Ensuring the Development of the Successful Team - Essay Example

Building a Successful Team Introduction Setting up successful teams is a prerogative of any organization and in the business world of present times; it is very much a need rather than a desire. The businesses have changed so as to create more room for teams than individual working ethos. This has given space to more facilitation within the working environments of teams since they bring combined efforts and usage of more brains than a singular person. The factors that stand important in the wake of successful teams include a commitment towards common goals and a simplistic and solitary objective which must be kept in mind at all times. These factors underline the basis of the teams performing a singular whole than disjointed units within the framework of the organization or the group that they are working under. Constituting a team is an important measure since it explains the manner in which the team members would carry out their processes and activities in order to reach the ultimate objective – the goal which is in sight. Also the presence of a leader within the ranks is also significant since he is the one who ensures that commitment and devotion is laid towards the activities of the whole team and that the team members are dedicated to the cause of serving the objectives of the team. (Bonner, 1959) The Role of Leadership in Teams A leader would guarantee that the team members remain on their toes and are up and ready in order to outperform each other so that the end result is one which will make the team stand out as a whole. The objectives of the team are more quintessential than the individual members and this is one aspect that the leader brings with him whilst formulating a high performance team. People selection and recruitment stands as a very essential step of the formulation of teams since right kind of people must be geared up to the task and it is a must to check the kind of motivation that these team members have at the very moment and whether or not the same would remain like that within the future. Thus these factors are deemed as very important whilst getting the people under an umbrella which would actually see that the teams would get the right kind of members within their hold and this is important since it will decide how the team would actually perform within the future and in the long run. (Michaelsen, 2002) One must understand that team members are committed to the task and remain in line with the strategies and tactics deployed by the team leaders so that the team is a successful or high performing one, both in difficult circumstances and in times of ease as well. This eventually will help the team keep in nice stead of the whole situation at all times possible. Merits and Demerits of a Successful Team The team members need to have solace and comfort in their personal lives in order to have a more professional relationship and work ethics with the remaining team members as well as the groups with which these people work alongside. A successful team is always on the move since it wants to achieve the best in terms of results, end processes and activities. Successful teams always look at recruiting the best possible staff within their folds since they give in their best in terms of work ethics and team rules. The external factors which play a significant role in turning ordinary collection of people into high performing teams and maintaining the same at a single position demands consistency in efforts and thus the steps must be in line with keeping their motivation levels at the top. This collection of people should be explored in a complete manner so that their basis examines the quality which is comprised within them. The environmental factors imply that a lot of importance comes from the ranks of the societal and external elements which shape up the formation of the teams in the first place. These external elements could be in the form of their interaction with people outside of the group as well as those with which they interact on a regular, day to day basis. Now it is up to the mannerisms which these other people employ that the team members shape up their attitudes and commitment levels. (Opie, 2000) High performing teams must ensure that they remain at a consistent level when they achieve their goal and thus retain their top levels so that consistency in efforts and activities are maintained for a long, constant period of time. Successful teams always maintain their momentum and try their best to sustain this over a long period of time so that the returns are there for the taking. Thus in the end it is significant to understand that successful teams always try to make an effort to reach the top levels possible and thus maintain their ranking for as long as they can afford. This ensures that successful teams are very pertinent to the basis of working groups and teams and they must be appreciated by one and all, more so when they are on the top most levels. Motivation and External Factors A successful team can become a losing one if there is less motivation within the ranks and the team members experience animosity amongst each other. There would be a lack of unity and cohesion amongst them and the end result would be such that their team composition would get seriously affected as a result of the same. The external factors that play a significant part in such circumstances include the interference of other teams or groups within the matters of this team as well as adhering to external advice and/or suggestions from all quarters which could run riot with the whole formation of the team as a result. A newly set-up team needs to have top leadership which is not only accepted by everyone but also respected in the truest sense of the word. This would mean that the leadership would have its due say in the scheme of problems, worries and tensions that arise in a team every now and then and which is a general exercise in any team that is formed in an organization all round the globe. Thus the support basis of a newly constituted team would ask for a leader who would instill the right kind of attitude and confidence within the remaining team members. (Hanlan, 2004) Then there is the need for encouragement for each other’s tasks and undertakings, not only within the team members but also the same coming in from outside the team composition. This means that the support is based on sound premise and there is evidence to the notion that a team could only work in the best manner possible if there is encouragement from all round and people are appreciative of its existence in the first place. Also a team can only become a productive unit when it knows what it has to do and what is expected of it in the long run. Constant chopping and changing within the team structure would mean that no one is assured of his place within the team and this would instill a sense of skepticism and worry within the team members – an aspect that simply cannot be afforded as long as a team is in place. Self-Management Regimes In order to make teams self-managing, it is important for the team to realize its potential, both from the team’s perspective as well as on an individual level. This asks for making the team members realize their true potential in a manner which is easy to comprehend. A team needs to be a single whole to perform in the best manner possible and it is only possible when the group members realize their attachment and involvement with the group. Without the same, there would be anarchy and chaos which cannot be the cornerstone of any group at all. It needs to be emphasized here that