Oct
17
2013
Managing a team: what makes for a healthy and productive team?
While a team is a group of people, a group of people is not necessarily a team. What distinguishes the team is its common goal, the mutual dependence of its members and its tendency to form norms of behaviour and an identity all of which bind it together and give it an identity of its own. So, what makes for a healthy and productive team?
Size
Successful teams tend to be small in size, probably not much bigger than seven or eight members. While there are examples of teams that are larger than this, especially in the sporting arena, at work a group of people much larger than eight is hard to coordinate successfully. On the sports field, the team only works together for a short burst of time in a space where everyone can see at once what each other member is doing. This is notably different from the average team at work. The ability to coordinate and liaise well, to work together dynamically, is a vital component of a team. If the group is too big to facilitate this, it may flounder as a team.
Selection
Selection of the best people for the project team on the basis of their skills and what they can contribute is essential to success. To be successful, selection criteria should include the skills and experience candidates bring to the team, their personality and how that will contribute and a consideration of their preferred role within a group.
Relationships
In a successful team, each of the members will build relationships with each of the other members, forming a web of dynamics that is energetic and creative. In groups, on the other hand, members tend to relate to each other through the group leader. This is one reason why teams should be kept small if possible – the nexus of relationships can get too complicated in a larger group.
Day to day leadership in the team is often subtle and fluid, depending more on the importance of an individual’s contribution than on their place in the hierarchy. If the project is focusing on finance then the member with the finance skills will take the lead, if on IT considerations, leadership will pass to the IT specialist. A group is more likely to have only one leader who expects, and is expected, to act in that role all the time. Where the team is unable to, or not allowed to, disregard the formal hierarchical position of its members, it will be less able to engage in a dynamic manner.
Where does this leave the manager? Where your team is small and cohesive, you probably feel safe stepping back from leadership to a more participative role especially where another colleague is sharing their expertise. However, in larger, less cohesive teams or when the going gets tough, the manager is still accountable for the team’s work. He or she will be expected to provide leadership: to lead by example, to own responsibility for the team’s mistakes, to advocate on behalf of the team and to provide cheer and support when times are dark.
Style
Teams emphasise and value difference. They thrive on the added value that difference brings. They do not avoid, and often enjoy, conflict and disagreement and associate these with problem solving. Groups prefer convergence and tend toward conformism – ‘group-think’. Groups may perceive conflict and disagreement as disloyalty and tend to freeze out those who do not conform.
Role clarity
It is important that each member of the team understands what he or she needs to contribute and how each other member is contributing. Where members are confused about their role or the contribution of others, this can lead to bad feeling and low morale. This clarity about contribution should apply both to the tasks that different members will complete and to the way different personalities contribute. A team that ‘clones’ its members and freezes out those who work differently will fail to maximise its performance. One important task for the manager is to continually check that roles are clear and that different personalities understand the positive value that each is contributing.
Co-ordination and liaison
Teams meet frequently and communicate often between meetings. Members update each other constantly both because they need to in order to get the work done and because they want to share the excitement of the project. Groups tend to meet on a less frequent basis, often with a formal agenda. Meetings are led by and focus on the leader.
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This article is taken from the Centre’s published book Supervision and appraisal skills by Jan Burnell. This book explores all elements of supervision including motivation, staff development, managing a team, delegation, communication skills and feedback. The book also looks at the appraisal process and the skills involved to manage this effectively. Buy now.
