TEAM DYNAMICS 1 MBA 4 TH SEM TEAM DYNAMICS Team dynamics are the unconscious, psychological forces that influence the direction of a team’s behaviour and performance. They are like undercurrents in the sea, which can carry boats in a different direction to the one they intend to sail. Team dynamics are created by the nature of the team’s work, the personalities within the team, their working relationships with other people, and the environment in which the team works. Team dynamics can be good - for example, when they improve overall team performance and/or get the best out of individual team members. They can also be bad - for example, when they cause unproductive conflict, demotivation, and prevent the team from achieving its goals. Team dynamics are a very important part of working life. They can have a big impact on: The profitability of an organisation. Whether people enjoy their work. Staff retention rates. Team and individual performance. Company reputation. And many others. However, team dynamics are often neglected or ignored. This can have a significant impact on the way a team works. In this article, we describe what team dynamics are, what causes problems in team dynamics, and how they can be improved. Defining a Team A team is a group of people who collaborate on related tasks toward a common goal. Key Points In a business setting most work is accomplished by teams of individuals. Because of this, it is important for employees to have the skills necessary to work effectively with others. Organizations use many kinds of teams, some of which are permanent and some of which are temporary. Teams are used to accomplish tasks that are too large or complex to be done by an individual or that require a diverse set of skills and expertise.
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TEAM DYNAMICS
1
MBA 4TH SEM
TEAM DYNAMICS
Team dynamics are the unconscious, psychological forces that influence the direction of a
team’s behaviour and performance. They are like undercurrents in the sea, which can carry
boats in a different direction to the one they intend to sail. Team dynamics are created by the
nature of the team’s work, the personalities within the team, their working relationships with
other people, and the environment in which the team works. Team dynamics can be good - for
example, when they improve overall team performance and/or get the best out of individual
team members. They can also be bad - for example, when they cause unproductive conflict,
demotivation, and prevent the team from achieving its goals.
Team dynamics are a very important part of working life. They can have a big impact on:
The profitability of an organisation.
Whether people enjoy their work.
Staff retention rates.
Team and individual performance.
Company reputation.
And many others.
However, team dynamics are often neglected or ignored. This can have a significant impact on
the way a team works. In this article, we describe what team dynamics are, what causes
problems in team dynamics, and how they can be improved.
Defining a Team
A team is a group of people who collaborate on related tasks toward a common goal.
Key Points
In a business setting most work is accomplished by teams of individuals. Because of this,
it is important for employees to have the skills necessary to work effectively with others.
Organizations use many kinds of teams, some of which are permanent and some of
which are temporary.
Teams are used to accomplish tasks that are too large or complex to be done by an
individual or that require a diverse set of skills and expertise.
TEAM DYNAMICS
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Key Terms
team: A group of people working toward a common purpose.
A team is a group of people who work together toward a common goal. Teams have defined
membership (which can be either large or small) and a set of activities to take part in. People on
a team collaborate on sets of related tasks that are required to achieve an objective. Each
member is responsible for contributing to the team, but the group as a whole is responsible for
the team’s success.
The meaning of TEAM: A team is a group of people who work together toward a common goal.
Teams in the Workplace
Sports teams are a good example of how teams work. For instance, a basketball team has
individual players who each contribute toward the goal of winning a game. Similarly, in business
settings most work is accomplished by teams of individuals who collaborate on activities with
defined outcomes. Because teams are so prevalent in business organizations, it is important for
employees to have the skills necessary to work effectively with others.
Organizations typically have many teams, and an individual is frequently a member of more
than one team. Some teams are permanent and are responsible for ongoing activities. For
instance, a team of nurses in a maternity ward provides medical services to new mothers.
While patients come and go, the tasks involved in providing care remain stable. In other cases a
team is formed for a temporary purpose: these are called project teams and have a defined
beginning and end point linked to achieving a particular one-time goal.
The Purpose of Teams
Organizations form teams to accomplish tasks that are too large or complex for an individual to
complete. Teams are also effective for work that requires different types of skills and expertise.
For example, the development of new products involves understanding customer needs as well
as how to design and build a product that will meet these needs. Accordingly, a new product-
development team would include people with customer knowledge as well as designers and
engineers.
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Defining Teamwork
Teamwork involves a set of interdependent activities performed by individuals who collaborate
toward a common goal.
Key Points
Teamwork involves shared responsibility and collaboration toward a common outcome.
Teamwork processes can be divided into three categories: the transition process, action
processes, and interpersonal processes.
Five characteristics of effective teamwork are shared values, mutual trust, inspiring
vision, skills, and rewards.
Key Terms
teamwork: The cooperative effort of a group of people seeking a common end.
conflict resolution: Working to resolve different opinions in a team environment.
conflict: Friction, disagreement, or discord arising between individuals or groups.
Teamwork involves a set of tasks and activities performed by individuals who collaborate with
each other to achieve a common objective. That objective can be creating a product, delivering
a service, writing a report, or making a decision. Teamwork differs from individual work in that
it involves shared responsibility for a final outcome.
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Teamwork: Human skill involves the ability to work effectively as a member of a group and to
build cooperative effort in a team.
Teamwork Processes
While the substance of the tasks involved in teamwork may vary from team to team, there are
three processes that are common to how teamwork gets done: the transition process, action
processes, and interpersonal processes. During each of these processes, specific sets of
activities occur.
1. The transition process is the phase during which a team is formed. Activities include:
Mission analysis: establishing an understanding of the overall objective
Goal specification: identifying and prioritizing the tasks and activities needed to achieve
the mission
Strategy formulation: developing a course of action to reach the goals and achieve the
mission
2. Action processes comprise the phase during which a team performs its work. Activities
include:
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Monitoring milestones and goals: tracking progress toward completion of tasks and
activities
Monitoring systems: tracking the use of resources such as people, technology, and
information
Coordination: organizing and managing the flow of team activities and tasks
Team monitoring and support: assisting individuals with their tasks by, for example,
providing feedback and coaching
3. Interpersonal processes include activities that occur during both the transition and action
processes. These include:
Conflict management: establishing conditions to avoid disagreement and resolving
conflict when it occurs
Motivation and confidence building: generating the willingness and ability of individuals
to work together to achieve the mission
Affect management: helping team members to regulate their emotions as they work
together
Characteristics of Effective Teamwork
An effective team accomplishes its goals in a way that meets the standards set by those who
evaluate its performance. For instance, a team may have a goal of delivering a new product
within six months on a budget of $100,000. Even if the team finishes the project on time, it can
be considered effective only if it stayed within its expected budget.
Effective teamwork requires certain conditions to be in place that will increase the likelihood
that each member’s contributions—and the effort of the group as a whole—will lead to
success. Effective teams share five characteristics:
Shared values: a common set of beliefs and principles about how and why the team
members will work together
Mutual trust: confidence between team members that each puts the best interest of the
team ahead of individual priorities
Inspiring vision: a clear direction that motivates commitment to a collective effort
Skill/talent: the combined abilities and expertise to accomplish the required tasks and
work productively with others
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Rewards: recognition of achievement toward objectives and reinforcement of behavior
that supports the team’s work
Effective teamwork requires that people work as a cohesive unit. These five characteristics can
help individuals collaborate with others by focusing their efforts in a common direction and
achieving an outcome that can only be reached by working together.
The Role of Teams in Organizations
By combining various employees into strategic groups, a team-based organization can create
synergies through team processes.
Key Points
Due to global and technological factors, the importance of combining competencies and
building strong teams is increasing.
By combining resources (both across management levels and functional disciplines),
organizations can create unique synergies and core competencies.
Cross-functional teams utilize a wide variety of unique skill sets to build teams capable
of achieving complex objectives.
When carrying out a process in a team, it’s important to set objectives and strategy,
carry out objectives, and build strong interpersonal efficiency.
Key Terms
synergy: The ability for a group to accomplish more together than they could
accomplish individually.
cross-functional teams: Teams with members that have diverse skill sets, enabling
synergy across core competencies.
The Modern Organization
Teams are increasingly common and relevant from an organizational perspective, as
globalization and technology continue to expand organizational scope and strategy. In
organizations, teams can be constructed both vertically (varying levels of management) and
horizontally (across functional disciplines). In order to maintain synergy between employees
and organize resources, teams are increasingly common across industries and organizational
types.
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The Role of Teams
The primary role of a team is to combine resources, competencies, skills, and bandwidth to
achieve organizational objectives. The underlying assumption of a well-functioning team is one
of synergy, which is to say that the output of a team will be greater than the sum of each
individual’s contribution without a team architecture in place. As a result, teams are usually
highly focused groups of employees, with the role of achieving specific tasks to support
organizational success.
Cross-Functional Teams
Some organizations have a need for strong cross-functional teams that enable various
functional competencies to align on shared objectives. This is particularly common at
technology companies, where a number of specific disciplines are combined to produce
complex products and/or services.
Team Processes
When considering the role of a team, it’s important to understand the various processes that
teams will carry out over time. At the beginning of a team set up (or when redirecting the
efforts of a team), a transitional process is carried out. Once the team has set strategic goals,
they can begin progressing towards the completion of those goals operationally. The final team
process is one of interpersonal efficiency, or refining the team dynamic for efficiency and
success.
More specifically, these processes can be described as follows:
Transitional Process
Mission analysis
Goal specification
Strategy formulation
Action Process
Monitoring progress toward goals
Systems monitoring
Team monitoring and backup behavior
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Coordination
Interpersonal Process
Conflict management
Motivation and confidence building
Affect management
The Impact of Team Building: This chart allows you to visualize data from a study on team-
building, and its impact on team performance. Building a strong organizational culture for
successful teams requires commitment to team processes.
Types of Teams
Depending on its needs and goals, a company can use a project team, a virtual team, or a cross-
functional team.
Key Points
An organization may use different types of teams depending on the work that needs to
be accomplished to meet its goals.
Common teams include project teams, virtual teams, and cross- functional teams.
Project teams are created for a defined period of time to achieve a specific goal.
Virtual teams have members who work in separate locations that are often
geographically dispersed.
Cross-functional teams bring together people with diverse expertise and knowledge
from different departments or specialties.
Key Terms
cross-functional team: A group of people from different departments in an organization
working toward a common goal.
Depending on its needs and goals, a company may use different types of teams. Some efforts
are limited in duration and have a well-defined outcome. Other work requires the participation
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of people from different locations. Still other projects depend on people with a broad and
diverse range of knowledge and expertise.
Different Kinds of Teams
Teams may be permanent or temporary, and team members may come from the same
department or different ones. Common types of teams found in organizations include project
teams, virtual teams, and cross-functional teams.
Project teams are created for a defined period of time to achieve a specific goal.
Members of a project team often belong to different functional groups and are chosen to
participate in the team based on specific skills they can contribute to the project.
Software development is most commonly done by project teams.
Virtual teams have members located in different places, often geographically dispersed,
who come together to achieve a specific purpose. Academic researchers often work on
virtual teams with colleagues at other institutions.
Cross-functional teams combine people from different areas, such as marketing and
engineering, to solve a problem or achieve a goal. Healthcare services are frequently
delivered by interdisciplinary teams of nurses, doctors, and other medical specialists.
It is common for an organization to have many teams, including teams of several types.
Effective teamwork depends on choosing the type of team best suited to the work that needs
to be accomplished.
Advantages of Teamwork
The benefits of teamwork include increased efficiency, the ability to focus different minds on
the same problem, and mutual support.
Key Points
When a team works well together as a unit they are able to accomplish more than the
individual members can do alone.
Teamwork creates higher quality outcomes that are more efficient, thoughtful, and
effective, as well as faster.
Individuals benefit from teamwork through mutual support and a great sense of
accomplishment.
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Key Terms
diverse: Consisting of many different elements; various.
efficiency: The extent to which a resource, such as electricity, is used for the intended
purpose; the ratio of useful work to energy expended.
The primary benefit of teamwork is that it allows an organization to achieve something that an
individual working alone cannot. This advantage arises from several factors, each of which
accounts for a different aspect of the overall benefit of teams.
Higher Quality Outcomes
Teamwork creates outcomes that make better use of resources and produce richer ideas.
Higher efficiency: Since teams combine the efforts of individuals, they can accomplish
more than an individual working alone.
Faster speed: Because teams draw on the efforts of many contributors, they can often
complete tasks and activities in less time.
More thoughtful ideas: Each person who works on a problem or set of tasks may bring
different information and knowledge to bear, which can result in solutions and
approaches an individual would not have identified.
Greater effectiveness: When people coordinate their efforts, they can divide up roles
and tasks to more thoroughly address an issue. For example, in hospital settings
teamwork has been found to increase patient safety more than when only individual
efforts are made to avoid mishaps.
Better Context for Individuals
The social aspect of teamwork provides a superior work experience for team members, which
can motivate higher performance.
Mutual support: Because team members can rely on other people with shared goals,
they can receive assistance and encouragement as they work on tasks. Such support can
encourage people to achieve goals they may not have had the confidence to have
reached on their own.
Greater sense of accomplishment: When members of a team collaborate and take
collective responsibility for outcomes, they can feel a greater sense of accomplishment
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when they achieve a goal they could not have achieved if they had worked by
themselves.
The total value created by teamwork depends on the overall effectiveness of the team effort.
While we might consider simply achieving a goal a benefit of teamwork, by taking advantage of
what teamwork has to offer, an organization can gain a broader set of benefits.
Hazards of Teamwork
Teams face challenges to effective collaboration and achieving their goals.
Key Points
The social aspect of collaborative work makes teams vulnerable to pitfalls that can hurt
performance.
Common pitfalls involve poor group dynamics such as weak norms, lack of trust, and
interpersonal conflict.
Poor team-design choices such as size, skill sets, and assignment of roles can negatively
affect a team’s ability to complete tasks.
