Characteristics of an Effective Team
Experience has demonstrated that successful teams are empowered to
establish some or all of a team's goals, to make decisions about how
to achieve these goals, to undertake the tasks required to meet them
and to be mutually accountable for their results. There are several
characteristics of an effective team. These include:
- Clear Purpose - The vision, mission, goal or task of the
team has been defined and is now accepted by everyone. This is an
action plan.
- Informality - The climate tends to be informal, comfortable
and relaxed. There are no obvious tensions or signs of boredom.
- Participation - There is much discussion and everyone is
encouraged to participate.
- Listening - The members use effective listening techniques
such as questioning, paraphrasing and summarizing to get out ideas.
- Civilized Disagreement - If there is disagreement, the team
must be comfortable with this and show no signs of avoiding, smoothing
over or suppressing conflict.
- Consensus Decisions - For important decisions, the goal is
substantial but not necessarily unanimous agreement through open discussion
of everyone's ideas, avoidance of formal voting or easy compromises.
- Open Communication - Team members feel free to express their
feelings on the tasks as well as on the group's operation. There are
few hidden agendas. Communication takes place outside of meetings.
- Clear Roles and Work Assignments - There are clear expectations
about the roles played by each team member. When action is taken,
clear assignments are made, accepted and carried out. Work is fairly
distributed among team members.
- Shared Leadership - While the team has a formal leader, leadership
functions shift from time to time depending on the circumstances,
the needs of the group and the skills of the members. The formal leader
models the appropriate behavior and helps establish positive norms.
- External Relations - The team spends time developing key
outside relationships and mobilizing resources, then building credibility
with important players in other parts of the organization.
- Style Diversity - The team has a broad spectrum of team-player
types, including members who emphasize attention to task, goal setting,
focus on process and questions about how the team is functioning.
- Self-Assessment - Periodically, the team stops to examine
how well it is functioning and what may be interfering with its effectiveness.
Source:
Supervisory Management: The Art of Empowering and Developing
People, by Mosley, Donald C. Megginson, Leon C. and Pietri,
Paul H., South-Western College Publishing, 2001, pages(s) 289-291.
Send this article to a friend
Authored by: Rick Sparks, Business and Industry
Specialist, University of Missouri Extension
Source: Creating Quality Newsletter, Volume
12, Number 4, April 2003
go
back
Newsletter archives: 2004
| 2003
| 2002
| 2001
|
