Working Together

A new colleague has joined your team from another department and is clearly struggling to understand how your team works. Nobody has been asked to support them. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ALeave them to find their feet, since people learn a new team fastest when they are allowed to work things out for themselves
• BTell your manager that the colleague is struggling so that a formal induction can be arranged by someone with the authority to do it
• CSend them the team's shared drive link so that everything they need is available, and let them ask if anything is unclear
• DOffer to walk them through how the team works, share the key documents, and check in with them over the first few weeks✓

Answer: Working together means noticing when a colleague needs support and giving it, not waiting to be asked or assigned. A short walkthrough, the right documents and a few check-ins get someone productive quickly. Leaving them to struggle, escalating rather than helping, or pointing at a drive full of files all fall short of genuine support.

You are working on a cross-department project. A colleague from another department keeps missing your team's deadlines, and your team is becoming frustrated. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AReassign the colleague's tasks to your own team so that the project keeps moving and the other department can be left out of it
• BCopy the colleague's manager into every reminder email so that there is a visible record of each deadline they have missed
• CSpeak to the colleague to understand what is getting in the way, agree realistic dates together, and share the plan with both teams✓
• DRaise the missed deadlines with the colleague's manager straight away, since your own team should not have to chase another department

Answer: Effective collaboration starts with understanding the other person's constraints and agreeing a plan that both sides can meet. Escalating first, absorbing their work, or building an email trail against them all treat a colleague as a problem to be managed rather than a partner to be worked with.

In a team meeting a colleague proposes an idea that you think has a serious flaw. The colleague is enthusiastic and several others are nodding along. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AState plainly that the idea will not work, so that the group does not waste time developing a proposal with a serious flaw in it
• BStay quiet in the meeting so as not to undermine your colleague, and raise the flaw privately with your manager afterwards
• CGo along with the group in the meeting and wait to see whether the flaw becomes apparent once the work is under way
• DAcknowledge the strengths of the idea, then raise the flaw as a question for the group to consider before a decision is made✓

Answer: Good teamwork includes constructive challenge: recognise what is good in the idea and put the concern to the group openly so it can be weighed. Saving the criticism for a private word with the manager bypasses the colleague, a blunt dismissal shuts down the discussion, and silent agreement lets a known flaw proceed.

You notice that one member of your team is repeatedly talked over in meetings by two louder colleagues, and has stopped contributing. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AAsk the quieter colleague to put their points in writing after each meeting so that their contributions can be recorded that way
• BSend a message to the whole team reminding everyone about meeting etiquette without referring to any particular person or incident
• CInvite their views directly in meetings, speak privately with the louder colleagues about giving everyone room, and check how the team member is finding things✓
• DSay nothing, because adults can be expected to assert themselves in meetings and intervening could embarrass the quieter colleague

Answer: Inclusive teams make space for everyone: create room for the quieter colleague in the meeting itself, address the behaviour of those talking over them, and check in on their experience. Doing nothing accepts the exclusion, a generic reminder changes little, and routing their contributions into writing sidelines them further.

A colleague in another team asks you for information you hold that would help their work. Providing it will take you about an hour, and you are busy. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AAsk them to put the request through their manager to yours, so that the time is properly authorised before you spend it
• BSend it immediately and let your own deadline slip, because a request from a colleague should always be dealt with straight away
• CExplain that your own priorities come first and suggest they find the information elsewhere, since it is not part of your role
• DAgree to help, tell them honestly when you can get it to them given your other work, and send it when you said you would✓

Answer: Sharing information across teams is part of working together, and so is being honest about capacity: agree to help, set a realistic time, and keep to it. Refusing outright, dropping your own commitments, or demanding a management sign-off for an hour's help all put process or self-interest ahead of the shared goal.

