Final thought

A team can either perform reasonably well or can fall apart creating more frustration and low achievements. However, we seldom find a team working at an ideal level. The majority of works takes place within a team nowadays, and much can be learned through these team experiences.

According to all my research made, I observed that an important ingredient of a successful team is, in fact, full and willing participation of each member in the team. The level of participation is possibly the only important factor affecting the team's output. Accepting and sharing of risks and benefits of achieving a common goal is crucial.

A team can appropriately call itself a TEAM only when it is fully performing at an ideal level.

I hope that my blog has provided a good knowledge of team work and its importance in today's world. If one put into practice those characteristics, I trust it will ultimately help students and workers to be more prepared to adapt in team work environments having people of different background and culture in the ever changing world of business.

References

Guffey, Rhodes and Rogin. (2011). Business Communication: process and product (6th Canadian edition). Toronto, ON: Nelson

Haig, J., MacMillan, V., & Raikes, G. (2010). Cites & sources: An APA documentation guide (Revised 3^rd Edition). Toronto, ON: Nelson

Teamwork. (n.d.). In online BusinessDictionary. Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/teamwork.html

University of Massachusetts Amherst. (n.d.). Individual Behaviors/Role in Group. Retrieved from: http://www.umass.edu/greek/uploads/listWidget/13166/Individual Roles and Behaviors in Groiups.pdf

Frances A. Kennedy, Linda B. Nilson. (n.d.). Successful Strategies for Teams. Retrieved from Clemson University: http://www.clemson.edu/OTEI/documents/teamwork-handbook.pdf

Yihan, L. (2013, February ). Team Building Techniques-Characteritics of a Good Team. Retrieved from Leadership in you: http://www.leadership-with-you.com/characteristics-of-a-good-team.html

Bremen University. (n.d.). What Does a Group Need to Be successful? Retrieved from http://www.ideels.uni-bremen.de/narg_discussion.html

Agile Training Videos. (2011, October 20). High Performance Teams - Part 2 | Team Maturity Stages [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=eZUj0ZKWeoY

Cyril. (2012, February 8). The meanin of TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More! [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=nuZb5aeyXfs

Lencioni, P. (2012, March 9). Five Characteristics of Great Teams [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=IGMzuw1Qevg

Untitled image. (2010, February). Effective team. Retrieved from http://pmtips.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/effective-team01.jpg

Untitled image. (2010, February). Positive team. Retrieved from http://pmtips.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/positive-team.jpg

Untitled image. (2012, October). Characteristics of a Successful Team. Retrieved from http://manhattaninfidel.com/__oneclick_uploads/2012/10/decisions.jpg

Untitled image. (2012, July). Exclusivity Maximises Success. Retrieved from http://blog.bjdgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Success-iStock_000005289966small2.jpg

Untitled image. (n.d.). Effective and Successful Teams: Is it Teamwork or Performance that Matters? Retrieved from http://s2.hubimg.com/u/1703633_f520.jpg

Untitled image. (2010, October). Forming, Storming, Norming & Performing with Baasecamp. Retrieved from http://www.tealeshapcott.com/teale/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing.jpg

Characteristics of Successful Teams

As stated in my previous posts for a team to be successful, it must go through the four maturity phases and must concentrate on the two major areas- Task behaviour and Maintenance behaviour. Taking all these into consideration will ultimately determine the characteristics of a successful team. Successful team means each member working together and contributing towards achievement of a common goal and thus enjoying the whole process as a team. 

Unfortunately, not all teams are able to work well together. Why? Simply because some people prefer to work independently instead of integrating with others. 

Some major reasons behind this kind of behaviour can be:

• Excessive aggressive behaviour
• Getting off track
• Members who argue for argument's sake
• Lack of communication
• Suspending ideas in the mid-air
• Autocratic decision making methods
• Lack of respect for others' opinions and ideas
• Decisions biased towards what the group perceives management wants

This creates frustration and team dissatisfaction resulting in the destruction of the entire team spirit. These dysfunctional characteristics must be challenged and resolved. So how to prevent these situations from cropping up and build a successful team?

Here is a short You Tube video by Patrick Lencioni who describes the five major characteristics of great teams:

What are the Characteristics to establish a Successful Team?

There are many characteristics of a successful teams as listed in my first post. Here are some detailed view of those characteristics:

• Agreement on Purpose

A successful team starts with a clearly defined, measurable objective. Members should understand and completely commit themselves to the goals and objectives of the team. Unsuccessful team lack determination of purpose, plan and specific goals to be achieved.

• Use of Good Communication Techniques

Communication plays a very important role in building up a successful team. All team members should feel comfortable to communicate freely with each other to be able to share and voice out his/her opinion without fear of being ignored. A successful team focuses on listening to all members' opinion and facilitates the participation of others before concluding a final decision. 

• Ability to Confront Conflict

Good decisions are based on harmony. There are usually disagreements in teams. However, all team members have must be given an opportunity to share their ideas. Unsuccessful teams are often tensed by personal disagreements resulting in conflicts. Attempting to reconcile disagreements and making people explore differences will reduce tension. 

