Real-world examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration at work

Strong examples of teamwork and collaboration you can use in reviews

Let’s start with what you actually need: ready-to-use, real examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration that sound like something a human manager would write.

Picture a performance review where you’re not just saying, “Maria is a team player,” but instead:

“Maria coordinated across Sales, Product, and Customer Support to launch the new pricing model on schedule. She organized weekly check-ins, made sure each team’s concerns were heard, and helped the group reach decisions without escalation. Her collaboration directly contributed to a 15% increase in quarterly revenue.”

That one paragraph shows coordination, communication, and impact. Below are more examples you can adapt to your own employees and context.

Cross-functional project examples of teamwork and collaboration

Modern work is all about cross-functional teams: marketing working with engineering, HR partnering with finance, operations teaming up with IT. These situations give you some of the best examples of teamwork and collaboration because they cut across silos.

You might write something like:

“Jared partnered with Engineering, Compliance, and Customer Success to deliver the new onboarding workflow before the regulatory deadline. He translated technical details into plain language, captured feedback from each group, and adjusted the plan so everyone’s requirements were met. His ability to keep the team aligned reduced rework and helped us pass our audit with no major findings.”

Or, in a tech or product environment:

“Aisha played a key role on the cross-functional launch team for the mobile app refresh. She proactively connected Design, QA, and Support, making sure potential customer issues were identified and resolved before release. Her collaborative approach helped cut post-launch support tickets by 30% compared to the previous version.”

For hybrid or remote cross-functional teams, you might highlight online collaboration skills, which have become standard since 2020 and continue to shape how teams work in 2024–2025. Research from organizations like the Harvard Business School has highlighted how structured communication and clear norms help remote teams collaborate more effectively. You can reflect that in your examples:

“Working in a fully remote team, Daniel used shared documents, clear agendas, and follow-up notes to keep Marketing, Analytics, and Product aligned across time zones. His consistent communication helped the team hit all major milestones without last-minute scrambles.”

These are the kinds of real examples you can tweak to fit your own context while still clearly showing collaboration.

Customer-focused examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration

Some of the strongest examples of teamwork and collaboration show up when teams rally around customer needs.

You might describe a situation like this:

“When a major client reported a critical issue, Elena quickly pulled together a small ‘tiger team’ from Engineering, Support, and Account Management. She facilitated a shared Slack channel, daily standups, and a clear division of responsibilities. The group resolved the issue within 24 hours and restored the client’s confidence, avoiding potential churn.”

Or in a retail or service environment:

“During peak holiday traffic, Chris worked closely with coworkers to keep wait times low. He stepped in to support new hires at the registers, communicated with the stockroom about inventory levels, and coordinated with the floor manager to redirect staff to high-demand areas. His calm, collaborative approach helped maintain positive customer feedback scores during the busiest week of the year.”

In healthcare, teamwork and collaboration examples include handoffs and coordinated care. For instance, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality emphasizes structured communication tools for safe team-based care. A performance comment might read:

“Nina consistently collaborates with physicians, pharmacists, and social workers to create safe discharge plans for patients. She shares observations clearly, asks clarifying questions, and ensures everyone understands the follow-up steps. Her teamwork has reduced readmission rates in her unit.”

These examples include both what the employee did and the outcome for customers or patients.

Examples of teamwork and collaboration in remote and hybrid teams

Remote and hybrid work aren’t temporary trends; they’re now standard in many industries. That means you need examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration that reflect how work actually happens in 2024 and 2025.

You can highlight things like asynchronous communication, use of collaboration tools, and inclusion across time zones. For example:

“As part of a distributed engineering team, Priya set up shared dashboards, documented decisions in the project wiki, and encouraged teammates to record short video updates. Her efforts made it easier for colleagues in Europe and North America to stay aligned, cut misunderstandings, and keep projects moving even when schedules didn’t overlap.”

Or for a hybrid team:

“On a hybrid marketing team, Marcus made sure remote colleagues were fully included. He always turned on video, used shared whiteboards instead of in-room only tools, and rotated meeting times so everyone could join live at least some of the time. His attention to inclusive collaboration helped improve engagement scores on the team’s annual survey.”

Studies from organizations like Gallup show that clear communication and expectations are key to hybrid team performance. When you write performance comments, call out the behaviors that support that clarity:

“Lena consistently posts meeting summaries, action items, and deadlines in the team’s collaboration channel. This habit keeps remote and in-office team members aligned and reduces repeated questions.”

These are concrete, modern examples of teamwork and collaboration that go beyond the generic “good communicator” label.

Conflict resolution and difficult situations: real examples

Not all collaboration is smooth. Some of the best examples of teamwork and collaboration come from moments when things were tense, and someone helped the group move forward.

You might describe a situation like this:

“During a project planning session, two departments strongly disagreed on priorities. Rather than taking sides, Jordan summarized each group’s concerns, suggested a short break, and then proposed a compromise timeline. His calm, neutral facilitation helped the team agree on a plan without escalating the conflict to senior leadership.”

Or, more briefly:

“When disagreements arose between Sales and Operations about order timelines, Mia set up a recurring alignment meeting. She encouraged each side to share their constraints, captured shared goals, and helped the group define realistic service-level agreements. This ongoing collaboration reduced last-minute rush orders and improved internal trust.”

