TEAM BUILDING for HIGH PERFORMANCE
There's been a big push in the last few years to move organizations to a more participative team-based culture. Some businesses have attempted to use a team model with limited success. Others have been very successful. Many organizations saw teams as the answer to meet the demands of time to market, quality, and service. In reality, it's difficult to change an organization's culture. Period. It takes planning, nurturing and support. If your organization has determined that teams are the right way to go, it's important to have a common "definition" of what constitutes a team. My favorite is from The Wisdom Of Teams, Katzenbach and Smith (1993).
"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable."
What is a small number of people?
Somewhere between two and 25. A team size of 8 to 12 is optimal. Why is this important? What impact does the team size have on its results? Teams meet more to accomplish their work. It's more difficult to get a large group together. Another key factor is decision making. If all members have to be involved in a decision, it will take longer with more members.
What are complementary skills?
These include technical, functional, problem solving, decision-making and interpersonal skills to name a few. In the past, all your business needed to be successful was to have some people with technical or functional skills and others with key interpersonal skills. Not so anymore. Businesses are recognizing that it's important to have people with a mix of talent. Strategic skills can take a team a long way in relationship building and customer satisfaction. ...