You have been asked to lead a short project with people from three teams who have never worked together. At the first meeting there is confusion about who does what. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AAgree the project's purpose and each person's role together in the meeting, write it up the same day, and revisit it as the work develops✓
• BAssign roles yourself after the meeting and send them out, since a group that is confused needs a clear instruction rather than a discussion
• CAsk each team's manager to nominate what their person will do, so that the roles come with the authority of each home team
• DLet the roles settle naturally over the first couple of weeks, because people usually gravitate towards the work that suits them best

Answer: A group from different teams works best when it builds shared understanding early: agree purpose and roles together, capture them, and keep them under review. Imposing roles, leaving them to drift, or handing the question back to three managers all miss the chance to create a team rather than a collection of individuals.

A colleague confides that they are finding their workload overwhelming and are worried about their health, but asks you not to tell anyone. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ARespect their request completely and say nothing to anyone, since a confidence shared by a colleague must never be passed on without their agreement
• BTell their manager the same day, because a colleague's health is more important than a promise about confidentiality
• CListen, encourage them to speak to their manager or the staff support services, and offer to go with them or help them plan what to say✓
• DTake on some of their work yourself without telling anyone, so that the pressure eases without the colleague being exposed

Answer: Supporting a colleague means helping them get proper support, not carrying the problem alone: listen, point them to their manager and the wellbeing services, and offer to help them take that step. Absolute silence leaves them without help, going straight to the manager breaks trust when it may not be necessary, and secretly absorbing their work hides the issue and is unsustainable.

You are given credit in a senior meeting for a piece of work that was mostly done by a colleague who is not present. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ASay nothing in the meeting and mention the colleague's role in an email to the senior person some days later if the chance arises
• BAccept the credit, because the work went out under your name and in future the colleague can present their own work themselves
• CAccept the credit in the meeting, since correcting a senior person in front of others would be awkward, and thank the colleague privately
• DCorrect the record in the meeting by naming the colleague's contribution, and let them know afterwards what was said✓

Answer: Integrity and good teamwork both point the same way: give credit where it is due, at the time, and tell the colleague. Accepting credit for another's work - even with a private thank-you - is dishonest, a delayed email may never happen, and treating the misattribution as the colleague's problem to fix next time is a poor way to treat a team member.

A colleague from another department asks for your team's data in a format that would take a day to produce, when the standard format would take an hour. Which response would be MOST effective?

• AProvide the format requested, since colleagues should be given what they ask for without question
• BAsk what they need the data for, and agree the simplest format that meets that need for both teams✓
• CAsk their manager to justify the request in writing before your team spends a day on it
• DProvide the standard format only, since a request that costs your team a day is unreasonable

Answer: Working together means understanding the other team's actual need and finding the solution that serves it at reasonable cost. A flat refusal, unquestioning compliance, or a demand for written justification all skip the conversation that would resolve it.

You join a team where an established rivalry exists between two sub-teams. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ABuild working relationships across both sub-teams and avoid being drawn into taking sides✓
• BStay out of the rivalry by keeping your contact with both sub-teams to the minimum needed for your work
• CRaise the rivalry with your manager in your first week so that it can be dealt with before it affects you
• DAlign yourself with the sub-team that seems more influential, since that is where decisions get made

Answer: Effective collaboration in a divided team comes from relationships on both sides and refusing to take sides. Picking a camp, withdrawing, or escalating before you understand the situation all make the division worse or leave you outside it.

A joint project with an external partner is failing because the partner is not delivering. Your director asks for a candid assessment. Which response would be MOST effective?

• ASoften the assessment to protect the relationship with the partner, since the project will need their goodwill and cooperation if it is to recover at all
• BGive a factual assessment of what has and has not been delivered by both sides, with a proposal for getting the project back on track together✓
• CPlace the blame squarely on the partner, since a candid assessment means saying clearly who is at fault
• DSuggest ending the partnership and delivering the rest of the project in-house, since the partner has proved unreliable and is unlikely to change

Answer: Candour and partnership are compatible: an honest account of both sides' delivery, with a constructive way forward, serves the project. One-sided blame, a softened picture, or an immediate breach of the partnership all fail either the honesty or the collaboration.