Can you explain why teamwork within an organization is so valuable? What’s the best approach for making teamwork successful? 

A team, simply defined, is a group of individuals with complementary skills assembled to complete or achieve a task or a project. Teams are constructed for a particular purpose and often for a designated period of time.

If you’ve ever been a member of a sports team, you may have had to demonstrate your abilities or compete (i.e “try-out”) for placement on the team; you were likely assigned a position with specific responsibilities; team members were intimately familiar with the playing rules; and of course, you received dedicated guidance, support and feedback from a coach or multiple coaches. This is a model that has proven its worth time and time again.

When each team member is actively engaged at meeting the common goal, the members, consciously or otherwise, operate in a state of interdependence. There is a deep sense of trust that each team member will pull their weight whereby a mutual sense of commitment is generated and, the collective effort has the potential to create extraordinary outcomes. Our own women’s soccer team demonstrated this on the Olympic stage last August.

A similar approach can be applied to work teams. Consider whether your team design is:

Mission driven

• What is the purpose of your team?
• What will the team achieve?
• How will success be measured?

Designed with purpose

• What are the roles and responsibilities?
• What are the skills and competencies required?
• Are terms of reference defined?

Sharing authority

• Are team parameters (scope of decisioning) in place?
• Have team norms been agreed to?

Accountable

• Are timelines and milestones defined?
• Are performance standards defined?

Supported

• Does the team have access to the right resources?
• Is expert guidance and/or sounding board options readily available?

While most work teams are not likely to be competing for an Olympic medal, it is safe to say that your work teams have the real potential to directly impact your organization on any number of levels. Make them extraordinary – by design.

To submit a question for a future column please leave a comment below or contact editor@charityvillage.com. No identifying information will appear in this column. For paid professional advice about an urgent or complex situation, contact Veronica directly.

V. Utton & Associates offers boutique-style human resource management services to small and mid-sized organizations with particular expertise in the non-profit sector. For a fresh “VU” on people practices contact us at info@vuttonassociates.ca.

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