If you would’ve told me 10 years ago that I would be writing a blog post about how great it is to work on a team, I would’ve called you crazy. In college and throughout high school, I hated working on teams.
You’ll hear the same complaints from team-haters:
I got stuck with all the work.
My group mates brought down my grade.
It was like herding cats.
Teachers told us that working in teams better prepared us for working in the real world. And they were right.
Most of my work in my professional career has been done on teams. The dynamics are always different, but with the right people, teams make your job easier and better.
Teams foster creativity and efficiency
The best teams push each other to develop the most creative ideas, then help do the work. A few weeks ago, Martin Waymire helped launch the I Vaccinate campaign, a statewide effort to improve Michigan’s childhood vaccination rates. At Martin Waymire, we work together on client teams, meaning at least two people are well-versed on every client issue. For the I Vaccinate campaign, several staff members came together to brainstorm creative tactics for the first few months of social media. Each person brought unique ideas to the table and helped build off each other’s ideas. In less than an hour, we had themes decided and work split up amongst team members. We were able to write, design and schedule two months of content in less than a week.
Teams blend complementary strengths
We all bring different strengths to the table. My experience is in digital media strategy and marketing, so when a client needs help planning press conference, I turn to others on our team—many of whom are former journalists—for advice. Many of our client teams at Martin Waymire are set up so that we have a good balance of traditional and digital media expertise on every team. It gives us the opportunity to learn from each other while doing the best work for our clients.
Teams create a wider sense of ownership
Maybe the best part about working with a team is when you win, you win together. When you achieve a goal or complete a big project, you celebrate together. Each person on the team can pinpoint the things they did to contribute to the project. The months leading up to the I Vaccinate launch were hectic. But when we all stood together the day of the launch, watching the press conference packed with supporters and media, it was a great feeling to get to share that moment with everyone who worked so hard to make that day happen.
