TEAMWORK

In order for teams to perform successfully, team members need to be aware of and practice the fundamentals of teamwork. First, the team should meet on a regular basis at a specified time. Teams that do not meet or miss meetings routinely do not perform well.

Research on team dynamics indicates three service roles or functions that team members must perform during their meetings. The service roles include (1) leader, (2) recorder, and (3) observer. Each role carries specific responsibilities that affect team dynamics. Except for the leader's role, having team members volunteer to fill each role is often more desirable than appointing someone who may not want it.

The Leader's Role

In most cases the supervisor or manager of the department fills the leader's role. In self-led teams the leader role may rotate among the team members. In both cases, the leader of the team assumes the following responsibilities:

• Ensures that team members perform task and maintenance functions, and reduces nonfunctional behavior.

• Assists the team in choosing and focusing on its tasks and goals.

• Encourages free expression and balanced participation.

• Helps team members listen to each other.

• Helps the team manage conflict.

• Communicates concerns of the team to the next level of management.

One person or leader does not easily accomplish all these outcomes. In an effective team, each team member shares responsibility for performing tasks and maintenance behaviors and for minimizing dysfunctional behaviors. In less mature teams the accountability for these behaviors falls on the leader. The following chart describes each of these behaviors in detail. Dysfunctional behaviors should be addressed immediately. Team members need to be confronted privately about their behavior when it jeopardizes the team. Clear expectations for what is expected and the consequences for failing to perform as expected should be explained thoroughly. If the behavior persists, the person may need to be formally disciplined or removed from the team.

The Recorder's Role

The recorder performs an important function for the team. Primarily the recorder is the historian for the team. The recorder is responsible in the following areas:

• Provides the team with written documentation of the ongoing discussion by recording comments on an easel or board for all the team to see.

• Asks for clarification of ideas or statements as necessary.

• May participate in group discussion, but primarily focuses on recording team members' discussion.

Team discussion frequently ebbs and flows. Depending on the nature of the topic, the discussion may prompt many ideas, thoughts, or suggestions to roll out quickly and randomly. The recorder is responsible for capturing key words or phrases during the discussion. This transcription allows the discussion to progress to other thoughts without losing what has been said or suggested. Some team members may require more “think time” than others in order to fully express their thoughts on a subject or idea. Having a written document in front of them provides the opportunity to refer to an earlier statement on the flip chart. An illuminating thought might emerge that was missed the first time. Skills for a recorder include being a good listener and summarizer.

The Observer's Role

The observer is like a mirror that reflects team behavior back to the team members. The reflection is open for investigation. To accomplish this task, the observer:

• Provides the team with observations of its behaviors and processes.

• Makes comments that are group directed and does not refer to the participants by name in the feedback (at least not in early discussions).

• Reports observations at times specified by the leader.

• Sits where he or she can see most team members.

• Reports what he or she observed, not what he or she thinks occurred or should have occurred.

The observer should be alloted a specified amount of time during the team meeting to discuss his or her observations. The team may use a formal questionnaire for assessing team behavior. Numerous team climate questionnaires are available, but using one specifically designed for your team is often the most rewarding. A typical team climate questionnaire focuses on evaluating teamwork. Here are three examples of questions that might appear on a questionnaire. Your team can design its own feedback form and ask its own questions. Instructions direct each team member to individually evaluate the team's effectiveness in key areas. All individual scores can be averaged and compared to one another. All group behaviors are data for analysis.

After completing this feedback form the team discusses its scores. Goals for correcting weaknesses can be set. The team may also wish to celebrate its strengths and accomplishments.

Being a member of a fully functioning and effective team is highly rewarding. The cohesive team, effectively led, often outproduces the most productive individual working alone. Making and keeping a team effective requires the constant diligence of each member. Your team's behaviors collectively will determine how effective your team actually is. Research has shown that teams exhibiting the following seven behaviors (or normative conditions) are most likely to be effective.

Seven Normative Conditions for Effective Teams

Source: Adapted from John McKinley, Group Development Through Participation Training (New York; Paulist Press, 1978).

A leader must help the team address any problems it experiences. Try to be as specific as possible when describing the weaknesses of your team. You may wish to study more about team dynamics and the stages that teams go through as they develop. An excellent resource is the research of B.W. Tuckman and M.C. Jensen.^[1] The leader of a group needs to hone his or her skills in team leadership. For some, these skills seem to come naturally. For the rest of us, study, practice, and help from others is necessary and desirable.

^[1] “Stages of Small-Group Development Revisited,” Group and Organizational Studies (December 1977).