Conflict-handling skills are widely recognized as a key part of teamwork. The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) notes that employees who can manage conflict constructively contribute significantly to team performance. When you’re looking for examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration, don’t skip these “hard conversations” moments—they’re often where someone’s real value shows.

Knowledge-sharing and mentoring: quieter examples that matter

Some employees don’t lead big projects, but they still offer standout examples of teamwork and collaboration through mentoring and knowledge-sharing.

Here’s how you might capture that in a review:

“Although not in a formal leadership role, Sam regularly shares tips, templates, and process guides with the team. He documents solutions in the knowledge base and takes time to walk new hires through complex workflows. His willingness to share expertise has shortened onboarding time for new team members.”

Or:

“Tracy created a short weekly ‘data tips’ email for the department, explaining how to interpret key dashboards. She invites questions, responds without judgment, and adjusts her explanations based on feedback. Her collaborative approach has improved the team’s confidence in using data to make decisions.”

These quieter examples include collaboration that doesn’t always show up in project plans but has a real impact on team performance and culture.

Leadership-focused examples of teamwork and collaboration

When you’re writing about managers or senior staff, you want examples of teamwork and collaboration that show how they build the conditions for good teamwork, not just participate in it.

You might write:

“As team lead, Omar consistently creates space for others to contribute. He starts meetings by asking for input from quieter team members, summarizes key takeaways, and assigns clear owners for follow-up tasks. His collaborative leadership style has helped increase participation and accountability across the team.”

Or for a director or senior manager:

“Rachel fosters collaboration across regions by organizing quarterly strategy sessions that include representatives from each office. She encourages open discussion of local challenges, highlights shared wins, and supports cross-region projects. Her efforts have led to more consistent processes and better knowledge-sharing across the organization.”

These examples include both behavior (how they lead) and outcomes (what improved because of that leadership).

How to turn any situation into a strong example of teamwork and collaboration

If you’re staring at a blank review form, here’s a simple way to turn almost any situation into a clear, specific example of teamwork and collaboration.

Think in three parts:

• Context: What was happening? (Project, problem, deadline, change.)
• Collaboration behavior: What did the person actually do with others? (Communicated, facilitated, shared, coordinated, supported.)
• Result: What changed because of their teamwork? (Faster delivery, fewer errors, happier customers, smoother handoffs.)

Then write it as a short story in one or two sentences. For example:

“During the ERP system rollout (context), Jamie coordinated with Finance, IT, and HR to test new workflows, shared issues early, and helped prioritize fixes (collaboration behavior). As a result, the go-live weekend required minimal overtime and had no major disruptions to payroll or reporting (result).”

You can repeat this pattern to generate your own examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration tailored to your industry and role levels.

Sample phrases for different performance levels

Not everyone is a star collaborator yet. You may need language for high performers, solid contributors, and those who need improvement.

For strong performers:

“Consistently seeks input from others and integrates feedback to improve team outcomes.”
“Builds trust across functions by communicating openly and honoring commitments.”

For solid, meets-expectations contributors:

“Participates actively in team discussions and supports group decisions.”
“Shares relevant information with teammates in a timely manner.”

For those who need coaching:

“Would benefit from involving teammates earlier in projects and sharing updates more consistently.”
“Needs to work on listening to others’ perspectives and adjusting approach when appropriate.”

You can attach any of these phrases to real examples of teamwork and collaboration you’ve observed to make your review feel fair and grounded.

FAQ: examples of teamwork and collaboration in performance reviews

What is a good example of teamwork to include in a performance review?
A good example of teamwork clearly shows a situation, the employee’s collaborative behavior, and a concrete result. For instance: “During the website redesign, Alex coordinated copy, design, and development timelines, kept everyone informed of changes, and helped the group make trade-off decisions. The team launched on schedule with fewer last-minute changes than previous projects.” This kind of example of collaboration tells a complete story.

How many examples of teamwork should I include in a review?
For an annual review, aim for at least two or three strong examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration if teamwork is a big part of the role. One might be cross-functional, one might be about conflict resolution or problem-solving, and one might highlight mentoring or knowledge-sharing.

Can I use the same example of teamwork for multiple competencies?
Yes, a single story can support multiple competencies, such as teamwork, communication, and leadership. Just be sure you describe different aspects for each section so the review doesn’t feel repetitive.

What are some real examples of collaboration in a remote setting?
Real examples include things like documenting decisions in shared tools, rotating meeting times for different time zones, creating clear agendas, and posting summaries afterward. For instance: “Taylor created a shared project board, encouraged teammates to comment asynchronously, and posted weekly recap messages. This helped a global team stay aligned despite limited overlapping hours.”

How do I describe examples of teamwork when the results are hard to measure?
You can still write strong examples of teamwork and collaboration by focusing on qualitative outcomes: smoother handoffs, fewer misunderstandings, better morale, or more inclusive discussions. You might say, “By inviting input from quieter team members and summarizing decisions, Dana helped the group reach agreements faster and with less tension.”

If you keep collecting short stories throughout the year, you’ll always have real, specific examples of examples of teamwork and collaboration ready when review season rolls around. That’s how you move from vague “team player” comments to meaningful feedback that actually helps people grow.