The Benefits of Developing Strong Work Teams
Many are familiar with the concept of teams. If you have ever played or watched a sport, you know that a team that works well together is essential for success. But what does that mean for the workplace?
Work Teams are growing in popularity as more organizations are expanding globally, flattening out their organizational structures, and are faced with increasingly complex tasks. Because of this flattening of structure, organizations are able to respond faster, adapting quickly to constant and rapid changes. These quick responses allow for organizations to remain competitive, making work teams valuable assets.
What makes work teams different from ordinary work groups is the level of interdependence. Work teams must coordinate activities and work together in order to achieve their goal or mission. Because of this interdependence, work teams are more cohesive and lend support to their fellow teammates when necessary or able. Below are just a few additional benefits/results of developing strong work teams.
- Greater productivity. Because everyone is working together towards a common goal or mission, the result is generally a more productive group of workers.
- More effective use of resources. Again because work teams are so interdependent in working towards their goal, there are less resources being utilized or wasted.
- Better decisions and problem solving. As the saying goes, two heads (or 4 or 5) and better than one. Groups, generally, can perform better than individuals when everyone is free to contribute their own opinions and ideas, with everyone working together to find the best solution for the entire group and not just themselves. This is a natural occurrence in work teams due to their interdependence.
Whether work teams are face-to-face or virtual, in order for work teams to be successful, the organizational culture must support member involvement. However, with all the benefits of work teams, it’s hard to believe any culture would not be supportive.
References
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
gdq5001 says
The growing epidemic shows how vital working teams are for an organization. A self-directed team can function by working remotely without managerial guidance. The value of a working team creates an opportunity for every team member to function as leaders. An individual who has never experienced a leadership role can gain experience from an increase in responsibility. Furthermore, the system of shared power can help individuals overcome their fear of failure with timely decisions. According to Northouse, a leader who follows the team leadership model can benefit from ensuring team effectiveness (Northouse, 2016). The first step of the model is for leaders to learn when to use internal and external leadership actions. An internal leadership action can help a leader assess the problems a team is encountering. Resonate leaders will know how to find the cause and solution. Another strength of internal actions is that multiple individuals can look for a singular problem, and save time that can affect productivity. An external leadership action reflects on the goals a leader undertakes to improve a teams environment. A leader will take action if there are not enough resources for their team to be successful. Furthermore, they are responsible for making sure there a no distractions that can change the outcome of a project.
While working teams are beneficial to a company, there can be challenges that can prove to be a disadvantage. Interdependence requires a strong bond between individuals, the lack of face to face interactions can strain the potential growth of a working relationship. A working team can spend more time building a successful project than enjoying their accomplishment together. In addition, there could be a disconnection with a sub group team and company. Isolation can increase the risk of mental health problems that include negative emotions. Despite the negatives, working teams are the future of a fast paced society that continues to change. It is imperative for leaders to learn how to adapt with a shift in power. A successful team relies on human effort that creates genuine workflow.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Kimberly Danza says
Work teams as you have pointed out are very beneficial. As you said it’s hard to believe any culture would not be supportive. I do think though that although all factors point to the benefits of a work team like better productivity and better decision and problem solving there is a higher difficulty in virtual teams. Groups generally can perform better than individuals when everyone is free to contribute their own opinions and ideas. Well this is where the problems could subsist between a virtual and a face-to-face situation.
Like in many leadership situations in a team there are many instances that team effectiveness actions are harder to apply. In order to have a strong team the conditions that contribute to or enable team excellence are very important. Larson and LaFasto (1989) studied successful teams and discovered eight characteristics that were associated with team excellence. (Northouse, 2016, pg.368) These eight characteristics are the following: clear elevating goals, result-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, collaborative climate, standards of excellence, external support and recognition, principled leadership. The Hill Model for Team Leadership “Team Effectiveness” focuses on the desired outcomes of teamwork. (Northouse, 2016, pg.367) This is why as you wrote a strong team is beneficial and you could not imagine culture would not be supportive.
I do think that a virtual team has greater difficulty because communication becomes especially important. (PSU, WC, 2020, L9) If communication is not very strong all the Team effectiveness will be null. Let’s take the third characteristic that Larson and LaFasto (1989) found was associated with team Excellence. The competent team member. This characteristic state that a team should be composed of the right number and mix of members to accomplish all the tasks of the team. (Northouse, 2016, pg.367) If communication in not very strong this could be the reason a team is not well selected or the team members are not well directed to collaborate because if not working face-to-face interpersonal skills need to be very strong in order to be effective.
I believe that the only reason one would not be supportive of a virtual team is the difficulty applying some of the skills and characteristics that we are generally capable of applying face-to-face. I do though imagine a world that become always more abundant virtually and geographically like right now in the Covid crisis. This means that we will all have to learn how to communicate even more effectively without being face-to-face. Thanks for your contribution.
Reference
Northouse, Peter G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
aed5492 says
I think this post did a great job explaining the increasing importance of work teams in order for companies to stay competitive in today’s job market. I agree that companies should be supportive of teams due to their many benefits. However, often times the fundamental structure of a company undermines the team structure and renders teams ineffective. In order to combat this, companies should seek to shift their structure from hierarchy to heterarchy, a dynamic and fluid form of power shifting (Northouse, 2016). Collaborative work and decision making are important parts of a successful team, but without the right organizational structure, it will be difficult to achieve (Northouse, 2016). Have you ever had a work experience involving heterarchy? If so, what was it like?
References:
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.