Think You Have A Team? What Kind? Not All Teams Are Alike!

Written by Jim Lorenzen

Tuesday, 30 March 2010 10:05

Is there a difference between a traditional work group and a High Performance team? Are all teams alike? I began talking about team management concepts in 1985, back when everyone was talking about Drs. Deming and Juran and Quality Circles – Remember those? In my own case, I was fortunate to have been mentored by Don Butler at his Dayton, Ohio headquarters. Don was at the forefront of team management and the lessons I learned have stayed with me all these years. The world economy is very different today. High Performance is not just a ‘catch-phrase’ and hanging a few posters while simply talking about employee engagement isn’t enough. Here’s a brief overview of High Performance Teams. `Brief’ is an understatement. Just learning the process in our normal training takes seven three-hour sessions spaced over time and is only part of a learning curriculum that includes how to assess your organization’s current performance, as well as learning the Principles of High Performance. Defining a High Performance team isn’t easy, since they are more than traditional work groups. Some characteristics might include:

A shared mission or purpose that motivates and inspires team members
Autonomy and authority for task performance
Interdependence and shared leadership
Broadly-defined jobs and many responsibilities
Meaningful participation and decision-making
Higher performance than individuals not organized into teams

Dr. Rodger Allen and Preston Pond of the Center for Organizational Design in Littleton, Colorado have offered this definition: “A self-managing, multi-functional group of people organized around a whole process and empowered with full responsibility for their success.” Traditional work groups tend to be organized around functions with employees performing specialized tasks under supervisory management. The organization tends to be rule-governed with decisions referred up the organization. In short, people are viewed as tools of management. High Performance teams tend to enable the group to become self-governing with facilitative guidance. Work is organized around core processes and employees possesses multiple skills. Leadership is shared and, rather than rules, the organization tends to be principle-governed with decisions made at the point of action. In short, people are viewed as partners.

Four Types of Teams

While High Performance teams share certain common characteristics, there are also some important differences. One size does not fit all.

Type I: High specialization, low coordination with work divided between various specialties, each with a distinctive set of skills. Examples: Teachers in a high school, a swim team, a geriatrics team providing care for an elderly person.

Type II: High coordination of different disciplines. Examples: A product development team, a hospital emergency room, a football team, an executive leadership team. Type III: Low specialization and coordination. Team members have the same skill set but have little need to coordinate or communicate. Examples: Phone operators, bill collectors, bank tellers, a bowling team.

Type IV: High coordination with common skills. These teams are generally organized around completing a `whole task’ and cross-trained to do other jobs. Examples: Manufacturing settings, a volleyball team.

Identifying a work group as one of these four does not make it a High Performance team; and not all teams are purely one type or another. Think of dimensions and continuums. Sometimes teams blend with others depending on the task at hand and not all teams will develop and function in the same way.Talk with your people. Apply the model above to the teams within your organization and ask them:

What type of team do you belong to?
Identify the specialization required on your team.
Identify the coordination required on your team.
Viewing your entire organization, which teams or workgroups would you classify as types I, II, III, or IV.

It may change everyone’s view of just `how things work around here’.

Add this post to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites

Return to James Lorenzen's
Home Page

James Lorenzen's Latest Blog Posts

Put me on your email list!

BOOK JAMES LORENZEN

Looking for a high-content, high-energy program? You've come to the right place!

Here you'll find James Lorenzen's 'One Sheet' and our Pre-Program Questionnaire! Or, simply use Jim's On-Line Assistant to check dates and get started!

Book Now

MEETING PLANNERS

Planning a meeting? Tell us about it!

Here you'll find all the background resources you'll need, including a sample introduction, Jim's platform set-up, information on what to expect, and photos you can use to promote your event.

Meeting Planners

SPEAKERS BUREAUS

This section is reserved specifically for speakers bureaus and contains resources specifically designed to help speakers bureaus serve clients better.

Request Password

Speakers Bureaus

SPEECH & SEMINAR TOPICS

Here you'll find a partial listing of James Lorenzen's speech and seminar topics for sales and management.

Jim custom-tailors his programs to each audience. One thing you can depend on is high-energy and high content!

View Topics