A team is a small group of people with complementary skills committed to a common goal and mutual accountability. There are three main types of teams: self-managing work teams, cross-functional teams composed of different specialties, and virtual teams that conduct work electronically. Effective teams go through forming, storming, norming, and performing stages. Key aspects of improving teamwork include setting goals, valuing each member, facilitating communication, and providing coaching/training.

1. Team
• A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who
are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and
approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

2. TYPES OF TEAMS
• 1. Self-Managing Work Teams:
• The best known work team is a group of workers who take over much
of the responsibility for managing their own work. A self-managing
work team is a small group of employees responsible for managing
and performing technical tasks to deliver a product or service to an
external or internal customer. The vast majority of large- and
medium-size firms make some use of self-managing work teams. Such
teams perform a wide variety of manufacturing and service activities.

3. TYPES OF TEAMS
• 2. Cross-Functional Teams
A cross-functional team is a work group composed of workers from different
specialties, at about the same organizational level, who come together to
accomplish a task. The people from different specialties are supposed to
blend their talents. Cross-functional teams are widely used in product
development.
• 3. Virtual Teams
Some teams conduct most of their work by sending electronic messages to
each other rather than conducting face-to-face meetings. A virtual team is a
small group of people who conduct almost all of their collaborative work by
electronic communication rather than face-to-face meetings.

4. Advantages of Group Work and Team Work
A group of knowledgeable people can bring about
• synergy, whereby the group’s total output exceeds the sum of each
individual’s contribution.
• Groups help gain acceptance and commitment.
• Team members often critically evaluate each other’s thinking, thus avoiding
major errors.
• Working in teams and other groups also enhances job satisfaction and
need satisfaction, such as the need for affiliation.
• Problems are exposed to a greater diversity of knowledge, skill and
experience
• The recommendations are more likely to be implemented than if they
come from an individual

5. Disadvantages of Group Work and Teamwork
• Groups and teams often talk too much and act too little.
• A major problem in groups is pressure toward conformity to group
standards of performance and conduct which could hurt the
organization.
• Social loafing is the shirking of individual responsibility in a group
setting. At their worst, groups foster conflict, with people bickering
about matters such as doing a fair share of work.
• Groups can become xenophobic, thus entering into conflict with
other groups.

6. Team development
It is possible to identify four stages that all teams will go through, given
time:
1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing

7. Team development
1.Forming (awareness) stage:
• In this stage, feelings, weaknesses and mistakes are covered up and there is no
shared understanding of what needs to be done. People show little care for
others’ values and views.
2. Storming (conflict) stage:
• This stage is more risky as personal issues are opened up and the team becomes
more inward looking. There is more concern for the values, views and problems
of others in the team.
3. Norming (co-operation) stage:
In this stage, confidence and trust begin to emerge, together with a more
systematic and open approach, leading to a clearer and more methodical way of
working. There is greater valuing of people, clarification of purpose, establishing of
objectives, systematic collection of information, considering of all options,
preparation of detailed plans and progress reviews to make improvements.

8. Team development
4. Performing (productivity) stage: this stage includes includes
flexibility, leadership decided by situations, not protocol, everyone’s
energy is utilized and basic principles and social aspects of the
organization's decisions are considered.

9. Team development
• Teams that go through these stages successfully should become effective process
improvement teams and display:
• Clear objectives and agreed performance goals
• Openness and confrontation
• Support and trust
• Co-operation and conflict
• Good decision making
• Appropriate leadership
• Review of the team process
• Sound inter-group relationships
• Individual development opportunities

10. A model for teamwork
• In developing his model for teamwork, John Adair understood that for
any team to respond to leadership, it needed a clearly defined task,
and the achievement of that task is related to the needs of the team
and the individuals within that team.
• The team leader or facilitator must concentrate on the small central
area in the model where the three circles overlap – the “action to
change” area, and there are three inter-related, but distinctive,
requirements of a team leader:

