The Value of Teamwork

Emily Madill

Are you a team player or do you prefer to tackle projects on your own? Whether you are a seasoned teammate or not, there is tremendous value in collaboration. It doesn’t matter if you join together on a work-related project or a task at home; the reward comes when you figure out how to reach the finish line with other invested players.

As a writer, I am blessed to be in an industry with creative types who love to join together. In fact, it would be unheard of to publish a book without the help and input from an entire team. It takes editors and designers to do their magic. It involves getting feedback and input from valued colleagues, friends and family. At the end of the day, it takes a large group of invested people to bring a book to life. When launching the book out into the world, there is a deep sense of satisfaction in knowing you have a whole team behind you who genuinely wants to see it do well. 

I experience a similar feeling of satisfaction from a job well done in my home life. There are regular tasks and projects around the house my family completes together. The one that stands out the most, is keeping my car clean. Our family vehicle gets a lot of use. It is used to get my kids and their friends to and from school and activities. Both of my sons play hockey, so we spend a fair amount of time in the car traveling to games and practices. I also use my car to complete the many tasks and errands it takes to run our household. With all of this use, it doesn’t take much for my car to become a disheveled mess.

Over this past year, we all do our part to keep the car clean and this teamwork has made our rides way more enjoyable. There is the daily clean-up, which involves me ensuring all of the bags, bits and pieces have been removed from the car and put in their proper places. Then there is the deep cleaning. For my birthday, my sons gave me a year’s worth of car cleaning (inside and out).  Each week, they get out the vacuum and cleaning supplies and they clean the car from top to bottom. The best part of this gift is how it has helped my boys be fully invested in riding in a clean vehicle. They are proud of their work and they get just as much satisfaction from being in a tidy car as I do. Those first few rides when the car is particularly clean, I am sure to thank them and they love pointing out how shiny the dashboard and tires are. Now that they are invested in cleaning the car, they make way less mess than when it was me solely in charge of keeping the car clean.                                  

The point of sharing these stories is to illustrate the idea there is something special that happens when we band together on tasks and projects – no matter what they are. When you have a group of people all invested in the same outcome, there is collective energy that makes the target easier to attain and way more fun when you do. 

Here are the top 3 ways teamwork has brought value to my world. Perhaps these insights may entice you to do what you can to experience the added gifts from working together towards a common goal.

1. Dynamic Perspective

When you have a group of people working on the same project, each person will almost always offer something fresh and valuable from their unique perspective. It is the combination of multiples lenses that transforms a project into an experience. The experience is a result of the coming together, and it can’t be replicated without the involvement of each key player. Collective energy and perspective brings life to a project that is dynamic. 

2. Celebrate Together

Reaching a personal goal has its own level of satisfaction and enjoyment. But reaching a goal that resulted from collaboration and teamwork means you get to celebrate with others! It is way more fun to celebrate with people who know firsthand the ins and outs of what it took to bring a project to life. Witnessing your teammates happy and satisfied is contagious and brings you more fulfillment. Collective celebration is its own form of teamwork that breathes more energy and excitement into the project.

3. Bonding Experience

When you gel as a team, there is a special bond that is formed. When you find your team you want to see each member do well – you love witnessing the value each person brings to the table. Teamwork becomes about the experience and journey of figuring out how to fit together to create something unique. When you do come together and figure out what works as a team, the bond that is formed makes it easier to work together on future projects. Teamwork is contagious.

What about you, how might teamwork bring more value to your life?