Teamwork is essential for just about any successful project, but it can also be challenging to manage. There are many potential pitfalls that can undermine the effectiveness and harmony of a team, and it is important to be aware of them and avoid them. In this blog post, we will discuss four common teamwork mistakes that you should avoid, and how to do so.
Obviously you are not going to be able to fully control how your team operates, a lot of it depends on the particular characters, but you can avoid unnecessary headaches.
Responsibilities and Boundaries
One huge mistake is not setting clear expectations and boundaries for each team members role and contribution. This can lead to confusion, overlap, duplication, or gaps in the work. People can get really worked up if you misunderstand their roles or responsibilities. They are also more understanding when you call them out for things that are actually their fault. 
Clearly define the scope, goals, and deliverables of the project, and assign specific tasks and responsibilities to each team member. Also communicate regularly and transparently about the progress and status of the work, and provide feedback and guidance as needed.
Another important thing is to respect each team members autonomy and expertise, and avoid micromanaging or interfering with their work. Obviously if they are messing up you should interfere. But do not be overbearing about future mistakes they might make. Just imagine how much stress that would add to your work if someone else did that to you.
Mistakes
Avoid being too harsh or punitive when team members make mistakes. This usually results in a culture of fear and blame, where team members are afraid to take risks, innovate, or admit their errors. It can also lower their morale and confidence, and reduce their learning and improvement opportunities. Also people mess up, no need to add even more problems because there are some problems. Letting teammates off the hook at appropriate times generally results in better self-regulation on their part, too.
You should view mistakes as opportunities to learn, improve, and grow, rather than as failures or faults. The first thing to do whenever someone messes up is to clarify how they could avoid it in the future. You should naturally also acknowledge your own mistakes and apologize when necessary. 
Focus on work only
There is much, much more to life than work. If your work culture does not reflect this simple fact, then there is something wrong with it. A lot of times team members feel isolated, bored, or stressed, if their work cuts too much into their lives. It can also prevent you from developing actual bonds with actual humans.
Work on creating opportunities for your team members to get to know each other better, share their interests and hobbies, or celebrate their achievements. But this is very important: do not force anyone to participate and do not be overly rigid about what kind of fun you should have and how. Act like you would act around your non-work-related friends.
Being too corporate
One of the most common teamwork mistakes is using an overly formal or corporate tone when communicating with your team members. Most people can easily sense when the work culture is like that, so any whiff of it can lead them to distance themselves from the team and their workplace in general. Avoid making unreasonable demands such as asking them to treat coworkers like family, or to consider their work as career defining.
Use a more conversational and relaxed tone when communicating with your team members. No need to be overly formal. Otherwise you will struggle to build rapport and trust, and make your team members feel more comfortable and motivated.
It comes down to little things, so just make sure to think of them as humans first and coworkers second. Your organization is not some separate bubble, it is a just a place where people get together to do some type of work. No need to overcomplicate it with corporate jargon.
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