Rating: 
Summary: The first sentence floored me
Review: The book entitled "Teamwork is an Individual Skill" is quite interesting. I work at a large semi-conductor manufacturer as a non-exempt fab technician on a self managed team on night shift. I am the most experienced and capable person on my team, yet with all of my background I have come to realize how relatively little influence I often have on team performance, and on my ability to push the team in the direction I think it should go. The very first sentence in your book on page 1, "Do you share responsibility with others to get work done but don't have authority over them (and they don't have authority over you)?" absolutely floored me, 'cause that is me to the tee. I had only gotten to page 8 of your book when I was thoroughly blown away by the directness with which the differences between flat and hierarchical structures were addressed. At my company there is no mention of this approach; even once when I mentioned the term "semi-autonomous team" to the most qualified tech (who happened to be on day shift--arguably a more hierarchical environment due to the presence of many exempt employees) he did not know what the term meant. The company has this structure in place almost as an unwritten agenda. Your comment on page 5, "Many individuals--especially smart, high achievers--can experience great angst if asked to serve in teams." is in retrospect a great source of comfort to help me understand my angst during my three years with this company. In all of the areas I have worked in during that time I am sure that I had (at least on paper) more qualifications than any one other person (B.S. deg, two A.A.S. degs, 12+ prior years of technical experience, and a whole host of other skills that my teammates do not exhibit.) Plus add to that, that my experience has almost exclusively come from a strongly tilted hierarchical background in retrospect is why I struggled with teams, as you describe them. Every page of your book is quite thought-provoking, causing me to pause and reflect on how your observations compare to my situation.
Rating:
Summary: The first sentence floored me
Review: The book entitled "Teamwork is an Individual Skill" is quite interesting. I work at a large semi-conductor manufacturer as a non-exempt fab technician on a self managed team on night shift. I am the most experienced and capable person on my team, yet with all of my background I have come to realize how relatively little influence I often have on team performance, and on my ability to push the team in the direction I think it should go. The very first sentence in your book on page 1, "Do you share responsibility with others to get work done but don't have authority over them (and they don't have authority over you)?" absolutely floored me, 'cause that is me to the tee. I had only gotten to page 8 of your book when I was thoroughly blown away by the directness with which the differences between flat and hierarchical structures were addressed. At my company there is no mention of this approach; even once when I mentioned the term "semi-autonomous team" to the most qualified tech (who happened to be on day shift--arguably a more hierarchical environment due to the presence of many exempt employees) he did not know what the term meant. The company has this structure in place almost as an unwritten agenda. Your comment on page 5, "Many individuals--especially smart, high achievers--can experience great angst if asked to serve in teams." is in retrospect a great source of comfort to help me understand my angst during my three years with this company. In all of the areas I have worked in during that time I am sure that I had (at least on paper) more qualifications than any one other person (B.S. deg, two A.A.S. degs, 12+ prior years of technical experience, and a whole host of other skills that my teammates do not exhibit.) Plus add to that, that my experience has almost exclusively come from a strongly tilted hierarchical background in retrospect is why I struggled with teams, as you describe them. Every page of your book is quite thought-provoking, causing me to pause and reflect on how your observations compare to my situation.
Rating:
Summary: How do you function within and build a Team
Review: Very enjoyable book written to get more out of life. I found this advice to be both sagely and benefical. Great book for a day of reflection whether in an airport or sitting by a lake.
Rating: 
Summary: Whose fault is it when teams don¿t work?
Review: Whose fault is it when teams don't work? I was leery of the new book Teamwork Is an Individual Skill, by Christopher M. Avery, but got hooked halfway through the first chapter. If you work with people - as a manager, employee, business owner - even as a family member - you're likely to find valuable advice for building cooperative relationships and achieving common goals. This is not a book about getting along with those you work with, or even about being nice to them. It's about helping them help you succeed. According to Avery, if you do your part (by taking responsibility for the team's performance), they'll do theirs. The team will achieve its goals, and everyone will be able to take the credit. Following are a few of the book's suggestions: · Realize that teams are defined not by the people on them but by what the team must do. To win individually, the members must win first as a team. · Take responsibility for and act on troublesome situations, rather than waiting for those "in charge" to do so. · Don't go along with something you are strongly opposed to. Without blaming, "push back," knowing that your silence would be equivalent to consent. · Begin a team relationship with a contribution: evidence of your talents, special information to which you have access ... tools, contacts, whatever you have that supports the team's mission. · Practice "servant leadership," Buckminster Fuller's concept of winning by helping others win. The book continues with ideas for using conflict constructively, distinguishing criticism from feedback, building consensus, calling others on broken agreements, and much more. Avery has included individual and team exercises, so you can use Teamwork Is an Individual Skill as an employee-training manual.
| 
