Overview: Theoretical Model
There are many times when people have to work together whether it is for school projects or professional work. For some people it is easy to connect and work with others, while other people might have trouble working with others. Building a high performing team is not something that is easily accomplished. There are issues that any group can run into such as communication or timing issues in which it is hard for group members to talk to one another or find time to meet and get work done. There are many different things that go into figuring out how to build or be a part of a high performing team. Our group has come up with a theoretical model that we think explains the steps or aspects that are involved in forming or working in a high performing team. In our model we use a hierarchy system to list three major elements to build an effective and high performing team. These three elements are communication, organization skills and goal interdependence. These three elements are explained further with separate divisions which are also listed in the model shown above.
The first major element of our model is communication. Communication according to Colquitt, Lepine and Wesson, is “the process by which information and meaning is transferred from a sender to a receiver.” (Colquitt, Lepine, and Wesson, 2010) There are smaller parts of communication that help explain it better such as generating new ideas, efficient and effective communication and issue resolving. Generating new ideas is when every member should participate in coming up with ideas about the project they are working on. This aspect cannot be done unless all members are present and actively present because when every individual participates that is when there is equal amount of knowledge being used and different ideas are flowing. If only a few members generate ideas and decide what to do, then there is a possibility that they miss out on even better ideas that the other members have to offer.
There has to be communication between members to ensure that everyone is on the same page with one another. Although technology, social media and the like can be extremely useful tools in communicating with one another, team members must meet face to face as well. There could be a gap in communication or people can understand things differently than they are being said through email or text. (Pentland, 2012) When there is a face to face meeting, the team members should use the time efficiently and wisely because everyone has taken their time to be there and people’s time should not be wasted. There should also be some way of letting each member know how well they are doing or what they need to work on because this increases productivity and better work quality. There should be a person responsible making sure that every member is communicating. This person, maybe a leader, should ensure that all the members have a high level of energy, the members are engaged with one another and they examine different modes and methods when they come up with new ideas and provide feedback for one another. (Pentland, 2012) there are a few rules or norms that we have learned throughout the semester and even in general through working with other people. According to Pentland, characteristics such as facing each other when talking, actively listening, connecting with each member not just the leader, are all parts of having a successful team and they should be followed to ensure that the time spent meeting is not wasted. There should be a sense of openness with team members when communicating because it helps the team trust one another and their abilities and it also strengthens the team. There should be an equal amount of participation in communication from all team members because if some people do not communicate there could be a misunderstanding and less productive work being done in which everyone has equal amounts to do.
Communication is extremely important when issues among team members or issues with the project come up. The team as a whole must actively participate in resolving the issue. There should be a discussion about the causes of the issue, the consequences that have come from the issue and what kind of solution should be implemented to fix the issue. All team members should be present and looking for a solution rather than just the leader. (Vlachoutsicos, 2011) In the end we all worked together and resolved any issues that came up during the time we worked on the project.
Organization skills are one of the most versatile and transferable skills a professional can possess. Employers and businesses rely on workers who can stay organized and focus on the task before them. Managers and leaders in the workplace have to organize their employers as well as the work each employee must complete. Organization skills often rely on planning, time optimization, task delegation, prioritization, but most importantly team roles and responsibility of the members.
Having well assigned team roles is generally vital to the success of a team, and therefore the success of a project. Recurring success in projects leads to a successful business. Not everyone is good at the same thing, or the best at one thing. But, this is a good thing. Having a team full of professionals who excel at different skills and have different talents creates diversity within the team, and allows them to do more to complete a project. It may allow a team to be more creative in terms of finding a way to get things done, it allows different people to provide unique perspectives when working on a project, and it allows for efficiency. However, this is only the case if the team roles are properly assigned to the various members of the team.
For a team to succeed, it has to be working. Participation is a responsibility of cooperative members. For a team to operate to its fullest potential, it not only needs everyone on the team to be assigned to the right position and task, but it also needs everyone on the team to participate and be responsible for themselves, their own work, and their teammates.
