The degree to which a group of people can work together
effectively can be a decisive factor in whether they
can achieve their goals. Poor team work can lead
to disagreements, negativity and inaction. How often
does a cry go out from a frustrated team member: “I
could have done this in a third of the time myself,
and with none of the disagreements!’
But ‘team working’ is one of the biggest
shifts in business management today – working
with others is now almost inescapable.
Much of good team work comes down to how well people
get on with each other and their ability to apply
basic social skills to get the best out of others
and their situation. These skills include flexibility,
sensitivity, compromise, persuasion, respecting and
participating. With these skills a group can commit
to a common purpose and attain their goals, they
can act as effective mentors and nurture the best
in one another.
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She asked for volunteers to run the club and a group
of pupils came forward. Over the next few weeks they
learnt about all aspects of running the book club.
They learned about all the ordering procedures, when
money was taken, how it was banked and what happened
when a delivery arrived. For the first time they
became familiar with the idea that the school earned
commission for the amount of books they sold.
The children immediately set themselves the challenge
of improving the rate of commission achieved. They
worked in their small team to brainstorm ideas to
raise the profile of the book club and encourage
children to make purchases. They took over time in
assembly and ‘advertised’ in classes.
They made posters and wrote letters and marketed
books they thought might be popular.
The result has been that ever since they took over
the administration of the club it has achieved an
average monthly commission of £200, compared
with the previous figure of just £70.
But Lindsey said the most striking element of the
project was the level to which the small group had
bonded and worked as a team. She said: “They
run the whole club now, from giving the orders on
the telephone to delivering the books to classes.
I only need mention it to one group member that we
need a meeting and the information will have been
disseminated to the others, with the children organising
messages to be sent to the appropriate classes.”
The children have been so successful that they are
now mentoring other children to widen the network
of pupils that participate. The first eight children
have each engaged a friend to help with Book Club.
The next step is for the sixteen children to train
Year Five children who will take over from them when
they have left.
Lindsey said: “I act now only in a supervisory
role. If there’s a problem they might come
to me for advice but ultimately they work as a team
to decide on a course of action. They look after
the club and each other and it has promoted a genuine
sense of team work.”