Key Terms
groupthink: A process of reasoning or decision making by a group, especially one
characterized by uncritical acceptance of or conformity to a perceived majority view.
The collaborative nature of teams means they are subject to pitfalls that individuals working
alone do not face. Team members may not always work well together, and focusing the efforts
of individuals on shared goals presents challenges to completing tasks as efficiently and
effectively as possible. The following pitfalls can lead to team dysfunction and failure to achieve
important organizational objectives.
Individuals Shirking Their Duties
Since team members share responsibility for outcomes, some individuals may need to do
additional work to make up for those not contributing their share of effort. This can breed
resentment and foster other negative feelings that can make the team less effective. One cause
of this is the failure of the team to establish clear norms of accountability for individual
contributions to the group effort.
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Skewed Influence over Decisions
Sometimes an individual or small number of team members can come to dominate the rest of
the group. This could be due to strong personalities, greater abilities, or differences in status
among members. When individuals either do not feel listened to or believe their ideas are not
welcome, they may reduce their efforts.
Lack of Trust
Effective collaboration requires team members to have confidence that everyone shares a set
of goals. When that belief is missing, some individuals may not feel comfortable sharing their
ideas with the group. Lack of trust can also lead to miscommunication and misunderstandings,
which can undermine the group’s efforts.
Conflicts Hamper Progress
While conflicts are a common aspect of working together and can even be beneficial to a team,
they can also negatively affect team performance. For instance, conflict can delay progress on
tasks or create other inefficiencies in getting work done.
Lack of Teaming Skills
When team members do not have the collaboration skills needed to work well with others, the
overall ability of the team to function can be limited. As a result, conflicts may be more likely to
arise and more difficult to resolve.
Missing Task Skills
A team that does not have the expertise and knowledge needed to complete all its tasks and
activities will have trouble achieving its goals. Poor team composition can lead to delays, higher
costs, and increased risk.
Stuck in Formation
Sometimes the group cannot move from defining goals and outlining tasks to executing its work
plan. This may be due to poor specification of roles, tasks, and priorities.
Too Many Members
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The size of the team can sometimes affect its ability to function effectively. Coordination and
communication are more complex in a larger team than in a smaller one. This complexity can
mean that decisions must take into account greater amounts of information, meetings are
more challenging to schedule, and tasks can take longer to complete.
Groupthink
Outcomes can suffer if team members value conflict avoidance and consensus over making the
best decisions. People can feel uncomfortable challenging the group’s direction or otherwise
speaking up for fear of breaking a team norm. This phenomenon is known as “groupthink.”
Groupthink can limit creativity, lead to poor choices, or result in mistakes that might otherwise
have been avoidable.
While teams offer many benefits, their effectiveness rests on how well members can avoid
common pitfalls or minimize their negative consequences when they occur.
Differences Between Groups and Teams
All teams are groups of individuals, but not all groups are teams.
Key Points
A group is two or more individuals who share common interests or characteristics and
whose members identify with each other due to similar traits.
Teams and groups differ in five key ways: task orientation, purpose, interdependence,
formal structure, and familiarity among members.
Key Terms
team: Any group of people involved in the same activity, especially referring to sports
and work.
group: A number of things or persons that have some relationship to one another. A
subset of a culture or of a society.
While all teams are groups of individuals, not all groups are teams. Team members work
together toward a common goal and share responsibility for the team’s success. A group is
comprised of two or more individuals that share common interests or characteristics, and its
members identify with each other due to similar traits. Groups can range greatly in size and
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scope. For example, members of the millennial generation are a group, but so is a small book
club formed by neighbors who enjoy reading.
Groups differ from teams in several ways:
Task orientation: Teams require coordination of tasks and activities to achieve a shared
aim. Groups do not need to focus on specific outcomes or a common purpose.
Degree of interdependence: Team members are interdependent since they bring to
bear a set of resources to produce a common outcome. Individuals in a group can be
entirely disconnected from one another and not rely on fellow members at all.
Purpose: Teams are formed for a particular reason and can be short- or long-lived.
Groups can exist as a matter of fact; for example, a group can be comprised of people of
the same race or ethnic background.
Degree of formal structure: Team members’ individual roles and duties are specified and
their ways of working together are defined. Groups are generally much more informal;
roles do not need to be assigned and norms of behavior do not need to develop.
Familiarity among members: Team members are aware of the set of people they
collaborate with, since they interact to complete tasks and activities. Members of a group
may have personal relationships or they may have little knowledge of each other and no
interactions whatsoever.
Sometimes it is difficult to draw a distinction between a team and a group. For instance, a set of
coworkers might meet on occasion to discuss an issue or provide input on a decision. While
such meetings typically have an agenda and thus a purpose and some structure, we would not
necessarily think of those in attendance as a team. The activity scope and duration is just too
small to involve the amount of coordination of resources and effort that teamwork requires.
Types of Teams
Task Forces
A task force is a temporary team created to address a single piece of work, a problem, or a goal.
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Key Points
The term “task force” originated in the United States Navy. A naval task force was
designed to provide flexibility in operations since it could be formed without the
reorganization or repurposing of the fleet.
Today, many organizations use task forces to bring together experts to assess, make
recommendations, or take other actions to address a single issue or topic.
Key Terms
entrant: A participant.
substitute: A replacement or stand-in for something that achieves a similar result or
purpose.
“Task force” is a phrase that originated in the United States Navy during World War II. At the
time, naval operations were performed by formal groupings such as fleets or squadrons, but
the war created new challenges for the U.S. Navy that demanded flexibility in how resources
were used. Formation of a task force allowed officers and equipment that formally belonged to
different groups to come together for a single specific purpose, without reassigning
responsibility for those assets or requiring the reorganization or repurposing of the fleet. Task
forces were temporary and easily disbanded after their work was complete.
Generally, a task force will not have responsibility for implementing its recommendations once
they are made, although individual team members may have a role in doing so. Task forces do
not have the power to compel others to accept their recommendations. Indeed, the results of
their work may be accepted in part, rejected in part, or even ignored altogether.
A team created by political parties to deal with campaign finance reform is an example of a task
force. The task force is expected to study the issue, assess possible actions to be taken, and
then make its recommendations in the form of a report. The results of the task force’s efforts
then might be used by legislators to draft laws that would redefine acceptable practices for
funding political campaigns.
Cross-Functional Teams
A cross-functional team comprises people from different departments and with special areas of
expertise working to achieve a common goal.
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Key Points
Cross- functional teams combine people with different areas of expertise from separate
departments such as finance, human resources, and marketing.
The range of knowledge on cross-functional teams creates a broader perspective that
can lead to new ideas and better solutions and also avert risks and poor outcomes.
The diversity of cross-functional teams can create challenges to effective
communication and collaboration.
Cross-functional teams include members who bring different types of knowledge and
experience from areas such as finance, engineering, human resources, and marketing. These
teams occasionally may draw on subject-matter expertise from outside the organization by
inviting external consultants or customers to join a team. By combining people with diverse
task-related backgrounds, cross-functional teams can take a broader approach to addressing a
problem or completing a set of activities. This can lead to new ideas and more creative
solutions. It can also make a team’s efforts more efficient and effective by including information
that can help avert risks or poor outcomes.
Team: Cross-functional teams combine people with different knowledge and perspectives.
Example of a Cross-Functional Team
Many business activities require cross-functional collaboration to achieve successful outcomes.
A common example is service improvement. To better meet customer expectations and achieve
higher satisfaction rates, a company first needs to understand what customers are looking for.
The marketing department is responsible for gathering that type of customer data. Operations
staff members have expertise in how to design the process for delivering a service, so they
would need to be involved in making any changes to that system. The human resources
department oversees training, and employees may need new skills to succeed with the new
process. If any information technology is involved in supporting the service improvement, then
people from that department should be on the team. Finally, accountants may be needed to
identify any new costs and additional savings. In this example, the team brings together people
from five different functional areas.
Challenges of Cross-Functional Teams
Even though diversity of knowledge and perspective is the big advantage of cross-functional
teams, it can also be a source of problems. People who work in the same discipline or area have
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a common understanding and a terminology for their work that is unknown to others.
Shorthand expressions or common acronyms that are familiar to one person may be confusing
to others. This can make communication between members of a cross-functional team difficult
and subject to misunderstanding.
Cross-functional teams may be more likely than less complex teams to have members with
divergent perspectives on how work gets done. For instance, engineers value precision and
attention to detail, while those who come from more creative areas such as marketing may
prefer a less rigid approach. These differences in styles may also be reflected in the
personalities of team members. It can take extra effort to collaborate when you have to take
into account the preferences and styles of widely dissimilar individuals.
In some organizations certain departments have more status than others. A common
distinction is between those in areas that contribute directly to revenue, such as sales and
manufacturing, and those that do not, including support departments like purchasing and IT.
Perceived differences in relative importance or credibility can undermine the effectiveness of
cross-functional collaboration.
Virtual Teams
A virtual team is a temporary group created to accomplish specific tasks by using technology to
collaborate remotely.
Key Points
Virtual teams rely upon computing and communications technology, especially Internet
access.
Virtual teams are prevalent in today’s workforce, as they can be cost- effective and take
advantage of technology and the availability of distributed employees.
In order to function properly, virtual teams demand effective coordination in the form
of project management.
There are six common types of virtual teams: networked teams, parallel teams, project
development teams, functional teams, service teams, and offshore information-systems
development teams.
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Key Terms
Task processes: The various ways that the virtual team accomplishes work:
communication, coordination of work efforts, and a fit between the technology and the
task at hand.
A virtual team is a group of individuals in different geographic locations who use technology to
collaborate on work tasks and activities. The use of this kind of team has become prevalent in
organizations due to the reduced costs of technology, the increased availability of collaborative
technologies, the shift toward globalization in business, and greater use of outsourcing and
temporary workers. Virtual teams require effective project management to facilitate
communication and coordinate member activities.
Types of Virtual Teams
There are six common types of virtual teams.
1. Networked teams are loosely organized; they are usually formed to address a short-
term objective and are dissolved after they accomplish that objective. Similar to task
forces and cross-functional teams, networked teams frequently bring together people
with different expertise to bring broad perspectives to discussing an issue or problem.
2. Parallel teams are highly task-focused and draw on individuals from different functional
areas and locations. While they generally complete their work on a defined schedule,
parallel teams may not be disbanded but may instead remain to take on a subsequent set
of tasks.
3. Project development teams work on complex sets of activities over a long time period.
They may be formed to develop new products, deliver a new technology system, or
redesign operational processes.
4. Functional teams are comprised of people from the same department or area who
collaborate on regular and ongoing activities, examples of which include providing
training, executing marketing initiatives, and conducting research and development.
5. Service teams work with customers to address their purchasing and post-purchase
needs. These teams enable a company to provide consistent service, often 24/7, to
support customers wherever they are.
6. Finally, information systems development (ISD) teams make use of lower-cost labor,
typically offshore, to develop software. They are typically created by dividing up the work
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of larger projects and assigning specific pieces to independent contractors or teams of
developers.
Challenges of Virtual Teams
The geographic dispersion of team members and the lack of regular face-to-face meetings
present three challenges to the success of virtual teams.
1. Coordination of tasks: A virtual team needs a clear set of objectives and a plan for how
to achieve them in order to focus and direct collaboration among team members. They
need clear guidelines and norms for how individuals will accomplish their work. Even
more than traditional teams where individuals work in the same location and time zone,
virtual teams require effective project management to facilitate communication and
coordination of tasks among members.
2. Team-member skills: Beyond their functional expertise and experience, virtual team
members need to be effective users of technologies such as video conferencing and other
collaboration tools. They must learn to communicate well in writing to avoid
misinterpretations that might be more easily avoided in a face-t0-face conversation.
When virtual teams cross national boundaries, differences in language and culture
require the ability to negotiate barriers to communication and collaboration.
3. Relationships: Virtual team members need to build relationships with colleagues
through the use of technology, which can often seem impersonal. Distance and lack of
regular personal interaction can make it difficult for trust and group cohesion to develop.
When these are missing, team members can lose focus and collaboration can suffer,
leading to delays, conflict, and other performance issues.
Self-Managing Teams
A self-managing team is a group of employees working together who are accountable for all or
most aspects of their task.
Key Points
Self-managing teams share work tasks and supportive or managerial tasks.
Because they are both responsible for their outcomes and in control of their decision -
making process, members of the self-managing team may be more motivated and
productive than traditional teams.
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Self-managing teams are different from self-directed teams. Self-managing teams work
toward goals that are set for them by outside leadership, whereas self-directed teams
work toward a common goal that they define.
Key Terms
self-managing team: A group with a common purpose in which tasks and
responsibilities are determined by the members.
A self-managing team is a group of employees working together who are accountable for most
or all aspects of their task. A self-managing team has considerable discretion over how its work
gets done. This means the majority of key decisions about activities are made by people with
direct knowledge of, and who are most affected by, those choices. Self-managing teams are
distinct from self-directed teams. While the latter define their own goals, the scope of a self-
managing team’s authority is limited by goals that are established by others.
Self-management: This diagram illustrates the idea that virtual, management, and work teams
can be empowered by being allowed to self-manage and monitor the quality of their own
output.
Advantages of Self-Managing Teams
Organizations in various fields use self-managing teams to boost productivity and motivate
employees. Members of self-managing teams plan, coordinate, direct, and control their
activities. For example, they set the work schedule and assign tasks. In this way they share both
the managerial and technical tasks. Team members also share responsibility for their output as
a whole, which can inspire pride in their accomplishments. Because they eliminate a level of
management, the use of self-managing teams can better allocate resources and even lower
costs.
Disadvantages of Self-Managing Teams
There are also potential drawbacks to self-managing teams. The lack of hierarchical authority
means that personal relationships can overwhelm good judgment. It can also lead to
conformity, which can inhibit creativity or make it difficult for team members to be critical of
each other. Self-management adds a layer of responsibility that can be time-consuming and
require skills that some team members may not have. Members of a self-managing team often
need training to assist them in succeeding at jobs that have a broad scope of duties.
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Building Successful Teams
Setting Team Goals and Providing Team Feedback
Periodic performance assessments help a team identify areas for improvement so it can better
achieve its goals.
Key Points
How a team functions is as important an indicator of its performance as the quality of
what it produces.
Periodic assessments help a team identify its strengths and weakness and create plans
to improve how members work together.
Methods of collecting assessment data include discussions, surveys, and personality
diagnostic tests.
Key Terms
performance: The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; achievement;
accomplishment.
implement: To bring about; to put into practice.
feedback: Critical assessment of information produced.
Setting Goals and Providing Feedback
The way team members function as a group is as important to the team’s success as the quality
of what it produces. Because how they work together is so important to achieving the team’s
goals, members need to be attentive to how they interact and collaborate with each other.
Periodic self-assessments that consider the team’s progress, how it has gotten there, and
where it is headed allow the team to gauge its effectiveness and take steps to improve its
performance.
To assess its performance, a team seeks feedback from group members to identify its strengths
and its weaknesses. Feedback from the team assessment can be used to identify gaps between
what it needs to do to perform effectively and where it is currently. Once they have identified
the areas for improvement, members of the team and others (such as managers) can develop a
plan to close the gaps.
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A team can gather the necessary data by holding a meeting in which members discuss what has
gone well and what they would like to change about how they work together. It can be
beneficial to have a non–team member such as a supervisor or a member of the human
resources department solicit opinions through a brief written survey. The team can then use
the results as a starting point for its discussion.
Poor communication and conflict can disrupt a team’s performance, and sometimes these
disruptions are caused by personality clashes between members. Another type of team
assessment involves using diagnostic tests to identify the dominant personality traits of each
member. Characteristics such as being an extrovert or an introvert can shape how people
prefer to work and communicate. Having an understanding of personality differences among
team members can prove useful for changing how they interact with each other.
Accountability in Teams
Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products,
decisions, and policies.
Key Points
Accountability is the assignment of responsibility for outcomes to an individual or group
to create an incentive for performance.
Teams are accountable for achieving collective goals.
Individual team members are accountable to each other for their effort and
contributions to the team.
Effective accountability for teams relies on making choices that support the team’s
ability to succeed.
Key Terms
accountability: The acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions,
products, and decisions.
Accountability
Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products,
and decisions. In a management context, accountability explicitly identifies who is responsible
for ensuring that outcomes meet goals and creates incentives for success.
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For teams in particular, accountability means that all members share responsibility for their
collective output and for their success in achieving their goals. Because teamwork is organized
at the collective level rather than on a per-person basis, its results are the sum of each
member’s efforts. Organizations often use team-based rewards to hold teams accountable for
their work.
Accountability for team members also implies that individuals have a responsibility to each
other to complete tasks and contribute to the group effort. One benefit of teamwork is the
mutual support and assistance that team members can provide each other. A sense of
accountability to the team creates an incentive for individuals to provide help when needed.
Since team tasks are interdependent, the quality of one person’s work affects that of the
others. Teams use norms and other forms of social pressure to hold one another accountable.
Conditions for Effective Accountability
For accountability to work, teams need to have the resources, skills, and authority to do what
they are being held responsible for. If leaders expect teams to accept the blame for failing to
achieve an assigned goal, they should ensure that success is within the team’s reach. For this
reason, the choices made about goal-setting, team composition, and process design have a
direct effect on the degree of responsibility a team can assume for its performance.
Government accountability: Governing authorities have the obligation to report, explain, and
answer for resulting consequences of their actions.
Choosing Team Size and Team Members
Team size and composition affect team processes and outcomes.
Key Points
The optimal size and composition of teams will vary depending on the team’s purpose
and goals.
Team size should take into account the scope and complexity of required tasks and
activities.
As a whole, team members should bring all the necessary skills and knowledge to meet
the team’s goals.
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Key Terms
Composition: The proportion of different parts to make a whole.
Team size and composition affect team processes and outcomes. The optimal size and
composition of teams depends on the scope of the team’s goals. With too few people, a team
will not have the resources and skills it needs to complete its tasks. Too many members can
make communication and coordination difficult and lead to poor team performance.
The mix of knowledge and expertise on a team is also important. Individuals should be selected
for teams so that as a whole the group has all the expertise needed to achieve its goals. For this
reason, cross-functional teams may be larger than groups formed to work on less complex
activities. Similarly, a task force charged with making recommendations in a short time frame
would benefit from having fewer members.
Teams benefit from similarities in background among members, which can reduce conflict and
miscommunication. Having fewer differences can also reduce the amount of time a team takes
to become an effective working group since there is less need to adjust individual work styles.
On the other hand, more diversity in skills and experience brings broader perspectives and
different approaches to the team’s work. Having members with different skill sets also reduces
redundancies and allows for the more efficient assignment of people to various teams.
Team Building
Team building is an approach to helping a team become an effective performing unit.
Key Points
Team building refers to a wide range of activities intended to help a team become an
effective performing unit by increasing members’ awareness of how they interact with
each other.
Team building is important as a team is being formed and can also be valuable after a
team has begun its work.
Activities that facilitate team building include introductory meetings, collaborative
games, simulations, and retreats.
Key Terms
Team : A group of people linked in a common purpose.
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Retreat : An event during which people shift focus from their daily routines and
responsibilities to personal or group development.
Team building refers to a wide range of activities intended to help a team become an effective
performing unit. To achieve this, team building aims to increase team members’ awareness and
understanding of their working relationships by focusing on their interactions with each other.
The purpose is to create a cohesive group from a set of individuals and avoid common pitfalls
that can undermine a team, such as conflict, miscommunication, and lack of trust.
Team-building activities require the participation of all team members. These often take place
when a team is first created and can include activities such as the team working on a brief
exercise to begin the process of collaboration or individuals simply introducing themselves.
Sometimes organizations use more intensive and time-consuming activities such as off-site,
day-long retreats with an agenda that can include interpersonal bonding exercises, simulations,
personality and communication style assessments, and group-dynamics games. The human
resources department may coordinate team building, though sometimes companies hire
consultants or trainers skilled in facilitating those types of activities.
A team can also benefit from team building after its work has begun. Sometimes teams
recognize that members are missing abilities that make collaboration easier, such as problem
solving or conflict-resolution skills. Training sessions that address these deficiencies build the
team’s ability to work together. After people have been working together for a while, social
norms can develop that interfere with a team’s performance. Individuals might be afraid to
challenge decisions if it has become unacceptable to question a team’s leader, or work habits
such as tardiness to meetings may have become commonplace. A discussion among team
members creates an opportunity to address factors that are standing in the way of their
working together effectively.
Stages of Team Development
The Forming–Storming–Norming–Performing model of group development was first proposed
by Bruce Tuckman in 1965.
Key Points
Teams move through a series of four phases—from when they are formed to when their
work is complete.
During the forming stage, a the team discusses it purpose, defines and assigns tasks,
establishes timelines, and begins forming personal relationships.
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The often-contentious storming stage is the period when team members clarify their
goals and the strategy for achieving them.
The norming stage is when the team establishes its values for how individuals will
interact and collaborate.
Performing is the stage of team development when team members have productive
relationships and are able to communicate and coordinate effectively and efficiently.
While teams move through the four stages in sequence, the phases may overlap or be
repeated.
Key Terms
Forming: The stage of group development when the team discusses its purpose, defines
and assigns tasks, establishes timelines, and begins forming personal relationships.
Performing: The stage of group development when team members have productive
relationships and are able to communicate and coordinate effectively and efficiently.
Storming: The stage of group development when the team clarifies its goals and its
strategy for achieving them.
Norming: The stage of group development when the team establishes its values for how
individuals will interact and collaborate.
Teams move through a series of stages, beginning when they are formed and ending when they
are disbanded. Bruce Tuckman identified four distinct phases of team development: forming,
storming, norming, and performing. Each has a primary purpose and a common set of
interpersonal dynamics among team members. Tuckman proposed that all are inevitable and
even necessary parts of a successful team’s evolution.
The Forming Stage
The first step in a team’s life is bringing together a group of individuals. Individuals focus on
defining and assigning tasks, establishing a schedule, organizing the team’s work, and other
start-up matters. In addition to focusing on the scope of the team’s purpose and how to
approach it, individuals in the formation stage are also gathering information and impressions
about each other. Since people generally want to be accepted by others, during this period they
usually avoid conflict and disagreement. Team members may begin to work on their tasks
independently, not yet focused on their relationships with fellow team members.
Jets in formation: All teams go through a life-cycle of stages, identified by Bruce Tuckman as:
forming, storming, norming, and performing.
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The Storming Stage
Once their efforts are under way, team members need clarity about their activities and goals, as
well as explicit guidance about how they will work independently and collectively. This leads to
a period known as storming—because it can involve brainstorming ideas and also because it
usually causes disruption. During the storming stage members begin to share ideas about what
to do and how to do it that compete for consideration. Team members start to open up to each
other and confront one another’s ideas and perspectives.
Because storming can be contentious, members who are averse to conflict will find it
unpleasant or even painful. This can decrease motivation and effort by drawing attention away
from tasks. In some cases storming (i.e., disagreements) can be resolved quickly. Other times a
team never leaves this stage and becomes stuck and unable to do its work. Patience and
consideration toward team members and their views go a long way toward avoiding this.
The Norming Stage
Successfully moving through the storming stage means that a team has clarified its purpose and
strategy for achieving its goals. It now transitions to a period focused on developing shared
values about how team members will work together. These norms of collaboration can address
issues ranging from when to use certain modes of communication, such as e-mail versus
telephone, to how team meetings will be run and what to do when conflicts arise. Norms
become a way of simplifying choices and facilitating collaboration, since members have shared
expectations about how work will get done.
The Performing Stage
Once norms are established and the team is functioning as a unit, it enters the performing
stage. By now team members work together easily on interdependent tasks and are able to
communicate and coordinate effectively. There are fewer time-consuming distractions based
on interpersonal and group dynamics. For this reason, motivation is usually high and team
members have confidence in their ability to attain goals.
While these four stages—forming, storming, norming, and performing—are distinct and
generally sequential, they often blend into one another and even overlap. A team may pass
through one phase only to return to it. For example, if a new member joins the team there may
be a second brief period of formation while that person is integrated. A team may also need to
return to an earlier stage if its performance declines. Team-building exercises are often done to
help a team through its development process.
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Factors Influencing Team Performance
The Role of Social Norms in Teams
Social norms are shared beliefs about how people should behave that influence team
performance.
Key Points
Social norms create expectations and standards for acceptable behavior by team
members.
Norms may develop through explicit conversation among team members or emerge
implicitly through the way they interact.
Norms are different from rules in that, while rules are imposed and required, norms are
agreed upon and reinforced through interpersonal relationships.
By creating accountability and reducing uncertainty, norms can help a team perform
effectively.
Key Terms
socialize: To instruct, usually subconsciously, in the etiquette of a society.
dysfunctional: Counterproductive or disruptive to effective performance.
role: The expected behavior of an individual in a society.
Social norms are sets of shared beliefs about how people should behave. Teams and other
types of groups develop norms to indicate acceptable ways of interacting. Norms create
expectations, set standards, and reflect the collective value of the team members. Once
formed, norms are not easily changed.
How Norms Emerge
Teams can create norms through discussions among team members. Often, during the forming
phase of team development, members will have conversations about standards of behavior for
the group. By doing so, teams can identify and develop norms that support their collaboration
and productivity.
Both establishing and maintaining norms are indicators of a team’s maturity, made possible
only when members have developed working relationships. Effective norms can develop on
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their own, especially if team members have prior experience working on successful teams.
However, without explicit direction dysfunctional norms such as aversion to new ideas or
conflict avoidance may take hold.
Norms vs. Rules
Handshaking as a Norm: In some business cultures, it is a norm to shake someone’s hand upon
meeting. Here, one businessman shakes another’s hand. In many situations, it would be
normative for the businessman to also shake the nearby businesswoman’s hand.
Norms are different from rules. Rules require or prohibit behavior and are typically issued by
someone with the authority to direct others to comply and to impose sanctions if they do not.
People might agree or disagree with a rule, but they generally are not free to ignore them. In
contrast, norms are sets of expectations, not edicts. Team members themselves agree upon
and reinforce norms through how they behave with each other. The clearer and more explicit
the norms, especially if they are written down, the more effective they are at influencing team
members’ behavior.
Benefits of Norms
Through the process of developing shared norms of behavior, team members begin to hold
each other accountable for how they contribute to the team. By pointing out when someone
violates a norm, the team helps keep its performance on track.
To the extent that team members can rely on norms to shape behavior, the team may
experience less uncertainty and more efficiency in how work gets done. For example, a norm
about what constitutes timely completion of tasks may help focus individual efforts. Because
people act in accordance with norms, their behavior can become predictable and provide
stability to the team.
Team Cohesiveness
A group is in a state of cohesion when its members possess bonds linking them to one another
and to the group as a whole.
Key Points
Team cohesion is the degree to which individual members want to contribute to the
group‘s ability to continue as a functioning work unit.
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Cohesiveness develops over time out of interpersonal and group-level attraction,
through collaboration, and as a result of a sense of belonging.
Cohesive teams communicate more effectively, lead to higher member satisfaction, and
can create efficiency in resource allocation.
There can also be negative consequences to group cohesion. If the social pressures of
the group intensify, it may lead to conformity and resistance to change.
Key Terms
cohesion: The state of working together or being united.
incentive: Something that motivates, rouses, or encourages.
