{"id":72,"date":"2017-12-07T19:50:14","date_gmt":"2017-12-08T00:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting2ed\/part\/teamwork\/"},"modified":"2026-05-10T18:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-10T22:24:20","slug":"teamwork","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/technicalwriting2ed\/part\/teamwork\/","title":{"raw":"4. TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION","rendered":"4. TEAMWORK AND COMMUNICATION"},"content":{"raw":"Teamwork is a key expectation in most workplaces, especially where tasks are complex and require differing areas of expertise. Working in teams allows us to address the increasing complexity of large projects, and integrate a diversity of skills, experiences, and expertise to <\/span>complete them more quickly and skillfully than a single individual could. Imagine how many people must work together to designs a sophisticated product like <\/span>Skyrim<\/em>\u00a0(check out this information on the\u00a0<\/span>Skyrim<\/em>\u00a0development team<\/a> if you want to know the answer).<\/span>\r\n\r\nTeam Synergy describes the phenomenon that occurs when the achievement of a team working together is greater than the sum of what each team member could achieve working individually. It is widely accepted that team synergy and team intelligence generally lead to greater efficiency and better results. Why, then, are some people reluctant to engage in teamwork? Perhaps they have had ineffective or dysfunctional teamwork experiences in the past. While sometimes the culprit in these situations is a \u201cpoor team player\u201d more often, these issues are caused by one of three things:\u00a0 misaligned goals, confusion over roles, or unclear team processes.\r\n\r\nYou have likely engaged in \u201cgroup work\u201d in many of your classes; this may have been productive and fun, or may have seemed pointless or even frustrating, depending on a variety of factors. But keep in mind that a group<\/strong> is not the same as a team<\/strong>. Teams work inter<\/em>dependently, are accountable to each other, and have mutually-agreed-upon shared goals. Where a group may be comprised of several individuals each working on separate but connected tasks that may lead to a common goal, a team<\/em><\/strong> actively collaborates, relying on the diverse skills and clearly defined processes to navigate crises and conflicts, support each other, and achieve their goals synergistically.\r\n\r\nFor teamwork to be effective, the team must\r\n