Creating a succesful team- Essay
Published by Anonymous under Psp 111 on 7:05 PM“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
-Aristotle (Quote DB, 2008)
When looking at the importance of creating an effective, successful team, there are many things that will contribute to its downfall. However, there are also many different qualities that project the assets of an exemplary team.
Trust is the foundation that a team is built on, and without it, the team can achieve a domino effect of negativity and crash. Trust will enable the team to engage actively in discussing any issues that come up and the potential solutions to it, but this also requires commitment and action in order to achieve a prosperous team.
An old Chinese proverb said “The journey is the reward” (Think Exist, 2006); therefore you reap what you sow. The effort and commitment that is out into the team and its goals are the principal motivation and drive to achieve results and allow plans to gain full throttle and reach far beyond expectations.
The importance of creating a good team is obvious, however, in order to be able to face any challenges that may arise, we need to be able to plan ahead and look at the potential downfalls of a team in order to anticipate, prepare for and most importantly, avoid these loopholes and continue on the path to success.
Based on the model for the five dysfunctions of a team we studied in class, we have created some guidelines that can be followed in order to create a good team, prevent a good team from going bad, or enhancing a working team into an effective and successful one.
In order to have a good team, all members must be able to trust each other, discuss challenges in order to make informed decisions, commit and hold themselves accountable for the these commitments in order to gain positive results.
The first dysfunction we were identified was the lack of trust in a team. In order to have a functional team, communication is a key factor to keep in mind. Every team member should step into each other’s shoes, view their perspective and understand his or her opinion.
“Set your expectations high; find men and women whose integrity and values you respect; get their agreement on a course of action; and give them your ultimate trust.” These are the words of John Akers, dysfunction (Said What, 2007) and they apply completely to the 1st dysfunction. Trust will foster an environment in which everyone is comfortable speaking their minds. By feeling empowered to speak and having our thoughts validated, the team will be able to discuss openly any issues and conflicts that may come up with, and find compelling, creative and practical solutions. This will eliminate the second dysfunction, fear of conflict, from attacking the foundation of the team. It is important to note that although the team wants to foster freedom of speech; all members must speak in a courteous, respectful manner, avoiding demeaning, belittling and hateful speech toward topic in general. As Jesse Jackson once said, “Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up” (Quote Garden, 2008).
The third dysfunction we discussed was the lack of commitment within a team. Lack of commitment will cause a team to procrastinate, not be on time, doing things in a rush, and therefore not applying the necessary effort needed in each task. We can avoid this by having a high level of commitment within a team.
The next dysfunction, avoidance of accountability, causes teams to miss deadlines and can potentially ruin their reputation. It also creates tension as some members might feel as though the responsibility is not shared evenly. Regular meetings, constant communication, and will help create accountability to all team members, and also keep them engaged, motivated and focused on team goals. Planning ahead of time and making an action plan with the steps needed in order to achieve goals and assigning everyone an even part to it, will make sure everyone is accountable for something in order to keep equal responsibility. Assigning two people to each task can also help foster accountability as one member can help the other and vise versa. Also, this will allow having a backup. Although as a team you want to create accountability as a standard, life and accidents happen. Have a backup plan just in case anything should occur. Catherine Pulsifer once said “We are accountable for our decisions in our personal life so why shouldn't we be just as accountable in our work life." (WOW 4 U, 2006) Keeping this principle in mind, we should all be accountable in all our commitments, personal or work related.
The last dysfunction we will cover is the inattention to results. Even if we do keep in mind all previous dysfunctions, disregarding this last one will prevent a team from being completely successful. What we can do to avoid this is having a high level of standards and expectations… and keeping everyone consistent about them. This also implies having commitment and also means we need to look at the bigger picture. The final results, although they are not the only focus, they do not measure the overall quality of the team, and will make or break their effectiveness. Keep in mind what the aim is on and work together in order to get there.
In conclusion, there are some guidelines that can be followed in order to create a good team, enhancing a working team into an effective and successful one. There are five dysfunctions to a team model. The five dysfunctions are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability and in attention. In addition, these five team dysfunctions all can be avoided. Team Ethos has created specific guidelines to prevent dysfunctions like this from coming into the group. All members must be able to trust each other. A good team should be able to discuss openly any issues and conflicts that may come up with, and find compelling, creative and practical solutions. Every member should have a high level of commitment. For example, each team member can show their commitment by showing up for all team meetings and participate in completing all group assignments. A back up plan is always good for a team to have such as an action plan. An action plan prevents a team from missing deadlines and tension between some members. Last but not least, teams that have commitment, trust, and an action plan are more than likely to achieve success. These guidelines can be followed in order to create a successful team preventing the team from certain dysfunctions.
As Ben Sweetland once said, “"Success is a journey, not a destination” (Motivating Quotes, 2006). If we apply this knowledge and continue to grow with our team, and share our experiences, we will enjoy the ride together.
Works Cited
Motivating Quotes. (2006). Retrieved February 5th, 2009, from Motivating Quotes: http://www.motivatingquotes.com/success.htm
Quote DB. (2008, October). Retrieved February 5th, 2009, from Quote DB: http://www.quotedb.com/quotes/921
Quote Garden. (2008, November 30). Retrieved February 4th, 2009, from Quote Garden: http://www.quotegarden.com/kindness.html
Said What. (2007). Retrieved February 5th, 2009, from Said What: http://www.saidwhat.co.uk/quotes/favourite/john_akers/set_your_expectations_high_find_men_25730
Think Exist. (2006). Retrieved February 5th, 2009, from Think Exist: http://thinkexist.com/quotation/the_journey_is_the_reward/253991.html
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