Team cohesion is the degree to which individual members want to contribute to the group’s
ability to continue as a functioning work unit. Members of cohesive teams have emotional and
social bonds that link them to one another and to the group as a whole. These ties enable
members to sustain their efforts on behalf of the team and make it more likely that the team
will achieve its goals.
How Cohesion Develops
Team cohesion develops over time. Social scientists have explained the phenomenon of group
cohesiveness in different ways. Some suggest that cohesiveness among group members
develops from a heightened sense of belonging, as well as from collaboration and
interdependence. Others note that cohesion comes from the interpersonal and group-level
attraction common between people who share similar backgrounds and interests. Because
teams have clear boundaries regarding membership, barriers to belonging also contribute to
cohesion.
Consequences of Cohesion
Team cohesion is related to a range of positive and negative consequences. Cohesion creates a
stronger sense of commitment to goals, which motivates higher individual effort and
performance. Members of more cohesive groups tend to communicate with one another in a
more positive fashion than those of less cohesive groups.
As a result, members of cohesive groups often report higher levels of satisfaction and lower
levels of anxiety and tension. This can improve decision making and encourage greater
participation. Finally, by maintaining membership cohesive teams are able to continue to
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pursue new goals once they have fulfilled their original purpose. This makes allocation of
resources more efficient, since an existing cohesive team can perform well and more quickly
than a newly formed one.
Membership in a cohesive team can also have negative consequences. For example, cohesion
can intensify social pressure to conform or limit individual expression. Cohesion can also make
adaptation more difficult by making group processes inflexible or resistant to change.
Team Roles
Team roles define how each member of the group relates to the others and contributes to the
team’s performance.
Key Points
Team roles are sets of responsibilities and behaviors that establish expectations for how
each member contributes to the team’s performance.
Roles may be assigned formally or assumed by individuals voluntarily.
Three types of roles are action-oriented, people-oriented, and idea-oriented.
Key Terms
Interdependent: Mutually dependent; reliant on one another.
A role is a set of related duties and behaviors that exist independently from the person who
acts in that role. Roles are part of a team’s structure, and having a role defines each team
member’s position in the group relative to the others. Team roles establish expectations about
who will do what to help the team succeed.
Roles may be assigned formally to team members or be assumed by individuals voluntarily.
Each role is best suited to a person with the necessary skills and experience, since without them
it is difficult to achieve credibility or influence on others. Team roles are not necessarily linked
to specific work tasks and may even include responsibilities that do not directly contribute to
the team’s output.
Common Team Roles
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The consultant Meredith Belbin studied high-performing teams and devised a typology based
on how members contributed to the group’s success. In his model there are three types of
team roles: action-oriented, people-oriented, and idea-oriented.
Action-oriented roles are pragmatic—they focus on getting things done by taking ideas
and turning them in practical plans. We think of these as leadership roles, since what they
do can stimulate others to achieve goals.
People-oriented roles deal with coordinating tasks, supporting communication, and
facilitating working relationships. These roles can require negotiation skills, keen
perception about human behavior, and good listening abilities.
Idea-oriented roles involve generating new approaches, analyzing information, and
thinking critically about the team’s work. Often these roles are filled by specialists with
deep knowledge in a functional area or another type of subject-matter expertise.
Together these roles address both a team’s tasks and how it accomplishes them. Each type of
role brings something valuable to how a team functions. When a role is missing because there
is no one available to fill it, team performance can suffer.
Team Communication
Effective communication is often a key to the successful performance of team tasks.
Key Points
A significant part of teamwork involves oral and written communication.
Teams establish norms for the modes, frequency, and timing of communication
between members and among the group.
Teams use a mix of centralized and decentralized patterns of communication.
Barriers to effective team communication include lack of shared vocabulary, poor
speaking and writing skills, time constraints, and insensitivity to individual differences.
Key Terms
feedback: Critical assessment of information produced.
Communication: The exchange of information between entities.
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A major part of teamwork is communication. Team members send and exchange information to
convey ideas, generate discussion, prompt action, create understanding, and coordinate
activities. Effective communication means transmitting a message so that the recipient
understands its content and intention. When team members communicate well, they can avoid
common pitfalls such as misunderstandings, lack of trust, and conflict that can undermine team
performance.
Team members share information in a variety of ways, including face-to-face meetings and
other forms of verbal communication, as well as in writing—through e-mail, texts, and memos.
Teams develop practices for how members will communicate with each other and with the
group as a whole. Norms typically emerge about preferred modes, frequency, and timing of
communication.
Team communication: The basketball team here communicates by forming a huddle.
Patterns of Communication
Communication patterns describe the flow of information within the group and can be
described as centralized or decentralized. When centralized, communication tends to flow from
one source to all group members. Centralized communication results in consistent,
standardized information being conveyed, but often restricts its flow to one direction. In
contrast, decentralized communication means team members share and exchange information
directly with each other and with the group. This allows information to flow more freely, but
often with less consistency in format or distribution. The results can be incomplete, untimely,
or poorly distributed messages. Most teams use a mix of the two approaches, choosing
centralized communication for messages that are more complex, urgent, or time sensitive, and
decentralized communication when discussion and idea generation are needed.
Barriers to Effective Team Communication
There are several barriers to effective communication within teams. These include lack of
shared vocabulary or understanding of key task-related concepts, divergent personal styles of
expression, and insensitivity to differences in individual characteristics such as age or gender.
Good writing and speaking skills are essential to making oneself well understood. Limited time
is often another factor in poor communication; understanding requires attention and effort,
and it is easy to be distracted from one message by another. Virtual teams, especially those
whose members are widely dispersed, can face additional challenges such as differences in
language, culture, and time zones.
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Managing Conflict
Styles of Interpersonal Conflict
Team conflict is a state of discord between individuals that work together.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
Conflict is a state of discord between people, or groups of people working together,
caused by an actual or perceived opposition of needs, values, and/or interests.
Substantive conflicts deal with aspects of performance or tasks and often relate
specifically to the project or goals of a team or organization.
Affective conflicts, also known as personal conflicts, revolve around personal
disagreements or dislikes between individuals in a team.
Organizational conflict may be intra-organizational, meaning it takes place across
departments or within teams, or it may be inter-organizational, meaning it arises from
disagreements between two or more organizations.
Key Terms
affective: Relating to, resulting from, or influenced by emotions.
substantive: Of the core essence or essential element of a thing or topic.
Conflict is a feature common to social life. In organizations, conflict is a state of discord caused
by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values, and/or interests between people
working together. Conflict on teams takes many forms and can be minor, causing only brief
disruption, or major, threatening the team’s ability to function and attain its goals. We can
distinguish between two type of conflict: substantive and affective.
Substantive and Affective Conflict
Substantive conflicts deal with aspects of a team’s work. For example, conflicts can arise over
questions about an individual’s performance, differing views about the scope of a task or
assignment, disparate definitions of acceptable quality, or the nature of a project goal. Other
substantive conflicts involve how team members work together. These process conflicts often
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involve disagreements over the strategies, policies, and procedures the group should use in
order to complete its tasks.
Affective conflict relates to trouble that develops in interpersonal relationships among team
members. While these personal conflicts emerge as people work together, they may have their
roots in factors separate from the team’s purpose and activities. Affective conflicts are often
based on personality conflicts, differing communication styles, perceptions about level of effort,
or personal dislikes based on negative past experiences.
Intra-Organizational and Inter-Organizational Conflict
Both substantive and affective conflicts can be separated into those that happen within an
organization and those that happen between two or more different organizations. Intra-
organizational conflicts occur across departments in an organization, within work teams and
other groups, and between individuals. Inter-organizational conflicts are disagreements
between people—business partners, for example, or other collaborators, vendors, and
distributors—in two or more organizations.
Arguing wolves: These wolves are expressing disagreement over territory or having some other
type of conflict.
The Impact of Interpersonal Conflict on Team Performance
Conflict can have damaging or productive effects on the performance of a team.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Analyze the way in which conflict can both help and hurt a team’s performance
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
Conflict is common within teams, especially during the storming phase of team
development.
Team conflict provides benefits including resolving misunderstandings, improving
processes, and changing behaviors.
Team conflict can have negative consequences such as reduced group cohesion and
lower productivity, and it can even threaten the team’s existence.
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Key Terms
interdependent: Mutually dependent; reliant on one another.
affective: Relating to, resulting from, or influenced by emotions.
Conflict occurs often in teamwork, especially during the storming phase of team development.
While at first we might think of all conflict between team members as undesirable and harmful,
the process of resolving conflicts can actually provide benefits to team performance. Whether a
conflict is productive or not can depend on how team members perceive it, as well as how it
affects progress toward the team’s goals.
Benefits of Team Conflict
Substantive conflicts can affect performance for the better by removing barriers caused by
different assumptions or misunderstandings about a team’s tasks, strategy, or goals. Conflict
can be constructive when it creates broader awareness about how team members are
experiencing their work and thus leads to changes that improve members’ productivity. Conflict
can also lead to process improvements, such as when it reveals a deficiency in how the team
communicates, which can then be corrected. Clashes of ideas can lead to more creative
solutions or otherwise provide perspectives that persuade the team to take a different
approach that is more likely to lead to success.
Addressing personal conflicts that arise between members can facilitate cooperation by helping
individuals adapt their behavior to better suit the needs of others. Although most people find
conflict uncomfortable while they are experiencing it, they can come to recognize its value as
the team progresses in its development.
Negative Consequences of Team Conflict
While sometimes conflict can lead to a solution to a problem, conflicts can also create
problems. Discord caused by enmity between individuals can reduce team cohesion and the
ability of team members to work together. Conflicts can create distractions that require time
and effort to resolve, which can delay completion of tasks and even put a team’s goals at risk.
Communication can suffer when people withdraw their attention or participation, leading to
poor coordination of interdependent tasks. Tension and heightened emotions can lower team
members’ satisfaction, increase frustration, and lead to bad judgments. They can even prompt
individuals to withdraw from the team, requiring the assignment of a new member or creating
a resource scarcity that makes it more difficult for the team to fulfill its purpose. In extreme
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cases, conflict among members, if left unaddressed, can lead to the complete inability of the
team to function, and thus to its disbandment.
Common Causes of Team Conflict
Team conflict is caused by factors related to individual behavior as well as disagreements about
the team’s work.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Identify the causes of conflict within an organization as a conflict manager.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Key Points
Team conflict arises from how people perceive the actions of others and from differing
views of the team’s work and how it should be accomplished.
Common causes of team conflict include conflicting interests, incompatible work styles,
competition over resources, failure to follow norms, poor communication, and
performance deficiencies.
Key Terms
ambiguity: Something liable to more than one interpretation, explanation, or meaning.
affective: Relating to, resulting from, or influenced by emotions.
Conflict between team members comes from several sources. Some conflicts have their basis in
how people behave, while others come from disagreements about the nature of the team’s
work and how it is being accomplished.
Competing interests: Conflict can arise when people have mutually incompatible desires
or needs. For example, two team members with similar skills may both want a certain
assignment, leaving the one who doesn’t receive it resentful.
Different behavioral styles or preferences: Individuals may clash over their respective
work habits, attention to detail, communication practices, or tone of expression. While
these can affect coordination of interdependent tasks, they can especially inhibit direct
collaboration.
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Competition over resources: Members may fight over the limited resources available to
accomplish the team’s tasks. For example, if two people both rely on the action of a third
person to meet identical deadlines, disagreements might arise over whose work should
receive that person’s attention first.
Failure to follow team norms: A team member creates conflict when she displays
attitudes or behaviors that go against the team’s agreement about how it will function. If
a group norm calls for prompt arrival at meetings and prohibits the use of mobile devices
during discussions, ignoring these practices can engender conflict.
Performance deficiencies: When some team members are either not contributing their
share of effort or not performing at the expected level of quality, the impositions that
result can create friction, which may be heightened when critical or highly visible tasks
are involved.
Poor communication: When team members do not share relevant information with
each other, people may make decisions or take actions that others consider
inappropriate or even harmful. Blame and questions about motives can result, creating
discord among the team.
Ambiguity about means and ends: Lack of clarity about tasks, strategies, and/or goals
can lead people to make assumptions that others do not share or agree with, which can
result in conflict.
Card game argument: Behavioral differences and personality clashes can cause conflict even
among friends.
Constructive Team Conflict
Teams can use conflict as a strategy for enhancing performance.
Key Points
Team performance can benefit by using conflict to foster learning and process
improvement.
Team members can establish guidelines and norms that encourage constructive conflict.
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Key Terms
innovation: A change in customs; something new and contrary to established patterns,
manners, or rites.
conflict: A clash or disagreement between two opposing groups or individuals.
Teams may use conflict as a strategy for continuous improvement and learning. Recognizing the
benefits of conflict and using them as part of the team’s process can enhance team
performance. Conflict can uncover barriers to collaboration that changes in behavior can
remove. It can also foster better decisions because it makes team members consider the
perspectives of others and even helps them see things in new and innovative ways.
Addressing conflict can increase team cohesion by engaging members in discussions about
important issues. Team members may feel more valued when they know they are contributing
to something vital to the team’s success. Conflict can reveal assumptions that may not apply in
the current situation and thus allow the team to agree on a new course. It can also draw
attention to norms that have developed without the explicit agreement of team members and
create the opportunity to endorse or discard them.
Generating Constructive Conflict
Team members and others can follow a few guidelines for encouraging constructive conflict.
First, they can start by explicitly calling for it as something that will help improve the team’s
performance. This helps people view conflict as acceptable and can thus free them to speak up.
Teams can lower the emotional intensity of any conflict be establishing clear guidelines for how
to express disagreements and challenge colleagues. One helpful norm is to focus on the task-
related element of a conflict rather than criticizing the traits of particular individuals. Another is
to emphasize common goals and shared commitments, which can keep conflict in perspective
and prevent it from overwhelming the team’s efforts.
