Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships
Michael Jordan/NBA player
Everyone is talking about teamwork. If there is no teamwork, success is difficult, and if we cannot become a team, we cannot be a sustainable enterprise, etc. So, do the enterprise managers and employees ever ask themselves: “Do we really play teamwork or do we want to play it?”
First, let's underline what teamwork is. Although there are many different definitions of teamwork, the definition made by my esteemed friend, personal development specialist Ahmet Şerif İzgören is my favorite: The groups that have common value concepts, focused on the same target, understand each other and have the capability to complete their works are a team.
Here, I will not go into details such as the factors that make up the team, the ways to encourage the team and the process of becoming a team etc. Maybe I will talk about them later. However, I would like to emphasize two important topics in terms of teamwork. The first topic is the factors that kill teamwork, and the other topic is the approach of the Turkish and Western companies to teamwork.
Fake consensus, personal problems that cannot be solved, stereotyped team meetings far from being creative, unrealistic expectations, lack of a common goal, insufficiency of the team leader, distrust of team members in each other, lack of communication within the team, occasional grouping within the team and most importantly forgetting the customer are the most important factors.
There are significant differences between the approaches of the companies operating in Turkey and the Western companies to teamwork. I suggest that you question the possible reasons for these differences.
In terms of approach to business, Turkish companies act emotionally, while Western companies prefer logic.
In terms of planning, Turkish companies mostly make short term plans, while Western companies make long term plans.
In terms of our daily life, Turkish companies always act hastily, while Western companies succeed in staying calm.
In terms of management, Turkish companies are leader-oriented, while Western companies prefer team-oriented management.
In terms of non-business relationships, there is sincere behavior in Turkish companies and distant relationships in Western companies.
In terms of motivation, short term high motivation is observed in Turkish companies, while low but long term motivation is observed in Western companies.
In terms of handling the project, Turkish companies view projects as a 100 m run, and Western companies view them almost like a marathon.
In terms of distribution of tasks, Turkish companies apply the job for man principle, while Western companies apply the man for job principle.
In terms of way of thinking, a holistic and relational approach is observed in Turkish companies, while Western companies adopt a detailed and technical approach.
In terms of rules, rules can be broken in Turkish companies, while it is mandatory to obey the rules in Western companies.
In terms of applications, Turkish companies take a more tactical point of view, while Western companies approach the subject strategically.
In terms of creative ideas, high-scale creative ideas are observed in Turkish companies, while moderate-level creative ideas are observed in Western companies.
Leaders are observed to be quite dominant in Turkish companies, while they are viewed to have less impact in Western companies.
The love that you have for each other is more important than your earnings. Your cooperation is more valuable than your machines, your smiling face is more valuable than your CRM software, and your knowledge is more valuable than your computers*.
