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Team working factsheet

Defining teamworking
Teamworking may be defined as a work practice based on the use of teams, or groups of limited numbers of people, who have shared objectives at work and who co-operate, on a permanent or temporary basis, to achieve those objectives in a way that allows each individual to make a distinctive contribution.

Background
In recent years, teamworking has become more important. Previously, roles at work were often well-defined; in the traditional office or factory. or e!ample, there was usually a strict division of responsibilities and most job titles e!plained e!actly which duties people would be e!pected to perform. "ut with advances in technology and education, employers began to emphasise versatility, leading to an increasing interest in teamworking at all levels. The 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Sur ey #$%&'() found almost three-*uarters of workplaces having at least some employees working in formal teams.

Benefits of teamworking
+rganisations use teamworking for many reasons, including the desire to achieve the following objectives, improve productivity enhance *uality of products or services improve customer focus speed the spread of ideas respond to opportunities and threats as well as to fast-changing environments increase employee motivation introduce multi-skilling and employee fle!ibility.

There can be benefits for employees, too, including greater job satisfaction and motivation together with improved learning.

Stages of team de elopment


!ike Woodcock"s theory about teamwork is that, when people come together to achieve an objective, they go through a series of stages before becoming an effective team-. The main stages are, #orming . or undeveloped, when people are working as individuals rather than a team. Storming . the team becomes more aggressive, both internally and in relation to outside groups, rules and re*uirements. $orming . or consolidating, in which the team is beginning to achieve its potential, effectively applying the resources it has to the tasks it has, using a process it has developed itself. %erforming . when the team is characterised by openness and fle!ibility. It challenges itself constantly but without emotionally charged conflict, and places a high priority on the development of other team members.

$hile this is a useful model, it may not always be true. or e!ample, a team in which the members know each other well may perform effectively almost from the start.

&haracteristics of effecti e teams


/n effective team has the following characteristics, a common sense of purpose a clear understanding of the team0s objectives resources to achieve those objectives mutual respect among team members, both as individuals and for the contribution each makes to the team0s performance valuing members0 strengths and respecting their weaknesses mutual trust willingness to share knowledge and e!pertise willingness to speak openly a range of skills among team members to do its work a range of personal styles for the various roles needed for the team0s tasks.

Two central re*uirements for team membership may be identified, the team should include a range of the necessary technical and specialist skills there should be a variety of personal styles among members to fill the different roles that are involved in successful teamwork.

Team roles
The well-known e!pert, Dr !eredith Bel'in, did important work on team roles and types during the )123s and has continued to work in this area4. "elbin has developed and slightly changed his description of team roles over the years and in his later work lists nine roles5, %lant . 'olves difficult problems. Resource in estigator . %!plores opportunities. 6evelops contacts. &o(ordinator . 7larifies goals, promotes decision making. Shaper . 8as drive and courage to overcome obstacles. !onitor e aluator . 'ees all options. Teamworker . 9istens, notices things, stops problems before they happen. )mplementer . Turns ideas into practical action. &ompleter . 'earches out errors and omissions, delivers on time. Specialist . Provides knowledge and skill that may be in short supply.

"elbin0s work has been criticised because individuals rarely fit neatly into these categories . most fit into more than one category while the best team workers might adapt their behaviour to fill different roles as circumstances re*uire. urther investigations by the academics !argerison and !c&ann confirm the need identified by "elbin for complementary skills within a team, leading to their development of the concept of a :team management wheel0;. The <argerison-<c7ann work stresses individual development as a first step to team development, with both of these aspects related to clear business objectives, and highlights the key role for a :linker0 at the centre of the team management wheel model.

Selecting team mem'ers


There are many other psychological tests and criteria that result in different team type classifications. +rganisations may wish to look at a sample of tests to consider which might be most appropriate if they intend to use them to select team members and, especially, team leaders. 8owever, simply looking at previous behaviours in earlier teams, asking former team leaders and=or considering appraisal records may not be enough to select team members. Team selection is not an e!act science and instinct may also be relevant. / mi! of types is necessary, as well as a mi! of skills . for e!ample, selecting a team of IT specialists to look at an IT project might be a bad idea #although it happens(, as users of the system should be included in the team. In this way, teamworking may also help people work across departments and encourage wider cooperation.

Teamworking across departments


It is often helpful when managing change to ensure that teams from different departments are able to work effectively together towards shared objectives. or e!ample, the 8& team could work with the "usiness Planning team to develop a performance management system.

*eading teams
9eadership is vital for successful teams, although there is no single method of successful team leadership. 9ike other team members, team leaders have their own personal styles. $hatever their individual style, all leaders should, listen to team members *uestion them to understand their points of view be responsive to feedback. 'ometimes, leadership may rotate; for e!ample, different individuals may lead different stages of a team project. 'ometimes teams appoint their own leaders, although this only happens in >? of workplaces, according to the -335 $%&'.

Team training and learning


Training on team building is often necessary to assist the move from working in a traditional hierarchy to being part of a team, as well when team members have not worked together previously and may not even know each other. This may involve e!ercises done together, to allow people to get to know each other and to work together, understanding each member0s strengths and weaknesses. 'ocial events may also be used to get team members to know each other. 7ommunications, knowledge-sharing and problem-solving may often be on the agenda, but the areas covered will depend on the type of team and separate training may be needed for team leaders.

Rewarding teams
Traditional appraisal systems are sometimes criticised for not considering individuals0 contributions to teams and, they may even make teamworking less effective #for e!ample, if an individual refuses to share knowledge because he or she wants to look better than colleagues(. To prevent these problems, a few organisations have team pay systems to reward group effort rather than individual performance. 8owever, research shows that such schemes are less important for success than management style, culture and the working environment. /nother approach is to include teamworking specifically in individual performance appraisals.

&onclusion
Teams come in many forms and e!ist for many purposes. "ut not all teams succeed. Inade*uate terms of reference, resources or training, poor selection of team members, the wrong mi! of personality types or skills and poor leadership are among the reasons why teams may fail. It is important for the operation of teamworking to be effectively managed to limit these problems. Teamworking is desirable in many circumstances and, properly managed, can contribute to improved organisational performance while helping to empower individuals and improve job satisfaction and involvement.

References
). @%&'9%A, ". et al. #-33>( Inside the workplace: findings from the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. 9ondon, &outledge. -. $++67+7@, <. #)1B1( eam development manual. -nd ed. /ldershot, Cower. 4. "%9"ID, &.<. #-335( !anagement teams: why they succeed or fail" 4rd ed. +!ford, "utterworth-8einemann. 5. "%9"ID, &.<. #)114( eam roles at work. -nd ed. +!ford, "utterworth-8einemann. ;. <ore information can be found on the T<' 6evelopment International website at http,==www.tmsdi.com= Adapted from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development www.cipd.co.uk

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