In Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance, W. Dyer, W. G. Dyer, Jr. and J. H. Dyer (2007) outline key aspects for team success. For them, there are 4 factors that are critical to understand and manage for team to be high performing in a superior manner:
1. Team Context: The team must have the appropriate organizational structure and culture in which to function, an environment that supports its particular make-up and task. It is imperative that the team members, particularly the team leader, understand and is able to manipulate the organizational environment to its advantage. "High-performing teams manage context effectively by 1) establishing measurable team performance goals that are clear and compelling, 2) ensuring that team members understand that effective teamwork is critical to meeting those goals, 3) establishing reward systems that reward team performance (more than individual performance), 4) eliminating roadblocks to teamwork that formal organizational structures might create, and 5) establishing an organizational culture that supports teamwork-oriented processes and behaviors" (p. 7).
2. Team Composition: Team members must have the requisite skills needed for the assigned project, be committed to each other, be motivated by the task, and have complementary skills that can be used in a synergistic manner. "High-performing teams effectively manage team composition by 1) establishing processes to select individuals for the team who are both skilled and motivated, 2) establishing processes that develop the technical and interpersonal skills of team members as well as their commitment to achieving team goals, 3) cutting loose individuals who lack skills or motivation, 4) managing the team differently depending on the skills and motivation of team members, and 5) ensuring that the team is "right sized," which usually means making sure the team is not too large or small to accomplish the task" (p. 8).
3. Team Competencies: Team compentencies are not just abilities that individual members possess, but that are part of the "team's" make-up, its formal and informal processes. "High-performaing teams have developed processes that all the team to 1) clearly articulate their goals and the metrics for achieving thos goals, 2) clearly articulate the means to achieve the goals, ensuring that individuals understand their assignments and how their work contributes to team goals, 3) make effective decisions, 4) effectively communicate, including giving and receiving feedback, 5) build trust and commitment to the team and its goals, and 6)resolve disputes or disagreements" (pp. 8-9).
4. Team Change Management Skills: Adaptation and change are just part of the daily workplace. This is no different for high performance teams. "High-performing teams have developed the ability to change by 1) establishing team-building processes that result in the regular evaluation of the team context, team composition, and team competencies with the explicit objective of initiating needed changes in order to better achieve the desired team goals, and 2) establishing a philosophy among team members that regular change is necessary in order to meet the demands of a constantly changing world" (p. 10).
An important point in #1 is that the organizational structure and culture supports teams, and that they truly foster and reward teamwork, not merely individual contribution. If such support is not present, it is difficult for a team to have the interdependence--ability to feel valued by and to be connected with the larger organization--needed to be perform well and be successful. This is still a challenge for many organizations.
The notion of "complementarity" and "team synergy" mentioned in #2 is equally important. It is about the team as a "whole," its ability as a unified and talented group, that is key. Team members, while having pride in their capabilities and drawing upon them, focus on the operations, contribution and success of the team. To do this, including being complementary, does not mean that all are the same, and that harmony is the norm. The energy of the tension of diversity and disagreement is harnessed to create innovation and creative problem solving.
The above perspective is an important and viable view of teams, but one that is concerned about the team and its internal composition and operation. Teams have to align themselves with the organization; they have to serve the goals of the organization, be in sync with its core leaders and engage with the core stakeholders related to its project. They must be able to satify their "cleints" and engergize those who need to implement or carry-on their ideas.
D. Ancona and H. Bresman (2007) in X-Teams: How to Build Teams that lead, Innovate and Succeed point out that a team must be consciously connected to its environment, cross its boundaries, and work for the good and overall success of the organization. In their view teams must:
1. Engage in high levels of external activity, particularly conducting scouting activities that provide an understanding of the "world" in which they exist and function, being ambassadors and creating links and working relationships with top management and others as needed, and cordinating the task well with the organization and its goals.
2. Combine high levels of external activity outside the team with exetreme execution inside the team, including having an open and safe team culture that allows for frank discussions, team reflection, and knowledge sharing.
3. Change their core tasks over the team's lifetime to enure that they do not get stuck in any one way of functioning. They explore and discover, expoit ideas by choosing a course of action, and then present, act and get others involved. They turn over their work to others.
So successful teams have to manage their internal and external arenas. So organizations cannot just focus on and reward individual, nor can leaders and team members cannot just be focused on the team itself. It is about the team as a unified entity gathering information from, and communicating, networking and collaborating with the organizational system--the organization as a knowing and producing enterprise.
What do you think are the challenges for teams to achieve these two functions? What competencies and skills do both team leaders and members have to have to do the above, and function well?
