1. What is this strength?
Teamwork, as defined in the VIA Character Strengths model, is the capacity and willingness to contribute to group efforts, remain loyal to a collective goal, and uphold a sense of social responsibility. It’s not only about cooperating with others, but also about valuing each team member’s role, showing commitment, and sharing successes and setbacks together.
Psychological researchers assess Teamwork using the VIA-IS questionnaire. Example statements include:
- “I am a good team player.”
- “I work well as a member of a group.”
- “I do my share on group projects.”
High Teamwork scores are reliably linked to greater engagement and performance in collaborative environments. For example, Peterson and Seligman (2004) found that individuals high in Teamwork are 30% more likely to feel energized and committed in group settings.
2. Behavior & Examples
High Expression:
A person strong in Teamwork seeks to include everyone, aligns their efforts with group objectives, and celebrates others’ contributions. They tackle projects with a spirit of shared investment.
Low Expression:
Those low in Teamwork may resist collaboration, avoid group commitments, or disregard shared norms. They may struggle to trust others or be trusted themselves in collective settings.
Real-world scenarios:
- Project management in business: A project manager clarifies everyone’s roles and regularly acknowledges individual contributions. Coaching takeaway: Clarify roles and recognize effort, small appreciations reduce friction and boost group morale.
- Healthcare teams: Nurses and doctors who openly share information create safety and accountability. Coaching takeaway: Lean into shared accountability, no one succeeds alone in complex care.
- Volunteer groups: Community organizers who invite input from all backgrounds foster innovative ideas and belonging. Coaching takeaway: Value diverse contributions to build genuine community.
3. Strengths & Pitfalls
Benefits:
- Enhances trust and cohesion in teams, strengthening bonds (Sweeney et al., 2011).
- Improves collective problem-solving and spurs innovation by pooling knowledge (Mathieu et al., 2015).
- Associated with lower burnout and greater resilience in high-pressure workplaces (West et al., 2011).
- Supports a sense of belonging and greater life satisfaction, especially in communal cultures.
Pitfalls:
- Can lead to conformity pressure or groupthink when disagreement is discouraged.
- Overcommitting to team needs may erode personal boundaries, leaving individuals depleted.
- Risk of resentment if individual contributions are overlooked or undervalued.
4. Cross‑Domain Parallels
- Big Five: Agreeableness – Teamwork aligns with traits of cooperation and trust, emphasizing harmony and collective success.
- MBTI: Extraversion/Sensing – Highlights preference for social engagement and adaptability within present contexts.
- Ayurveda: Kapha Dosha – Embodies grounding energy, loyalty, and caring support for the group.
- Zodiac: Cancer – Mirrors protective, nurturing, deeply committed energies within a team.
- Hero Archetype: The Guardian – Represents steadfastness and group loyalty, but the shadow appears as rigidity or resistance to necessary change.
Integration Map graphic: This would display how Teamwork runs through modern, ancient, and archetypal frames, reminding us that human cooperation has always been both a science and an art.
5. This Strength in Lifemap’s Life Categories
- Career: Effective collaboration unlocks group potential. Where could your voice serve the group more fully?
- Relationships: Builds trust and demonstrates reliability. How do you show up in shared commitments?
- Family: Reinforces mutual responsibility. What family effort could you contribute to this week?
- Emotional: Offers a network for support when feelings are tough. Who are your allies when emotions run high?
- Spiritual: Ties you to a mission larger than yourself. What group purpose resonates with your beliefs?
- Health & Fitness: Encourages joint motivation and accountability. Could partnering with others support your wellness goals?
- Lifestyle: Shapes shared routines. Where might co-creating habit patterns help your daily life?
- Financial: Enables smarter, shared money decisions. Could collective planning improve your financial well-being?
- Community: Inspires civic participation. How can your strengths serve the common good?
- Creativity: Multiplies results through group brainstorming. Who helps amplify your creative spark?
- Learning: Accelerates growth via peer exchange. Where could teaching someone else deepen your own insights?
- Life Vision: Fosters a sense of shared destiny. Who belongs on your journey toward a meaningful future?
6. The Lifemap Holistic Coaching Perspective
Teamwork is vital, but focusing only on it won’t unlock your deepest clarity or courage. True growth emerges when you recognize how your strengths operate together, sometimes in harmony, sometimes in tension. At Lifemap, we look at the full orchestra: your Teamwork, Gratitude, Curiosity, Resilience, and the wisdom of philosophy and ancient traditions, all playing their unique part.
Think of the Integration Map as a symphonic diagram, your strengths are instruments, philosophy is the score, and coaching is the conductor. Only in relationship do they become music, not just isolated notes.
7. Conclusion & Coaching CTA
The power of Teamwork is more than motivational posters or team-building games. Strong teams actually predict 21% higher organizational performance, according to Gallup (2018). But this strength isn’t a single label, it’s a basecamp, not the summit. Every act of collaboration on your path changes both the group and yourself.
Ready to go deeper? Explore your own hero’s journey with Lifemap’s free, 7-day email series, where your strengths meet reflection, stories, and real-life quests. Because understanding Teamwork is only the beginning; the greater quest is learning how you and your allies can move forward, together.
– Valentin
