Few people are immune to teamwork. That's how important it is to learn to cooperate. Unfortunately, not everyone succeeds to the same extent, and the consequences of these difficulties are numerous and disabling.

Let's face it, it's not always easy. And it's worth pointing out that teamwork is not exactly synonymous with group work.

The difference lies in the level of interdependence between people: teamwork requires a particularly high level of trust, respect and a sense of individual and collective responsibility.

• Create a "team contract" based on trust and reliability. A group's overall effectiveness depends on its ability to coordinate the contributions of its members. You can contribute to this by proposing common standards (a kind of "contract") for responsibility, reliability and mutual trust. Everyone needs to know how to behave and communicate, especially when they need help with a task on which the team depends.
• Be open and encourage diversity. Teamwork is first and foremost a source of enrichment, thanks to the sharing of skills and the exchange of ideas it enables. Inclusive teams go even further by adopting a positive approach to diversity. They tactfully welcome different points of view, offering constructive (rather than destructive) feedback. This enables them to make the most of their members' contributions.
• Create opportunities to do real work together. Don't settle for simple team meetings. Dare to organize sessions that are a little more fun, a little more meaningful, to engage everyone in the quest for common goals. And consider work-sharing and real-life observation to reinforce team reliability.
• Offer spontaneous help to your colleagues. Everyone needs a little help from time to time. A team's reliability can be measured by its members' willingness to help each other. It's often a question of little things: proofreading an important report before your office neighbor sends it to the right person, giving up your coffee break to help out another colleague...

• Becoming over-dependent, hyper-cohesive. When personal initiatives have to be systematically validated by the whole group before being implemented, it's hardly surprising that things move slowly. Many projects risk being blocked at various levels. Don't try to solve every problem collectively; sometimes, individual intervention is enough!
• Blame others when they don't keep their promises. Instead, empathize. No one is immune from a bad day - so put yourself in the other person's shoes. Remember that people sometimes face personal or family difficulties. Try to understand how they feel, why they acted the way they did, and react accordingly.
• Criticize people behind their backs. Be sincere. If something isn't quite right, or if you don't agree, say so either to the team or to the person concerned, depending on the situation. Honesty and frankness are essential to good human relations.
• Announce team successes using the first person singular, rather than starting with "we". It's not fair to take credit for a collective success. The rule should be to recognize the main contributors and compliment those who have actually done the work. All those responsible should be invited to share the stage.
• Let extroverts dominate the team. It's often said that communication is as much about listening as it is about talking. Yet in most teams, there are people who talk too much and others who don't talk enough - but mostly there are people who don't listen enough. It's easy to fall into this trap. I've often witnessed the following scene: a group is discussing a problem, the most discreet person understands and sets about explaining to the others that she knows the solution, but because she's naturally reserved, or is new, she isn't allowed to go all the way. Usually, she resigns herself and the team eventually finds the answer. Except that they might have discovered it much sooner, had they been able to listen or had the shy person spoken with more confidence.