Teams and Teamwork

A team is composed of a small group of people selected because of their complementary skills that are committed to specific objectives and performance criteria for which they are held responsible.  Teamwork requires all team members to be committed to group goals. A team produces collective work products and must de-emphasize individual glory.

The following are some of the advantages of team work over individual effort:

• It is possible for a group to achieve synergy whereby their total output is superior to the sum of various individual contributions.
• If several knowledgeable people are brought together to make decisions a number of worthwhile options may be suggested.
• Group members can assess each others thinking. In this manner the risk of the team making significant errors is reduced or avoided.
• Work teams can contribute to continuous improvement and innovation, for example, when they compete against other such teams working toward the same goal.
• Management teams at all levels often produce results that are better than those produced by individual managers.
• Job satisfaction is often increased by the process of working on a team. There may also be a greater sense of affiliation, self-esteem and self-fulfillment as well as a greater sense of security as a result of being a member of a successful team.

There are, unfortunately, a number of potential disadvantages to group activity which should be kept in mind when developing and managing teams. These include:

• Since team members are under pressure to conform to group standards of performance, there can be members who find excuses to shirk their duties or groups of team members that attempt to ostracize members who are more productive than the other team members. Since the goal is to achieve mutual goals it is important that work be assigned carefully to each group member to reduce these possibilities. Steps should also be taken to remove nonproductive members from a team before they are able to damage the final product.
• Teams can waste time by having too many meetings and debates or trying to come to an ultimately unproductive consensus.
• Group decision making may deteriorate because of excessive consensus seeking which results in the efficiency and judgment of the group being impaired. This leads to group think and poor decisions
• Shared leadership can become unstable if team leaders revert to their usual style of exercising authority.

To minimize these potential problems it is most advantageous to use teams only for tasks that are suited for a team, i.e., when a collective work product is needed. There is no magic to the use of teams and when poorly organized they can lead to disaster. Teamwork must be planned and teams must be well managed.

LEADERSHIP WITH A TEAM FOCUS

Some leaders foster teamwork by their charismatic personality. Fortunately, it is not necessary to be charismatic in order to be an inspiring and effective leader in a team focused organization. There are various informal and formal techniques that can enhance teamwork.

Supervisors who assume leadership roles for work teams should:

• Share power and deemphasize individual glory and recognition
• Facilitate others team members achievements while maintaining the ability to inspire
• Accept group consensus whenever possible
• Delegate
• Build on diversity
• Actively look for talent
• Foster relationships
• Establish the team’s mission.

In a successful team, as team members become stronger so do their leaders who are not threatened by sharing power. Such leaders are willing to make these sacrifices in order to surround themselves with competent people in an effort to enhance the effectiveness of the team and the final product.

A team leader has a number of key responsibilities. They include:

• Facilitating the building of trust and inspiring the group to work together
• Coaching and supporting team members in an effort to reach ever higher levels of performance
• Smooth the progress of and support decisions made by the team
• Expand the team’s potential
• Establish a team identity
• Anticipate and influence change by constantly staying in tune with the leading edge in your industry
• Strive to inspire the team to higher levels of performance
• Give group members the enabling and empowering that they need to facilitate their work
• Encourage team members to not be satisfied with substandard or inferior efforts

There are a number of key activities for the supervisor. One is to define a team’s mission and charge the team in a way that will promote the best results. Since commitment to a clear mission is paramount to establishing an effective team, this is a critical step. The mission statement answers the question, “Why are we doing this?” In order to answer this question a mission statement must express:

• A specific goal

• A reason or purpose for pursuing the goal

• A philosophical tone which explains the background significance of the selected goal.

• The dialogue among team members that results in a clearly articulated mission statement establishes an environment in which team members can express their feelings, opinions and idea. Participatory leadership is extremely useful in developing a mission that can effectively enhance teamwork. For a team member the fact that they helped develop the goals needed to achieve the mission helps insure their commitment to those goals.

• It is also useful for there to be an expected standard of conduct that is expected of team members. While the team can undermine the steps toward a goal, and individual members can shirk their obligations, it is also possible to encourage team members to work together for their mutual benefit. In all cases a clear set of expectations for what is expected from each member should be formulated and instilled in the group.

• One of the ways to encourage group collaboration instead of competitiveness is to encourage a sense of cooperation. One of the most important tools to achieve this goal is to emphasize the terms team and team member and deemphasize the terms subordinates and employees. A team is one for all and all for one; stressing the idea of being a subordinate negates the significance of being a team member. Group incentives should supplement individual incentives. And management should always remember that they never know from whom stellar ideas might originate.

• Encouraging your team to take pride in their accomplishments is another good idea. Even the process of learning why a group should be proud of what they are doing can enhance a sense of teamwork.

• Informal gatherings which allow team members to discuss what they might bring to the team as well as an opportunity to voice their concerns about the team’s mission and goals can serve to increase cooperativeness among team members.

• A leader should always try to model the behaviors you want your team members to demonstrate. Letting you team members know important information about ideas and attitudes important to the group’s work fosters a sense of cohesiveness and allows you a route to letting them know that you consider them and their contributions to be important. Just as children learn best from a parent that not only talks the talk but walks the walk they preach, so do team members learn what is really expected from them by being able to observe a leader that is capable of walking the walk as well as talking the talk.