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To raise the company’s profile, the company needs to continue with positive efforts towards multicultural diversity in the workplace to stay competitive in the global marketplace while improving corporate culture and create better client relations. The advantage of diversity makes for a clear knowledge of: political, legal, social cultural and economic language factors in working with international organizations and a clearer understanding for a foreign language assists when marketing a product or service. Organizations want to attract and retain the brightest and best employees they can but need to pay attention to the changes in career expectations. Also increase employee morale, maximizes productivity through incentive bonuses, create a respectful and dignified work environment for all in protecting employee’s rights and promote an open-door policy for all. Most important to draw and retain these people the company must have good pay, benefits, and room for advancement.
Johnson and Johnson, an established leader in health care products and services for over 120 plus years, envisioned and believed they could expand their domestic and global markets by recognizing, and utilizing the innovative power contained within multiculturalism and diversity.
Additional tools leaders need in order to manage multicultural workplaces effectively:
• Mentoring and Coaching
• Self-awareness
• Effective communication
• Active listening
The Investors in People Standard tests whether managers foster this sense of ownership and responsibility through encouraging people to become involved in decision-making.
Profile looks at the practical form this encouragement has taken, through establishing – and involving people in designing – effective consultation arrangements. It also examines the support that is made available for people to make decisions at a level appropriate to their role. Achieving this requires you to focus on how information is shared and communicated within the organization.
What do you think are the challenges for teams to achieve these two functions? What competencies and skills do both team leaders and members have to have to do the above, and function well?
There are many factors like both internal and external that affects the team’s functionality. Internal factors include the organization’s culture, the work culture as the way we work and follow the processes, how it is structured with the right competencies and composition of the required and right skill set available and the management skill. Team’s performance also relates to their motivation and commitment. How they are motivated towards the vision/ goal of the organization, and are in synergy towards their objectives. All this depends on the environment that an organization creates to support the team. Managers should have the ability to bring in team spirit to work together, timely evaluation of the team and keep them motivated in different ways by rewarding for their performance.
We also need to have right skill for the right job. Managers should choose his team carefully with the right skill and right size required for the project assigned. If the need be, should constantly keep the team updated/ trained with the skills to match the market. Managers should have good decision making skills, they should ensure to monitor his team’s performance, their commitment towards their objective and communicate effectively and timely basis. This will help the team to understand the requirement and articulate the processes and contribute to the assigned project.
Managers should possess the ability to manage the team efficiently, resolve any conflicts or disagreement, assign work, build trust within the team and ensure completion of project on time. This highly depends on the most significant factor which is a strong organization structure and culture which supports the team to keep their synergy to work together towards organization’s goal overall. Team’s high performance on the whole is achievable with one core factor, which is effective and clear communication at both ends (Management and the team).
They must not have roadblocks or walls that limit their ability to be sucessful. They must also be attentive to the needs of all members, and be willing to listen and give feedback in a compationate way. Both the team members,, and tema leaders have to understand that they are all memebers of a team and want to achevie the same goals. They also have to be willing to do their part, and to give feedback to the team about every step along the way. Leaders must always be availible in some way or another wheather it be via phone, email, or office hours so that the team knows that they are dedicated to the goals ofthe team. Everyone must work within the guidelines of the established parameters ofthe teams goals. They should also meet requlary to discuss setbacks , obstacles and sucesses. These meeting frequency depends on that enviroment and type of team they are, but should definately occur.
Successful team characteristics must include an understanding of the individuals within the team. Ideally, each team member but especially the team leader must get to know each member’s strengths and weaknesses. In getting to know each member, consideration must also be given to the culture that that member is located including the business culture and the geographical culture. For instance, a member located in Italy may have unique strengths or weaknesses due to their location in Italy. Similarly, a member located in China might have other strengths and weaknesses that could be complementary to the member in Italy. As a Team Leader it is important to look at those distinctions. Also, understanding cultural distinctions may help in how far the Leader pushes to get work from members. It may not be culturally appropriate to push the member from China but ok to push the member from Italy.
The Team Leader and Team Members must also be committed to the project and be prepared to park their egos at the door. If all members are focused on achieving the business results and not on promoting themselves, the Team can work together.
Teams are brought together to solve unique problems. Often, these problems require knowledge creation to provide an innovative solution. Therefore, the Teams need to be committed to sharing knowledge from within and around the organization. The Team must also be open to knowledge from outside the organization. In some cases, the Team must be able to solicit knowledge/solutions from others in an ethical and legal way.
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