11. A model for teamwork
Task
needs
Action to
change
Team’s
needs
Individuals’
needs

12. A model for teamwork
• Define and achieve the job or task, e.g, process improvement
• Build up and co-ordinate a team to do this
• Develop and satisfy the individuals within the team
do this, the team leader or facilitator must perform the following
functions:
1. Planning
• Define the team task or purpose
• Make a workable plan

13. A model for teamwork
2. Initiating
• Explain why the plan is necessary
• Allocate tasks to team members
• Set team standards
3. Controlling
• Influence the tempo
• Ensure all actions move towards the objective
• Keep discussions relevant
• Guide the team to action and decision

14. A model for teamwork
4. Supporting
• Encourage and discipline the team and individuals
• Create team spirit
• Relieve tension
• Reconcile disagreements
5. Informing
• Give new information to the team
• Receive information from the team
• Summaries suggestions and ideas

15. A model for teamwork
6. Evaluating
• Test the consequences of a proposed solution
• Evaluate team performance
• Help the team evaluate its own performance against standards

16. 10 Tips for Improving Teamwork
in the Workplace
1. Act as a guide: Every team needs a great leader who’s willing to
guide the team in working and making decisions collaboratively. The
team leader must also be committed to reaching the team’s goals and
have strong communication skills to be able to share their passion and
vision for success.
2. Make every team member feel valued: Success as a team can only
come when each team member is aware of the importance of their role
in the team’s success. Involve all team members by sharing any
available information relevant to the goal/project and any deadlines.
Assign them with responsibility for specific goals/outcomes and reward
all members of the team for achieving them.

17. Improving Teamwork
in the Workplace
3. Set increasingly challenging team-based goals: Each time the team
reaches a goal, set a more challenging goal for them to achieve to
encourage team members to stretch themselves and learn from and
build on their previous successes. Recognize the team for meeting the
challenge and openly discuss how their team effort led their achieving
the goal.
4. Incorporate team-based problem solving into staff meetings: At
each team meeting ask every team member to share a project or task
they might feel stuck on, or challenged by, and request that other team
members give feedback, provide some mentoring and share their ideas
to help resolve the dilemma or impasse. Encourage team brainstorming
of solutions.

18. Improving Teamwork
in the Workplace
5. Facilitate conversation, idea-sharing and team brainstorming:
Where possible, set up work areas where team members can get
together to easily share ideas, brainstorm or discuss progress on
goals/projects. Open office environments don’t always work, so this
might mean allocating certain rooms, or even outdoor spaces in the
workplace, where team members can work together.
6. Encourage teamwork on projects: Develop a protocol that requires
team members to work together on projects. For example, before any
important document or plan is finalized, ensure that more than one
team member has been responsible for creating, reviewing and giving
their feedback on it.

19. Improving Teamwork
in the Workplace
7. Discuss team dynamics on a regular basis: Encourage open
communication in team meetings about the team dynamic - for example,
talk specifically about what’s working well and what could work better. Use
this as an opportunity for team members to discuss how they can work more
effectively as a team, but never to criticize one another in front of other
team members. Also encourage conversations reflecting on what has
enabled positive achievements as a team.
8. Welcome comments, questions and suggestions from all team members:
Great ideas and improvements can come as a result of asking what might
seem to be ‘dumb’ questions or looking at a situation from a completely
different perspective. Be open to and encourage input from every team
member. Be supportive of new ideas and, as a team, work through all ideas
and weed out any that won’t work.

20. Improving Teamwork
in the Workplace
9. Provide ongoing coaching, training and mentoring opportunities and
support to team members: Giving team members ongoing learning
opportunities and building both individuals’ skills and team skills encourages
people to grow and stretch their capabilities. Assign mentors where possible
to team members and encourage leaders and managers to develop coaching
skills to use within their teams. Or, hire an external professional coach to
work with the team leaders, managers, or individual team members, to
further develop specific competencies.
10. Recognize and reward good teamwork: Look for ways to acknowledge
and consistently reward good teamwork. Also be quick to discipline any team
member who engages in gossiping about, bullying, or back-stabbing other
team members. Let it be known that your organization will not condone any
negative interpersonal behavior.