Wiser, By Reid Hastie

After reading The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Pat Lencioni, discussing the function of effective teams in class, and completing various team building exercises, I have developed a much better understanding of the importance of a proper team in a business setting and how good team work can produce more efficient and productive results.

“Different ideas compete for consideration. The team addresses issues such as what problems they are supposed to solve, how they will function independently and together and what leadership model they will accept. It can be contentious, unpleasant and even painful to members of the team who are averse to conflict. Supervisors of the team during this phase may be more accessible but tend to still need to be directive in their guidance of decision-making and behavior (Wikipedia).”

The belief that teams make us more creative and productive - and are the best way to get things done - is deeply entrenched. Where teams go wrong. Shockingly, most of the time members don't agree on what the team is supposed to be doing or even on who is on the team. The belief that bigger is better also compounds problems; as a team

Learning teams consist of a small number of students grouped together, and working together on assignments during the duration of the course. According to University of Phoenix, Inc. (2006-2013), “By relying on others and having others rely on you, you will grow your collaborative skills”. This team encourages successful performance results, but successful performance can be hindered if team members do not equally contribute and work together. A collaborative team environment is the key for the complete success of the team. A collaborative environment can be

In the book “Making the Team: A Guide for Managers,” author Leigh Thompson states, “Good teams are not a matter of luck; they are result from hard work, careful planning, and commitment from the sponsoring organization” (4). As the consulting team for Wowzer Inc. we understand that the problems faced by the organization include, mismanagement of tasks and assignments, lack of quality or incomplete works, and a lack of innovation and creativity. The success or failure of any team can be attributed to four main factors: group leadership, group conflict, social loafing, and group cohesion. By exploring these factors we can discover the opportunities and pitfalls of each and make recommendations to build efficient and effective teams within the

only on management but also on a willing team that wants to work together. Team building starts in childhood and knowing how to share, and thus working together on whatever game is presented. As life continues, team building is a large fundamental aspect in everyone’s life in school to university level. Furthermore, all

Team and team leadership play a crucial role in developing an adaptive and collaborative organization since the ability of a team to collaborate well together will improve its effectiveness. A collaborative climate must be present in an organization, and according to Northouse (2016) “to build an atmosphere that fosters collaboration, we need to develop trusting relationships based on honesty, openness, consistency, and respect.” (p. 370). This author also describes that this type of climate makes members of a team stay problem focused, have the freedom of taking risks, and listen to and understand one another (p. 370). By having a constant communication with the other members of the team not only creates a more trusting environment, but also

Healthy and dysfunctional teams, for most part, function as mirror images of one another. While one can find characteristics in effective teams without direct counterparts in unhealthy teams, however these qualities tend to arise out of a smaller number of corresponding qualities. Four characteristics stand out as quintessential to whether teams are effective or ineffective; attitude, control mutuality, communication, and execution.

32) A high-performing team can be created by ensuring that new information is kept to a minimum and by giving negative feedback.

At first glance, one would assume that this book would be like other books that were designed to repair work group issues either overly opinionated or disassociated with real world relevance’s. Creating effective teams was anything like the books I have read in the past, as a matter of fact, the first six chapters was awe-inspiring and thought-provoking. The author gracefully transitions each chapter beautiful, Chapter one set the tone for the other chapters by asking “Why Groups”; the methodology behind that forced the readers to think outside of the boxes not to mention it smoothly transition to five other supportive Chapters. Chapter two described different ways wherein larger organization could potentially aid groups to become more successful, whereas Chapter three discusses how groups can develop and function systemically, while Chapter four visibly frameworks the characteristics of productive teams; Chapter five and six diplomatically define the characteristics of effective members and effective leaders, respectively.

According to Kinlaw (1991), teamwork is the way in which people must work and cooperate together in order to produce products or services that could not be produced by a single individual. To this end, teams appear to have a synergy effect, which implies that the total outcome that is produced by the team is by far more than the equivalent result which the sum of the team’s part would have had. By and large, the formation of groups is very useful for the organization and its members, because they perform important tasks. Johnson, Kantner and Kikora (1990) support the rationale of forming groups through the following arguments:

One of the most challenging and rewarding tasks for managers and leaders is creating a team that can operate smoothly and efficiently without the need for constant supervision and direction. This is considered the gold standard of management and managers who can consistently achieve this goal will always be in high demand. The need for successful team building crosses all lines of industry and discipline (Francis, Young, 1979). Whether it is a team of scientists doing lab research, a virtual team creating a database, a sales force out in the field, or a group of high level managers planning a new department or merger, without properly structured and maintained group dynamics, it will prove difficult for them to perform well and yield an excellent result.

The most famous theory of group working is Tuckman’s (1965) model. Tuckman (1965) divided the team’s interaction into four different phases; forming, storming, norming and performing. The first step, forming, is where all members are learning about the opportunities and challenges facing the team. Whereas the second step storming, is where different ideas to tackle problems or issues are developed. The third step, norming, is where the team members fall into agreement over the solutions for their team. In this step, the team members are able to talk openly about their opinions and have the ability to adjust their behaviour to avoid conflict. The final step, performing, is where the team fully understands, co-operates and supports one another, thereby working as a single unit rather than individuals. Teams that have reached this step display high levels of motivation, knowledge, competence and autonomy (Armstrong, 2006).

A team is defined as a group of people that work together on a task in order to achieve a goal. The unity of a team is commonly referred to as the synergy of a team. There seems to exist a correlation between high synergy and the high success a team can bring. In the present, globalization is prevalent throughout communities and businesses as well as the promotion of forming teams, rather than working individually. As a result, many businesses may also come across when trying to develop a team consisting of individuals across national borders and across oceans. These problems may include language barriers, cultural differences, and misunderstandings of the context by which something is said. In order to bring about success in a team work

Social factor theorists suggest that individual behaviours are directly determined by the pattern or structure of relationships within organisations. Therefore, the structures of interpersonal relationships hinge directly on organisational outcomes such as human performance (Carboni & Ehrlich, 2013). By developing teams that encourage trust, sharing of information and other concepts associated with team work, organisations reduce the likelihood of unwanted behaviours or outcomes (Paletz et al. 2009).