1.1 A key employability skill

The Indeed Editorial Team (2023) breaks good teamwork down into the following characteristics:

• good communication between team members
• mutual respect for others
• feeling comfortable speaking freely
• co-operation and conflict resolution between team members
• encouraging equal participation
• mutual support and positive attitudes
• shared values and common goals.

Another way to look at this is shown in Figure 1, which breaks teamwork into some of its constituent parts. You’ll revisit this diagram in Week 8 when considering how employers might test for some of these skills and abilities in the recruitment process.

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Figure 1 Breaking teamwork down

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In the centre of the diagram is the word ‘Teamwork’. There are then boxes surrounding this with arrows pointing towards it. The boxes around the outside read: Creative enthusiasm and initiative to make things happen; Having clear, logical objectives; Making sure everyone clearly understands their roles and tasks; Delegating tasks to people with the right skills; Using people with different skills, e.g. creative, organiser; Taking a positive attitude to and learning from setbacks; Having people who can coordinate ad accept responsibility; Being comfortable with disagreement and seeing it as useful; Listening to others and giving constructive feedback if needed; Supportive, informal group atmosphere. Use of humour.

Figure 1 Breaking teamwork down

You’ll notice that many of the characteristics described by both sources are supported by good communication and you’ll explore that in more detail in Week 5.