High performance teams

Essay by baizUniversity, Bachelor'sA-, October 2003

download word file, 5 pages 3.9

WHAT IS A TEAM?

A team is a group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable and interdependent.

A common purpose allows a team to build an identity, to give itself a direction. A common purpose gives a team an identity that extends beyond the sum of the individuals involved. A common purpose ensures stability through change and a means of overriding the potentially conflicting agendas of bureaucracy.

Performance goals help a team transform its common purpose into specific and measurable aims.

A common approach enables a team to sort out who will do a particular job, how schedules will be set and adhered to, what skills need to be developed, how the group will make decisions and when and how to modify the approach to ensure successful completion of the team's objectives.

Mutual accountability and interdependence mean that every team member is equally engaged in and responsible for accomplishing tasks and achieving goals.

CHARACTERISTICS OF AN EFFECTIVE TEAM

A clear purpose

Appropriate leadership

Constructive climate

Commitment to the team

Clear roles and work assignments

Suitable membership

Effective work methods

Constructive criticism

Creative strength

Open communication

Organization's mission and mandate

Team learning

Sharing team responsibilities

Team effectiveness

HOW TO CREATE AN EFFECTIVE TEAM?

Everyone knows what a team is. Everyone knows how to put a team together. Everyone selects the best available team. Everyone knows how to distribute the tasks to be done among the team members. But if it is all so obvious, why do some teams succeed where others fail?

The team comes together in an endeavour to produce a level of performance greater than that which can be produced by individuals working alone. The whole should be greater than the...