Good Teams Don’t Just Happen

Spring 2011

Good Teams Don’t Just Happen

E

verything in the workplace involves teams, formal or informal. We have grown accustomed to this structure and most of us believe we know very well

how to get work done in a team environment. But do we?

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Formal teams are established for multiple reasons.

Sometimes it is because one person alone cannot complete the amount of work to be done. Often, the task at hand

requires expertise from cross disciplines. Or maybe the responsibility for the end product is shared across depart-

ments and organizations and all must have input into the way the work is to be done. Informal teams, on the other

Photo courtesy of Eugene Greenstein, Ph.D.

hand, most often evolve out of necessity. “I can’t get this done alone.” This may still include all the same reasons for

creating the formal team: too big to complete, need varying

expertise, joint responsibility for the outcome. However,

informal teams tend to be more flexible, more productive, and develop and disband, based on the work to be done, not

going on forever to become an organizational burden in and of themselves.

Now consider some widely accepted keys to an effective

team:

Eugene Greenstein, Ph.D.

• A clear purpose

• Skills and expertise needed for the task at hand • Structure

o Defined roles and responsibilities

o Processes

o Communications

• Individuals who know how to work as members of a team

If the above keys are true for both formal and informal

teams, why are informal teams often more effective than

the formal ones? Because the informal teams have a clear primary driver, with all the other “keys” subordinated to

that driver. And that is the clear purpose, coupled with a

motivated champion and motivated team members. “I can’t

accomplish the clear purpose alone. I don’t have all the

skills and expertise needed to accomplish the clear purpose.”

These kinds of teams are very good on continuous improvement projects. As projects increase in size and scope, how-

leader to impress, as may be seen in a formal, managementspawned team.

Just as with a baseball team, each team member needs to

know his or her position and how to play it well. Everyone

needs to know who the team captain or leader is, as well as who is responsible for what. If the first baseman decides he

is going to be the pitcher or the pitcher is going to be count-

ed on to hit a home run, the game is not going to be won.

To have a successful team, competent people with

known roles and responsibilities are

needed, especially as the size of the

Just as with a baseball team, each team member needs to know his or her position and how to play it well. Everyone needs to know who the team captain or leader is, as well as who is responsible for what.

team increases.

How will the team get things done? Well, there have to

ever, formal teams are required.

be rules for how the game is going to be played. Those rules

evolves based on the skills and expertise required, com-

processes are the standards for the moment until a better

With that critical need in mind, an informal team

bined with choosing team members who have self-selected or who are willing to be on the team and who most likely

have demonstrated in the past that they are “team capable.”

Team-capable members will know the benefit of and

have the ability to implement defined roles and responsi-

seeing the success of the team and achievement of the clear purpose as shared success, not struggling to grab control as

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process or standard is defined. If you don’t have a stable

process you won’t know if a change you made to it results in an improvement or is just a random event, so it is important

that you establish stability. Things can be changed if it can be shown there is a better way of doing it, which is where the

standards come into play. Having these standards allows us

Spring 2011

bilities within the team. They will function well in any role,

are the processes we define for how things get done. These

to determine whether or not our creative idea is better, and if it is, we can adopt it. Thus we need data to make decisions.

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We can’t forget about communication. How many

times have we thought we communicated effectively

The ultimate purpose for any work done in an organization should be clearly tied to creating value for the customer, just as any clear purpose for a team must be articulated in terms of its contribution to creating value for the customer.

only to find out we haven’t?

This

The ultimate purpose for any work done in an orga-

nization should be clearly tied to creating value for the

it can be very com-

articulated in terms of its contribution to creating value

sounds so simple, but plex. How many of

us have gotten into e-mail

wars

with

someone we don’t

customer, just as any clear purpose for a team must be

for the customer. To that end, it is critically important for individual employees to understand what creates value and how they and their work contribute to creating value for the customer.

Along

with

well? Why does that happen? It happens, in large part,

the

intent. Those assumptions or perceptions become our

member attributes

because we make assumptions about the other person’s

reality, even though they may be completely wrong. We infer based on what facts we know about the other person

and end up walking up the ladder of inference. What if our assumptions are wrong? We need to check our assumptions before we take them as reality. One might be surprised and find

Important attributes evident in members of effective teams:

that the other person

clear purpose

that purpose is linked to creating value for the customer

tise that can be contributed to a team effort (it is important that this individual is confident in his/her competence, allowing him/ her to freely share ideas)

what it takes to be a good team member and the ability to apply that knowledge

there

must

be

structure, includ-

ing defined roles and responsibili-

ties, good communication, and well-defined processes to have a successful team.

How, then, can we intentionally develop employ-

practice. Create a practice field for individuals to come

issues

To

avoid

such

as

this, it is imporlish

bond team by

to

a

estab-

human

between

members building

Having meetings

to get to know

people, or even going

out

to

they informal or formal, to get the job done? Let them

together and experience a situation where they have a task and no clear, pre-ordained structure for how to get

it done. In both formal and informal teams people need to learn how to work together, establish processes where

required and create open communications to get the job done right. People need to take responsibility for specific

tasks and not assume the job will just get done. If the team is effective it does not depend on the leader/boss to make all the decisions. The bigger team becomes a bunch of little teams working together based on clear

objectives, which they can define for themselves to work a given task.

This practice field is created through experiential

lunch or a sport-

learning. Apprenticeship and trial by fire have long been

them can do this.

that simulates a situation where a team needs to form to

ing event with

Good communi• A personal knowledge of

these strong team

assumptions,

a set of wrong

relationships.

• An individual skill or exper-

of

ees and the organization to create effective teams, be

tant • The understanding of how

presence

made

too.

• The understanding of a

Spring 2011

repeat back what you heard in a non-defensive manner.

all

know or don’t know

cation is necessar y for teams

trusted and effective means of teaching. A practice field survive provides much-needed learning opportunities and does so risk free. CCN

to work well so

Eugene Greenstein, Ph.D., is an associate of Pendaran, Inc.,

walk up the lad-

experiential learning for teams and organizations as a whole can

that people don’t

der of inference.

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It ’s always important to ask, “is this what you mean” and

based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Additional thoughts on the value of be found at the organization’s website www.pendaran.com.

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