1

Team Vs Work Group

“A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.”

Katzenbach, Jon R. and Smith, Douglas K. (1993) The Wisdom of Teams Harvard Business School PresKatzenbach, Jon R. and Smith, Douglas K. (March-April, 1993) The Discipline of Teams, Harvard Business School Review

2

Individualism vs. Teamwork

The culture and systems of most organisations favour individualism over teamwork.

The reward and punishment systems of most organisations are biased toward individualism.

3

Five Interdependent Characteristics of High Performing Teams

Meaningful common purpose

Specific performance goals.

Complementary skills

Strong team commitment

Mutual accountability.

1. Technical or functional expertise

2. Problem solving & decision-making skills

3. Interpersonal skills

Three Categories of Teams:-

Recommend things

Make or do things

Run things

4

From Work Group to Team

1. Working group (collection of individuals)

2. Pseudo-team (not integrated)

3. Potential team (trying for joint performance)

4. Real team (common approach)

5. High performance team (committed to each others personal growth)

5

Characteristics of Teams

1. Themes that convey meaning about basic purpose and identity

2. Enthusiasm and energy level

3. Event driven histories (stories)

4. Personal commitment

Outstanding performance results

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Approaches for Teambuilding

1. Establish urgency and direction

2. Select team members based on skills

3. First meetings and actions important

4. Establish clear rules of behaviour

5. Seize quick performance tasks & goals

6. Challenge regularly with fresh information

7. Spend lots of time together

8. Use positive feedback & reward.

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Role of Team Leader

1. Keep purpose, goals and approach meaningful

2. Build commitment and confidence

3. Strengthen the mix and level of skills

4. Manage external relationships – remove obstacles

5. Create opportunities for others

6. Do real work