“Teamwork remains the one sustainable competitive advantage that has been largely untapped.” ~ Patrick Lencioni, Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team (Jossey-Bass, 2005)
Corporations increasingly organize workforces into teams, a practice that gained popularity in the ’90s. By 2000, roughly half of all U.S. organizations used the team approach; today, virtually all do.
There are several barriers to achieving great work from teams:
- Some individuals are faster (or better) on key tasks.
- Developing and maintaining teams can prove costly and time-consuming.
- Some individuals do less work, relying on others to complete assigned tasks.
- Team members aren’t always clear about roles and responsibilities, and they sometimes avoid conflict in favor of consensus.
Despite these potential pitfalls, effective teams benefit from combined talent and experience, more diverse resources and greater operating flexibility. Research in the last decade demonstrates the superiority of group decision-making over even the brightest individual’s singular contributions.
Beyond perfunctory team-building training sessions, what’s needed for teams to perform optimally? How can they evolve into resourceful, high-performing units?
This article examines the 4 elements of effective teams, and suggests ways to create a resourceful, high-performing team unit.
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This is a brief synopsis of a 1,450-word and an 860-word article and Article Nuggets,*suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.
The complete article includes these important concepts:
- What Makes a Great Team?
- Define Your Team
- Build Your Team
- Thematic Goals
- Putting the “TEAM” in Teams
- Trust
- Engagement
- Accountability
- Metrics
- Identify Gaps
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