Groups & Teams Overview
by Suzan Last and Candice Neveu
Teamwork is essential to almost any workplace; team synergy and intelligence lead to greater efficiency and better results in most situations. Why, then, are some people reluctant to engage in teamwork? This reluctance may stem from ineffective or dysfunctional teamwork experiences in the past. Often the culprit in these situations is not a “poor team player” or an “inability to get along with others.” Their reluctance is usually caused by one of two things: misaligned goals or confusion over roles. For teamwork to be effective, all team members must understand and share the project’s goals, and all members must fully understand their roles—what is expected of them and how they will be held accountable. An effective team leader will ensure all team members fully understand their goals and functions.
Typical teamwork benefits include increased productivity, innovation, and efficiency. Excellent teams have a synergy that makes them more than simply the sum of their parts. The term “team intelligence” refers to the collective knowledge and skill of the team than that of the single individuals working separately. However, challenges can also arise when working in a group. Conflicts within a team will occur, and often they begin due to poor communication and soft focus. Some ways to handle these challenges include the following:
- Elect a team leader: the team leader will be the hub for communication and tasks. This person helps provide direction and guidance for the team. The leader should be someone who has earned the team’s respect and can be persuasive and diplomatic. The role can be rotated among team members.
- Ensure the goal is clear: a team is governed by the plan that everyone works to achieve. The purpose must be clearly understood and agreed upon by everyone on the team.
- Establish team rules: as a team, determine the rules by which the team will operate.
- Assign responsibilities: as part of the breakdown of tasks, assign members responsible for specific duties, which means they are the primary leads in preventing and addressing issues in that area.
- Set agendas for meetings and keep minutes: to ensure that team meeting time is beneficial, create meeting agendas to help keep everyone on task. In addition, have someone take minutes to record decisions. This record helps prevent repetition and ensures work gets done.
- Determine the timing for tasks: task timing involves two aspects: the duration for completing the task and its timing concerning other tasks. Lessons typically take longer than you think, so adding 25% to your duration estimate is often better. The timing of the functions is essential because some tasks can be completed concurrently, but others may have to be sequenced. Professionals often use Gantt Charts to outline duties and their time within the overall project scale.
- Manage communications: if a problem arises with someone on the team, the team leader should spe