The document discusses the differences between a working group and a team. A working group has independent participants with separate goals who share information to help members perform individually, while a team has interdependent participants with common goals who must work together interdependently to achieve results. A team is defined as a small group of people with complementary skills committed to a common purpose, goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable. The document outlines characteristics of effective working groups and high-performing teams.

1. DYNAMICS OF A TEAM
VS. WORKING GROUP
1

2. Defining the purpose of your team (or working group)
Leaders can only achieve success for themselves and their organisation through
the effort and contribution of others. The nature of the challenge or task can often
dictate if this requires a team or a working group. To be effective, leaders often
play a very different role when leading a team as opposed to a working group.
To understand what is most appropriate, consider these questions:
▪ Why does your team exist?
▪ What role does your team specifically play in the context of your
organisation’s purpose?
▪ What value does your team offer to your stakeholders?
2

3. Working group versus team
3
© Telos Partners
Working
group
Task controlling
Team
Transformational
▪ Independent
▪ Separate goals
▪ Sharing helps members individually perform
▪ Interdependent
▪ Common goals
▪ Working together is necessary to achieve goals

4. Definition of team
“A team is…
…a small number of people
…with complementary skills
…who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach
…for which they are mutually accountable"
4
Source: 'The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the High-Performance Organization‘, by Jon R.Katzenbach & Douglas K. Smith. 1993

5. Working group versus team
Working Group
▪ Focus on wider (company)
purpose
▪ Strong formal leader
▪ Independent participants
▪ Separate goals
▪ Individual work products
▪ Sharing helps members
individually perform
▪ Individual accountability
▪ Runs efficient meetings that get
tasks done by clear delegation
5
Team
▪ Focus on specific team purpose
▪ Shared leadership
▪ Interdependent participants
▪ Common goal (and individual
goals)
▪ Collective work products
▪ Sharing is necessary to achieve
team goals
▪ Mutual accountability
▪ Encourages open-ended,
exploratory discussion to create
alignment around shared
purpose
Source: Adapted from 'The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the High-Performance Organization’, by Jon R. Katzenbach &
Douglas K. Smith. 1993

6. From working group to team
6
© Telos Partners
High Performing Team
performanceimpact
team effectiveness
Working
Group
Potential Team
Real
Team
Reprinted by permission of Harvard Business School Press.
From 'The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the High-Performance Organization’, by Jon R.Katzenbach & Douglas K. Smith, McKinsey &
Company Inc 1993. Copyright ©1993 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, all rights reserved.
Pseudo
Team

7. The journey from working group to team
7
Working group
▪ No significant
incremental
performance need
or opportunity
▪ Members interact
to share
information and
best practices
▪ Members interact
to make decisions
which enable
individual action
▪ No common goal
or purpose
▪ Individual
accountability
Pseudo team
▪ A significant
incremental
performance need
or opportunity does
exist
▪ But not really
focused on
collective
performance
▪ No common
purpose or goals
▪ A lot of talk about
teamwork and
being a team
▪ The whole is less
than the sum of the
parts
Potential team
▪ A significant
incremental
performance need or
opportunity does exist
▪ Really trying to
improve their
performance impact
▪ What’s required:
▪ clarity about goals,
purpose and work
products
▪ discipline to
hammer out a
common working
approach
▪ establish collective
accountability
Real team
▪ Small number of
people
▪ Complementary
skills
▪ Equally committed
to:
▪ common purpose
and goals
▪ working approach
▪ mutually
accountable
High performing
team
▪ Everything a real
team is
Plus
▪ A deep commitment
to one another’s
personal growth and
success
▪ Rare!
Source: Adapted from 'The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the High-Performance Organization'. 1993, McGraw-Hill, Katzenbach & Smith

8. Characteristics of high performance
8
Working Groups
▪ Strong, clearly focused leader
▪ Strong individual accountability to the
leader
▪ Individuals fulfil their tasks to the best
of their ability
▪ Open, constructive and supportive
▪ Members interact effectively and
motivate each other to achieve
individual targets
▪ Efficient meetings: discuss, decide,
delegate
▪ Well planned management processes
▪ Information, best practices and
insights readily shared
▪ Company and individual targets met
Teams
▪ Trust and openness
▪ Clear shared vision
▪ Regular review of team and
individual performance
▪ High degree of autonomy from
leader
▪ Leader focuses on delegating and
personal and inter-personal
development
▪ Disagreements resolved quickly and
changes agreed
▪ Mutual support and inter-
dependence evident
▪ Company, team and individual
targets met and exceeded
Source: Adapted from 'The Wisdom of Teams, Creating the High-Performance Organization‘, by Jon R.Katzenbach & Douglas K.
Smith. 1993

9. THANK YOU
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