Thriving in Your Great Work-Life—Part Four

One of the most profound paradoxes of business is the finding that setting aside individual interests for the goals of the team actually leads to a higher level of personal satisfaction and productivity. It’s counter-intuitive to choose the collective interests over one’s own, but management research has demonstrated repeatedly that teams accomplish more and the individual members are happier with their contribution to the work effort.

Lay-offs and delayed hiring have created changes in the work place and a greater emphasis on team work. Some managers and owners have mistakenly assigned a work group to a project and declared them now a team, expecting instant collaboration and commitment. That’s not the way teams develop or individuals choose to invest in the success of their group. Instead, managers and owners should focus on collective work-products, personal growth for the team members and performance results, according to Jon R. Kaatzenbach and Douglas K. Smith in their book “The Wisdom of Teams.”

First, the team must have specific goals and challenges they are expected to achieve. Without a clear and mutual understanding of the need to perform, the team never rises to its full potential. As a result, the members of under-performing groups consider it a waste of time and talent and never truly engage in the shared work. But, a challenge or stretch goal causes the individuals to collaborate, contribute and coalesce.

Team members need to see how their effort adds value to the organization in a meaningful way—important to them and to the mission of the company. Business leaders and managers must paint a vivid picture of how the team’s results make a difference above and beyond making a profit.

For a group of individuals working together to become a functional team, they need to share a common approach to the business challenge they’re tackling. Fighting over methods creates friction and suspicion and prevents true collaboration. The focus shifts toward winning the battle of the means and the outcome suffers. In most situations, there’s more than one way to reach the goal and the team must determine the process that fits best at the outset.

In creating teams to replace work groups, business leaders and managers should remember to begin with a clear business performance objective, a compelling goal and common ground for the tools, structures and resources to accomplish the purpose of the team.

What factors contribute to team success in your business experience?