When a team can learn to maximize its communication skills and heighten its ability to collaborate, outcomes are often positively affected. Recently I watched my 2-year-old twin granddaughters build their first snowman. My wife briefly showed them how snow packs and how they can shape a winter snow structure. They played around with the concepts. They quickly figure out who does what best and what tasks are best done in unison, like rolling the larger snowball base components . The ability to partner and share and delegate duties had a positive impact on the finished product. The shared interests, talents, and values of these two enabled them to work together to achieve a common goal. Their personalities and temperaments are also very compatible, and their relationship is close and trusting. Clearly, the twins show us the ingredients needed for collaboration in workplaces, in sports, and in academia.  Their connection is strong and getting down to business and executing tasks was “all business”. The common bond they share enabled connectedness and ability to address common challenges. They navigated shared challenges, conflicts, and successes together. The emotional connection produced a strong deepening of their interpersonal relationship and highlighted effective partnership dynamics.

It’s hard work sculping and shaping a snowman. And it’s cold outside and the cold makes the snow itself colder when rolling and molding. It was fascinating to watch them communicate with and without words in moving along on the project . The work showed how they had developed their unique ways of communicating, even using non-verbal cues. The effort put into the early communications and delegation demonstrated the significance of effective communication in any setting to achieve mutual goals. They had a vison and a plan and executed on it. Our twins have unique personalities, and are very different , yet much the same.. They share some interests, and strengths,  and do not share others. They seemed to know the importance of maximizing individual differences in partnership. It was amazing to me how they observed and deployed diverse perspectives, leading to a better outcome in the finished product. It had each one’s mark and the mark of them together as well was evident.

Right away, they got down to business and leveraged being part of a team and sharing various tasks. This experience seemed to genuinely emphasize the importance of collaboration in partnerships, how working together towards a common goal can lead to better outcomes. From collaboration on tasks or making decisions together, it can lead to innovative and creative solutions by leveraging shared perspectives and unique insights.

One was stronger and rolling the heavy pieces, while one was more creative in shaping and molding the face and arms, giving the snowman more of a human form we could relate to. I think the cold pushed them both to bring closure and get finished. They kept one another enthused and task oriented , working towards common goal of finishing this work of art.

My observation was just how important it is to communicate our vision, delegate roles and responsibilities and re-negotiate or ask for help. Determination to work through obstacles , in this case the cold is a huge lesson to successful Teamwork results. The valuable lessons they demonstrated in the power of partnership, emphasizing the significance of emotional bond, expressing empathy for one another, facing the winters colder elements and effective use of communication,  collaboration, conflict resolution, and celebrating different roles.

These insights extended beyond their relationship and positively impacted the finished product. In this example, a snowman took shape after vision, hard work, fun and accomplishment. In work, family or on any team, personal, professional, and social partnerships make all the difference in effectiveness.

Building a snow man enabled them to challenge all these skills and all the while keep it fun and engaging.  They used my fedora for a hat, and I could not think of a better use of my fedora than sitting in the closet all winter. When I asked them about the build and the project, they mainly spoke of how cold it was, as if they were surprised just how cold it was. Yet, they shared a quiet satisfaction in a job well done and pride in having built their new friend together.
Which one of us could not benefit by bringing this type of Teamwork to our daily efforts at work or into our daily lives?