What Are Teams Really Different?

Companies have been talking about teams for decades. But what does that really mean? Does it change anything to take an existing work group and call it a team? Are teams really different from groups? If so, what makes them different? Are teams really different? Better? More productive? Most leadership training includes material on teams. Few, however, really describe clearly what a team is or how to go about creating one. Many of the principles taught in leadership training such as the importance of clear expectations, clarity of purpose, collaboration, mutual trust building, relationship building and so forth are important for all kinds of groups and organizations, not just teams. Teamwork becomes important when the task demands that the members

Depending on the reasons for your leadership training, many of those questions might be addressed early during the training sessions. Assuming that there is a task that calls for the kind of interdependence we have mentioned here or the work itself requires it, the additional questions that should be answered include:

What is the team's purpose/vision? If there is a clear organizational need for the team, the team member themselves might help to answer this question. What are the team's primary functions? Identify problems? Generate solutions? Solve problems? Make recommendations? Make decisions? Implement solutions? Or, will the team simply go about the day-to-day task of getting the work

There should be a compelling business reason for creating a team. The managers who are responsible for the function should have a clear understanding of how a team will help them meet their production, quality, customer service goals, etc. The team members should also understand their reason for being. Organizations where managers create teams to accomplish corporate goals but tell their employees that the team is really for some other purpose (having more fun, developing the team members, creating more work/life balance, etc.) will ultimately be found out. Most people are perfectly O.K. with being asked to help meet business objectives if they see it as an honest request and they are given the resources to do what needs to be done and are acknowledged for their efforts. It is often highly valuable to also create a joint vision of what the team should eventually become. The more that the managers and team members participate jointly in such a process, the greater clarity there is for