Team Conflict Resolution and Management
Some ways of dealing with conflict seek resolution; others aim to minimize negative effects on
the team.
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Key Points
Conflict resolution aims to eliminate disagreements and disputes among team
members; in contrast, conflict management seeks to minimize the negative effects of
conflict on team performance.
There are three main approaches to conflict resolution: integrative, distributive, and
mediating.
There are three main conflict-management tactics: smoothing, yielding, and avoiding.
Key Terms
dispute: An argument or disagreement.
resolution: The moment in which a conflict ends and the outcome is clear.
adversarial: Characteristic of an opponent; combative, hostile.
The way a team deals with conflicts that arise among members can influence whether and how
those conflicts are resolved and, as a result, the team’s subsequent performance. There are
several ways to approach managing and resolving team conflict—some leave the team and its
members better able to continue their work, while others can undermine its effectiveness as a
performing unit.
Conflict Resolution
Teams use one of three primary approaches to conflict resolution: integrative, distributive, and
mediating.
1. Integrative approaches focus on the issue to be solved and aim to find a resolution that
meets everyone’s needs. Success with this tactic requires the exchange of information,
openness to alternatives, and a willingness to consider what is best for the group as a
whole rather than for any particular individual.
2. Distributive approaches find ways to divide a fixed number of positive outcomes or
resources in which one side comes out ahead of the other. Since team members have
repeated interactions with each other and are committed to shared goals, the
expectation of reciprocity can make this solution acceptable since those who don’t get
their way today may end up “winning” tomorrow.
3. Mediating approaches bring in a third party to facilitate a non-confrontational, non-
adversarial discussion with the goal of helping the team reach a consensus about how to
resolve the conflict. A mediator from outside the team brings no emotional ties or
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41
preconceived ideas to the conflict and therefore can help the team identify a broader set
of solutions that would be satisfactory to all.
Although these three approaches all bring overt conflict to an end, team cohesion can suffer if
members perceive the process itself as unfair, disrespectful, or overly contentious. The result
can be resentment that festers and leads to subsequent additional conflict that a more
conciliatory process might have avoided.
Conflict Management
The primary aim of conflict management is to promote the positive effects and reduce the
negative effects that disputes can have on team performance without necessarily fully resolving
the conflict itself. Teams use one of three main tactics to manage conflict: smoothing, yielding,
and avoiding.
1. The smoothing approach attempts to minimize the differences among the people who
are in conflict with each other. This strategy often focuses on reducing the emotional
charge and intensity of how the people speak to each other by emphasizing their shared
goals and commitments.
2. The yielding approach describes the choice some team members make to simply give in
when others disagree with them rather than engage in conflict. This is more common
when the stakes are perceived to be small or when the team member’s emotional ties to
the issue at hand are not particularly strong.
3. In the avoiding approach, teams members may choose to simply ignore all but the most
contentious disagreements. While this can have short-term benefits and may be the best
option when the team is under time pressure, it is the approach least likely to produce a
sense of harmony among the team.
While conflict can increase the engagement of team members, it can also create distractions
and draw attention away from important tasks. Because conflict management seeks to contain
such disruptions and threats to team performance, conflicts do not disappear so much as exist
alongside the teamwork.
The 20 characteristics
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You could go back to the good and bad teams you are thinking about and try to identify those
characteristics you unconsciously considered when evaluating them, or you can use the list I’ve
assembled for you.
Here are the characteristics you will be asking your team members to rate. For each, I’ve
included a brief explanation of why it’s important.
1. We have a clear sense of purpose
This unifies the group. Everyone knows why the group exists. In addition to being clear, it
should also be important. Cool is better yet.
2. We have measurable objectives
Goals are the fuel which drive each member’s effort. They know there is work to do, and they
strive to get it done.
3. Our purpose supports the larger organization’s purpose
Each team represents the use of scarce resources. People are expensive. They should only be
deployed doing something that helps advance the larger organization.
4. We know how the team will be evaluated
People want to win. The trouble with many teams is that winning hasn’t been defined. If you
don’t know what good looks like, how do you know you’ve achieved it?
5. We understand our customers’ expectations
Each team serves others. These could be internal or external customers. To succeed in this task
requires that the team knows what those customers expect.
6. Groups and individuals that support us understand our expectations
In most organizations, a team’s success depends on the support they get from others. To be
well-supported, those people need to know how best to provide that support.
7. We agree on the process for completing our work
There are many ways to get the work done. Efficiency usually requires a shared process. When
this characteristic is missing, chaos reigns.
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8. We each do our “fair share” of the work
This has to happen to prevent the all-too-common fight that begins when team members begin
to think I’m working way harder than her.
9. We have access to the resources we need
This could be experts, data, tools, equipment, or decision authority.
10. We effectively make decisions
Teamwork requires decisions. Lots of decisions. Getting good at making those decisions quickly
separates strong teams from weak teams.
11. We communicate openly on the team
Almost all teamwork problems can be traced back to a team’s inability to effectively
communicate. Assertiveness and candor are necessary teamwork ingredients.
12. We communicate openly with interested parties outside of the team
Your team might be doing good work, but if nobody else knows it, you have a problem.
13. We effectively resolve conflicts
All teams have conflicts, which in themselves are not problems. They only become a problem
when they go unresolved or people are bloodied in the process of resolving them.
14. We quickly address problems that are hurting the team
When the inevitable problems arise, good teams notice, raise the concern, and go into
problem-solving mode. They certainly don’t struggle with an “elephant in the room.”
15. We each understand what is expected of us
A team is a collection of individuals. Each person has to know what he is supposed to do to be
an effective team member.
16. We support one another
A bunch of individuals all doing their own thing in isolation from coworkers is not a team.
Effective teams are collaborative and supportive entities.
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17. We continuously monitor our performance
Doing this assessment is an example of monitoring performance. You can’t fix what you don’t
notice. Ask the questions.
18. We work at continuously improving our performance
Effective teams recognize there are many improvement opportunities. They are all about
growing better together.
19. Our team achieves (will achieve) its goals and objectives
The bottom-line is always the results. Working well together means very little if the team can’t
deliver.
20. We each feel good about being a part of this team
Results without connection to teammates doesn’t work either. At the end of the day, people
are glad they are a member of this team.
Team: Definition, Characteristics, Types and Ingredients of Effective Team
What is Team?
A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual
commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the
performance of its individual members.
One of the many ways for a business to organize employees is in teams. A team is made up of
two or more people who work together to achieve a common goal.
Teams offer an alternative to a vertical chain-of-command and are a much more inclusive
approach to business organization, Teams are becoming more common in the business world
today. Effective teams can lead to an increase in employee motivation and business
productivity.
The team can be defined by following ways too:
A group of people who compete in a sport, game, etc., against another group.
A group of people who work together.
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A group of two or more animals used to pull a wagon, cart, etc.
A number of persons forming one of the sides in a game or contest.
A number of persons associated in some joint action: a team of experts.
Characteristics of Effective Teams
While no team exists without problems, some teams particularly those who have learned to
counter negative team dynamics seem to be especially good at preventing many issues.
We have put together a list of what may be considered as the most essential ingredients for
creating effective teams:
Ideal Size and Membership.
Fairness in Decision-Making.
Creativity.
Accountability.
Purpose and Goals.
Action Plans.
Roles & Responsibilities.
Information Sharing.
Good Data.
Meeting Skills and Practices.
Decision Making.
Participation.
Ground Rules.
Clear Roles.
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Accepted Leadership.
Effective Processes.
Solid Relationships.
Excellent Communication.
Ideal Size and Membership
The team should be the minimum size needed to achieve the team’s goals and include
members with the right mix of skills and talents to get the job done.
Fairness in Decision-Making
Ideally, teams will make decisions by consensus. When consensus is not feasible, teams will use
fair decision-making procedures that everyone agrees on.
Creativity
Effective teams value original thinking and will produce new and unique approaches to
organizational problems.
Accountability
Members must be accountable to each other for getting their work done on schedule and
following the group’s rules and procedures.
Purpose and Goals
Every team member must clearly understand the purpose and goals for bringing this particular
group of individuals together.
Action Plans
Help the team determine what advice, assistance, training, materials, and other resources it
may be needed.
Roles & Responsibilities
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Teams operate most efficiently if they tap everyone’s talents. All members understand their
own duties and know who is responsible for what.
Information Sharing
Effective discussions depend upon how well information is passed between team members –
hoarding information cannot be tolerated. A proliferation of new technologies has made this
easier than it has ever been.
Good Data
With information sharing comes the requirement for good data. Teams that use good data for
problem-solving and decision making have a much easier time arriving at permanent solutions
to problems.
Meeting Skills and Practices
All team members must commit to a common method for conducting meetings. There is no
‘best’ method, but everyone must be on the same page.
Decision Making
This is really a subset of the ‘Skills & Practices’. There is no ‘one way’ to reach a decision, but it
must be a recognized path and transparent to all team members.
Participation
Since every team member has a stake In the group’s achievements, everyone should participate
in discussions and decisions, share a commitment to the team’s success, and contribute their
talents.
Ground Rules
Groups invariably establish ground rules (or “norms”) for what will and will not be tolerated
within the group. Many members will want to skip the laying of ground rules, but in the long
run investment up front will head off major issues down the road.
Clear Roles
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How we apportion the team purpose will in large measure determine the- team synergy. High-
performing teams leverage individuals’ different roles against collective work products.
Therefore, it is essential that every team member is clear about his or her own role as well as
the role of every other team member. Roles are about the design, division, and deployment of
the work of the team.
While the concept is compellingly logical, many teams find it challenging to implement. There is
often a tendency to take role definition to extremes or not to take it far enough.
Accepted Leadership
High-performance teams need competent leadership. When such leadership is lacking, groups
can quickly lose their way. Whereas a common, compelling task might be the biggest
contributor to team effectiveness, inadequate team leadership is often the single biggest
reason for team ineffectiveness.
In most organizational settings, it is the leader who frames the team purpose and facilitates
discussions on its meaning and nature. The vision, commitment, and communication of the
leader govern the optics through which individual team members see the team purpose and
become aligned to it.
Effective Processes
Teams and processes go together. It would never occur to a surgical team, construction crew,
string quartet, or film crew to approach tasks without clearly defined processes. The playbook
of a football team or the score sheet of a string quartet clearly outlines the necessary
processes.
Business teams have processes as well, which might include solving problems, making
decisions, managing a meeting, or designing a product.
Solid Relationships
One of the biggest misperceptions in the world of teams and teamwork is the belief that to
work and communicate effectively, team members must be friends.
In fact, the diversity of skills, experience, and knowledge needed to divide tasks effectively
almost precludes high levels of friendship, which is most often based on commonality — of the
way people think, their interests, or beliefs.
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Excellent Communication
Communication is the very means of cooperation. One of the primary motives of companies
choosing to implement teams is that team-based organizations are more responsive and move
faster. A team cannot move faster than it communicates.
Fast, clear, timely, accurate communication is a hallmark of high levels of team performance.
High-performance teams have mastered the art of straight talk; there is little motion wasted
through misunderstanding or confusion.
Types of Team
There are various types of teams and their functions and objectives are also different. The types
of teams are discussed are below:
Executive Team,
Command Team,
Project Teams,
Advisory Teams,
Work Teams,
Action Teams,
Sports Teams,
Virtual Teams,
Work Teams,
Self-Managed Team,
Parallel Teams,
Management Teams,
Managed Team.
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Executive Team
An executive team is a management team that draws up plans for activities and then directs
these activities.
An example of an executive team would be a construction team designing. blueprints for a new
building, and then guiding the construction of the building using these blueprints.
Command Team
The goal of the command team is to combine instructions and coordinate action among
management. In other words, command teams serve as the “middle man” in the task.
For instance, messengers on a construction site, conveying instructions from the executive
team to the builders would be an example Of a command team.
Project Teams
A team used only for a defined period of time and for a separate, Concretely definable purpose
often becomes known as a project team. This category of teams includes negotiation,
compassion and design team subtypes.
In general, these types of teams are multi-talented and composed of individuals with expertise
in many different areas. Members of these teams might belong to different groups, but receive
an assignment to activities for the same project.
Advisory Teams
Advisory teams make suggestions about a final product. For instance, a quality control group on
an assembly line would be an example of an advisory team. They would examine the products
produced and make suggestions about how to improve the quality of the items being made.
Work Teams
Work teams are responsible for the actual act of creating tangible products and services. The
actual workers on an assembly line would be an example of a production team, whereas
waiters and waitresses at a diner would be an example of a service team.
Action Teams
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Action teams are highly specialized and coordinated teams whose actions are intensely focused
on producing a product or service. A football team would be an example of an action team.
Other examples occur in the military, paramedics, and transportation (e g., a flight crew on an
airplane).
Sports Teams
A sports team is a group of people which play sports, often team sports together. Members
include all players (even those who are waiting their turn to play) as well as support members
such as a team manager or coach.
Virtual Teams
Developments in information and communications technology have seen the difference of the
virtual work team.
A virtual team is a group of people who work interdependently and with shared purpose across
space, time, and organizational boundaries using technology to communicate and collaborate.
Virtual team members can be located across a country or across the world, rarely meet face-to-
face, and include members from different cultures.
Work Teams
Work teams (also referred to as production and service teams) are continuing work units
responsible for producing goods or providing services for the organization. Their membership is
typically stable, usually full-time, and well-defined. These teams are traditionally directed by a
supervisor who mandates what work is done, who does it, and in what manner is it executed.
Self-Managed Team
Self-managed work teams (also referred to as autonomous work groups) allow their members
to make a greater contribution at work and constitute a significant competitive advantage for
the organization.
These work teams determine how they will accomplish the objectives they are mandated to
achieve and decide what route they will take to complete the current assignment.
