Teaming refers to coordination and communication between people, often across disciplinary boundaries, to accomplish interdependent work. In contrast to static teams, teaming involves shifting group interactions and differing perspectives as work and tasks change over time. Teaming is especially important when work is complex, unpredictable, or requires collaboration with new or different people across organizational boundaries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, teaming has become a necessity for many kinds of work, requiring leadership to integrate diverse views, systematically examine options and implications, and make decisions to move forward.

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• A carefully designed, static group of individuals who are
often based in the same building and have time to
interact successfully and efficiently
• They know each other, their individuals’ skills, strengths
and weaknesses and are interdependent in achieving a
shared goal
What’s a team

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• Amy Edmondson, a lecturer at Harvard Business School,
has developed the concept of teaming, as a verb, to
describe ‘teamwork on the fly’
• Teaming is the co-ordination and communication of
people, often across disciplinary boundaries, to get
interdependent work done
Edmondson, A.C. (2012). Teamwork on the fly. Harvard Business Review, 90, no. 4 (April, 2012): 72- 80
Teaming is a verb

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Teams Teaming
• Same people
• Same goals and task
• Frequent interaction of
the same people
• Similar backgrounds
and perspectives
• People change
• Goals and tasks change over
time
• Interactions in shifting groups
• Differing backgrounds and
perspectives

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When teaming matters most
• When work, or patient’s needs, are complex and
unpredictable
• When you’re working with new and different people from
different parts of the organisation or business
• When you’re working across geographical and
organisational boundaries

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Why teaming matters now
During the Covid 19 outbreak teams may choose to adopt
‘teaming’. Teaming is not a design choice it is simply a
necessity for certain kinds of work and it takes leadership
to:
• Bring out and understand different views
• Analyse and generate new and nuanced options
• Examine implications systematically
• Make decisions and move forward
Edmondson, A.C. (2012). Teamwork on the fly. Harvard Business Review, 90, no. 4 (April, 2012): 72- 80

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Find out more
We discuss teaming as part of our leadership programmes.
We give delegates the tools to determine how they can turn
a group of strangers into a team and develop their
leadership skills and capabilities.
To find out more about teaming go to https://pcc-
cic.org.uk/article/teaming-more-dynamic-way-work and if
you would like more information our leadership programmes
please contact enquiries@pcc-cic.org.uk