What: In Group Dynamics for Teams, Levi describes a successful team as one that “Completes its tasks, maintains social relations and promotes its members’ personal and professional development (Levi, D).” A team should always be more than just a group of people working towards a common goal. UC Berkley says the first step to becoming a team is to ‘’establish leadership with each team member’’. A true successful team can work interdependently for a common goal and gain individual benefits along the way.
So What: From team work on the job, to school and sports teams, this idea of what Levi explains as a successful team should be present in all teams who want to succeed. Some “teams” are no more than a group of people who do not correspond very well, they lack the qualities of a successful team. Undercover Recruiterpublished an article by Sophie Deering called “Top 7 Qualities of a Successful team” in which, Deering mentions the aspects of communication, the focus on goals, individual contribution, support and diversity. These traits of a successful team define whether the group is just a group or a team. I’d like to put some emphasis on diversity and the importance of the team gaining information from vastly different mindsets and personal experiences. If a team is full of like-minded people, it is likely that there will not be many creative and different ideas and techniques
Now What: The importance of being in a successful team is enormous. Starting with the trust of each teammate, teams can grow to accomplish unimaginable tasks. Once the team members gain trust, the rest falls into place, like learning the strengths and weaknesses of the teammates as well as organization and communication within the team. Once a team with a solid foundation is established, the main objective for the team is to reach goals and complete tasks. There is a challenge once a group becomes a “team”, which is the team has to focus on staying a team. Glenn Llopis posted an article in Forbes Magazine called “6 Ways Successful Teams Are Built to Last.” The article focuses on how you should be aware of how they work. Llopis points out how you should ask yourself “are your techniques as effective as you think they are?” This is an important question because some of your teammates may disagree with your techniques. You have to be open to other teammates ideas. It is also acceptable to be a respectful critic of your teammates ideas and work and give “proactive feedback” as Llopis puts it. When your team completes a challenging task remember to celebrate success. This will help to keep your team a team.
Sources:
Deering, Sophie. “Top 7 Qualities of a Successful Team.” Undercover Recruiter, 4 Jan. 2019, theundercoverrecruiter.com/qualities-successful-work-team/.
Levi, Daniel. Group Dynamics for Teams. SAGE, 2017.
Llopis, Glenn. “6 Ways Successful Teams Are Built To Last.” Forbes.com, 1 Oct. 2012, http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2012/10/01/6-ways-successful-teams-are-built-to-last/#27b4d2082b55.
“Steps to Building an Effective Team.” Steps to Building an Effective Team | People & Culture, hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/interaction/team-building/steps.
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