In my opinion, one of the most vital roles within a team is a good leader. A leader does not need to be the most assertive person in the group, the most outspoken person in the group, or the oldest and most experienced person in the group. A good leader does however need to know how to assign people to different tasks or to other roles within the group. A good leader also needs to know how to hold team members accountable for their work and accountable for one another as well as keep people motivated. “If there is one trait that virtually all effective leaders have, it is motivation. They are driven to achieve beyond expectations-their own and everyone else's. The key word here is achieve. Plenty of people are motivated by external factors, such as a big salary or the status that comes from having an impressive title or being part of a prestigious company. By contrast, those with leadership potential are motivated by a deeply embedded desire to achieve for the sake of achievement.” (Goleman, 1998) This excerpt is from the article What Makes a Leader? by Daniel Goleman. What Goleman is saying in the aforementioned quote is that leaders are driven by success. Success not in terms of financial reciprocation or how others look at you, but success in terms of accomplishing a project or a task, and trying to exceed others’ expectations of how well that task along with even their own expectations of themselves. People who possess these traits and abilities are not exactly common, but that is what makes them so valuable. A good leader brings all of the aspects of a strong and successful team together by putting team members in the right position, holding them accountable, motivating them, and achieving beyond anyone else’s expectations.
It is also easy to claim that we are great team, we are the best. Saying is a factor but results are the conclusion. A team often ends up having a great result. Sometimes there is huge coordination between team members and end up getting fewer success rates. This doesn’t mean like the team failed their task. Often results vary person to person. Often writings and researched are credited based on personal opinion. Great teams have a common purpose, with goals and roles aligned to a single, central focus. We will like to mention some elements that are essential components to built a high performance teams. These are the bases of effective, high performance team to get most of it. The elements are as follows Commitment, Organized leadership, Focused and hardworking culture, Focus on the challenges, Valuable communication, Equal engagement.
This development process is measured along the way, using a combination of “process” and “result” measures. Tracking performance against the assigned accountabilities and responsibilities is critical, and often either taken for granted or overlooked.
Work teams achieve the most success when employees and teams share the same vision and a collective feeling of trust within and between groups. Commitment to team members, the work team and the organization are the three common types of team commitment integral to success (Kevin Eikenberry). A group’s leader can increase the team’s commitment by giving individuals specific, important, and personally meaningful tasks that are in line with their own interests, skills, and experiences.
Teamwork is a balanced work. Just because it is teamwork doesn’t means it is a easy task. In order for a team to excel, it is key that everyone stays concentrated and hardworking throughout the project. It is important that nobody falls behind. In order to meet deadlines and reach goals, the team needs to remain focused and connected from start to finish.
Typically, the results come from both creating capacity for value added projects and projected operational, member or member gains. Choosing the right goals is the key to identifying benefits that far outweigh our team commitment. the various challenges they will face in leading teams throughout their life cycle. The course supports self-reflection and skill development by creating changes in each participant's internal dialogue through interactive role-playing, self-assessment measures, group discussions, exercises, and interactive lectures. These activities will enhance each participant's development of their own unique leadership capabilities. Leadership styles are uniquely individual and situational.
Good communication skills are key to success in life, work and relationships. Without effective communication, a message can turn into error, misunderstanding, frustration, or even disaster by being misinterpreted or poorly delivered.
Communication is the process by which we exchange information between individuals or groups of people. It is a process where we try as clearly and accurately as we can, to convey our thoughts, intentions and objectives.
Communication is successful only when both the sender and the receiver understand the same information.
In today's highly informational and technological environment it has become increasingly important to have good communication skills.
Everyone on the team talks and listens in roughly equal measure, keeping contributions short and sweet. A team will perform better when there is equal engagement. Equal engagement causes energy to be equally distributed among the group. This means everyone participates and contributes ideas to relatively the same degree. Teams can achieve equal engagement by maintaining an open, positive atmosphere, where all ideas are welcome. Effective teams will not put others down for their thoughts, interrupt each other, or criticize any one. Instead, they will encourage participation, praise ideas, and ask questions of each other.