Article

Communication as a Tool for Effective Teamwork

03 Nov,2022 - Yangon | 2 mins read

Author: Muhammad Ziaullah Siddiqui, Chief Executive Officer of ATOM

In today’s business world, tackling problems effectively, fostering creativity, and nurturing collaborative solutions are essential for success. The glue that binds collaborative teams together is effective communication.

At ATOM, we strive towards creating the best place to work in Myanmar by cultivating a respectful workplace driven by a meritocracy-driven culture and a healthy team spirit. In this article, I would like to share how we are working towards building successful team collaboration within ATOM so that we can better serve our customers and the wider society.

What is Collaboration and Why is it Important?  

Organizational collaboration is driven by the recognition that more can be achieved by working together. When more people collaborate, there will be more ideas, more productivity, and more efficient and effective achievement of goals. That’s a very powerful combination.

Collaboration is not just about cooperation and coordination. It refers to a higher level of joint working in which people work towards achieving a common end goal. The saying: “The strength of the chain is its weakest link” illustrates that collaboration matters because the most successful teams are synchronised teams. 

How Does Communication Support Teamwork?

Winning teams are not made up of people who are perfect in every way – this does not exist. As humans, we have emotions and seek love, respect, appreciation, and acknowledgment. In our personal lives, we get to surround ourselves with people who appreciate the ways we communicate. But in the workplace, we don’t always get to choose the team we work with. 

Effective collaboration cannot take place without the support of good communication. I don’t mean simply dividing up tasks and assembling a finished product. It’s about fostering a genuine determination to achieve a common objective by sharing knowledge and insights and working together.

Collaborative Communication That Works: Keys to High-Impact Teamwork

Here are some aspects of communication that tend to be overlooked.

1) Types of communication – There are five types of communication: verbal, nonverbal, written, visual, and listening. Yes, listening is a type of communication too! So, try to utilise these multiple options for effectiveness.

2) Listen to understand and not respond - Active listening is the practice of listening to understand what someone is saying. When you practise active listening, you're exclusively focused on what the other person is saying instead of planning what to say in response as you would during a debate or conversation.

3) Silence can be a form of communication - Silence can allow us to collect our thoughts. Sometimes when we’re looking for the right words to express our feelings, taking a moment to gather ourselves can be helpful.

There are three dimensions of communication within an organization:

Top-Down – For leaders communicating with the team, taking on a ‘storyteller’ approach establishes credibility and authenticity. Keeping things simple, honest, transparent, fair, and sincere allows leaders to communicate with clarity. Encouraging discussions and seeking team members’ input establishes trust and recognition.

Bottom-Up & Horizontal – For teams looking to communicate from the bottom up and horizontally, it is important to raise matters to the relevant personnel, provide a critical assessment, remain objective and stick to the facts, propose solutions, and evaluate the impact of the matter.

In closing, I would like to reinforce that collaboration only succeeds when you have two ingredients: communication and teamwork. Communication is the strongest tool to synchronise, motivate and energise a team. And teamwork makes the dream work.