“If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go together.” 
 
An old saying that never goes out of style. 
 
We all hear about the perks of working in a team, and how it can improve performance in the long term. But a team does not always have to work together all the time, as long as each individual works towards one same goal. Whether you're working as a team on a project or working separately on different projects, know that you're still in a team, know that your approach, effort, and contribution will affect the whole team's outcome. 
 
First of all, to know when teamwork is necessary or when working alone is more effective, let us have a look at the end-goal. The team leader needs to know whether the team should be a high-performing group of individuals or a high-performing team based on the expected outcome of the work.Teamwork is required only if it's a high-performing team, where everything clicks when everyone is together and things don't get properly done unless everyone is together doing their parts. 
 
Let me give you some examples, a high-performing group of individuals create their own puzzle pieces and put it together to create a complete set. This allows them to generate their own input without being influenced by the team’s ideas. Giving each individuals in a team space to come up with their own ideas independently can result in better ideas for the team, because each individual can push their potential. This way works best for outcomes that are about surprises and coming up with new things, while maintaining the same principles in a team.
 
On the other hand, a high-performing team works together to create all the puzzle pieces required and put it together to create a complete set; you can see the difference but they both end up working towards one same goal. This way works best when there is an end-goal expected and a clear direction to where the discussion is heading. 
 
Teamwork is not always the dreamwork, sometimes it can squish down good ideas, it can be biased if done wrong, it can really make or break, so it's definitely not always a good thing. It should always be encouraged to the younger generations, rather than working against each other, we should all be working together because in the end of the day, we're all chasing for the dreams and experiences that make us happy. More than anything, it’s important to analyse what kind of outcome we want and whether working in a team or individually, it should give the most effective result for you.
 
Written by: Luy Ung Techhong
 

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