Common
goals between members who get motivated to achieve them characterize
effective teams. Team members understand their mutual interdependence
and know that team goals get best accomplished with mutual support.
Useful team members don't fight over ‘territory' or attempt to gain
at another's expense. The foundation of effective teams reflects
accepted procedures. Team members need to share useful work methods
that appear systematic and efficient ways to get work accomplished.
Between
the pinnacle and foundation appear several essential process components
that distinguish high performing work groups. Process components
refer to how teams operate. Trust gets facilitated by an open atmosphere
in which members can express ideas, opinions, disagreements and
feelings. Commitment and cooperation seem present. Each member identifies
with the team and feels a sense of belonging to the group. Members
give personal time and energy to build and maintain the team and
its members.
Communication appears
open and honest. Members make an effort to understand each other's
point of view. They also recognize that conflict characterizes part
of the team. Conflict gets worked on constructively and quickly
in order to move on toward the goals. Good communication involves
constructive feedback. Weaknesses and errors appear regularly reviewed
and criticism gets given to improve performance. Team members appear
actively involved in the group. Team members make individual contributions,
try new approaches and seem creative. Team members know what their
roles seem in relation to each other and to the larger group, i.e.,
the department or the organization as a whole. Team members know
how their role contributes to the ‘big picture'.
Creating
a high performing team can seem a real challenge as a manager and
it appears important to stay aware of the process components of
the team. Resistance to organizational team effectiveness will get
encountered. As a team leader, it appears essential to recognize
and confront resistance. Common sources of resistance appears as
follows:
Denial of existing problems
Unawareness of existing problems
Fear of negative exposure to the group/other
key players
Fear of conflict
Fear of loss of power or ‘territory'
Concern over failure of errors
Lack of trust
Emphasis on blame rather than problem solving.
Learning Objectives:
To
understand the characteristics of effective teams
To
experiment with ways to share information and experience effective
team problem solving
