Ten characteristics of a successful team

Ever wondered if your team is susccessful or not?There exists a big difference between "groups" and "teams" with respect to the workplace environment.

I pointed out that the internal dynamics of a group are different from those under which a team operates.

Managers and supervisors must therefore understand these differences if they hope to oversee effective and productive teams where tasks and roles are completed with expected results.

Since that article, I have received several calls from people who identified themselves as young and ambitious managers, all of whom wanted to know whether they were supervising effective teams or groups.

So, what constitutes an effective team? How can a supervisor or manager determine the effectiveness of the team?

There are over 10 characteristics that describe an effective team. And a successful team must have more than five of them to qualify as effective.

Clear purpose

First and foremost, the team must have a clear purpose. This means the vision; mission, goals and objectives are clearly defined and shared by all members of the team. These outline the purpose of the team, which is translated into a plan of action to guide the team.

Once the plan of action is in place, each member must understand their role and work assignments. In all effective teams, roles and tasks are fairly distributed among members and clear expectations spelt out. Remember, it is these individual tasks that eventually define the work of the team.

Successful teams do not concentrate power and authority in the hands of one individual. The team might have a mutually accepted mentor, but effective teams have fluid leadership, where functions shift depending on circumstances, such as changing needs of the team and different skills of the members.

Decisions in all successful teams are reached through consensus and compromise. The best and most acceptable decisions are taken by considering all the viewpoints of the team members.

Listening to each other is, therefore, a critical characteristic of a successful team. Besides considering all the viewpoints and issues raised by the team members, all questions and doubts are also addressed and steps of actions mutually agreed.

Effective teams operate openly, with no hidden agenda. Members are encouraged to express their feelings over their roles and tasks, in addition to the challenges they face carrying out their duties. Members also express their frustrations without fear of being victimised.

Members’ success

Successful teams also show commitment and place great value on each member. The team takes pride in the success of its members, as well as the accomplishments of the grouping.

Effective teams also have an internal mechanism to rationally and proactively handle conflict. They don’t avoid or suppress it. Disagreements and positive dissent are tolerated and addressed to the satisfaction of the members.

The bottom line among successful teams is to cultivate trust among the members..