• Since the end product and shared leadership powers are essential communal goals in a team effort, it is important to make the group feel like they have a say in the process whenever it can be done and maintain the integrity of the project. One such way is to enlist the group whenever possible in making consensus decisions. This process allows for the exchange of ideas, and an opportunity to refine and support each others ideas. Everyone benefits.

• In order to keep a team on track it is essential to have a timeframe, a set of performance standards and direction. A team needs to feel like it has an important, possibly urgent, purpose. The more relevant the rationale the more likely the team will be to achieve its goals. It is especially important to give the group ongoing facts and information because it will reduce the likelihood of the group getting so involved in consensus building and too many meetings which can result in their becoming cut-off from reality. The truth may not only set you free, but it may also keep your team focused in the here and now and on the appropriate goals.

• Performance standards should not only be used to keep a team on track to reaching its goal in a timely manner, but also as an occasion or means to allow team members receive feedback. While negative feedback is not pleasant, it can facilitate a team on refocusing on specific issues and how they can be best accomplished. Positive feedback helps focus the group on what they are doing right for now so they can more accurately understand the progress they are making and what remains to be done. Not receiving truthful feedback severely limits the potential of the team.

• As a leader of a team it is best if a leader does not try to micromanage all aspects of the project. Every time a leader micromanages an aspect of a project they disempower the team. If the team members have the appropriate skills, job knowledge, and education they should be ready to be empowered to do many tasks on their own as long as they also accept responsibility for their results.

There are also a number of steps that a team leader can take to encourage group cohesiveness. For example:

• Group cohesiveness is facilitated if team members are located close together and can interact easily and frequently
• Awards for group accomplishments also encourage teamwork because people are rewarded for what they have achieved as a collaborative group.
• Team rituals and ceremonies are also valuable to encourage team cohesiveness.
• Manage your team members in such a way that every employee is educated, empowered and motivated to understand and pursue the group’s goals. Share information as well as responsibility. A group shares not only the rewards but also the risks so team members are more likely to pull together to achieve results when they know the “score.”

Offsite, outdoor training is sometimes used to develop teamwork. The training enhances participants’ self-esteem and helps them learn how to do things in collaboration. There is some disagreement about transfer of skills learned into the workplace as well as physical risk in these programs. Thus, these Outbound Programs are mentioned primarily for informational purposes. Outdoor programs may or may not be suitable or desirable for a specific business, especially if that business has heavy employee turnover which would not justify the expense.

Learning Teamwork

When acting as a team member an employee has different expectations thrust upon them than when acting as an individual. Team members are usually chosen because they have unique contributions to make towards the group goal. However, unlikely in many business efforts, a team is supposed to act in collaboration with one another and not merely as producers of individual products which are later combined to produce an end product. Instead, skills are pooled and leadership shared in the service of a collaborative product to satisfy an assigned goal which is superior to other strategies.

As an employee and group member you should consider:

• It is possible for a group to achieve synergy to product output that is better than the sum of individual contributions

• Each member is chosen because of their special skills, it is your responsibility to use your skills in a manner that supports group goals. If decisions are being made the fact that there are several knowledgeable people increases the probability of a number of different options being suggested. Do not feel like your contributions are being wasted or unappreciated. The better the input the better the output and everyone benefits.

• A group or team offers the opportunity for other people to assess each others thinking. This assessment reduces the risk of making significant errors.

• If you are a member of a work team which is competing against other work teams, remember that a quality outcome depends on quality efforts by the entire team. Do your very best. While you may not receive individual glory you will receive rewards from a successful outcome which can be shared with team mates which makes the outcome very sweet. If you question this, think about your favorite college team winning the national championship. The championship is sweet to the entire team. Remember if everyone does their part and the end product is excellent it would not be possible except for the efforts of each and every member.

• Since leadership is shared, results are frequently better than those directed by a single supervisor or manager, provided careful focus can be maintained.

• Frequently the level of self-esteem and self-fulfillment is greater from being a member of a successful team. Remember also that the risks are shared as well as the rewards.

There are several things that you can do to insure that your team is effective. These include:

• Team membership requires a considerable amount of conformity to standards and timetables and the like. Do not let you team or yourself down by shirking your responsibilities. The goal is to achieve mutual goals; don’t sabotage your team. You will not only hurt them, but also yourself. When given the change fly like an eagle.

• Teams can waste time in meetings and debates and trying to come to a consensus. Don’t contribute to making things more difficult than they need to be. Try to keep a clear view of the big picture and help your team mates reach the goal.

• Teams can be undermined by leaders reverting to their usual style of exercising authority. Help you teammates deal with such tendencies by reminding them that the end goal serves you all.

Take some hints from things team leaders should do; they frequently are good goals for team members as well. Try to:

• Share power and deemphasize individual glory and recognition
• Help other team members achieve
• Try to behave in a manner that inspires other team members
• Acquiesce to group consensus
• Accept responsibilities
• Try to stay open minded when other opinions are offered. Remember you were each chosen because management thought you had special skills and knowledge which would increase the opportunity for the group to meet its goals and benefit the company.
• Try your very best to develop good working relationships with other team members
• When things get though remember that this is a goal-directed activity. It is not a lifelong commitment. Try to ignore little irritations and keep focused on the goal.

Cooperation is the key. When irritated by other members it is often helpful to remind yourself that if the team succeeds it will reflect well not only on the team but also its individual members. The stronger the team, the stronger you are. To be strong a team needs each individual link to be strong. Your job is to be that strong link.

Above all keep your discussions professional. Do not belittle the contribution of others. Conflict can be productive but keep it constructive and professional.