Is Your Team Really a Team?

I was always a fan of group work during my school days, and thus I was happy to see the trend of working collectively continue in my professional career. Working and managing others so frequently, I quickly learned to tell the difference between a team in title and a team in practice. Confusion, disinterest, and self-interest are only a few of the hallmarks of an employee group that has either ceased or been ill-equipped to work as a team. As a leader, establishing guidelines for how teams should be organized is a key part of ensuring they remain functional.

I believe that a true, optimal team:

Has common goals.

Has a common approach to achieving said goals.

Has a common measure of success for realizing goals.

Has a common understanding of the reward for achieving goals.

Is comprised of mutually supportive and accountable members unified in pursuit of shared goals.

Working from the definition I’ve outlined above, would you consider yourself part of a team? Are your direct reports working as a team? Evaluate the quality of coordination that exists between you, your colleagues, and your employees according to these ideal criteria. While teams can remain effective in satisfying some but not all of the criteria, truly exceptional teams satisfy all five.

And why not always strive for the exceptional?