“Teamwork makes the dreamwork” – we all know this quote. It was first expressed by John C. Maxwell in 2002 and fueled numerous memes and witty quotes about teamwork. But teamwork cannot be boiled down to such statements and platitudes. Successful teamwork is more versatile – especially since teams are becoming more global, project-oriented and virtual.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also shaped the way people work and has made teamwork seem even more important. After all, in a study by Gartner, 65% of all respondents said that they have been rethinking the importance of their work since the pandemic. Their own satisfaction is more important than ever. At Actonic, we see it the same way and rely on teamwork to achieve it.
In this article, we share how we define and actively live teamwork.
The term “teamwork” refers to an activity that is performed by several people working together. Each person adds an individual part to achieve a common goal. However, teamwork is more than just group work and is characterized by open communication and a shared sense of responsibility. Team means that individuals support each other to reach their full potential.
This is also Actonic’s motto:
Unfolding your potential.
Improved efficiency
Less stress
Optimized problem-solving
Happier team members
Motivation booster
Ideal personality development
Enhanced creativity
The importance of teamwork is also shown by the large number of studies on this topic. In order to understand teamwork in more detail, we take our inspiration from studies by J. Richard Hackman. Back in the 1970s, he found that there are certain preconditions that make successful teamwork possible in the first place:
convincing direction
strong structure
supportive context
But how can these requirements be defined, and how are they lived at Actonic? We’ll tell you.
And spoiler alert: A few teamwork quotes you surely don’t know yet are waiting for you!
Why is tug-of-war often held as a “team building event”? Here, literally everyone is pulling in the same direction. There is an explicitly defined goal and only one direction to aim for. This is especially important in teamwork: a common goal. Employees need a vision that is challenging and motivating. Inspiration occurs when we have explicit goals to work towards.
“For me, influencing the quality of a constantly developing product is a big responsibility and constant work on improvements. At Actonic, you are not alone in the working process, there is a lot of teamwork and support. And when the whole team is focused on one result, then everything is possible!”
Iryna Biletchenko
Development
At Actonic we early understood that a goal, a groundbreaking North Star, is essential. Every year we hold a company vision workshop lasting several hours, in which each business unit (Consulting, Development, Marketing, Sales, HR) can/should contribute its own ideas. We make great efforts to define common (partial) goals (which are also regularly updated). Only with a shared perspective can joint peak performance be achieved.
Get inspired like Iryna and:
Large and diverse teams are an asset to the bottom line – but also more vulnerable to poor communication. To counter this risk, optimally designed tasks and processes are essential. Things like “last one out turns off the lights” are actually common sense, but should be put in a written form and communicated verbally. Of course, this also applies to complicated workflows: Everyone should know what to do in which case.
Nowadays, every company says that structures are transparent and hierarchies are flat. At Actonic, we don’t just talk about it, we put this philosophy into practice every day. Our CEOs and managers are true role models who motivate us every day to become even better – at after-work bowling, they also have a few good tips in store!
Want some support for your career?
Equally important for teamwork is a supportive context. This includes constructive feedback, a powerful reward system, access to necessary data and, finally, material resources. Especially when teams work in a geographically distributed manner, it is even more significant to provide everyone with the same material resources.
Every new employee at Actonic can choose between a Mac and a ThinkPad as a work computer. All technical equipment is available on the first day of work and can be flexibly taken to the home office. We Actonics also receive support in the form of open, constructive feedback. Own ideas should always be brought in. Your own mistakes are not emphasized, but used as an opportunity for improvement. There are no blame games or scapegoats at Actonic!
“I’m continuously learning about new skills and unfold my potential through my work at Actonic. Mistakes are not emphasized, but used as an opportunity to improve!”
Chrysostomos Gitas
Sales Manager
Research shows that many problems in teamwork only happen because there is a lack of a common identity and a common (goal) understanding. Therefore, knowledge should be communicated as transparently as possible, especially in international collaboration. Synchronous knowledge transfer does not work here, of course. But tools like Confluence and Jira help to drive a shared mindset in teamwork. Read more in our article about Atlassian’s collaboration tools!
In addition to all these scientifically proven teamwork requirements, fun and humanity are at the forefront at Actonic. We strive for sustainable corporate growth, but never want to lose our valuing corporate culture along the way.
After all, team events, after-work talks as well as joint lunch breaks on the terrace are integral parts of Actonic’s values.
It was a quite spontaneous “team event”. Some Actonics and their partners sat together with pizza after work. One of the bosses showed old photos from business trips and then proudly unpacked a brand new PlayStation 5 as a surprise.
“I got it for us. Actually, it’s not even available anymore!”
“But how did you get it?”
Broad grin
Until now, we haven’t figured out the secret. But the lunch breaks have been even more eventful since this evening.
This anecdote is just one of the many moments that show how comfortable we feel at Actonic, which is well supported by another teamwork quote from an anonymous employee survey:
“At Actonic, we get to shape the company and the culture ourselves.
We don’t work for Actonic, we are Actonic!”
We are Actonic and live teamwork every day. Want to join us? We’re looking for talents who speak their mind, make mistakes and keep learning. From consulting to IT, sales, marketing or HR, if you’re interested in technology and a team that doesn’t just exist on paper, you’ve come to the right place. Feel free to browse our open positions:
Not the right one for you? Then simply apply on your own initiative. We are looking forward to your application. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us!
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