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The collaborative experience.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

At their best, teams can be the core of innovation, productivity, and effectiveness. But without proper leadership, teams can waste time and destroy interpersonal working relationships. Regardless of what you may think and hope for a great team performance is not simply a matter of chemistry and luck.

You've just gotten word that you will be leading a project team. Your members need an infusion of something to help them move from being simply a group of people to an active and productive team. Forget about using sports analogies, comparing the members to engine parts, or suggesting the metaphor of a flock of wild geese. All these assessments fall short. Professional teams in the workplace can be derailed by the history and past experiences of the members, a leader whose style just doesn't fit, or an organizational culture that rewards individual success rather than team accomplishment.

To make the most of a team-based environment, gain a basic understanding of what happens in team development--and what to do at each phase of development. It will mean the difference between a group of folks and a high-performing work team.

Teamwork basics

A genuine team can be described as a small number of people with complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Real teams are a basic unit of performance. They only perform effectively, however, when there are specific results for which the team is collectively responsible and the performance ethic of the organization demands those results.

A group develops into a team when its common purpose is understood by all members. Within effective teams each member plays an assigned role using his or her talent to the best advantage. When the members integrate their skills to accentuate strengths and minimize weaknesses, team objectives can be achieved. On the other hand, when group members play as individuals, they usually fail. Most wins and losses are the result of teamwork.

In sports, feedback is often immediate. Change a player on a basketball team and you can see results in the score. If teamwork is lacking in the corporate world, good managers can identify where the problems are and initiate corrective action in order to change things until the desired results are achieved. However, the results--much like the feedback--are not instantaneous.

The big question that needs to be answered initially, clearly, and repeatedly is "Why are we here?" Is the team's purpose:

* To recommend things (study and recommend solutions to specific organizational performance problems)?

* To make...

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