Traditionally teams are built by putting a group of people together without considering many traits or characteristics about those people, then expecting them to work together in a productive manner. Often times this does not work well at all, particularly if the person in charge is unfamiliar with the team concept themselves. Teams have to be cohesive in their ability to make decisions and handle projects within their organization. Sometimes cohesiveness causes team members who are not adept at working with others to push back at the team and this causes friction within the team. Team building models have been developed over the years to make teams work.
The problem of working teams has been something that researcher and theorists have been studying for years. Many of these researchers and theorists have developed a “standard” way to develop teams and team skills. A plethora of team development books have been written and team consulting firms have popped up all over the world. The Great Man Theory was a popular 19th century idea according to which history can be largely explained by the impact of "great men", using their power in a way that had a decisive historical impact. These great men always had impressive results from their teams because of their leadership qualities. The historian Thomas Carlyle enforced this theory with his statement "The history of the world is but the biography of great men." According to Carlyle, effective leaders are those gifted with
Teams are very important aspects of business. If a team can perform well then the business will thrive and perform more efficiently. It is therefore important to know how to build cohesive teams that perform well.
Teams have become very common and effective since they have proven to be effective in areas as cost reduction, developing new and innovative products, and improving quality (Effective Human relation, 2008). Team development is supported, in fact, required by almost all managements today, but still it may take quite a long time for the members to learn the task and activities and to fit themselves in the particular environment. Team work may vary as the organization or company varies. Team work involves a lot of important aspects such as relationships, cooperation, learning, leadership etc. since a team works together in
Teams are formed when individuals with a common taste, preference, liking, and attitude come and work together for a common goal. Teams play a very important role in organizations as well as our personal lives.
Teams are an integral component of organizational success. They take on many forms and functions and can have various structures. Teams also conduct a wide variety of projects with goals of innovation or mitigation. An example, from my experience, of a project that required the execution from a team was the establishment of a finished goods inventory program within a paper manufacturing company. A project of this magnitude required that a diverse and multifaceted team be assembled.
The features of effective team performance are set out in Brian Tuckman’s phases of team development theory, ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.’ This outlines the phases that a team will go through in order to become effective and reach maturity. At the ‘Forming’ stage of team development individual roles and responsibilities are unclear and each member of the team is concerned to avoid conflict with each other. From this point the team will go through the ‘Storming’ phase which is when they start to conflict as individuals put forward ideas which will be challenged by others in a bid to gain power and position over others. After this the ‘Norming’ phase follows and it is at this point that individual roles are defined and accepted
In the workplace, teams play a very important role in goal achievement. With the help and support of a team leader, the organization can become very successful as long as the team is effective and cooperative. There are many different leadership styles/theories that make each leader unique and effective in their own way. It is not just the leader though that has to be effective. The team as a whole needs to come together and being efficient. Team building strategies are very helpful and effective to bring everyone together. Although working in a team is very effective in most cases, conflicts can still arise. In order to bring everyone back together again conflict resolutions need to be put into place such as the problem solving technique.
An effective and productive team doesn't just happen. It requires structures, support and processes that encourage development. Team building happens over time. When building and developing a cohesive, effective and productive team you need to determine how your team fits and the roles they play in the organisation. Does anything need to be changed? How and when can these changes be put into action? Organisational, strategic and operational plans need to contain suitable mechanisms for supporting team development.
There will always be different opinions and disageements with team members. The best way to deal with disagreements is to know what each team member role is, and to have a plan put in place to deal with any disagreements. The first metod would the four main stages of team development. Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Later a fifth stage of Adjourning/Transforming can be added. The forming is the initial phase of team building, members are ambiguous about their roles, rules, norms, and expectations from them (Kumar, 2014). Also, the next step is, storming where members tend to get into competitiveness, defensiveness, protectiveness, and conflict over roles and personalities; members may become critical of the leader and of each other (Kumar, 2014). Also, in norming members get to know each other, agree on the norms, working styles and systems to follow (Kumar, 2014). In performing the teams works with positive and inspired attitude to accomplish their goals. Finally, in adjourning, after completion of the team tasks, members bring a sense of closure and a connection between members (Kumar, 2014). The second building method would be Mentoring and coaching skills are a must for leaders and managers. Furthermore, in
Andrew Carnegie, the eminent American industrialist and philanthropist, said “Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results”. This fuel generates the drive and motivation necessary for a group of people to come together and work towards a common interest. I have always been amazed by the amount of success a cohesive team achieves while pursuing its goal. However, I have experienced it first hand and know that a team can be chaotic and inefficient when influenced by a few factors. Over the last three weeks, I have learned a great deal on various elements affecting an organization. One key lesson among them is the factors which can make or break a team, leaving long-lasting impact on an organization.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss different strategies for team building which helps is overcoming conflicts in a working environment. Based on current strategies available on subject, it tries to figure out some leading challenges to addressed, and extracting the best strategy for team building. It covers analysis of factors and measures for building up a successful team, which serves as a common ground for a progress in evaluation of best strategy for the particular purpose.
Teams are more than just groups of people assembled in the same area, they are a collection of individuals dedicated to a common purpose and with a series of detailed performance targets, working together with complementary skills. Teams of people are encountered in various scenarios, not just in the workplace, but also throughout life, such as sports, associations, charities and voluntary services.
Work Team development is a dynamic and often difficult process. Most teams find themselves in a continuos state of change and development. Eventhough, most teams never reach full stability, there is a general pattern that describes how most teams evolve. There are five stages of team development, the first stage is forming. In this stage there is a great deal of uncertainty about the teams purpose, structure and leadership. Members are testing the the waters to determine what types of behaviors are acceptable. This stage is complete when members began to think of themselves as part of the team. The second stage is called storming. In this stage there is much intragroup conflict.Team members accept the existence of the team, but there is resistance to the control that the team imposes on individuality. Conflict can arise from numerous sources within the team setting but generally falls into three categories:communication, factors, structural factors and personal factors (Varney, 1989/Townsley). In addition, there is conflict over who will control the team.
In many aspects of our life, it is pervasive to work in a team. No matter in company, school, or another type of team it is necessary to be a part of a team and to achieve a team goal by corporations. People join a team with different personalities, goals, values, beliefs and needs. On the one hand, these differences can be a valuable quality of teams. On the other hand, these same differences inevitably lead to different levels of conflicts as well.
The science of team building is an art. The uncontrollable variables are people. Just putting a group of talented individuals together for the sole purpose of goal achievement can be met with disastrous results. It can leave individuals left feeling unfulfilled and lead to costly mistakes in the long run. While team building can be considered an art, there are some methods and approaches that can assist with successful builds. While no approach is full proof, taking time to acclimate oneself with human
To fully discuss this topic, we must start with a simple definition of a team. Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith define a team in their best-selling book The Wisdom of Teams (Harper Business Essentials 1994), as