New Years, 1999
To: My Friends
Issue: When is a Group a Team?
"Work is no longer fun. We call ourselves a
team, but you'd never know it. We've lost our
sense of purpose, and it is `each man for himself.' We're mired in debate and inaction."
Not all groups are teams, nor do they need to
be. A team is a "group of people working
together in a coordinated effort." A team is
distinguished from a group by:
- A common goal and shared values. A
common goal creates a sense of purpose. It
is part of what inspires people with shared
values to work together. It focuses their
effort and gives meaning and direction to
what they do. It is what enabled our country
to put a man on the moon.
- Interdependence. Working together is
the only way a team can achieve its goals.
People are brought into the team because
their special abilities, which, when combined
with the rest of the team, make the whole
team greater than the sum of its parts. One
person, no matter how smart and creative,
can not achieve the same results as people
working collaboratively toward a common
goal.
- Commitment to the team and honoring
each member for what he/she adds to it. For
a team to win, members need to place the
success of the team above personal interests.
This is not easy! There is a temptation for
exceptionally competent people to want to
show others how good they are at the
expense of team performance. One of Phil
Jackson's real challenges when he became
coach of the Chicago Bulls was to get his star
players to work as a team. It boiled down to
this: no one wins if the team doesn't win!
Not all teams or groups are effective. To be
effective a team also needs:
- Standards and processes: Ground rules
and a conflict resolution process enable
people to work together in a disciplined
manner. Conflict is inevitable. A team
needs to create a process for dealing with
conflict before it is needed, and use it.
- Clear expectations, roles, responsibilities
and authority. What are we expected to do?
Why? By when? To what standards? With
what resources? Within what constraints?
Everyone needs answers to such questions
for a well orchestrated effort and result.
- Performance information. Semi-annual
performance reviews are ineffective for
monitoring progress. A team needs more
immediate information to keep on-course.
That means having key goal-related indicators to monitor their progress in "real-time."
- Leadership. Effective leadership keeps a
team focused, on-task, and pulling together.
Someone needs to lead/facilitate meetings,
help the team resolve issues, represent them,
and develop the team. Leadership can reside
in one person, or it can be shared (as in a
self-directed team). Leadership attuned to
the team's goals, tasks, and relationships is
essential. An outside coach is often useful.
Not all tasks require a team. For those that
do, there needs to be a common purpose,
interdependence, and mutual respect and
commitment. For a team to be effective it
needs leadership, information and processes
that enable people to work together toward
their goal.
Sincerely,
Ian Jacobsen, FIMC
Certified Management Consultant