the success of a group is the success of each and every individual who worked hard and toiled for it to achieve in the first place and vice versa. Rather than pinpointing the weaknesses of certain group members, focus should be more on exploiting the strengths and hitting on the areas where potential opportunities can come out from, within an individual who is a part of a group. This will definitely increase the chances of better team performance and positive results. Aspect of Delegation within Work Ethos As for delegation, in an office place there are certain instances when it is best to choose different people for the various jobs that are assigned in the working environment. This holds true for the rationale that a single person cannot and will not be able to do his work as well as the additional burden that is thrust upon him with zeal and enthusiasm. Hence the need of the hour is to understand that employees and workers need a manager to comprehend their shortcomings in the field of work and thus be assigned tasks and responsibilities in line with the same. It has been seen that at times, the top line personnel present in offices delegate jobs and assignments to their sub-ordinates without even thinking that the same might not be the correct manner and mode of action as to go about carrying out the tasks and responsibilities. They think that delegation would prosper a sense of getting more work within the sub-ordinates who themselves are pretty much occupied with their already assigned tasks and jobs. This is hence not the correct manner in which things should be done and hence a need has to be chalked out to ramify the very same problem. The best possible diversity that could be made in this regard is to appoint top line managers who understand the psyche of the people working under him or on the same level as his so that he can get a grasp as to what employees usually are best suited at and what they do not prefer under certain strenuous conditions in the office place environment. Diversity Basis within Teams The impact of demographic diversities in a group means that more efforts are needed to be put in place so that each of the group members knows what his or her duty is and whether this person is communicated about the roles that are asked of him or her, both in the short term as well as the long run. Moreover, demographic changes mean that the leader has to focus more on a particular set of people or at times, the ones who are not very easy going along with the whole group. (Fink, 2002) Hard work and commitment thus form the key in this whole equation of getting the best out of even the ordinary of people in the group. Case Study Brooks Inc. is an organization which recently planned to devise its management philosophy in such a way that it would look after the aspects of building strong and effective teams within its already present management hierarchies. What this means is that Brooks Inc. found out from research and industry practices that forming up successful teams will fasten up its processes as well as lessen the dependence on its resources in the form of man, money and machinery, all of which came under the deployment of Brooks Inc. itself. For this reason, Brooks Inc. constituted a commission with the approval of the Board of Directors. Thus commission devised the exact policies under which Brooks Inc. would take care of these teams and how these teams would work in line with the management ethics and business ethos on a consistent basis. Also the terms and conditions as well as the basic requirements were agreed upon and the team building process was given a green signal to continue with, at the earliest. Brooks Inc. found that within the first quarter, the results spoke for their own selves. There were far greater returns in the fiscal sense than expected without those teams that were constituted by that time. The teams had produced solid results in a short period of time and this was termed as a success story within the organizational domains. The turnover for the quarter was double to what it had produced in the last two quarters. There was more effort put into place by the employees since their combined efforts were put to test and nearly all of them responded in a very warm and open manner. There was absolutely no resentment on the part of the employees to answer the call of Brooks Inc. to call it teams in the long run for the betterment of the organization as a whole. Productivity and Results from Team Building The right kind of assessment that is needed to keep a team geared up towards achieving its objectives is through measuring its motivational levels. This could be sampled through at different stages of the team composition and the results would be apparent to one and all. Thus unity of purpose and a sense of direction could be ascertained from such an exercise since a team could be best judged by the manner in which it exploits its undertakings – a fact that is closely monitored by their approach towards the works and tasks and the same being in line with their respective motivational levels. (Varma, 1998) The assessment could be finalized if the team is ticking all the boxes which are constructed in the wake of finding out the problems which the team might engulf into with the passage of time. A team could be best explained through its mannerisms and this is a measure of its development towards a high performing unit. This indeed is the order of the day on any given day and it must be hailed by all and sundry as far as the undertakings of the team are concerned. Thus the assessment that is correct under these settings would look to find out the factual basis of the team’s performance levels and check whether or not these are in line with the demands that were given out to the team when it was being formed. If the same are being met considerably well then this means that the team is achieving its objectives and the goal is in sight that needs to be achieved over the course of the long term strategy. However if these objectives are not being met, then this would mean that the leadership is not being exercised in the right manner which could gear the team members into performing at their optimum levels as well as the team members are simply not in the right frame of mind as per going through their intended lines of action and tasks. Conclusion In the end, for a team to keep developing in the right direction, it is the need of the hour to tell the team members time and again what is expected of them as well as gain their valuable feedback so that the whole mechanisms of team composition and getting the work done through the team is made apparent and crystal clear. There must be no apprehensions within the related ranks as far as developing a team in the right direction is concerned. All said and done, a team would live up to its expectations if the resources that are needed for its eventual success are made available and if there are no hiccups in the following up of the relevant processes, activities, strategies and tactics. Bibliography BONNER, Hubert. (1959). Group Dynamics Principles and Application. Ronald Press FINK, L. Dee. (2002). Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups Praeger HANLAN, Marc. (2004). High Performance Teams: How to make them Work. Praeger MICHAELSEN, Larry K. (2002). Team-Based Learning: A Transformative Use of Small Groups. Praeger OPIE, Anne. (2000). Thinking Teams, Thinking Clients: Knowledge-Based Teamwork. Columbia University Press VARMA, Arup. (1998). High Performance Work Systems: What We Know and What We Need to Know. Human Resource Planning, Vol. 21 Word Count: 2,614 Read More