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Team building is an effort in which
a team studies its own process of working together and acts to
create a climate that encourages and values the contributions of
team members. Their energies are directed toward problem solving,
task effectiveness, and maximizing the use of all members' resources
to achieve the team's purpose. Sound team building recognizes that
it is not possible to fully separate one's performance from those of
others.
Team building works best when the
following conditions are met (Francis and Young. 1979).
- There is a high level of
interdependence among team members. The team is working on
important tasks in which each team member has a commitment and
teamwork is critical for achieving the desired results.
- The team leader has good people
skills, is committed to developing a team approach, and allocates
time to team-building activities. Team management is seen as a
shared function, and team members are given the opportunity to
exercise leadership when their experiences and skills are
appropriate to the needs of the team.
- Each team member is capable and
willing to contribute information, skills, and experiences that
provide an appropriate mix for achieving the team's purpose.
- The team develops a climate in
which people feel relaxed and are able to be direct and open in
their communications.
- Team members develop a mutual
trust for each other and believe that other team members have
skills and capabilities to contribute to the team.
- Both the team and individual
members are prepared to take risks and are allowed to develop
their abilities and skills.
- The team is clear about its
important goals and establishes performance targets that cause
stretching but are achievable.
- Team member roles are defined,
and effective ways to solve problems and communicate are developed
and supported by all team members.
- Team members know how to examine
team and individual errors and weaknesses without making personal
attacks, which enables the group to learn from its experiences.
- Team efforts are devoted to the
achievement of results, and team performance is frequently
evaluated to see where improvements can be made.
- The team has the capacity to
create new ideas through group interaction and the influence of
outside people. Good ideas are followed up, and people are
rewarded for innovative risk taking.
- Each member of the team knows
that he or she can influence the team agenda. There is a feeling
of trust and equal influence among team members that facilitates
open and honest communication.
- High level of
interdependence among team members
- Team leader has good people
skills and is committed to team approach
- Each team member is willing
to contribute
- Team develops a relaxed
climate for communication
- Team members develop a
mutual trust
- Team and individuals are
prepared to take risks
- Team is clear about goals
and establishes targets
- Team member roles are
defined
- Team members know how to
examine team and individual errors without personal attacks
- Team has capacity to create
new ideas
- Each team member knows he
can influence the team agenda
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Team building will occur more
easily when all team members work jointly on a task of mutual
importance. This allows each member to provide their technical
knowledge and skills in helping to solve the problem, complete the
project, and develop new programs. During this process, team
building can be facilitated as members evaluate their working
relationship as a team and then develop and articulate guidelines
that will lead to increased productivity and team member
cooperation.
As part of this process, team
members need to learn how to be willing to manage conflict, evaluate
performance of the group, and provide feedback and support that will
encourage each member to meet their commitment to the team and the
organization.
Team performance can best be
evaluated if the team develops a model of excellence against which
to measure its performance.
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When evaluating how well team
members are working together, the following statements can be
used as a guide:
- Team goals are
developed through a group process of team interaction and
- agreement in which each team
member is willing to work toward achieving these goals.
- Participation is
actively shown by all team members and roles are shared
- to facilitate the
accomplishment of tasks and feelings of group togetherness.
- Feedback is asked for
by members and freely given as a way of
- evaluating the team's
performance and clarifying both feelings and interests of the
team members. When feedback is given it is done with a desire
to help the other person.
- Team decision making
involves a process that encourages active participation
- by all members.
- Leadership is
distributed and shared among team members and
- individuals willingly
contribute their resources as needed.
- Problem solving,
discussing team issues, and critiquing team
- effectiveness are encouraged
by all team members.
- Conflict is not
suppressed. Team members are allowed to express negative
- feelings and confrontation
within the team which is managed and dealt with by team
members. Dealing with and managing conflict is seen as a way
to improve team performance.
- Team member resources,
talents, skills, knowledge, and experiences are
- fully identified,
recognized, and used whenever appropriate.
- Risk taking and
creativity are encouraged. When mistakes are made, they
are
- treated as a source of
learning rather than reasons for punishment.
After evaluating team
performance against the above guidelines, determine those areas
in which the team members need to improve and develop a strategy
for doing so.
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The team leader should be the
liaison between the team and upper management. The team leader needs
to know and work with upper management to obtain a full commitment
from them in support of the team's program.
However, when this happens, team
members must realize that they have a major responsibility to make
maximum use of the resources and support provided.
The team leader can encourage team
member growth, and should be willing to take some risk by having
members whose resources are relevant to the immediate task provide
the leadership.
The team leader should be fair,
supportive, and recognized by team members as one who can make final
judgments, work with upper management, and give direction to the
team as needed.
