“Teamwork is the ability to work with a group of people in order to achieve a common goal. Its a group of people who work well together. Its like the saying, one for all and all for one. You are one cohesive group.”
This interview is reaching out to a broad audience to help me (and you!) get a better understanding of just what people actually think about teamwork and how it impact their lives. I hope you enjoy it and maybe gain an insight or two.
Interviewee Profile
1) What is your official job / position title?
Flight Engineer
2) What is your direct supervisor’s official job / position title?
Chief Flight Engineer
3) What industry do you work in?
US NAVY
4) How many years have you been in your current industry and job?
6
5) What are 3 to 5 of your most important skills, specialties, or areas of expertise?
Mechanics, hydraulics, and electrical
Interviewee Responses
01) Describe (in your own words) what you think ‘teamwork’ means.
Teamwork is the ability to work with a group of people in order to achieve a common goal. Its a group of people who work well together. Its like the saying, one for all and all for one. You are one cohesive group.
02) Think about a person you feel needs team-building training. How do you think this training would help him/her?
First, it will show them how to trust others. It also will help them learn how to work with a group of people. Its heard for some to sit back and let other work on things that are important to them. This will let them how it works and also hoe beneficial it can be.
03) How do you think teamwork could help a company or business?
I think it can get everyone on the same page. When you have people on the same page and with that focus of achieving that ultimate goal, the possibilities are endless.
04) Describe a teamwork / team-building exercise or event you’ve been through at your work, school, or during training.
I did the trust fall exercise that many people have done. Im not comfortable with height or trusting others. So this was huge for me. I didn’t think I would ever be able to do something like this. I learned that trust is important no matter what it is.
05) Explain at least 1 thing you’ve learned from a team-building exercise and how it has helped you.
I have learned that you have to be able to trust the people you are working with. You have to step back and let them show you what they can do. It has shown me that I have to let people show me what they can do before I make judgments. Without trust in life there aren’t many things you can do. You can apply this to all different aspects of your daily life.
06) Think back to a team-building exercise you did NOT enjoy. What do you feel could have been improved and why?
I think that it could have been done differently by making people more involved in it. Some of the people didn’t do much just let a few do all the work. I don’t like when its left to one person or a couple to do all the work. Its not about getting it done, its about working together to do it.
07) Describe what you like most about team-building efforts and training.
I like the fact that you get to know a good group of people with a common goal. I like how we work together in order to achieve that goal. I like that feelings are set aside in order to get things done. You need to check your ego at the door when you do this as well.
08) What are a few things you like least about team-building efforts and why?
I think that it can be forced at times. I think that there are certain people that will never get it but youre forced to be with them. So this makes the experience not fun at all. I don’t like when you work with people who don’t want to be there or put in any effort.
09) When learning about team-building, would you rather read about it, listen to a trainer, watch training videos, or physically participate in an event? Describe why you feel that way.
I think that Id like to listen to someone briefly. Then Id like to get the chance to participate in an event in order to show what we have learned. I think that you can only really show that you learned it when you go out and execute it. So a bit of both is what works best for me.
10) Pretend you are asked to give a quick team-building presentation at work. What are your first couple of steps to get prepared?
I will come up with examples of when I have been on teams that have done great and done bad. To show what a difference it can make. I will show how successful teams have been in the past. Also how teams have failed. I will point out the importance of it.
11) In your opinion, what type or personality of person do you think could benefit most from team-building efforts?
Someone who is not sure about how to trust others. They might need t be shown that you can do a lot once you start trusting your teammates and they can help you get far in life. Its gong to be a person who is looking for a group or might need a little bit of encouragement.
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