Source: 6 Advantages of Teams

A team is a group of people doing something together to produce a specific result or outcome. None of us, no matter how good we are can be great at everything. So what are 6 key advantages of teams?

Advantage 1: Increases productivity
Organizations are continuously looking for efficiency or productivity gains as a source of competitive advantage. Teams, especially those that are close to the point of delivery can identify what needs to change to boost productivity better than any group of senior managers could ever hope to. Let the team focus on productivity and the organisation gains.

Advantage 2: Improves communication skills
For teams to succeed they need to be able to get their messages across, listen effectively to other points of view and build on ideas. As a result of being on the team, people are getting the opportunity to develop and improve their communication skills.

Advantage 3: Diversity of skills
Some people in organisations thrive in dealing with the big picture stuff. Others get their kick from getting immersed in the detail. There will be others who thrive on idea generation and others who love to take something from concept to finished article. This diverse range of people skills and working together have the potential to deliver a much better solution than any one individual could ever hope to do.

Advantage 4: Improved problem solving
Think about a time when you had a problem that you needed to solve. You probably get so far and then end up getting stuck because of your own range of experience or knowledge. When you have access to the wider range of skills and knowledge you ultimately solve problems faster and better.

Advantage 5: Process improvement
Few business processes operate in isolation just within one area of the organisation. They tend to cross functions and even geographical boundaries. A team with insights of different parts of the process will clearly be better placed to make successful process improvements.

Advantage 6: Smarter use of resources
When a team has focus on getting a specific result, chances are they will find creative ways of using the resources at their disposal rather than focusing on the constraints.

Bottom Line – There are numerous advantages of teams. What else would you add to the list of advantages.

Duncan Brodie of Goals and Achievements helps professional people to improve their leadership and management skills and getting better results through teams. For information about services and programmes click here.