Fostering teamwork is a top priority for many leaders, according to Suzanne Willis Zoglio, Ph.D., author of Teams At Work: 7 Keys to Success, The Participative Leader. There are obvious benefits: increased productivity, improved customer service, more flexible systems and employee empowerment.

A team is a group of people working towards a common goal. Generally, objectives that a team sets out to accomplish can’t be effectively achieved by individuals. Think of it this way: TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More.

Within a business, every employee serves as a crucial member of company’s team. No matter where you are on corporate ladder, you add intrinsic value to your organization through your strengths, talents, gifts and other assets.

Some companies are taking a more impersonal approach to evaluating assets of prospective and current employees. They employ high-tech data mining programs or personality tests to “crunch” information about employees’ skills, qualifications, experiences, workload and performance to assess their integrity, loyalty and satisfaction. Or, job candidates are being analyzed to predict their potential fit within company’s culture.

This non-personalized approach to evaluation provides a quick, automated way to size up individuals. But it leaves less room for human instinct, which can be an important barometer of an employees true value. Realizing Your Own Strengths, Talents and Gifts

Despite what any data mining software may construe, your contributions as an employee form an integral link in chain of your company’s success. And it’s important to understand true value that you lend to your corporate team.

Whether you’re part of a companywide or smaller work group, you should understand your role and responsibilities as a valued member. Picture yourself as a single, unique Lego building block that can help form a wonderful creation when connected to other pieces. But you have to be willing to add your block to pile, so others can build on it to produce a masterpiece.

It works same way with our skills and talents. All of us have different abilities and unique perspectives that can be instrumental in solving complex problems. For example, if you’re an excellent organizer and coordinator, you should be open to using these skills to produce a smooth work flow within your department or project work group.

But, there has been one important exception. A few years ago, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) began airing a business show that became as popular as some of its regular prime-time fare (American and Canadian television networks followed up with their own versions of program).

Fast Company magazine told us about BBC program, which sees CEOs leaving their corner offices for a stint on front lines. And, as they work on front lines, cameras are rolling.

For many, if not all CEOs who participated, experience was a great eye-opener. According to magazine, "Almost without exception, CEOs learn a lesson in communication. 'We find people at heart of every organization who know exactly what's right and what's wrong with it,' says [Robert] Thirkell [who produces show]. 'But between them and bosses is a layer of people -- those whose careers depend on sanitizing that information. Bosses are always surprised at how much knowledge exists further down ladder.'"

With that in mind, let's spend a minute or two thinking about barriers to good upward communication. But, rather than blame middle management, which seems to be one of themes of program, we'll look at structural issues.