Teamwork Is an Individual Skill: Getting Your Work Done When Sharing Responsibility

by Christopher Avery and Erin O'Toole

Book Overview

Teamwork Is an Individual Skill argues that learning to work with others may be the most important skill in the knowledge economy. The book promotes productive relationships by focusing on five... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1576751554
• ISBN13: 9781576751558
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

The first sentence floored me

The book entitled "Teamwork is an Individual Skill" is quite interesting. I work at a large semi-conductor manufacturer as a non-exempt fab technician on a self managed team on night shift. I am the most experienced and capable person on my team, yet with all of my background I have come to realize how relatively little influence I often have on team performance, and on my ability to push the team in the direction I think it should go. The very first sentence in your book on page 1, "Do you share responsibility with others to get work done but don't have authority over them (and they don't have authority over you)?" absolutely floored me, 'cause that is me to the tee.I had only gotten to page 8 of your book when I was thoroughly blown away by the directness with which the differences between flat and hierarchical structures were addressed. At my company there is no mention of this approach; even once when I mentioned the term "semi-autonomous team" to the most qualified tech (who happened to be on day shift--arguably a more hierarchical environment due to the presence of many exempt employees) he did not know what the term meant. The company has this structure in place almost as an unwritten agenda.Your comment on page 5, "Many individuals--especially smart, high achievers--can experience great angst if asked to serve in teams." is in retrospect a great source of comfort to help me understand my angst during my three years with this company. In all of the areas I have worked in during that time I am sure that I had (at least on paper) more qualifications than any one other person (B.S. deg, two A.A.S. degs, 12+ prior years of technical experience, and a whole host of other skills that my teammates do not exhibit.) Plus add to that, that my experience has almost exclusively come from a strongly tilted hierarchical background in retrospect is why I struggled with teams, as you describe them.Every page of your book is quite thought-provoking, causing me to pause and reflect on how your observations compare to my situation.

Teamwork is an Individual Skill

Exceptional book! This book will give you real life examples as well as opportunities to practice theories as an individual or with you team. Too many books and theories focus on the team as a whole. Mr. Avery makes people realize that it is an individual's choice that makes a team successful. Depending on your level of commitment and taking responsibility, everyone can be on a productive and inspiring team. I would highly recommend the book as well as Partnerwerks seminar, "Being Powerful in Any Team".

Not just for improving Teamwork

An excellent book. The text in all its controversy (when compared to what you typically learn about teamwork) is very refreshing. It obviously provides very useful tools for improving team performance. It does, however, have much more value than just teamwork performance improvement. Most of it (if not all) can easily be applied in building powerful relationships between teams and groups as well as between companies.

Rave Review

Thank you; thank you; thank you, Christopher. This book is GREAT -- indeed, masterful. Don?t walk! Run to get this book!This work adds to the knowledge on teamwork and does so in a way that is practical, easy to read, and easy to imagine applying. Avery has demonstrated his academic research skills, because even though the average reader may not see it, his work is based on knowledge of the latest research. He also demonstrates his long history as a consultant and facilitator in industries right close to home. Even though I have been studying and working in this field myself, this book added to my knowledge. Avery, Walker and O?Toole must have also demonstrated great teamwork, because the book is very clear, engaging, and immediately applicable.Have you ever heard, ?I just got put on a bad team?? Here is the antidote for all of us. Have you ever seen a team de-motivated, deflated over someone not keeping the agreements? People think, ?Well he?s not pulling his weight, the result won?t be good, what is the use in trying?? Have you ever had a subordinate be defensive when you were trying to give her just the tip she needed to come up to the bar? Have you ever been blindsided when it looked like the group came to agreement in lightning speed and then no one followed through. Have you ever wondered how to fix broken trust when you have ?blown it?? Have you ever wondered what a model for GOOD ? functional and effective ?collaboration was? It is all here. Read, mark, and inwardly digest. Here is management tool and employee culture with real values. Profundity and simplicity together is a sign of importance. I am raving about this book everywhere. Actually I just heard that the book is based on the newsletter that is sent to participants of Partnerworks workshops. On Monday, when participants have to put into practice their new skills, they have a newsletter with an easy assignment. Yeah for transformational education!Sharon Sarles, M.Div., M.A., OSD; organizational consultant with Organizational Strategies; Vice President for Research & Development, Southwest Facilitator's Network

No More Excuses for Poor Teamwork

I enjoyed reading and digesting the practical, easy to understand advice given by the authors of this book. Members of any team can gain valuable information and insight on how to function more effectively on their teams. However, the sage advice given in this book will not set well with those reluctant to take responsibility for their own actions. The focus is on personal responsibility and developing what the authors' term "TeamWisdom." By following their advice, those with TeamWisdom can create highly responsible and productive relationships at work. The book can equip you with individual skills and behaviors to make a difference in the success of your team, provided of course that you are ready to accept responsibility and take action. Each topic in the five chapters is organized in a format that highlights and explains the skill or behavior necessary to gain TeamWisdom. This is followed by both a Personal Challenge to help you put it into practice and a Team Challenge to help you implement it with team members. Each topic ends with a real life example of how each skill or behavior has been put to practice. As someone you works to develop collaborative partnerships, I found the advice in this book realistic, clearly presented and concise. I highly recommend it as a sound, practical guide for anyone who shares responsibility with others to get work accomplished but doesn't have authority over them.