Self-managed work teams are granted the responsibility of planning scheduling, organizing,
directing, controlling and evaluating their own work process.
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Parallel Teams
Parallel teams (also referred to as advice and involvement teams) pull together people from
different work units or jobs to perform functions that the regular organization is not equipped
to perform well.
These teams are given limited authority and can only make recommendations to individuals
higher in the organizational hierarchy.
Management Teams
Management teams (also referred to as action and negotiation teams) are responsible for the
coordination and direction of a division within an institution or organization during various
assigned projects and functional, operational and/or strategic tasks and initiatives.
Management teams are responsible for the total performance of the division they oversee with
regards to day-to-day operations, a delegation of tasks and the supervision of employees.
Managed Team
Managed groups sometimes also work together as a team on a single, focused objective or task.
In such groups, people may come from diverse background, with each bringing a specialized
skill to the team.
Differences between Groups and Teams
Groups Teams
Individual accountability.
Individual and mutual accountability.
Come together to share information
and perspectives.
Frequently come together for discussion,
decision making, problem-solving, and planning.
Focus on individual goals. Focus on team goals.
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Produce individual work products. Produce collective work products.
Define individual roles, responsibilities,
and tasks.
Define individual roles, responsibilities, and
tasks to help the team do its work; often share
and rotate them.
Concerned with one’s own outcome
and challenges.
Concerned with the outcomes of everyone and
challenges the team faces.
Purpose, goals, approach to work
shaped by the manager.
Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by the
team leader with team members.
The leader dominates and controls the
group.
The leader acts as a facilitator.
The leader is apparent and will conduct
the meeting.
The members have active participation in the
discussions and eventual outcome.
The leader usually assigns work to the
members.
The team members decide on the
disbursements of work assignments.
Groups do not need to focus on specific
outcomes or a common purpose.
Teams require the coordination of tasks and
activities to achieve a shared aim.
Individuals in a group can be entirely
disconnected from one another and not
rely upon the fellow members at all.
Team members are interdependent since they
bring to bear a set of resources to produce a
common outcome.
Groups are generally much more
informal; roles do not need to be
assigned and norms of behavior do not
need to develop.
Team members’ individual roles and duties are
specified and their ways of working together are
defined.
A group of people with a full set Of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or
project.
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Team members operate with a high degree of interdependence, share authority and
responsibility for self-management, are accountable for the collective performance, and work
toward a common goal and shared rewards(s).
Ingredients of Effective Team, What Makes a Team Effective
Many studies have been conducted in an attempt to isolate the factors that contribute most
directly to team success. Common items identified include careful composition, information
sharing, clear direction and measurable goals for accountability, sufficient resources,
integration and coordination, flexibility and innovativeness, and the stimulation of openness to
learning.
Here focus on 4 major factors of an effective team:
1. Supportive Environment.
2. Skills and Role Clarity.
3. Super Ordinate Goals.
4. Team Rewards.
Supportive Environment
Teamwork is most likely to develop when management builds a supportive environment for it.
Creating such an environment involves encouraging members to think like a team, providing
adequate time for meetings, and demonstrating faith in members’ capacity to achieve.
Supportive measures such as these help the group take the necessary first steps toward
teamwork. Since these steps contribute to further cooperation, trust, and compatibility,
supervisors need to develop an organizational culture that builds these conditions.
Skills and Role Clarity
Team members must be reasonably qualified to perform their jobs and have the desire to
cooperate.
Beyond these requirements, members can work together as a team only after all the members
of the group know the roles of all the others with whom they will be interacting.
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When this understanding exists, members can act immediately as a team on the basis of the
requirements of that situation, without waiting for someone to give an order.
In other words, team members respond voluntarily to the demands of the job and take
appropriate actions to accomplish team goals.
Super Ordinate Goals
A major responsibility of managers is to try to keep the team members oriented toward their
overall task. Sometimes, unfortunately, an organization’s policies, record-keeping
requirements, and reward systems may fragment individual efforts and discourage teamwork.
Team Rewards
Another element that can stimulate teamwork is the presence of team rewards. These may be
financial, or they may be in the form of recognition. Rewards are most powerful if they are
valued by the team members, perceived as possible to earn, and administered contingent on
the group’s task performance.
In addition, organizations need to achieve a careful balance between encouraging and
rewarding individual initiative and growth and stimulating full contributions to team success.
Innovative (nonfinancial) team rewards for possible behavior may include the authority to
select new members of the group, make recommendations regarding a new supervisor, or
propose discipline for team members.
Difference Between Group and Team
Nowadays, group or team concept is adopted by the organization, to accomplish various client
projects. When two or more individuals are classed together either by the organization or out
of social needs, it is known as a group. On the other hand, a team is the collection of people,
who are linked together to achieve a common objective.
BASISFOR
COMPARISON GROUP TEAM
Meaning A collection of individuals who
work together in completing a
A group of persons having collective
identity joined together, to
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BASISFOR
COMPARISON GROUP TEAM
task. accomplish a goal.
Leadership Only one leader More than one
Members Independent Interdependent
Process Discuss, Decide and Delegate. Discuss, Decide and Do.
Work Products Individual Collective
Focus on Accomplishing individual
goals.
Accomplishing team goals.
Accountability Individually Either individually or mutually
Team Advantages & Disadvantages
The advantages and disadvantages of teams also need to be considered before deciding to
transition to teams. The following table of team advantages and disadvantages is an adaptation
of work by Medsker and Campion (1992).* This list can also be used by existing teams to self-
evaluate their efficacy.
TEAM ADVANTAGES
TEAM DISADVANTAGES
Team members have the opportunity
to learn from each other.
Some individuals are not compatible
with team work.
Potential exists for greater work force Workers must be selected to fit the
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flexibility with cross-training. team as well as requisite job skills.
Opportunity provided for synergistic
combinations of ideas and abilities.
Some members may experience less
motivating jobs as part of a team.
New approaches to tasks may be
discovered. Organization may resist change.
Teams membership can provide social
facilitation and support for difficult
tasks and situations.
Conflict may develop between team
members or other teams.
Communication and information
exchange may be facilitated and
increased.
Teams may be time-consuming due to
need for coordination and consensus.
Teams can foster greater cooperation
among team members.
Teams can stymie creativity and inhibit
good decision-making if "group think"
becomes prevalent.
Interdependent work flow can be
enhanced.
Evaluation and rewards may be
perceived as less powerful;
Potential exists for greater acceptance
and understanding of team-made
decisions.
"Free-riding" within the team may
occur.
Greater autonomy, variety, identity,
significance, and feedback for workers
can occur.
Less flexibility may be experienced in
personnel replacement or transfer.
Team commitment may stimulate
performance and attendance.
TEAM SUCCESS
To have a great team, there is no surefire recipe for success. A combination of solid leadership,
communication, and access to good resources contribute to productive collaboration, but it all
comes down to having people who understand each other and work well together.
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The five functions are trust, conflict management, commitment, accountability and focusing on
results. To have a functioning team, one thing is a must and that is Trust. Trust is the
foundation of a good team. To establish an effective team – there are four essential elements:
Goals, Roles, Interpersonal Relationships and Processes.
TEAM BUILDING
The purpose of team building activities is to motivate your people to work together, to develop
their strengths, and to address any weaknesses. So, any team building exercise should
encourage collaboration rather than competition. Be sure to incorporate team building into
your workplace routines and practices. Team building is the process of turning a group of
individual contributing employees into a cohesive team.
A team is a group of people organized to work together interdependently and cooperatively to
meet the needs of their customers by accomplishing their purpose and goals.
There are four main types of team building activities, which includes: Communication activities,
problem solving and/or decision making activities, adaptability and/or planning activities, and
activities that focus on building trust.
Research has shown that teams go through definitive stages during development. Bruce
Tuckman, an educational psychologist, identified a five-stage development process that most
teams follow to become high performing. He called the
Stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning.
7 tips for successful team-building activities
Here are seven tips to help you make your next team-building endeavor a successful one:
1. Schedule the activity during work hours
No matter how much they may love their job, nobody wants to put in extra time on evenings or
weekends to attend a mandatory work event. If you can, schedule the activity during the
workday – even an hour or two on a Friday is better than spending the weekend at the office. If
you must, host the activity over lunch or breakfast, but be sure to provide food! Check vacation
schedules, too. You won’t want your big team activity to happen on a day when half the office
is on vacation.
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2. Consider volunteer work
Is there a way your team can volunteer their time to work on a project that benefits the
community or a local charity? People tend to feel good about spending their time doing
something to help others, so a volunteer project is a great way to get everyone involved and
feeling positive about the activity. Perhaps they could plan, prepare, and serve a meal for a
local shelter or soup kitchen or organize and execute a clothing drive or a public youth event.
3. Encourage collaboration, not competition
If there’s a contest element, some employees will become so focused on ‘winning’ that they
may fail to learn anything from the experience. Instead, choose an activity that encourages your
staff to work together to solve a problem.
4. Make it accessible for everyone
Sure, some people would love to play softball or run a relay race as a form of team building, but
keep in mind that not everyone on your staff may be up for that challenge – and those that
aren’t will feel left out, which is the opposite of what you want to accomplish. It’s important to
consider physical conditions or health sensitivities and make sure you choose an activity that’s
appropriate for everyone. That said, physical activity has a myriad of health and social benefits,
so if your employees are up for it, by all means plan a group hike, yoga class, or trip to a local
rock-climbing facility.
5. Go offsite
Sometimes, just getting outside of the four walls of an office helps people interact with one
another more freely. Even if you’re doing a team-building session that could easily take place in
your company boardroom, book a meeting space offsite anyway to give the impression that this
is not “regular” work.
6. Set clear expectations
Staff should know exactly what the intent of the team building activity is (other than getting out
of work for a few hours!) Are you trying to develop a new company mission statement? Are you
hoping to come up with more efficient processes, or do you want to do a better job of
integrating new hires with the rest of the team? You don’t need to give away all your secrets
about the event but employees may be more on board if they know why the activity is taking
place.
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7. Gather feedback
Within a couple of days of the event, reach out to all participants to thank them for their time
and ask them to provide constructive feedback about the event. This feedback can be really
useful when it’s time to plan your next group event.
Types of Team Building Skills
Communication
If you are helping to unite a team, you need to have strong communication skills. Using both
written and verbal communication skills, you will have to explain company goals, delegate
tasks, resolve conflicts between members, and more. It is important that you are able to clearly
express ideas in ways that others can understand.
In order to problem solve and make sure every team member feels heard, you will also have
to listen. You will need to understand the concerns of every member so that they each feel that
they are being considered and appreciated.
Clarity
Specificity
Facilitating Group Discussion
Interpersonal
Active Listening
Reading Body Language (Nonverbal Communication)
Written Communication
Verbal Communication
Problem Solving
When team building, you will need to solve problems. These might include issues related to the
group’s goals. However, these might also include interpersonal problems between group
members.
A team builder must help to resolve both. He or she needs to be a mediator who can listen to
two sides of a problem and help everyone come to an agreement. The goal of a team builder is
to solve problems in a way that helps the team achieve its goals and keeps its members working
well together.
Brainstorming
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Achieving Consensus
Conflict Resolution
Mediation
Negotiation
Problem Sensitivity
Analytical Skills
Flexibility
Leadership
Being a team builder often requires assuming a leadership role for a team. You need to make
decisions when there is conflict, establish group goals, and confront team members that are not
producing their best. All of this requires leadership and management.
Aligning Team Goals with Company Goals
Decision Making
Establishing Standard Operating Procedure
Hiring
Management
Firing
Talent Management
Consistency
Integrity
Teamwork
While being a good leader is important in team building, so is being a good team player. You
can help build a strong team by showing the team what it means to work well in a group.
You will need to collaborate and cooperate with team members, listen to their ideas, and be
open to taking and applying their feedback.
Ability to Follow Instructions
Adaptability
Collaboration
Cooperation
Reliability
Responding to Constructive Criticism
Proactivity
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Motivation
A team builder gets other team members excited about setting and achieving project goals. This
kind of motivational energy can take many forms. Perhaps you come to work every day with a
positive attitude, or maybe you encourage your other teammates with positive feedback.
Another way to motivate team members is to provide incentives. These might range from
bonuses and other financial rewards to extra days of fun group activities. A team builder can
think of creative ways to inspire the team to do its best.
Mentoring New Leaders
Developing Relationships
Encouragement
Persuasive
Recognizing and Rewarding Group Achievements
Delegation
A good team builder knows he or she cannot complete group tasks alone. Team builders clearly
and concisely lay out each team member’s responsibilities. This way, everyone is responsible
for a piece of the group goal.
Good delegation leads to project efficiency, and it can help a group achieve a goal on time or
even ahead of schedule.
Assign Roles
Defining Objectives
Scheduling
Setting and Managing Expectations
Time Management
Project Management
More Team Building Skills
Positive Reinforcement
Negative Reinforcement
Human Resources
Customer Service
Assessing Group Progress
Coaching
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Identifying the Strengths and Weaknesses of Team Members
Training
Creativity
Creating Mission Statements
Creating Milestones
Coordinating
Evaluating
Goal Oriented
Resilience
Innovation
Empathy
Imagination
Passionate About Diversity
Interviewing
Integration
Versatility
Concision
Confidence
Process Management
Ongoing Improvement
Presentation
Benefits of Communication
Teams that communicate complete projects in a quicker and more efficient amount of
time than others. They also are more accurate in their work than others.
Effective communication also allows team members to understand their roles and the
roles of everyone else on the team.
Good team communication skills are not simply about assigning tasks or troubleshooting
problems. Communication is also about creating a culture of celebration in the
workplace. Teammates and team leaders who notice achievements of their peers and
employees take the time to communicate and celebrate together.
Good teams don't happen by accident: strong leadership, adaptability, a diverse make,
effective communication and skilled conflict management are usually involved in
creating successful teams.