To assist the team leader in
evaluating the level of team development, have each team member
answer the twelve questions in Table I. This should be
followed by a discussion of the questions to determine where and how
changes should be made to help facilitate the development of a
strong team.
As team members build commitment,
trust, and support for one another, it will allow them to develop
and accomplish desired results. This commitment, trust, and
self-determination by each team member is critical in achieving a
sustained high level of performance. Team members will learn to
appreciate and enjoy one another for who they are and will help keep
one another on track. The team will have developed its working
methods so that they become an informal set of guidelines.
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Rating
Team Development
How do you feel about your
team's progress? (Circle rating).
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1. Team's purpose |
| ----- |
I'm
uncertain-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
I'm
clear |
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2. Team membership |
| ----- |
I'm out-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
I'm in
|
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3. Communications |
| ----- |
Very
guarded-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Very
open |
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4. Team goals |
| ----- |
Set
from above-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Emerged
through team interaction |
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5. Use of team member's skills
|
| ----- |
Poor
use----- |
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Good
use |
|
6. Support |
| ----- |
Little
help for individuals-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
High
level of support for individuals |
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7. Conflict |
| ----- |
Difficult issues are avoided-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Problems are discussed openly and directly
|
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8. Influence on decisions
|
| ----- |
By few
members-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
By all
members |
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9. Risk taking |
| ----- |
Not
encouraged-----
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Encouraged and supported |
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10. Working on relationships with others
|
| ----- |
Little
effort----- |
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
High
level of effort |
|
11. Distribution of leadership
|
| ----- |
Limited----- |
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Shared
|
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12. Useful feedback |
| ----- |
Very
little----- |
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
----- |
Considerable |
Table 1.
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When the team resources are focused
and members are all working to accomplish the same purpose, teamwork
can be very rewarding and productive. This is best accomplished when
team members use a proactive approach rather than a reactive
approach to accomplish their purpose (Adams, 1987).
The proactive approach manifests
such characteristics as:
- The team members take a very
positive approach in jointly determining the way they are going to
work together as a team and what they want to have happen. When
individuals and the entire team choose to operate this way and are
willing to set petty differences aside, unbelievable results
become possible.
When individuals adopt this
attitude and commit to use their resources, knowledge, and skills
to contribute to the goals of the team, alignment with the team's
overall purpose comes about. This will not happen unless both the
team leader and team members choose to do so.
- Having a well-defined purpose or
vision of what the team will accomplish is a very powerful force
for the team leader and members. Goals are aligned with the team
purpose, and team members are empowered to accomplish the goals.
This process leads to a high level of team productivity.
- Team members have a positive
attitude toward change and are willing to accept and allow change
to occur as needed in order to accomplish desired results.
- Team members understand that
patience is required, and that for some goals, a long-term
commitment is needed to accomplish the desired results.
- Interests of both the team
leader and team members are focused on desired results rather than
on shorticulture-term problem- solving activities.
If people learn to focus
simultaneously on both the current situation and the desired
results, problems that arise will be solved as part of the total
process of achieving the desired results.
- The sixth characteristic of a
well-functioning team is that the members have a strong feeling of
control within the team. They are able to establish priorities and
then commit time and resources for accomplishing these tasks.
- The seventh characteristic of a
well functioning team is team members verbally and publicly
support each other. They recognize that negative comments about
others tear the team down.
Team leaders and members that make
a conscious, sustained effort to make these seven characteristics a
part of their mind set will find that both creativity and
accomplishment of desired results will be much higher than it would
be otherwise.
There are several ways in which the
team leader can contribute to creating a positive climate within the
team. One of the most powerful forces is to put forward, in
cooperation with team members, an exciting vision/purpose of what
the team is to achieve. Once the vision is developed, it needs to be
kept in front of the team members as a reminder of what they wish to
accomplish.
The team leader where possible
should help select or influence the composition of team members.
Selection should be based willingness of people to work in a team
setting and the resources, both people skills and technical
components, they are able to bring to the team.
The team leader can provide the
leadership for helping the team develop an understood and accepted
set of principles that will contribute to their success. Included in
this set of principles should be norms for operating within the
group, criteria for evaluating success, standards for determining
quality of performance, and an identified reward system to recognize
the team's successes.
- Adams, John D., "The Role of the
Creative Outlook In Team Building."
- in Team Building, edited
by W. Brendan Reddy with Kaleel Jamison, 98-106. Virginia:
Institute for Applied Behavioral Science and San Diego,
California: University Associates, Inc., 1988.
- Francis, Dave and Don Young,
Improving Work Groups: A
Practical Manual
- for Team Building.
University Associates, Inc., San Diego, California, 1979.
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