Well-run work teams also offer employees opportunities to learn new aspects of the business, and to develop new skills.
However, too often, work teams are “teams” in name only. Ineffective teams can result in poor decisions, wasted time, and plummeting employee morale.
A work team’s success is a shared responsibility. Everyone involved—team members, the team leader, and the associated managers—have direct and significant responsibilities that determine the success or mediocrity of the team.
Shared purpose
Many teams delve into a project without first articulating and documenting the goal and mission of the work team. In effect, this step documents what the team is charged with accomplishing, how the team expects to achieve the goal, and the timeline for accomplishment. Without laying this foundation and communicating it to ensure understanding and buy-in, a team is inviting later confusion and questions.
Just as important, teams should also take the time to determine the “rules of the road” for ongoing teamwork. Teams can bypass problems and obtain greater cooperation among team members by establishing some key fundamentals up front: how often meetings will be conducted, whose attendance is required, how progress will be reported.
Additionally, team roles should be clearly delineated. Everyone should have specific responsibilities. Possible team roles include leader, record keeper, communicator and project manager.
Meetings are expensive. When you bring together five team members for an hour-long meeting, you must make sure the outcome is worth the five hours of time spent on the activity. Minimal meeting preparation includes the development of an agenda, with discussion topics and overall objectives defined. Meeting agendas should be distributed to team members well in advance, so members have adequate time to prepare.
Every well-conducted meeting should include the development of an action plan, with assigned responsibilities and defined timeframes, as well as a meeting evaluation covering whether the meeting objectives were met, identifying any unanswered questions or deferred items and suggestions for improvement. Meeting discussion, decisions, and the resulting action plan should be recorded for later distribution to all members. The meeting should stay within the established timeframe and the conduct of individuals should be positive and courteous.
All team members should understand the decisions the team is empowered to make, as well as those decisions outside its power. During the decision-making process, a good team leader ensures that the opinions and input of all members are heard and evaluated. Honest assessments, no matter how painful, must be encouraged. And before making a final decision, the pros, cons, risks and benefits of all options should be discussed and weighed. When the team does arrive at a final decision, it should be publicly supported by all team members.
Teams should expect conflict to be a natural part of any decision-making process, even in the most cohesive group of people. In fact, avoiding conflict is much more dangerous than confronting disagreement. By establishing decision boundaries and the decision making process itself, everyone has an understanding of how disagreement will be handled and ultimately resolved.
Regular assessments
By performing regular self and peer assessments, teams can foster a climate of trust, communication and efficiency. Assessments should focus on factors directly impacting the team—such as participation, fair workloads, success in meeting deadlines, communication, information sharing and specific team contributions.
Lastly, individual and group accomplishments should be recognized and celebrated.
Work teams are part of the today’s business fabric. The different personalities and talents inevitably involved—coupled with realities such as time constraints, limited budgets, and full work days—can pose challenges for any team. But by implementing these basic guidelines, teams will create a foundation for success and a work environment that promotes cooperation, efficiency and productivity.
Dorman Woodall, [email protected], is director of e-learning strategies for SkillSoft, www.skillsoft.com, a developer of business and IT e-learning courseware. This article is based on SkillSoft’s team building curriculum.
See sidebar to this article: 5 Tips for a Successful Team
