Effectiveness of Teams

Effectiveness of Teams

A team is a real work group, work teams have one or more tasks to perform, and work teams operate in a social system context. (Wageman, Nunes, Burrus and Hackman, 2008). Working in a team can be very effective and rewarding as long as the team truly works together as a unit. Each member of the team depends on the others to ensure that a common objective or goal is reached. If there is someone who does not pull their own weight, it does not just hurt that individual but it drags the whole team down as well. In this sense, working in a team makes the teammates interdependent.

Working in a team can also allow for a feeling of stability. Knowing that you are not alone can help a lot, especially when you combine and draw from the strengths of each individual who is in that team. Where one person may be uncertain of how to approach an objective, that thing could be another person's strength. The same could be true down the road where the opposite is the case. While working in a team, it is important to know exactly what the strengths are of the team mates, so that when the time comes the respective person can be put in charge of the task at hand in order to get it handled to the best of the team's ability.

It is important to be clear with the team about what is expected of them. A team cannot be effective if there is confusion and chaos in the tasks. Each person's contributions are important, so each person needs to know what is expected of them at all times. It is also important for the team to be organized, so that at any given time they can meet to discuss the project at hand and see the progress that is being made my each individual team member and to see if any changes should be made. If there is a lack of communication or if confusion runs amok, then the effectiveness and efficiency of a team will be negatively impacted.

"Almost all teams must do the following: set goals or priorities; analyze or allocate the way work is performed; examine the way a group is working; develop norms; make decisions and communicate; and examine the relationships among the people doing the work." (Dyer, 1987)

Tracy, M. (2010). Team Effectiveness: Key Ideas and Developments. AI Practitioner, 12(4), 10-15