Building Effective Teams
Fundamentals of Building Effective Teams Many factors are involved in building and maintaining an effective team. An effective team needs a supportive environment, good leadership, discipline, effective communication, challenge and empowerment. But in my opinion the key fundamentals of building and maintaining effective teams are; maintaining the right size, developing the right mix of skills, committing to a common purpose and performance goals, committing to a common approach and developing mutual accountability. One fundamental aspect of the building a team is to pay particular attention to its size. Size may vary depending on the team purpose, performance goals, approach and complementary skills and accountability, but a small group, typically less than twelve tend to be more effective. The team must have an adequate number to have the right skill mix represented and to perform it's intended function. But the team can be too large. Large numbers of people have more difficulty interacting constructively, have more difficulty communicating, have more trouble finding common ground on specific actions and may have more issues with hierarchical differences. Large groups have issues such as findi
However, a team that explores, shapes and agrees on its own purpose can build ownership and help motivate the team. The team needs to have team members with the right technical and functional expertise to accomplish the task. Broad directives should be transformed into specific and measurable performance goals. Outside factors such as effects of the organization on the team were not mentioned but can also play a key role in the effectiveness of the team. Team discussions can focus on how to pursue and change goals. Sometimes the team may develop their own purpose, be given a purpose from the leader or the purpose may be shaped from the outside, possibly by management. Performance goals may involve some risk, require trust and interdependence to carry out and may require hard work to execute. A common clear purpose can set the tone and build ownership in the team. Specific objectives have a leveling effect conducive to team behavior. Performance goals should be specific and measurable. When an individual fails; the team fails. Common purpose and performance goals A team must be committed to a common purpose and have performance goals which are designed to achieve this purpose. The approach should capitalize on the capabilities of all team members. Each team member should feel responsible for accomplishing the teams' goals instead of the individual team members' goals. Integration of individual skills is an important part of developing a common approach.
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