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90% of the time I am for individualism and against group think. But at times, teamwork may be needed, whether you like it or not. FYI, small teams are the best and do not (mostly) come under 'evil' category.

In the virtual economy, collaboration is a new competitive imperative.
- Michael Dell

You don't do brain work in groups of thousand….you do it in quartets, octets, groups of ten…..
- Anonymous Executive

"There is no 'I' in Team."
- Anon.

COLLABORATION
Real Value in the sciences, the arts, [and] commerce ……. Comes largely from the process of collaboration. What's more, the quality and quantity of meaningful collaboration often depends upon the tools used to create it…..Collaboration is like romance…it can't be routine and predictable. People collaborate precisely because they don't know how to – or can't- deal effectively with the challenges that face them as individuals….The issue isn't communication or teamwork – it's the creation of value. Collaboration describes a process of value creation that our traditional structure of communication and teamwork can't achieve.
– Michael Schrage

THE FOUR-MAN FIGHTING MODULE
Each of the four men (in the famed British Military Unit, SAS) was trained to a high general level of proficiency in the whole range of the SAS capability and, additionally, each man was trained to have at least one expertise according to his aptitude. In carrying out an operation – often in pitch-dark- each SAS man in each module was exercising his own individual perception and judgement at full stretch.
– Colonel David Sterling , who initially proposed the formation of the SAS

COMMON GROUP PROBLEMS
- Domination - one or two members take over, and the others lose interest
- Critical - in order to sound knowledgeable, some members are always critical. Sometimes competition emerges
- Conflict - sometimes open, sometimes not
- Sexism and racism – keep them out at all costs.
- Avoidance - whole group avoiding the task, often due to fear of failure
- Inactive listening - nobody listens - people working as individuals, not as a group

HOW TO MAKE AN IMPACT AT TEAM BRIEFINGS
1. Be specific rather than general –give examples and facts.
2. Explain the purpose of your briefing – For example, the headline.
3. Start with a short overview of the whole message.
4. Break the information into manageable chunks – the few (and, only few) most important key points first.
5. Reduce the message to no more than seven points (researchers say seven is the most ‘rememberable’ number for a list’s items.)
6. Spell out the implications – for each point, you should answer the hidden question everyone is silently asking, “What does this mean for me?”

So, you have to explain the importance of each point to – the team, the individual team member, you the leader, the organization, other parties.
7. Say what will happen next – Say what you think will occur. For example, ‘need for new marketing recruits to sell the new product’. If you do not know exactly what the implications are, say so.
8. And finally, do not dump your anxieties on the rest of the team – if you are giving bad news, do not appear blaming other people, or feeling helpless. For the workers, you must be a leader/manager, not a victim.

HOW TO RUN TEAM BRIEFINGS

1. Involvement
Well run briefings give attendees a chance to get involved. People will ask questions and discuss the new situation.

Keep the task of giving information to about half (or, two thirds) of the total time available. Leave the reminder for people to start processing the information received and offer their reactions.

2. A short break
Between the information-giving part and the interactive part, have a short break in which you may try to get people to react by asking them to discuss what they think about what they have heard, with a colleague or in small groups. This gets people talking and breaks the stilted silence that may have arisen.

3. A Prompt Start
Encourage (and, request for) people to come on time or earlier. If people arrive late, do not reward them by starting the briefing all over again – welcome their arrival promptly and suggest they talk to colleagues afterwards to catch up on what they have missed.

4. Materials
Give a one-page summary of the contents of the briefing. Take careful notes of any questions which have been put forward during the interactive part of the briefing – you may need to share it with other decision makers or you may have to give more information to the people.

5. When you are being briefed yourself
If you go as a representative of your team, act as its representative. And, take notes if the issue is complex and find out exactly what you can tell your team.

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