What is the definition of a team?
A team is
defined as a reasonably small group of people, who bring to the table a set of complementary
and appropriate skills, and who hold themselves mutually accountable for
achieving a clear and identifiable set of goals.
Teams can be very effective. In many situations teams can
achieve more than individuals working on their own. Teams can bring to bear a
wider range of skills and experience to solve a problem. Teams also produce
better quality decisions. When a team has been working on a problem, and they
have a sense of commitment to the common solution
What do we mean by team
effectiveness?
·
A
team can be considered to be effective if their output is judged to meet or
exceed the expectations of the people who receive the output. Producing a
quality output is not enough to judge the effectiveness of the team.
·
The
second criteria, is that the team should still be able function effectively
after they have completed their task. It should not be torn apart by
dissension.
·
Finally,
effectiveness is judged by whether the team feels satisfied with its efforts.
If the team members are pleased with their efforts, if the experience has been
a good one, if time spent away from their normal work has been worth the
effort, the team has likely been effective.
What then are the factors that
contribute towards an effective team?
There are three areas of group
behavior that must be addressed for teams to be effective. The team must work
hard. The effort that the team puts in to get the job done is dependent on
whether the nature of the task motivates the members of the team and whether
the goals are challenging.The team must have the right mix of skills to bring
to the table. These skills include technical, problem solving and interpersonal
skills. The team must be able to develop appropriate approaches to problem
solving. This depends on developing a plan of attack and using appropriate
techniques for analysis.
The following factors contribute
to hard work, skill development and effective problem solving strategies:
The task itself should be
motivating.
·
The
task itself should be seen as being worthwhile. It needs to be a whole piece of
work with a clear and visible outcome so that people can feel a sense of
ownership.
·
The
outcome of the task should be perceived as being important to other people's
lives. It should affect others in the organization or impact on the external
customer.
·
The
job should provide the team with an opportunity for self-regulation. They
should decide how the work is to be done. Meaningful feedback should be
provided on the how well the team is performing.
The team needs challenging goals,
which are clearly defined.
·
When
challenging goals are set the team will mobilize its efforts to find innovative
ways to achieve feats that may have been considered impossible. Providing a
challenging job is the most important motivator to sustain group effort.
·
Goals
provide a sense of direction to the team so that when conflict occurs it is
possible to channel the conflict more constructively by returning to the goals
for direction.
·
The
team needs to buy in to the goals. They must have the opportunity to buy in and
commit to achieving the goals. Goals need to be challenging, but not impossible
to achieve. They also need to be measurable so that progress towards achieving
them can be monitored and results confirmed.
Rewards are important.
·
The
rewards need to suit the personal characteristics of the people on the team.
·
Whatever
form the reward takes, it is important that group effort be recognized. One
should avoid the destructive effect of trying to single out individuals from
the group, when there has been a group effort.
·
Rewards
merely reinforce these conditions for fostering group effort.
The team should have the right
mix of skills.
·
The
right mix of skills should be brought to the task at hand. It is also a
question of carefully reviewing the job to determine what relevant skills is
required and selecting staff so that the team has the right balance. Providing
relevant training then makes up any shortfall in skills.
·
Technical
skills are required. For teams who are trying to improve a process that cuts
across department boundaries, each function should be represented. One should
achieve a balance of skills. This means avoiding having a preponderance of
skills and experience in one specialized area. Sheer numbers may weigh the
solution towards the dominant group.
·
In
the case of permanent work teams it is likely that team members will not have
all the task relevant skills at the onset. When the group is new, it is likely
that members will bring narrow skills learned in their old roles. They will
need to develop broader skills for the new job. To ensure that this is done,
training and coaching should be provided.
·
The
members of the team need to have problem solving and decision-making skills as
well as technical skills. When a business is making its first venture into team
based work, it is likely that people will not have a good grasp of the
techniques related to problem analysis and solution.
·
These
relevant skills must be acquired, so it will be necessary to provide training.
Over a period of time staff will become experienced in problem solving
techniques and the organization will develop a repertoire of skills among the
staff so this training will not always be necessary.
·
Interpersonal
skills are also important. This is not as obvious as it may sound. Most people
do not listen well. Listening is much more than being quiet when some else is
talking. Active listening is required. Many people do not speak to the point
but ramble on or go off at a tangent. Most people do not take criticism well
and tend to be defensive about their own opinions.
Agree on a code of conduct.
·
At
the beginning of the team project it is important to develop a code of conduct
for meetings. The team needs to agree on a set of rules to ensure that their
efforts are purposeful and that all members contribute to the work.
·
The
most critical rules pertain to attendance, open discussion, using an analytical
approach, not pulling rank over other members, planning the work and sharing
work assignments. This will ensure that the work is done well and done on time.
The team must develop effective
problem solving strategies.
·
For
the team to be able to develop an appropriate strategy, it must have a clear
definition of the problem, know what resources it has available and the limits,
and understand the expectations. It must then develop a problem-solving plan,
based on the approach suggested in the section on continuous improvement.
·
When
this does not happen, people are passive. Their skills and knowledge are not
utilized and they waste their time.
Special teams have special
issues. From the
perspective of organisational improvement we are interested in three types of
teams. One is the problem solving team, another is the work team and then there
is the senior management team.Problem solving teams are set up with a clearly
defined task to investigate a problem and recommend a solution. Sometimes the
same team will go on to implement the solution. When their task is completed
the team is disbanded and members go back to their normal organisational duties.
·
There
are two important issues facing these teams. One is getting started and the
other is handing over the recommendations for implementation. The key to
getting started is to ensure that the team is committed to achieving an agreed
set of goals. Goals serve to focus the team's effort.
·
Implementation
is important. It will not just happen; it must be planned. The implementers
must be brought into the solution stage so that they develop a sense of
ownership towards the solution and buy into it. The best way to do this is to
have the problem solving team do the implementation.
·
Another
approach is to phase the implementers into the team so that the membership
changes prior to the implementation. Whatever approach is used one should
remember that the idea is to implement a solution and not to produce a report.
·
Work
teams are different in that they are a fixed part of the organization. They
have an ongoing function, which is to control a set of activities that make up
a discrete operation in the overall business process. They need to focus on the
critical factors in their process and to control these factors to ensure a
quality product.
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