• Ability to Collaborate Rather Than Compete

Successful team members understand the importance of achieving team goals rather than his/her personal goal. They monitor team progress, collaborate and contribute ideas generously for the success of the team as a whole.

• Defined Roles and responsibilities

It is vital for team members to be aware of their roles and responsibilities. For them to be successful, each group member must be assigned with clear roles. The responsibilities need to be shared equally and make things simpler for everyone.

• Agreement on Systems and Procedures

Successful teams develop procedures to guide them. They set up realistic deadlines and strategies to complete the work. Working as a team with a common objective requires more time and effort, thus established procedures and strategies provide guidelines to the team along its journey to success.

• Shared Leadership

Successful teams do not have a formal leader; in fact they share leadership roles according to appropriate expertise a member has for each task. This helps to boost up moral of team members and establish positive norms for the team. Unsuccessful teams often have only one person dominating.

Questions:

Why do some teams work well together and others do not? 

Demonstrate your understanding of the characteristics and development of successful teams.

What Does a Team Need to Be Successful?

If a team wants to be successful, it needs pay more attention on two major areas:

• Task Behaviour – Helps to achieve task that are given.

• Maintenance Behaviour – Helps to create good and consistent team relations.

Sometimes teams are able to complete their tasks successfully but fail to respect their members in the process. These teams are not really considered as successful teams.

Listed below are specific tasks and maintenance behaviours that contribute to successful teams:

Tasks Behaviours

Initiating: Proposing tasks and suggesting procedures for solving a problem

Seeking information or opinions: Seeking suggestions, ideas and relevant information about a group concern.

Giving information or opinions: Providing suggestions, ideas and relevant information about a group concern.

Clarifying and elaborating: Interpreting ideas, clearing up confusion and presenting alternatives before the team.

Summarizing: Putting together related ideas, restating suggestions after team discussion, offering conclusion for team feedback.

Consensus-testing: Sending a 'trial balloon' to test possible conclusion to see if a team can agree on a decision.

Maintenance Behaviours

Listening: Paying attention to member's ideas, opinions and suggestions without interrupting them.

Harmonizing: Attempting to reconcile disagreements to reduce tensions.

Gate keeping: Facilitating the participation of others by keeping an open communication.

Encouraging: Being friendly, kind and openly accepting others' contributions.

Compromising: Admitting errors and seeking workable alternatives.

The team not only attains its goals but shape the team for better challenges in future if a good balance is maintained between the two. They should be practiced not just by the leader but by the entire member.

Next Topic Entry: Characteristics of Successful Teams

Question:

What are the strategies that you would apply as a team member to balance task and maintenance behaviours?

Four Phases of Team Development

For a team to be considered successful, it must generally go through four phases: Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing as identified by psychologist B.A. Tuckman. In this post I will cover some important features of Forming, Storming, Norming & Performing and how the team grows through these stages. To begin with, here is a You Tube video to illustrate the four maturity stages of a team experience.

The performance of a member in the team usually shifts according to the maturity of the team. Regardless of their purpose, successful teams normally go through four stages of development before reaching maturity and actually starting to perform as a team.

Some teams get lucky and move quickly from forming to performing.

Forming

Forming is the initial stage of team development. During this stage, an individual makes the transition from individual, to team member and thus get to know each other better. Team members usually have positive outlooks about the forthcoming challenge and are eager to start the project work. They might experience feelings of enthusiasm, expectation, suspicion, nervousness or hesitation.

The project manager should clearly communicate the purpose of the project to build an image of successful team.

Storming

Members define their roles and responsibilities during the storming stage. The work starts to progress gradually but reality sets in when the expectations of the team members are not met. Unavoidably, because of the different personalities and individual goals in the team, conflicts will certainly arise. Conflict and disagreement can also create positive energy. They are necessary for innovation and creativity to solve problems.

Storming stage is an essential and significant stage of team development. Managers should start involving team members in decision making and problem solving. They should focus on providing a supportive environment.

Norming

During the norming stage, group settles down into a routine, establishes the process for making decisions, and agrees on acceptable behavioral patterns, members learn to trust each other. The team periodically checks its agenda in order to progress towards its goals.

The manager should take on a more supporting role, help to create and foster a successful environment. Work performance and productivity increase. They should give appreciation to progress made.

Performing

The performing stage is the eventual goal of the team. During this stage, the team members operate to their full potential and everyone focus on their task. The group itself is strong, loyal and cohesive. They know what to expect from each other thus bringing a sense of comfort, confidence and consistency.

The manager should focus on supporting the team to reach project goals. Performing stage requires the team to handle the conflict of the Storming stage. The team does not only need to overcome the conflict, but they also have to make sure that they have set guidelines in the Norming stage in order to come up to the Performing stage.

Next topic entry: What Does a Team Need to Be Successful?

Question:

Think about a team of which you are a member, and which attempts to be a collaborative team.

How might you apply your knowledge of the stages of development while working with your team?