers, players who were young, old, inexperienced, unknown and even unfit, these were not the major league superstars you would want on your team and yet this team goes on to establish records and win twenty consecutive games. This was no stroke of luck, this was careful thought out planning and assessment, he did not buy the best or the most successful players, he did not make a star studded team, but built a winning team. How? By finding the right BALANCE. Balance is what a successful team is about people who know their roles, their duties , individuals skilled in different areas ,who then come together to form a synchronized way of working beneficial to all and working to the best of their abilities with what they have. Such an environment can only be brought into existence when these individuals, these team performers not only have an individual vision but also a collective vision to realize that the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts.
Therefore it is only intelligible to understand what makes these individuals/team performers so efficient. Some sociologists and psychologists identify several competencies of these star performers rooted in the basic human talents for social co-ordination.
For example
1. Building Bonds/Nurturing Instrumental Relationships
People with this competence tend to
• Cultivate and maintain extensive informal networks
• Seek out relationships that are mutually beneficial.
• Build rapport and keep other in the loop
• Make and maintain personal friendships among work associates.

2. Collaboration and Co-Operation/Working with others toward shared goals
People with this competence tend to
• Balance a focus on task with attention to relationships
• Collaborate, sharing plans, information, and resources
• Promote a friendly, cooperative climate
• Spot and Nurture opportunities for collaboration
3. Team Capabilities/Creating group synergy in pursuing collective goals
People with this competence tend to
• Model team qualities like respect, helpfulness, and cooperation
• Draw all members into active and enthusiastic participation
• Build team identity, and commitment
• Protect the group and its reputation; share credit
Although with these guidelines we will have a team, but how will a group of such diverse individuals stick together; is balance and a common drive enough to hold a group together? In such a scenario this ability to keep a group working well together is a valuable talent in itself. Every high functioning group almost certainly has at least one member with this talent. These people are known as the “Glue People” as they act in a similar nature to that of a glue holding people together. Glue people often tend to inculcate/develop certain habits in the team members, such as:
• Empathy, or interpersonal understanding
• Open communication, setting explicit norms and expectations and confronting underperforming team members.
• A drive to improve in the form of Self Awareness, by evaluating their strengths and weaknesses as a team
• Initiative and taking a proactive stance toward solving a problem.
• Building bonds to other teams as well.
Therefore if it is the glue people that hold the team together, then why is there a necessity of a team leader? Perhaps the best way to understand this is to see the team leader like a parent in the family. Like a parent, leaders have to be sure that their actions are perceived by everyone on the team as fair, and, like a parent, a good team leader will look out for the team members, defending them for example when their reputation comes under attack in the organization at large and providing for them by getting the practical support they need, in budgets, personnel, or time.
The best team leaders are able to get everyone to buy into a common sense of mission, goals, and agenda. The ability to articulate a compelling vision that serves as the guiding force for the group may be the single most important contribution of a good team leader. Hence we can understand that a team leader doesn’t need to necessarily act as the group’s “brains” or autonomous decision makers, so much as consensus builders who help orient the team in the desired direction. He is instrumental in nurturing relationships, working with team members to realize shared goals, and creating synergy in the team towards achieving group goals.
THE ART OF COLLABORATION
Social intelligence matters immensely for success in a world where work is done in teams. One of the most important skills in management is the ability to read the human context, to be aware of what’s in play. We need to be sensitive to the dynamics of the group. A person who reads the dynamics of the group perfectly, knows when to step in, how to put things, what matters. That is the person who can carry ideas beyond work out into the world.
The art of making impact through people is the ability to pull people together, to attract colleagues to the work, to create the critical data for work. To communicate is not just a matter of pushing information at another person. It’s creating an experience, to engage their gut – and that is an emotional skill.
TEAM ADVANTAGE: THE GROUP MIND
There is no doubt that the group mind can be far more intelligent than the individual. Lubricating the mechanism of the group mind so that it can think and act brilliantly demands emotional intelligence. Just as it is important to apply critical abilities to the job at hand, it is equally important to engage in planning, collecting and exchanging practical information, keeping track of what has been learnt, coordinating a plan of action. The chances of a team failing can be high if everyone tries to be intellectual star. Each team member has special skills and those need to be realized and put to good use.
In conclusion we can infer that every team member brings unique strengths and skills to the group, some technical, some in emotional and social abilities therefore it is a great opportunity for mutual learning, if the team can make that learning an explicit goal or part of their contract together.

REFERENCES

1) According to Daniel Goleman in “Working with Emotional Intelligence” (1998) , “This view of human relationships and co-operation in evolution is perhaps a radical rethinking of just what the famous phrase Survival of the Fittest” (p.199)
2) According to Daniel Goleman in “Working with Emotional Intelligence” (1998) , “We’ve come to depend on the group mind as never before” (p.202)
3)According to Michael Lewis in “Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game” (2003) , “players who were young, old, inexperienced, unknown and even unfit, these were not the major league superstars you would want on your team” (p,23)
4)http://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/performance-management/teams/building-a-collaborative-team-environment/ - Creating a collaborative environment for team.
5) https://aupri.athabascau.ca/node/283 - Glue People