What makes a successful team??

How Will This Session Help Me Get Ready For Work?

Joining a new team can feel intimidating, especially when you are starting or if you feel unsure about sharing your ideas. Success at work is not about proving you are the best at the job; it is about pulling together with others to reach a shared goal. Understanding how to contribute, value different viewpoints, and ask for other perspectives helps you build the positive working relationships needed to become a brilliant teammate in any job.

Questions to get started

  • Think of a time when you had to work in a group at work, college, or home. What made it easy or hard to share your ideas?

  • When someone in a team has a completely different idea from yours, how do you usually react? What might stop you from presenting a different idea?

Focused Virtues

The Focused Virtue for this session is Courage.

Courage gives us the strength to step out of our comfort zone, speak up in a group, share our ideas, and welcome different perspectives—even when we feel nervous or unsure.

Ask Yourself: "Can I grow in courage to share my ideas, listen to different viewpoints, and help my team succeed together?"

Believe in your voice, act with bravery.

Skills Development:

Building strong teams at work takes real courage. Working together allows us to combine our unique strengths, generate better ideas, and achieve goals that would be impossible on our own.

First, contribute to the group. True teamwork requires active participation rather than sitting back. It takes courage to put forward your ideas or take ownership of a task, especially if you are scared of making a mistake. Offering your help—no matter how small the suggestion—shows reliability and keeps the team moving forward.

Second, value others' ideas. Courage also means creating a safe space where everyone feels respected. Listen carefully when teammates speak, acknowledge their points, and build on their suggestions. Even if an idea is not used in full, respecting their contribution encourages everyone to keep sharing without fear.

Finally, think about different perspectives. A perspective is the unique way someone sees a situation based on their background and life experience. Courage helps you ask open-ended questions to gather different viewpoints, especially from quieter team members or those with different backgrounds. Embracing different ways of thinking helps your team spot hidden problems and find better, more creative solutions.

By contributing actively, valuing your teammates, and seeking fresh perspectives, you build the courage to help any team thrive.

Interview Practise: Case Studies and Questions

  • "Can you tell me about a time you worked as part of a team to achieve a goal? What was your role, and how did you contribute?"

  • "How could you make sure that everyone on your team feels listened to, especially if they have a very different opinion from yours?"

Case Study

Tia is working on a group task during her first week in a job at a clothes store. The team needs to organise a new display before the store opens. One teammate suggests a quick layout, but Tia notices that it blocks an emergency exit and might be tricky for customers using wheelchairs. Tia feels nervous about speaking up because the rest of the team seems ready to start. How can Taylor use courage to share her perspective so the display turns out well?

Useful Resources:

https://www.skillsbuilder.uk/universal-framework-steps/teamwork-step-1-working-together 

https://www.skillsbuilder.uk/universal-framework-steps/teamwork-step-8-valuing-others 

https://www.skillsbuilder.uk/universal-framework-steps/creativity-step-11-seeking-perspectives 

https://www.skillsbuilder.uk/universal-framework-steps/teamwork-step-7-contributing

Guidance and Resources for Facilitators

Many entry-level and EAL learners feel low confidence or self-doubt when joining a new team or sharing ideas in a group. They may worry about making language errors, looking foolish, or experiencing conflict. Your role as a facilitator is to guide them using courage—helping them see that their contribution matters, teaching them to value diverse viewpoints, and showing them how to seek out fresh perspectives.

Core Concepts & Background Information

  1. Working Together & Contributing

    • Active Participation: Teamwork requires everyone to take responsibility for a share of the work. Courage is stepping forward to offer an idea or take on a task.

    • Overcoming Fear of Judgment: Reframe contributing as an act of generosity to the group rather than a test. Every suggestion helps the team move forward.

  2. Valuing Others' Ideas

    • Active Respect: Listening attentively, rephrasing a teammate's point, and thanking them for their input builds a supportive atmosphere.

    • Building on Ideas: Show learners how to combine two rough ideas to create a stronger solution, demonstrating that all contributions have value.

  3. Seeking Out Different Perspectives

    • Understanding Perspectives: A perspective is shaped by background, culture, and experience. Diversity in a team prevents blind spots and sparks creativity.

    • Inclusive Questioning: Teach learners how to ask open questions ("How do you see this?" or "What are we missing?") to invite input from quieter peers.

Overcoming Common Barriers

  1. The "My Ideas Aren't Good Enough" Barrier

    • Reframing: Entry-level learners often think only "perfect" ideas should be shared. Teach them that rough ideas act as stepping stones for the whole team.

    • Simple Prompts:

      • "What is one small suggestion you could add to help the group today?"

      • "How can we build on what your teammate just said to make it even better?"

  2. Language Anxiety and Dominant Speakers

    • Reframing: Quiet or EAL learners may be spoken over by more confident peers. Use structured tools (like 1-minute silent writing before speaking or round-robin sharing) so stepping up requires equal, manageable courage from everyone.

    • Simple Prompts:

      • "What is a simple question you can ask to make sure everyone gets a turn to speak?"

      • "How does listening to different viewpoints help us avoid big mistakes?"

  3. Classroom Activity: Perspective Swap & Idea Build

    • Place learners in small groups and give them a simple workplace challenge (e.g., "How to welcome new staff on their first day"). Assign each learner a specific role/perspective (e.g., the manager, a busy colleague, a shy new starter, a customer). Have each person share one idea from their character's viewpoint, and ask the group to combine them into one final plan.

Delivery Tips for the Session

  • Keep Language Simple: Translate abstract terms like seeking perspectives into plain phrases: "asking others how they see the problem."

  • Acknowledge Bravery: Explicitly praise instances where a learner steps outside their comfort zone to offer an idea or invite a quiet teammate into the conversation.

  • Use Visual Scaffolds: Provide sentence starters on the board (e.g., "I like that idea because...", "What if we tried...", "How do you feel about...?") to support speaking and listening.