Individual brilliance does not automatically produce collective success. Teamwork is the cooperative effort of a group of people working together to achieve a common goal.

It requires communication, coordination, willingness to help colleagues, and subordination of purely personal agendas when necessary. Good teamwork multiplies capability; poor teamwork creates friction that subtracts from the sum of individual talents. Structures, incentives, and leader modeling all influence how much teamwork actually occurs.

Organizations that preach teamwork while rewarding only individual heroics send mixed signals. Designing interdependent goals and recognizing joint achievements encourages the behaviors teamwork requires. Practice and feedback help groups improve how they work together.

• Cooperative effort toward a shared goal
• Depends on communication, coordination, and mutual support
• Amplified or undermined by incentives and leadership
• Can be improved through deliberate practice