There's No "I" in Company: The Importance of Teamwork in the Company

Have you ever wondered why a business plan should include a section on the leadership team? What about why the leadership team is mentioned in a public company's annual report? The answer is simple. People make the company. No matter how brilliant a business idea, people must carry it out, and the wrong people will fail, disappointing investors. The leadership team sets the tone at the top. If they are capable team players, then they spread the message that teamwork is vital to the company's success, and the company's employees will strive to work together.

Have you ever worked on a team where everyone got along well, did their part, and felt free to share ideas? Did this experience not produce better results than when you worked on a team where everyone argued, some lazy people did nothing, and a loud few dominated the brainstorming? Teamwork, or lack thereof, distinguishes these two experiences.

If you had a choice of working in a company where teamwork is a vital part of the corporate culture versus a company where teamwork doesn't exist, where would you want to work? I would choose the company with teamwork because working for it would be less stressful. I am an intelligent, capable worker, but I don't want to have so much work that it takes over my life. Such a situation would lead to burnout, which could inspire me to quit my job. Companies don't like having high employee turnover if it can be avoided because it can raise their recruitment, training, and compensation costs.