8 Summary

Although teamwork has both benefits and challenges, the ability to work and get on with others is one of the skillsets most prized by employers.

This week, you have learned that a team has characteristics that distinguish it from just a group. You’ve also seen that it is possible to categorise teams into many different types, including: work, parallel, project and management teams.

Many job applicants worry about their lack of experience of teamwork. Sometimes they undervalue the experiences they have already gathered. Where lack of teamwork experience is a problem, it can be remedied in surprising ways, for example by seeking unpaid voluntary work. Involvement in sports clubs, choirs and orchestras should also not be discounted as they will all be considered valuable team working experiences by potential employers.

You should now be able to:

• understand why employers value teamwork
• explain the difference between a group and a team
• identify some of the benefits and challenges of working in a team
• understand different types of team
• consider how you can increase your experience of working in teams.

Before you start to look at the different stages of team development and the roles played by individuals within a team, in Week 2 you’ll consider virtual teams. This a growing teamwork context that shares many characteristics with face-to-face teams, but has some particular challenges and opportunities of its own.

You can now go to Week 2 [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .