Dream Team – 8 Elements of an effective team

Dream Team - 8 Elements of an effective team

By Tim Kemp, Maria Ratz for PwC’s Academy

The business reality is changing constantly. The new management order becomes more and more popular in the companies who strive for sustainable growth.

In the new management order, there is an anxiety about ‘autocratic’ styles of management as much as there is a realisation that groups of people might actually accomplish more if they are encouraged to take a more active part in the creation and implementation of the plan.  Words like ‘ownership’, ‘synergy’ and ‘trust’ have become the rallying cries of teamwork champions.

The essence of the teamwork lies in the belief that self-directed and well-co-ordinated teams will out-perform a group of people who depend on managers to make decisions and solve problems. At the heart of this different model of teamworking lies the ability to learn - not just act - collectively.  We celebrate exploration, curiosity and problem-solving.  We also, and this is critical, embrace disagreement. Disagreement as a catalyst to learning and creativity.

The Team Effectiveness Framework clusters behaviours into eight attributes or qualities:

1. Clarify vision, set targets and boundaries. It is not enough for the leader to know the destination. The leader must also facilitate it – by inspiring, listening, responding, and role modelling.   With a shared vision you need less controls, because people understand why they are doing what they are doing.
2. Empower and authorise. In addition to knowing what to do, members of effective teams need the power to do what they need to do. They are trusted to act professionally and authorised to do so. The power is not delegated to them...it is assumed to belong where it is best applied.
3. Praise and acknowledge. People’s specific contributions are acknowledged and praise is given for both achievements and Leaders and colleagues understand the importance of acknowledging particular behaviour rather than offering generic praise. People feel valued for who they are and what they contribute.
4. Maintain vibrant internal communication. Every contact leaves a trace. In good teams, this general principle is applied. All team members know that contact with others means encountering, sharing, exploring and leaving behind new ideas, new questions and new perspectives. People know what others need to know and actively pass information around. They prefer face-to-face contact however short, and will tend not to hide behind e-mails or letters when difficult or emotionally-charged messages are required. Short, frequent and informal contact is routine.
5. Encourage divergence and innovation. The effective team is encouraged to be playful and creative. New ideas are welcomed and actively sought out, and problems are often seen as opportunities. Experiments are encouraged. People feel able to ask ‘naïve’ questions and think about ‘how we might do something better’.
6. Celebrate the team externally. Effective teams know that others outside the team hear about their successes. Team members are openly upbeat about the team and the way it works. Leaders are strong advocates of the team externally, and are seen to demonstrate their confidence and trust.
7. Share learning and improve. Good teams are constantly improving – their skills, their processes and their performance. People are curious; they experiment and are keen to learn. Learning and the ability to innovate is, after all, the only real and sustainable source of competitive advantage. Good teams are also clear about the importance of mistakes and their value in stimulating new learning.  Members are clear about the difference between organisationally damaging mistakes - for which there are clear sanctions - and day-to-day errors - which can be used as a basis for improvement.
8. Appreciate and exploit diversity. Effective teams seek out different opinions and perspectives in order to reach more robust or innovative solutions. Diversity is fundamental to the health of effective teams. Homogeneous teams often fall victim to compromise, complacency and ‘corporatism’, not because they are unthinking or uncommitted, but rather because dissimilarity (disagreement, conflict, frustration, impatience) is often seen as unhelpful and implicitly critical.

If this framework looks useful, follow the Team Effectiveness Questions below, which are based on these 8 elements.  You can use it with your own teams to stimulate discussion about effectiveness.