The First Lady, Hilary Rodam-Clinton, has said that it takes a village to raise a child. It seems that everyone is talking about teamwork these days... In the home, in the classroom, and even in the office. Does it really apply to business? Absolutely!

What does teamwork bring to a business? Synergy; where the efforts of the group exceeds the sum of the individual efforts. While not every project requires that a team be created, some tasks are too onerous for an individual to complete on his or her own.

New thinking. How often has someone with little or no experience brought a new idea to a table of "experts" in their field? As a result of a federal government initiative, a finance associate was asked to sit on a committee at her company that was to look at reducing product packaging by 10% for the current year. In less than a minute she had reduced one product's packaging by more than 50% without jeopardizing the integrity of that product! As mentioned, her field of expertise is accounting! All it takes is one person to "think outside the box" to get the group charged.

However, caution must be exercised when putting a team together. Each person has a responsibility to the group and it is important that some thought go into the personality traits of the individuals being considered when forming the group. There are no individual successes as the achievements made within the group become those of the group. As a result, a "team player" personality is crucial to the success of the group. Each member has a responsibility to the group to participate as well as listen with respect and an open mind to the thoughts of the other members. Caution must be used to ensure that any individual member of the group does not become too powerful and influence or coerce the group in a direction they would otherwise not have collectively taken.

In "Assets and Liabilities in Group Problem Solving: The "Need for Integrative Function" by Norman R.F. Maier, he discusses "group assets," "group liabilities", and "the leader's role for integrated groups." He summarizes with "the merits of group versus individual problem solving depends on the nature of the problem, the goal to be achieved... and the skills of the discussion leader."

In his article, "Groupthink," Irving L. Janis discusses the potential problems that result from team members being too eager to reach consensus rather than solving the issue for which the group was initially brought together. Mr. Janis also puts forward nine recommendations for avoiding the "groupthink" phenomenon.

Teamwork in decision-making can be an asset given the right elements. It requires a cohesive group with the skills necessary to move in the "right" direction and a leader to facilitate and ensure that the group does move in that "right" direction... wherever it may lead!

Copyright - Kelly Melanson, Certified Management Accountant