Chapter 9: Creating and Developing Leadership and Project Teams
Common Attributes of Effective Teams
Common Attributes of Effective Teams
People that come together to work towards a set of shared goals or interests are generally motivated by a range of considerations including the opportunity to have a voice, gain experience, learn something, improve or address an important issue, or resolve a conflict. While the motivations may be slightly different for a project-based team or professional collaborative such as the Water for Agriculture team, many of the same goals apply – parlaying and fostering the interests and expertise of your team members to ensure your team’s success.
Perhaps the most critical thing to keep in mind in building your team(s) is that everyone comes to the table with different experiences, expectations, and values. Building a consensus and an effective set of working principles to make the most of the diversity among your team members will be crucial to your success.
Although there are many characteristics or attributes that you may want to foster as you create your team, here are a number of important characteristics we have learned will provide your team with the opportunity to be effective.
Participant Diversity in the Water for Agriculture Project
In our project there was a concerted effort in local leadership teams to reach out to people beyond ‘the usual suspects’. The group invited younger adults, women who represent agribusinesses, members of the plein sect community, and members of environmental oriented non-profits as well as the more traditional water representatives involved in surface and ground water agencies and environmental organizations.
Respect and Appreciation for Diversity
This goes beyond the basics of age, gender, race ethnicity and sexual orientation and includes life experiences, skills, perspectives and connections to people and networks.
Commitment to the Issue or Situation
Most team members will be willing to join an initiative because of their general commitment to the topic or geographic area you are focusing on. This is an asset your team can build upon – and certainly something you will want to foster throughout the duration of your project.
Commitment in the Water for Agriculture Project
While our local leadership teams came from a wide array of backgrounds and interests it was their commitment to water and/or agriculture issues that both inspired their initial interests and on-going participation. Whether they were a member of an environmental organization, local government official, agency technical service provider, or farmer organization their interests in solving the inter-related issues of water and agriculture brought – and kept – them at the table to work together for two or more years.
Teamwork in Nebraska
An invasive and water consuming plant, phragmites, in the Nebraska Platte River system, was a huge issue that no one entity or agency could address. Collectively the local leadership team formed a way to think about the problem, setting aside organizational and past agency experience. As a group they develop a funding structure to allow a variety of groups to contribute dollars for long-term management.
Willingness to move beyond personal gain to group or community benefits.
This is about shared responsibility and a focus on the “greater good”. A previous willingness to put aside a specific viewpoint and function as a communicator or ambassador for the larger issue or team is an excellent example of someone with experience in moving toward “greater good”.
The Ability to be Flexible
You may have heard the phrase, “The only thing that is constant is change”. This applies to both issues and the teams that work on them. Members need to be able to adapt to change and refocus their direction if needed. They may need to re-envision the issue and change direction when the environment changes, often adapting “on the fly”.
Flexibility in the Water for Agriculture Project
Flexibility was crucial when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. It dramatically changed how teams could communicate and work together. This was new territory for everyone. Another example of flexibility was illustrated when one of the local leadership groups had a 100+ year old regional surface water tunnel collapse. The immediate regional economic disaster to agricultural producers altered the team focus into “what role can the team play to help the situation”.
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