PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

SYNOPSIS
The Discipline of Teams

Introduction
Definition of a Team Managers have to agree and be clear on the definition.

This one reflects the discipline-oriented and effective quality of a 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.

4 Elements that make teams function according to Katzenbach and Smith:
1) Common Commitment and purpose
2) Performance Goals
3) Complementary Skills
4) Mutual Accountability

Teams have 3 Common Varieties (or Categories) according to authors:
1) Teams that recommend things
2) Teams that make or do things
3) Teams that run things

Key Findings of research in their discovery to find what differentiates levels of team performance,
where/how teams work best and what top mgmt. can do to improve their effectiveness:
There is a basic discipline that makes teams work. Teams & good performance are
inseparable; you cant have one without the other. The word team is loosely used, and its
impt. to accurately define what a team is and isnt.
Most execs advocate teamwork as they should. Teamwork represents a given set of values
that encourage constructive and active listening/responding. Examples of these values are:
giving the benefit of the doubt, providing moral support, and recognition of the interests and
achievements of others.
Committees, councils and task forces = may be a group or a workforce, but not a team.
Groups do not become teams because of the team nomenclature.
Distinction between team and group lies in performance output between them, based on
functional output of individual performance.
Team output is a result of the collective output as well as the individual output of each
member of the team and the collective work product or what two or more members work
on together, ie. Interviews, surveys, presentations or experiments. This reflects a joint
contribution of team members.

Key Differences between working groups and teams:
Working groups are similar to teams. But they dont take accountability for results other than
their own, however teams do.
Working groups do not have a gain from the incremental performance contribution that two
or more members provide, however teams do.
Working Groups require discussion, debate and decision- advocacy as well as sharing of best
practices and standards. Teams require both this and mutual / individual accountability.
Teams produce discrete work products through joint contributions of their members- this is
PERSONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
SYNOPSIS
The Discipline of Teams

what makes a team greater than the sum of all of its parts.
Teams have a shared and common commitment w/o it, groups perform as individuals &
with it, become a powerful unit of collective performance. Commitment requires purpose of
which all team members must share.
The team purpose is one that relates to winning, being first, revolutionizing or being on the
razors edge.

Outlined Differences: Qualities of Team vs. Working Group
Team
Shared leadership roles
Individual & mutual accountability
Specific team purpose that the team itself delivers
Collective work products
Encourages open-ended discussion and active problem-solving meetings
Measures performance directly by assessing collective work products
Discusses, decides, and does real work together
Working Group
Strong,clearly focused leader
Individual accountability
The groups purpose is the same as the broader organizational mission
Individual work products
Runs efficient meetings
Measures its effectiveness indirectly by its influence on others (such as financial performance of the business)
Discusses, decides, and delegates
Management
Responsible for providing clarification of the charter or mission, rationale and performance
challenge of the team
Needs to provide more flexibility for team to provide commitment on its own interpretation of
its purpose and goals, timing and approach

Common Approach of Successful Teams
Establish Urgency , demanding performance standards and direction
Choose members for skill and skill potential, not personality
First impressions , meetings and actions mean a lot
Set clear rules of engagement or behavior
Set & capture performance-oriented common goals and tasks that are achievable/attainable
Challenge group regularly w/ current facts & information
Spend lots of time working together maximize and dont minimize this time
Exploit the power of positive feedback, recognition and reward

Teams need to develop the right mix of skills. These team skills categories are:
Technical/Functional Expertise
Problem Solving/Decision Making Skills
Interpersonal Skills
Teams that Recommend Things
Teams that Make or Do Things
Teams that Run Things