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Ways to Create Effective Communication in the Workplace
1. Open Meeting
It is easier to communicate your passion and how you feel to your team via open meetings. In
this kind of forum, they will not only hear what you are saying, they will also see and feel it. This
approach still remains one of the best approaches to communicate effectively with a team.
2. Emails
In official settings, communication via email remains potent. It will enable you to pass messages
to members of your team without pulling them out of their workstations.
3. One on One
Experts have been able to prove that some people understand better when you take them
aside and talk to them on a one-on-one basis. Ensure that you maintain eye contact with them
to enable the message to sink in.
4. Create a Receptive Atmosphere
To effectively communicate with your team, you must create a receptive atmosphere. Avoid a
tense environment at all costs because when you communicate in an overly intense manner,
the message you are trying to share might not be well understood or retained.
5. Communication via Training
Your training should be tailored towards communicating certain information to your team
members. Most employees take training serious, especially when it’s part of their appraisal.
6. Display Confidence and Seriousness
Ensure that you display confidence and seriousness to ensure that you will not be taken for
granted. When your team members notice any uncertainty and lack of seriousness when you’re
communicating with them, they are likely to treat the information with disdain or disregard.
7. Use Simple Words
The truth is that everybody cannot be on same page when it comes to vocabulary. Therefore, to
be effective in your communications with your team members, use words that can be easily
understood. When ambiguous words are used, you can be misunderstood and/or waste
precious time having to explain yourself.
8. Use Visuals
Place visuals at strategic positions around the workstations of your team. They should not just
hear the message, they should also see it. This gives room for better comprehension.
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9. Listen to Your Team Members
Communication is intended to be a two way street. Don’t just talk because you are the leader
without listening to anyone else. Encourage them to open up so you can be well guided when
communicating in the future with them. You have two ears and one mouth –so you must listen
more than you speak.
10. Use Body Language
Your body language will pass your message faster and better. Master the art of using body
language when communicating with your team. Stand/sit up straight, use smiles, handshakes
and eye contact.
11. Act Out Your Message
Someone once said, “Tell me what you want me to do and I might forget it, but do it in front of
me and I will never forget it.” Acting out your message is a very potent way of communicating
with your team. Let them see you do what you want them to do, and watch their excuses
disappear.
12. Use The Appropriate Tone of Voice
One word can mean a different thing when said in a different tone of voice. Make sure you use
the appropriate tone of voice to communicate your message to your team so that you won’t be
misunderstood and discourage or demotivate members or cause them to shut down
completely out of fear.
13. Avoid Unnecessary Repetition
If you want your team members to take you serious, never sound like a broken record and
don’t beat a dead horse. Tell your team members what you want them to know or do and ask
them if they are clear about it. If they are not, only then do you repeat what you have said.
14. Use Presentations
Some people grasp messages easily when pictures and sounds are involved. Using
presentations like Microsoft PowerPoint to communicate with your team will give them the
opportunity to refer back to it if they aren’t clear about certain things.
15. Be Humorous
Using friendly jokes when communicating with your team members will help pass your message
along in a more relaxed way. This method of communication has been proven to be a highly
effective way of dousing tension. When the atmosphere is unfriendly and intense, being
humorous does the trick. If you must use jokes, please don’t overdo it. Remember, you are not
a stand-up comedian.
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16. Be Articulate
Communication is indeed a skill that must be learned by all, especially if you want to lead any
group of people. Being articulate when you communicate to your team members makes it
easier for them to understand your message.
17. Avoid Mumbling
Your team members should be able to hear you clearly. When communicating with them, try as
much as possible to speak clearly and not mumble words. When you mumble words or speak
too quickly, you may assume that they are clear on the subject. But the truth is, they might not
be. It also shows a lack of confidence on your part.
18. Encourage Feedback
Don’t just talk and walk away. Give room for feedback so that you can measure the
effectiveness of your style of communication. It will also afford you the privilege of knowing if
your message was well understood.
19. Gesticulate
Use your hands to demonstrate your message. Make hand motions and signals to establish the
seriousness of your subject matter when communicating with your team members. This shows
that you understand what you are trying to relay to them. Just don’t let your body movement
become too exaggerated and intense.
20. Be Appreciative
After every communication session, via whatever means you have decided, always remember
to thank your listeners for their time. It will cost you nothing and it’s a simple courtesy.
Remember that the point of working as a team is to share ideas and boost productivity. When
effective communication in the workplace is hampered, it can sidetrack the entire effort.
You must work hard at these communication tactics and create ground rules to keep everyone
up to date, which helps avoid confusion and ensure the completion of the project with ease.
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The Seven Barriers to Great Communications
Many people think that communicating is easy.
It is, after all, something we've done all our lives.There is some truth in this simplistic view.
Communicating is straightforward. What makes it complex, difficult, and frustrating are the
barriers we put in the way. When communication doesn’t happen, conflict often does.
Transform the Way You Communicate Quickly and Easily!
Barriers to Effective Communication
1. Physical Barriers
Physical barriers in the workplace include:
Marked out territories, empires and fiefdoms into which strangers are not allowed
Closed office doors, barrier screens, and separate areas for people of different
status
Large working areas or working in one unit that is physically separate from others
Research shows that one of the most important factors in building cohesive teams is
proximity.
As long as people still have a personal space that they can call their own, being close to
others aids communication because it helps people get to know one another.
Communicate Better and more Effectively in Just Two Days!
2. Perceptual Barriers
It can be hard to work out how to improve your communication skills.The problem with
communicating with others is that we all see the world differently.If we didn't, we would
have no need to communicate: something like extrasensory perception would take its
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place.The following anecdote is a reminder of how our thoughts, assumptions and
perceptions shape our own realities.
A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man from the next town.
"Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town tonight. Can you tell me what the
townspeople are like?"
"Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in the last town you visited?"
"Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took me for a fool. Over-charged me
for what I got. Gave me very poor service."
"Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty much the same there."
3. Emotional Barriers
One of the chief barriers to open and free communications is emotional.
The emotional barrier is comprised mainly of fear, mistrust and suspicion.
The roots of our emotional mistrust of others lie in our childhood and infancy when we were
taught to be careful about what we said to others.
"Mind your P's and Q's."
"Don't speak until you're spoken to."
"Children should be seen and not heard."
As a result, many people hold back from communicating their thoughts and feelings to
others.
They feel vulnerable.
While some caution may be wise, excessive fear of what others might think stunts our
development as effective communicators and our ability to form meaningful relationships.
4. Cultural Barriers
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When we join a group and wish to remain in it, sooner or later we will need to adopt the
behaviour patterns of the group.
These are the behaviours that the group accept as signs of belonging.
The group rewards such behaviour through acts of recognition, approval and inclusion.
In groups that are happy to accept you, and where you are happy to conform, there is a
mutuality of interest and a high level of win-win contact.
Where there are barriers to your membership of a group, game-playing replaces good
communication.
5. Language Barriers
Our language may present barriers to others who are not familiar with our expressions,
buzz-words and jargon.
When we couch our communication in such language, it excludes others.
Understanding this is key to developing good public speaking skills and report writing skills.
In a global marketplace, the greatest compliment we can pay another person is to talk to
them in their own language.
One of the more chilling memories of the Cold War was the threat by the Soviet leader Nikita
Khrushchev who said to the Americans at the United Nations:
"We will bury you!"
This was taken to mean a threat of nuclear annihilation.
However, a more accurate reading of Khruschev's words would have been:
"We will overtake you!"
By this, he meant economic superiority. It was not just the language used that was the
problem.
The fear and suspicion that the West had of the Soviet Union led to the more alarmist and
sinister interpretation.
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6. Gender Barriers
There are distinct differences between the speech patterns of men and women.
A woman speaks between 22,000 and 25,000 words a day whereas a man speaks between
7,000 and 10,000.
In childhood, girls speak earlier than boys and at the age of three, have a vocabulary twice
that of boys.
The reason for this lies in the wiring of a man's and woman's brains. When a man speaks, he
uses the left side of his brain but not a specific area of it. When a woman speaks, she uses
both left and right sides, in two specific locations. This means that men speak in a linear,
logical and compartmentalised way, demonstrating left-brain thinking.Women speak more
freely, mixing logic and emotion, using f both sides of the brain. This also explains why
women talk for much longer than men each day.
7. Interpersonal Barriers
There are six ways in which people can distance themselves from one another:
1. Withdrawal
Withdrawal is an absence of interpersonal contact. It is both refusal to be in touch and
time alone.
2. Rituals
Rituals are meaningless, repetitive routines devoid of real contact.
3. Pastimes
Pastimes fill up time with others in social but superficial activities.
4. Working
Work activities follow the rules and procedures of contact but no more than that.
5. Games
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Games are subtle, manipulative interactions which are about winning and losing. They
include "rackets" and "stamps".
6. Closeness
The purpose of interpersonal contact is closeness.
Good interpersonal contact promotes honesty and acceptance.
Improving Your Communication
Working on improving your communications is a broad-brush activity.
You have to change your thoughts, feelings and physical connections.
By doing this, you can break down the barriers that get in your way and start building
relationships that really work.
Team communication can make or break a work environment. It can propel a team forward
or prevent it from reaching goals. Good communication in group projects leads to an almost
unbeatable synergy that makes accomplishing goals and meeting projections nearly
seamless. When the teams in your company are doing well, your bottom line and long-term
success will reflect that.
Understanding Team Communication
The interactions that the individuals on a team share with one another are referred to as
team communication. This includes things like emails and conversations but also things like
body language and nonverbal sounds. With different ways of communication come different
results, so strengthening team communication is imperative to the success and thriving of just
about any company.
Even when someone is working independently, they typically need to communicate with
others in order to achieve their goals. Whether it be with their boss, a colleague in another
department or a client, excellent communication skills help ensure their success. This is even
truer when it comes to communication in group projects, where people are collaborating
more than working independently. One person could be in charge of running the numbers
while another creates graphics, someone else communicates with clients and yet another
person prepares a presentation for upper management.
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Proper communication skills can help solve these common problems when it comes to
teamwork. Assertiveness skills make it easier for overworked team members to communicate
their stress and ask for help with parts of the project. Checklists or workflow applications help
team members with a visual reminder of what needs to be completed in order to turn in
completed work.
Focusing on Team Communication
An intentional focus on team communication in your organization can make it easier to reach
or exceed your projections. When everyone is focused on what they do best and most
efficiently without distraction, less time is wasted and work quality goes up. While many
managers recognize this, team communication rarely improves without an intentional focus
on it.
There are multiple ways to organize your efforts to improve communication in your
organization, but the underlying principle is that good communication is based on healthy
relationships, so the focus needs to begin there. You can model healthy relationships with
your teams, create opportunities for them to gather over lunch and be intentional about
spending time with key leaders in your organization. Then, encourage them to take the same
approach with those they supervise so that the focus on cultivating strong relationships gets
handed down through the entire organization.
Interacting With Team Members
Once relationships within your organization are strengthened at the human level, it's easier
to enhance communication on work projects. Because work can sometimes be stressful,
identifying some ground rules for interacting with team members is essential for success.
Consider the culture you want to foster around work, whether it be peace, appreciation, care
or even fun. Then, craft some solid communication ground rules that can be used going
forward. Good ideas could include:
We communicate clearly.
We include all the important communication.
We value open and honest dialogue.
We use "I" statements whenever possible.
We remain calm and affirm our teammates.
We offer and receive constructive feedback with gratitude.
We are kind in our interactions, even under stress.
We know when to take time to cool down or think, and we act on that.
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We value growth above perfection.
We assume people want the best outcome and communicate accordingly.
We take turns speaking and listen actively.
We ask for help when we need it.
Types of Communication
In order to have a well-rounded focus on communication, it's important to understand that
communication is about more than our words. We do communicate verbally, but we also
communicate nonverbally, with sounds and even with our personal space. In order for
communication to be healthy and effective on a team, these different forms of
communication must all be saying the same thing.
For instance, imagine someone saying to you with a smile, sweet tone and open hands, "I
value your work." Now, imagine the same person with furrowed brows and crossed arms
yelling across the room, "I value your work!" It's the same words and the same person, yet
the interactions have very different meanings and would likely elicit opposite emotional
reactions from you. For best results, encourage your team leaders and team members to
make sure their words, body language and other forms of communication mirror the same
message and emotions.
Improving Verbal Communication Skills
Any good focus on communication usually begins with verbal communication because this is
what most people think of first when they think about communication skills. To improve
verbal communication skills on your team, encourage friendliness, even under stressful
circumstances like an impending deadline. Encourage people to practice eye contact, think
before speaking and listen before thinking of what to say next.
In the workplace, you likely have many different personality types and communication styles
represented on your teams, so verbal modeling can also be helpful. In verbal modeling, you
match your volume and tone to the person you're communicating with. If Joe from marketing
is soft-spoken and takes time to pause before speaking, model the same patterns in your
communications with him.
Likewise, if Shirley from the legal department is bubbly and loud, it's probably OK to joke
around and laugh a bit in your communications with her. Verbal modeling will help both Joe
and Shirley feel more comfortable communicating with you as you work together.
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Nonverbal Communication Skills
Your focus on communication is incomplete unless you also include an awareness of
nonverbal communication between you and other team members. If you want to get your
team in gear to meet a goal without creating hostility or fear, your nonverbal communication
skills are what could make or break this aim. Here are some things you might want to pay
attention to:
Eye Gaze: Maintaining soft eye contact conveys interest, while a hard stare can look
threatening and avoiding eye contact looks fearful or uninterested.
Body Language: Posture communicates just as much or more than words about what
we're saying. Sitting or standing straight with relaxed arms communicates interest, while
crossing arms can look angry and slouching can seem disengaged or unsure.
