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A few weeks back, while watching the World Cup Soccer semi-finals between Uruguay and Netherlands, I happened to chance upon the rerun on Superman II on another channel. I caught up on the movie for a few minutes during the half time. One man saving the world from the clutches of Zod and Lex Luther. A man who is all powerful, almost invincible, and someone who requires ‘no team’ to reach his goals.

Do you think it is relevant anymore? Or for that matter, was it ever relevant? If you have been watching the World Cup this season you must have seen that the likes of Kaka, Messi, Ronaldo and other great players fail in the absence of teamwork. On the other hand, Germany, a relatively novice team has produced absolutely stellar results. It was all because of team work and not for a single superman.

Teamwork was an overarching theme at my graduate school. It was emphasized time and again to believe in the power of team, the collective intelligence. I did observe it in some of my classes and a few groups I was involved in. It dawned as a realization, not just a knowledge, that teamwork indeed trumps individual contribution. But there is an interesting twist in the tale!

To produce great results, a team needs to be active, vocal, and committed to the result. A complacent team produces nothing. The four things that are absolutely important for any team to succeed are:

1. Open Communication: Team members need to communicate openly and be transparent about their thoughts and ideas. If people do not share their thoughts there is a risk of important elements getting missed and team not performing to its best capabilities. Lack of communication may also lead to friction that can be deterimental to team’s performance.

2. Clear Leadership: Every team needs a good and active leader. Many a times teams face a situation wherein they are lost in the quagmire of data, actions, and issues that it becomes important for someone to bring the team back on its track and provide necessary directions. The leader has to be an active team member and everyone should respect his leadership and decisions.

3. Single Focus: There is a problem and the team is there to solve it. Each member should understand the problem in the same way as everyone else. If it is necessary, spend time in formulating the problem statement so that it can be communicated clearly and the progress can be measured against it. At no time should the team members have a different interpretation of the problem thus leading to wasted effort.

4. Honest Accountability: Every team member should be extremely dedicated and honest. They need to ensure that accountability is an important requisite for success. This attitude should ideally stem from within but can be driven by the leader as need be. It may become necessary to take stringent actions when faced with a uninvolved team member.

These four elements, if present in any team, will work wonders and the team will be able to perform and deliver a “more than expected” result. The mechanics of the team will ensure that everyone is giving their best, sharing their ideas, and working towards the same goal – the sum total of which will produce results that are far better than what can be achieved by one smart individual. Magic!