What Makes Teams Succeed?

Team work is very important in all organizations, as it is one of the leading reasons why organizations may succeed or fail. For a team to strive for top performance it takes the commitment  of the organization, team leaderships, and the team members to come together. 

The Organization

"In order to convert a working group into a successful team, the organization needs to take the time to invest in team building to prove their commitment to the employees. Team building plays an important role in the organizations plan to increase productivity, customer satisfaction, and differentiate the organization in the marketplace."

(http://www.trilliumteams.com/articles/41/what-makes-teams-succeed)

Team Leadership
"Managers make all the difference in the success of a team. Effective managers have a variety of qualities, including the ability to foster good communication, create a collaborative climate, set goals and priorities, demonstrate adequate technical know-how, and manage performance. Eventually the team becomes confident and efficient. The manager lets go of more and more responsibility and continues as a role model to support and encourage the team, providing the necessary resources as the team performs at higher levels."

(http://www.trilliumteams.com/articles/41/what-makes-teams-succeed)

Team Members

"The most important ingredient of a successful team is the mix of people. In order for a team to thrive, all the necessary skills and experience should be present, and everyone should have a good understanding of the work and communication style of others on their team. Like any successful relationship, building a winning team requires everyone to be committed to learning how to deal with one another and adapting their style to work well together. A team is always greater than the sum of its parts"
(http://www.trilliumteams.com/articles/41/what-makes-teams-succeed)

When working as a team there are three key elements that are required in order for a successful team. This would be...

1. Set Clear Goals 
2. Capitalize on Team Members Strengths 
3. Set a Plan to Measure Team Success 

What is a Team?

      When you think of a team you usually think of sports teams such as; the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Toronto Blue Jays. However, teams are not just created for sports, but are also used for charities, school projects, in everyday business, etc. We define a team as a group of people that come together to perform a task. Each member of the team would bring different skills required to complete the task. Teams can be big or small depending on there purpose. "Someone even observed that as an acronym TEAM means "Together, Everyone Achieves More"" (Guffey, Rhodes, & Rogin, P, 2011, pg 48). This being said, teams are not always considered effective, sometimes team members can clash causing for lower productivity, dissatisfaction, frustration, and not being able to meet goals.

 

How do you feel about teams? Do you like working in teams or would you prefer to work independently?