What makes an effective team?
8 Measurable Characteristics and How to Grow Them
Most of us would like to be a part of an effective team. Do you see opportunities to be more effective on your current teams? Right! Teaming is hard! But remember a real team isn’t just a group of people. It’s got stable membership, interdependent tasks, clear purpose and objectives, the right roles and skills and most importantly, enablers not de-railers. And, there is a big difference between being in a team, on a team, and working as a team. Here are eight characteristics to help your team be more effective.
Intuition- It’s like the “no look” pass in basketball. You know each others skills and style well and play off each other. This helps leverage all strengths and talents. It’s when you know who to ask, who’s really good, and who you want on a project. To develop this, be aware of the various work and behavioral styles on your team and play games together to get to know them.
Flexibility- This includes team membership, processes, structure, and the overall organization. This helps keep the open mind to support change and adapt. Don’t be shy about inviting new members, having flexible work schedules, or giving people the autonomy to do things differently than they’ve always been done. Temporary project team structures are a great way to practice this.
Reflection- Take a step back, discuss improvements in effectiveness, and refocus. This is where learning occurs! This team collaboration creates holistic problem identification and solutions. Dedicate time and space for debriefs or sunset reviews. You can even have a little fun doing it as a skit or role play!
Performance Management- This includes reviewing the support a team gets/gives, how they are structured, tasks and processes, and even social performance. Feedback on performance against expectations gives the ability to quickly course correct. Today’s self-led teams monitor, measure, and influence their own aspects of quality, quantity, problems solved, decision accuracy, behavior, equal contribution, and satisfaction. Be sure to reward performance at a team level!
Diversity- Life experience, background, education, and diversity of thought improves innovation and creativity. A great example is when tech companies add anthropologists to their design teams. Invite to the table and hand the mic to those that you normally wouldn’t think of. Remember to lean into difference of opinion as a learning opportunity.
Cohesion- This is the willingness of a team to stay together during tough times, not just when we’re agreeable. Clear goals, small wins, and frequent interaction help create a sense of group pride. Continue to develop interpersonal skills such as respect, support, and conflict resolution with team building events.
Group Learning- Teams have the ability to continuously learn and grow from each other. This collective learning reduces dependency on any one member and helps all KSA’s develop. Senge’s Learning Organization coupled with a learning oriented attitude can help teams use real-life scenarios to learn together. Keep a keen eye on Argyris’ Double-Loop learning: doing things right versus doing the right things!
Achievement- Accomplishing the goals and tasks of both the individual and team improves morale because it feels great to be on a winning team. Be sure to map achievements to the individual, group, and organizational level to make a stage for celebrating wins big and small at all levels!
Creating a “dream team takes” a lot of work across many domains such as transformational leadership, focus, optimism, belief, openness, and trust to name a few. Remember to enjoy the journey and your time together as you aspire to do great things!