Chapter 9: Creating and Developing Leadership and Project Teams

Introduction

This section of the Guidebook outlines some of the benefits of taking a team approach to working together, some of the basic considerations needed as you bring people together to form a team, and a few examples of the different kinds of teams you may encounter and their special needs.

Why work as a team?

You may be thinking, “Why use a team? Wouldn’t it be quicker and easier to do this by myself, or with one or two individuals?” It might be easier but there is an old saying that states, “you need to go slow to go fast”.

This is especially true when you work in groups and when issues are as all-encompassing or complex as many natural resource issues are today. Going slow refers to the need to take time early in the process to ensure you allow for ample opportunity for everyone to share perspectives, develop a shared understanding of who the group is and why it has come together, and and the begin to build the relationships necessary for long-term success.   The richness of those initial discussions will help you to go fast later as the group dives into the specifics of the issue or situation. If you limit your discussions and perspectives, the outcome will undoubtedly be limited as well.

As we discussed in Chapter 6, identifying group expectations and setting up agreed-upon processes is one way to start to build trust and move a collection of individuals toward a functioning team.

Tools & worksheets

Additional resources