Personal Space: Be aware of people's needs for boundaries as you communicate.
Most people are most comfortable having a conversation a couple of feet away. If you get too
close, it can feel uncomfortable or threatening. If you're too far away, it's hard to form a
connection.
Nonverbal Sounds: Watch your nonverbal sounds as you communicate with others. Be
sure affirming "mmmhmmm" sounds aren't interrupting the other person. When you
disagree, watch to make sure you're not grunting or letting out heavy sighs.
Facial Expressions: The way we move our faces conveys a lot to others about how we
feel. If you need to have a difficult conversation, try saying what you need to say in the mirror
first so that you can correct any furrowed brows or smirks before you get to the actual
conversation. Likewise, when you care, let your face reflect that with a kind smile and happy
eyes.
Gestures: Pointing, waving, holding up fingers and using your hands while you talk
communicates a great deal about your feelings and intentions. For instance, pointing can feel
threatening when you are angry yet feel really good when you're happy and choosing
someone for a special assignment.
Effective Written Communication
In an increasingly technology driven workplace, written communication is becoming more
and more common. From emails to instant messages to texts and workflow app posts, many
employees spend much of their time communicating with coworkers and clients in written
form.
Without the use of body language, eye contact and intonation, choosing your words wisely in
writing is especially important. Using fewer words but carefully choosing them is more
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effective that ambushing your colleague with a 2,000-word email overloaded with details. In
addition, if your workplace allows it, consider adding emoticons into things like texts and
short messages, as it helps to make up for the lack of body language.
Team Success
Introduction
Organisations are much more likely to perform well when their people work
effectively as a team. This is because good teamwork creates synergy – where the combined
effect of the team is greater than the sum of individual efforts.
As well as enhancing organisations' performance good teamwork benefits individuals too.
The 6 Conditions for Team Success
Organizations no longer need to put teams together and hope for the best while expecting the
worst. While no business executive can personally make a team great, smart leaders can put in
place the underlying conditions that increase the chances for team success. We know exactly
what these conditions are.
1. A Real Work Team
A real work team requires four basic elements:
a task
clear boundaries
specified authority to manage its internal processes
membership stability.
When people work side-by-side, but their work doesn’t depend upon each other, they are not a
real team (even if they share a manager). Teams must work together, interacting with each
other to achieve a common task for which they are collectively accountable.
Clear boundaries must be established, enabling team members to know what their roles are
(and are not). The team also needs sufficient authority to discuss and decide how it wishes to
manage its collective workload. Finally, teams need continuity in their makeup to develop any
sort of team dynamic. Changing the team leadership or membership constantly will disrupt any
sense of ongoing team cohesion.
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2. A Compelling Team Direction
When you begin any journey, it’s of course essential to have a clear destination in mind. Saying
you’re going to visit “somewhere in Asia or Europe” raises more questions than it answers.
Defining your destination helps you get there.
[ EXAMPLE ] Albert Einstein once said that if he had an hour to save the world, he’d spend the
first 55 minutes defining the problem, and the last 5 minutes solving it.
The basic idea is the same: begin by defining the end you seek, and then you’ll know “what
success looks like” when you get there.
A clear, compelling direction is the beginning of a map for collective success and enables teams
to make a detailed plan for the journey ahead. Just as importantly, it also gives you a vital tool
to motivate team members.
3. The Right People
Don’t assemble a team of like-thinking individuals who just reinforce each other’s viewpoints
and biases. Teams succeed when members constructively challenge one another, share views
openly, listen with respect and a willingness to learn, and move collectively toward the best
solutions.
Diversity (functional, demographic, and other forms) can add real value to your teams, if
members have an appreciation for the value of the different perspectives each member brings
with them. You want deep thinkers, but also pragmatic “doers.” You want fresh, young eyes
and old hands.
You will, of course, need to select team members who have the skills and experience necessary
to perform the required tasks the team will undertake. You can’t put a drummer in a string
quartet. You should also look for team members who model the behavioral norms that lead to
team success—listening skills, open-mindedness, empathy, and comfort navigating diversity. An
effective team has the requisite “hard” skills to do the job, but also the “soft” skills to build
trust, challenge constructively, and communicate with respect.
4. A Sound Team Structure
As teams get larger, social cohesion and communication structures begin breaking down.
Sometimes, and if all else fails, the best way to improve a large but underperforming team may
be to simply split it in half. [ EXAMPLE ]Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is famous for his “two-pizza
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rule”: he believes the team should be small enough to share two large pizzas for lunch. Teams
sized in the single digits seems to work best.
As author and productivity expert Laura Stack explains the two pizza rule: “Recent studies
suggest smaller teams tend to be more productive than larger ones, and that teams whose
members have more face time and social contact often prove more productive.” So the two-
pizza rule is a sizing tool for teams.
As J. Richard Hackman explains in Leading Teams, what ultimately brings a successful team
together are the group norms it develops. These norms are defined and enforced by collective
behaviors. Acceptable behaviors are reinforced, while unacceptable behaviors are sanctioned
either formally or informally. So, if a team norm holds that members must arrive on time for
meetings and should not interrupt someone who is speaking, then late arrivers and interrupters
will be sanctioned with raised eyebrows, head-shaking, or perhaps other, more formalized
correctives against these “inappropriate” behaviors.
5. A Supportive Organizational Context
Although teams can be cohesive units, they do operate within a larger organizational context.
Hackman likens a team to a tree with many branches, but compares the organization to the soil
in which the tree grows. That soil needs to provide nutrition and space for the tree (multiple
trees, actually) to thrive. Hackman’s “teams as trees” metaphor is particularly appropriate
because it shows that multiple teams (trees) may be competing for the same resources
(nutrition, sunlight) and can crowd each other out. Part of the organizational support needed is
to simply remove barriers and obstacles the team may face, thus opening space for growth.
Recognition by leadership for team achievement is one area where the organization can
“nurture” team effectiveness. In Leading Teams, Hackman emphasizes three other areas where
the organization can positively impact team performance: rewards, information, and
education/training. When these three areas are aligned with team goals, you have a rich soil
that will nurture teams.
6. Team Coaching
Great teams have star players and star coaches too. Think of the perennially winning New
England Patriots football team and Head Coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots have long benefitted
from having great players like quarterback Tom Brady, but coach Bill Belichick consistently
creates the conditions for team success. He’s created a team culture of “do your job,” that
requires team members to focus on the small details that drive success.
Coaching can come from someone inside the team or someone outside the team, and can focus
on any number of areas—motivation, skills, and behavior. Coaches model best practices, and
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communicate the how and the why of best practices. They are crucial supporters of individual
and team development, and key supporters of team behavioral norms. There is an emerging
field of professional “team coaches” who are trained to help assess and improve team
dynamics and performance.
In short, whether it’s done formally or informally, coaching helps the team develop and grow to
its full potential.
What actions and support make a team function successfully?
Commitment to the same cause. Encouragement from within and from outside. Defined roles
so people know what they're doing. Clear goals, so people know what they're trying to achieve.
The team understands the goals.
• Communication is open, honest, and respectful.
• Team members have a strong sense of belonging to the group.
• Team members are viewed as unique people.
• Creativity, innovation, and different viewpoints are expected.
• The team is able to constantly examine itself.
• The team has agreed upon procedures for diagnosing, analyzing, and resolving team work problems.
• Participative leadership is practiced.
• Members of the team make high quality decisions together.
THE IMPORTANCE OF TEAMS
Why do we work in teams and what are the benefits of team working?
Good teamwork is essential for high performance in any business or non profit organisation. Certain features of voluntary organisations and charities make developing teamwork even more
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important. As well as enabling better performance teams can bring other benefits. This is explored in more detail below.
Teamwork and performance
Good teamwork is essential in all organisations. It signifies that:
people are working towards a shared purpose and common goals and
in so doing they are sharing their varied skills in complementary roles and in cooperation with each other.
Organisations are much more likely to perform well when their people work effectively as a team. This is because good teamwork creates synergy – where the combined effect of the team is greater than the sum of individual efforts. Working together a team can apply individual perspectives, experience, and skills to solve complex problems, creating new solutions and ideas that may be beyond the scope of any one individual.
As well as enhancing organisations’ performance good teamwork benefits individuals too. It enables mutual support and learning, and can generate a sense of belonging and commitment.
'Synergy is the highest activity of life; it creates new untapped alternatives; it values and exploits the mental, emotional, and psychological differences between people’. - Stephen Covey
Teamwork in non profit organisations
Arguably good teamwork is even more important in the non profit sector. Voluntary organisations and charities face complex challenges. They:
constantly have to adapt to changes in government policy
have a culture of participation and democratic forms of decision making
need to consider the views of multiple stakeholders and service users
attract trustees, employees and volunteers who often have strong and passionate views
are particularly vulnerable to resource scarcity.
Businesses share some of these features but the combination and degree of these in many voluntary organisations and charities makes the third sector unique.
Many of these third sector features are great strengths. They can also present challenges to working in a unified way as a team. To develop strengths and overcome challenges, it is important to build and maintain good team working. A good starting point is to understand something about different types of teams and what makes an effective team.
Benefits of teamwork in non profit organisations
Thinking about your own experience as a team member, what benefits has teamwork brought for you and the team?
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Benefits vary depending on the purpose and size of the team but may include some of the following. A team can:
apply a mix of skills that go beyond the scope of any one individual
solve complex problems that take more than one mind
generate new ideas
coordinate individual activities towards a common bigger goal
provide support and help to team members
give people a sense of belonging
enhance communication
help people to learn from each other and develop
generate commitment.
Understanding the value of teams and how to develop teamwork becomes an important leadership skill in the third sector.
Google found that there were 5 key team dynamics that set the teams that thrive aside from
those who don’t:
Psychological safety - This revolved around feelings of security and trust within a team.
The level of risk members feel able to take and whether doing so would leave them
feeling insecure or embarrassed. Can we take risks on this team without feeling
insecure or embarrassed?
Dependability - This is pretty self-explanatory. Dependability encompasses a teams
ability to rely on one another, trust that work will be delivered on time and of high
quality.
Structure & Clarity - Structure and clarity refers to how clear teams are on their goals,
the roles and responsibility of each individual and how these are actioned and executed.
Meaning of Work - Teams that succeed are often made up of individuals who are
working on something that feels important on a personal level. The work has meaning
that goes beyond just satisfying the company and the team company and has personal
value to the individual.
Impact of Work - Teams who have a genuine belief in the value of the work they are
investing in and that it matters, again, influences the success of the teams.
Prioritize Trust, It’s Essential - Psychological safety can’t exist without trust. It’s
fundamental. You’re also not going to be able to implement any of the suggestions
below without it. Model trustworthiness within your teams and show gratitude for
when it is shown by others. Trust takes time to build but it’s quick to break. Hold that in
mind always.
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Promote a culture of learning and curiosity - Psychological safety disappears pretty
rapidly among teams when the blame game takes hold and when leaders are penalizing.
When the dynamic of a team is to blame each other, and finger pointing, criticism or
punishment is the response to mistakes people are going to prioritize watching their
own backs. When this happens risk-taking and trust will disappear too and you’re
suddenly in a culture of self-protection, defensiveness, narrow ideas and little creativity.
If you’re able to promote a dynamic where mistakes are learning opportunities, where
problems are a chance to work together to problem-solve and where your team is able
to be curious about these things and the decisions others have made instead of critical
you’re going to positively influence the levels of psychological safety.
Encourage accountability and personal responsibility - This is far easier to promote
when you have a culture of learning and curiosity, mainly because team members won’t
fear criticism or punishment when they own their actions. It’s easy to encourage
accountability and personal responsibility when there is respect and trust among the
team. As always, model respect, curiosity and trust within your team and show that it’s
okay to be accountable and responsible. If anything it’s a great thing as it puts us in the
driving seat.
Demonstrate & Encourage Active Listening - A lot of us think we’re listening when
we’re really not. We’re either listening to talk - waiting for the person speaking to finish
so we can say what we want to - or not fully engaged with what someone is saying.
Active listening asks you to concentrate when team members are talking, try to
understand what they’re saying and then respond in a way that shows that you have
heard them. Feeling heard is extremely powerful and teams that feel heard by one
another are far more likely to feel safe enough to engage.
Focus On Delivering Projects & Team Work As Productively As Possible, Not As Quickly
- Sometimes things have to be completed quickly. When that is the case this suggestion
doesn’t have a place. However, if time isn’t of the essence try and put your focus on
delivering teamwork with productivity at its core. Get clear about the shape of the work,
look for opportunities to make the most of the project - this may be by supporting the
growth, learning and development of team members - and think about ways that you
can get more from the project's delivery than just the completed product.
Create A Space Where Everyone Is Encouraged To Talk and Feedback - Sometimes in
teams it’s the loudest, and often most extraverted members who do the majority of the
talking. Teams are often made up of a mix of individuals though and having a diverse
range of voices and feedback creates a far richer pool of ideas, knowledge, perspectives
and expertise. Encourage a forum for all and develop strategies that support the quieter
members of the team to have their voices heard and valued.
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Don’t Shy Away From Conflict Or Disagreement But Ensure That It’s Healthy, Helpful &
Respectful - Conflict and disagreement will always be present when you’re working in
teams and it’s not a bad thing. Having conflicts and disagreements that are handled and
resolved well can be extremely healthy and positive. Focus on keeping the forum
respectful, make sure people are listening and considering the positions and opinions of
others, ask open questions and try to reduce unhelpful blame and criticism. Make sure
the cause for the disagreement or conflict is aired and understood but if you can try to
focus on a resolution rather than circling around the cause and effect. Of course, it’s
important to understand these things but energy is most often better invested in
thinking of a way forward and strategies preventing a recurrence of the same problem.
Ensure discussions are contained and closed down in a manner that feels resolved and
prevents them from spilling out into other parts of the day or week.
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