This document discusses strategies for effective team performance. It identifies key characteristics of successful teams, including having a clear purpose and goals, participation from all members, and viewing disagreement as productive. Benefits of teams include pooling diverse skills to deliver excellent results. Challenges of teamwork include differing personalities, flexibility, potential conflicts, commitment levels, and organizing schedules. Strategies to enhance performance include clearly defining the objective, providing support, empowering team autonomy, building trust, engaging in conflict constructively, committing to decisions, holding members accountable, focusing on results, and strong communication.
2. Characteristics:
1. There is a clear unity of purpose.
2. The group is self-conscious about its own operations.
3. The group has set clear and demanding performance goals
4. The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable, relaxed.
5. There is a lot of discussion in which virtually everyone participates.
6. People are free in expressing their feelings as well as their ideas.
7. There is disagreement and this is viewed as good.
8. Most decisions are made at a point where there is general agreement.
9. Each individual carries his or her own weight.
10. Criticism is frequent, frank and relatively comfortable.
11. The leadership of the group shifts from time to time.
The issue is not who controls, but how to get the job done.
3. Benefits of teams:
1.Teams enhance the outcome of a project. ∙Teams
provide a variety of different skills from more than one
person.
2.Skills pooled together deliver an excellent product.
4. Challenges of working and learning in
teams
When working and learning in teams there are challenges that you face such
as the following:
1.
Personality types: Everyone has a different dominant personality type.
Some are like yours and some are opposite yours. There are four
personality types developed by Joyce Bishop: thinker, organizer, giver
and adventurer. These can interfere with a group getting along if they
are not accepting and understanding of each other’s learning and
working style.
5. Challenges continued…
2. Flexibility: while working with others you are not just on your time, but the
time frame of everyone in your group. You have to be flexible. Some may be
quicker than you at completing assignments and some need a little more time
due to obligations, schedule, families etc.
3. Conflicts: conflicts can arise because of disagreements and differences of
ideas between group members. You all think you have great ideas, but which
will be chosen? How do you choose? These are sometimes hard questions to
ask. Are you willing to ask? Do you stand by and let others decide if your idea
will be used or not?
6. Challenges continued…
4. Commitment: Are you fully committed to your team?
Commitment is important to a team who needs your total
devotion. Everyone should give their 100%. If some are clearly
not putting In the time or energy into what they have submitted
it can be frustrating.
5. Organization: Getting the team together is a huge challenge all
by itself. Concerns such as skills and schedules of each member
have to be considered. Also there is the question of how to
divide the assignment and to whom.
7. Strategies to develop or enhance team performance :
1. The team must clearly understand its purpose.
a. The objective must be known.
b. Use of a team charter.
2. Organizational support.
a. Does the team have everything they need?
b. Reward and Recognition
3. Empower the team
a. The team members own the solution.
b. The team is responsible for the answers they
provide.
8. Strategies continued…
Team members trust one another
Engage in conflict
Commit to decisions and plans of action
Hold one another accountable
Focus on results
9. *
The absolute best way to develop or enhance team
performance….
COMMUNICATION!!!
10. References
The Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas MacGregor The Wisdom of Teams, by
Kaztenbach and Smith http://www.stanford.edu/class/e140/e140a/effective.html
Cater, C., Bishop, J., & Lyman Kravits, . (2011. Keys to Effective Learning (6th ed.).
Retrieved from
https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/eReader.aspx.
University of Phoenix. (2011). Keys to effective learning: Study skills and habits for
success. Retrieved from University of Phoenix, HCS/301 UNDERGRADUATE NURSING
STUDIES website.
Parker, G.M.(1996). Team Players and Teamwork. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons
Editor's Notes
For a group to be successful having these characteristics are essential, completing the project is the common goal. The (Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas MacGregor The Wisdom of Teams, by Kaztenbach and Smith)
Being on a team allows for more ideas to come in to the equation giving opportunity for the best outcome. (Cater, Bishop, & Lyman Kravits, Chapter benefits of team learning, 2011)
Just like in everyday life we all have to learn how to adjust to other peoples personalities, working closely with a group of people may be trying at first.
Being flexible is important especially when working with others. Conflicts can arise a compromise is sometimes the only way to solve the issue.
Then the team understands its purpose itwill have a direction that everyone agrees on.
Parker, G.M.(1996). Team Players and Teamwork. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
Communication is key without it all else is null and void(Parker, G.M.(1996). Team Players and Teamwork. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons)