Individual work VS Teamwork

Individual work VS Teamwork

The age old question, individual work or teamwork is better? I believe there are no definite answer for this question, as different people have different working styles. Some people prefer working alone while others in team. The most important thing that we have to look for the right person for the right task. Knowing when to go alone, and when to work together is vital for an organization to triumph.

Individual work. It is better for a person to work alone for a task that require high concentration and focus. This is because group work can cause a lot of unnecessary interruptions by your team members. According to a study known as the Coding War Games, they found out that programmers tend to work faster when they are working by themselves. On top of that, designers, artists, writers and even engineers do their best work alone. Another important point to add on is being in the ZONE, also known as FLOW, where a person is fully immersed into an activity with focus, full involvement, and enjoyment. The state of FLOW can only be achieved when a person is working individually.

Secondly, when we are learning a new skill, it is better for us to do alone. This might seem bizarre because in most of our lives, we learn new skills together with our friends or colleagues. According to psychologist Anders Ericsson, the best way to master a skill is to go directly to the part that is most challenging to you personally. Basically, this means that you find out your weakest point and work on that bit by bit. In his words, “if you want to improve, you have to be the one who generate the move; imagine in a group class, you are the one generating the move only a small percentage of the time”. By working alone, you can decide what to do and when to do it.

Teamwork. Teamwork is vital for brainstorming session because different people have different experiences and background. More ideas will be generated and productivity will also increase due to the motivation that is provided by the team members. We can also see things from different angles and directions by listening to others. During the brainstorming session, collect all the ideas that were generated and then choose the best one or connect some of the ideas together to produce a better one. Besides that, teamwork can also increases communication between team members. Communication is very important for a team to work well.

Teamwork will help when we are solving a problem. In a team, everyone is unique and can provide a different perspective to look at the problem. Two or more people are always better than an individual for solving problems, finishing off difficult task and increasing creativity. Open communication is vital for team problem solving, but the use of emails, phone and texts can be a limitation. Important emails can easily get lost in the mist of replying and forwarding messages to a number of people. Company should invest in a system or an application that can make the team work more efficiently. Lastly, an open environment can be a great support for team members during challenging times, as they can look to one another for support and guidance.