Interpersonal Skills and Effective Work Teams
In any work setting it is important to understand that interpersonal skills influence how everyone will work together or not and possibly cause conflict. Interpersonal skills are defined as the “skills used when communicating with other people” (“Interpersonal,” 1997). Some examples of interpersonal skills include: comprehending what others say, voicing your thoughts effectively, giving and receiving constructive criticism for others, being influential to others, initiating proper conflict resolution, working with others, changing pace when unproductiveness occurs (Business Wire, 2006). If you do not have the adequate skills listed communication will be very hard and frustrating to not only you but others in your work environment. Therefore it is imperative that all companies address the need for interpersonal skills in its employees by both proper training and grouping the right people together in work teams. Conflict will rise and work will not get completed in a timely manner unless our employees have the right interpersonal skills.
In order to build proper work team cohesion there are many items that need to be addressed. Cohesion is defined as “the act or state of cohering, uniting, or sticking together” (“Cohesion,” n.d.). In other words team cohesion means that the group works together effectively and cooperatively. These items include: a common purpose and goal, trust between team members, roles and responsibilities, efficient communication, diversity, and a balance between the relationships in the team and the task at hand (Fisher, 1995). Group cohesion is extremely important to any company because if work teams are not working effectively the company suffers through both the aspects of time and money.
The interpersonal skills that are important to team cohesion are the aforementioned examples of interpersonal skills with the addition of assertiveness, persuasion, empathy, sensitivity, and diplomacy (Business Wire, 2006 & CNET Networks, 2007). The reason why I feel each of these is important for team cohesion is explained individually in this paragraph. Comprehension of what other team members say is important in the successfulness of the group because if this is not done, the group suffers from repetition and also work will not be done properly because there is miscommunication. Voicing your ideas is important because it will help the group complete the work with as many ideas as possible. You cannot be afraid to tell others what you feel or think will work best because then that option is not available to the group. Constructive criticism is important for everyone because it is a learning opportunity. You must be influential because it assists others in motivation. You must be able to work well with others or obviously you will try to do the whole project by yourself, and this just cannot work in a group or team setting because others will feel like you are trying to outdo them. Then this causes hostility and the unwillingness to work with you in the future. Someone has to be the motivator of the team when they get off subject or everyone will not get anything done.
Assertiveness is necessary at times because you will need to get your point across in a forceful manner and show others that you will not back down. If you do not then you will get run over and your ideas which are probably good will be thrown right out the window. You must be able to persuade others to get the job done in a timely manner and also in an efficient one. Persuasion is a nice more gentle way to motivate than assertiveness, but since their will be diversity within the group, we must understand that everyone is motivated in different ways. Empathy is important because we must not assume that everyone has the same background or same feelings about certain topics. Sensitivity is about the same as empathy we need to understand that life happens. Unexpected events might come up for group member, such as a death in the family or a child being sick. We must understand this. Diplomacy is essential because negotiation between members is highly important. We have to bring ideas together not just say that one way is the best. The diversity is the best way to assure that our team work is not one sided.
Organizations are becoming progressively group oriented. The purposes of developing teams within the workplace are to get more work done more efficiently and more quickly. Another purpose of work teams is to build relationships and a better corporate culture. Teams can help create cohesion between both management and employees through incorporating both in teams. When one manager oversees the group, it brings the employees within the group much closer to the manager. They come to find out that the managers are people just like they are which helps instill cooperation between them. I think that it is a great idea to have managers and lower level employees work together more in order to form good working relationships within the company.
In the long run more working teams and better interpersonal skills will set that company above the rest because they will be more productive and also a happier and healthier place to work. It is imperative for all companies to understand the importance of interpersonal skills training and how they assist in a better working environment. You cannot just expect people to work together effectively if they are not trained properly. Interpersonal skills are necessary to conduct business within the company and outside of the company. Organizations are now beginning to realize the importance of effective work teams and the need for employees with great interpersonal skills. Companies need to be the forefathers of the start of this great frontier. It will give them a competitive advantage above the rest.
References
Business Wire. (2006, March 22). Comprehensive interpersonal skills training program helps bring out the best in yourself. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from Factiva database
CNET Networks. (2007). Interpersonal communication. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from BNET Web site: http://dictionary.bnet.com/definition/interpersonal+communication.html
Cohesion. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved April 19, 2007, from Dictionary.com Web site: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cohesion
Fisher, K. (1995). Tips for teams: A ready reference for solving common team problems. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc.
Interpersonal. (1997). In Dictionary of Human Resources & Personnel Management, Peter Collin Publishing. Retrieved April 19, 2007, from http://www.xreferplus.com/entry.jsp?xrefid=868833&secid;=.2.-
