Attributes Required for Successful Teamwork

As opined by Mathieu et al. (2014), teams have emerged as an integral part of the contemporary business enterprises and they are being used extensively by the different organizations because of the plethora benefits that the usage of them offers. Bolman and Deal (2017) are of the viewpoint that one of the most important benefits of the usage of these teams is the fact that through the collaborative work culture which these teams tend to foster they help in the enhancement of the overall performance of the organizations. More importantly, it is seen that they help in the effective delegation of tasks or work and thereby the quality standards of an organization is maintained or enhanced for that matter (Goetsch and Davis 2014). In addition to this, through the usage of effective communication and also leadership the organizations can at the same time minimize different kinds of conflicts or quarrels within the teams and contribute towards the creation of a work wherein the individuals would be able to work in an optimal manner (Child 2015).

The case study “Successful teamwork: A case study” (2002) by the authors Tarricone Pina and Joseph Luca clearly reveals the factor which goes on to create a successful as well as an effective team. Furthermore, the authors in the case study under discussion here use the example of two teams which were working for the “Interactive Multimedia course at Edith Cowan University” for the completion of a project to show the attributes of a successful and effective team. In this regard, the authors identified some of the most basic features which contributed towards the creation of successful team. The features which enable a manager or a leader to create an effective team are the creation of a common goal that the team members seek to achieve and effective communication process to convey the important messages or information to the different members of the team. In addition to these, some other attributes also emerged from the analysis of the two teams like the use of collective or collaborative work culture, use of regular constructive feedbacks to overcome the shortcomings of the team members and thereby help them to perform in a better manner, appropriate team composition and others. More importantly, the processes of effective leadership, personal accountability of the different team members and commitment towards the success of the concerned teams also play a pivotal role in the creation of a successful or an effective team (Taylor 2016).

Effective Communication and Leadership

The case study under discussion here clearly reveals that the successful team of students showed more or less these attributes within their team and this was perhaps one of the major reasons for the success that it was being able to attain. For example, a closer look at the successful team in the case study reveals the fact that the different members of the team right from the very beginning were very focused on achieving the objective with which the team was formed. The net result of this was the fact that the members of the team adopted a collaborative kind of work culture wherein different kinds of tasks associated with the project were delegated as per the expertise or specialty of the individuals (Owens and Hekman 2016). More importantly, the machinery of effective communication was adopted by the not only by the leader by the team but also by the different members so as to convey the important information to the different entities of the concerned team. In addition to these, mention also needs to be made regarding the effective leadership style followed by the leader of the concerned team. For example, the leader of the team initially for the formation of the team followed the method of Tuckman’s team building model and also effective communication model to resolve the different issues that the team faced.

The different members of the team at the same time followed the notion of personal accountability for the completion of the project because of the fact that the results of the project would have direct repercussion on the grades of the students. More importantly, for the effective completion of the project regular assessments were also conducted and on the basis of the results of these assessments constructive feedbacks were offered to the team members so as to improve the quality of the project (Mahembe and Engelbrecht 2014). Furthermore, the different members of the team under discussion here also displayed interpersonal skills and interact with the members of team so as to understand the manner in which the work or task that has been delegated to them can be completed in an effective manner (Woodcock 2017).

The leader of the team and also its different members took the help of different kinds of controlling as well as monitoring processes to ensure the fact that the project was heading in the right direction and would be completed within the stipulated deadline offered to them. For example, it was seen that the entire task was segregated into different sections and various kinds of milestones were created for the effective completed of the entire task. In this regard, it needs to be said that the initial few days were devoted to the formation of the concerned team and understand the core capabilities and also competencies of the different members of the team (Cox and Bobrowski 2016). Furthermore, based on these aspects different kinds of tasks were delegated to the different members of the team. More importantly, on the basis of the kind of tasks which were delegated to the different members of the team, the leader of the team encouraged the individuals to update regarding the daily progress that they had made. These works of the individuals were scrutinized in an ardent manner and constructive feedbacks were given on the kind of work that had been submitted by them (Santos, Goldman and De Souza 2015).

Teamwork Culture and Feedback Strategies

The primary purpose of these control and monitoring process was to ensure the fact that the entire project would be completed not only within the stipulated time period which was given to them but also the quality of the project would be above the standards given by the professor. Healey, Vuori and Hodgkinson (2015) are of the viewpoint that the effective completion of the tasks or the works which have been allocated to a particular team not only depends on the kind of leadership style which is being followed within the team but also on the kind of control and monitoring that is being used. Thus, it can be said that the regular as well as the timely control and monitoring process which was used not only by the leader of the team but also its different members contributed in a substantial manner towards the completion of the task which was given to them.           

The case study under discussion here has important implications for not only for the managers but also the different organizations regarding the effective manner in which the performance of a team can be enhanced. The case study by clearly outlining the different entities or attributes of a successful as well as effective team shows the attributes that the members of a team or the team leader needs to inculcate within the framework of the team of which they are a part so as to enhance their performance in the best possible manner. This is important from the perspective of the contemporary business world since it is commonly seen that the different teams or similar frameworks have become an integral part of the different organizations. As opined by Wheelan (2014), the overall performance of an organization depends to a great extent on the not only on the performance of these teams which are an integral of their overall organizational structure but also on the individual performance level of its members. Thus, the attributes of an effective team that the case study under discussion here highlights is something that the organizations related to the contemporary business world can integrate within their own framework to enhance their organizational performance.

As stated by Ashforth, Schinoff and Rogers (2016), the plethora of teams which form an integral part of the organizational structure of the different contemporary enterprises can be segregated as effective teams and ineffective teams. This demarcation has been done on the basis of the effectiveness as well as the efficiency with which these teams achieve the objectives with which they have been formed rather than on the basis of the kind of work that these teams perform. As already mentioned there are various factors which lead to the success as well as the failure of these teams and also the achievement of the targets or the objectives that have been given to them. De Jong, Cur?eu and Leenders (2014) are of the viewpoint that in this regard the leadership that is being offered to the different members of the team and also the objectives with which they have been formed play a pivotal role in the concerned process.

Case Study: Successful Teamwork in Action

According to Moxen and Strachan (2017), the formational stage or the forming stage of teams as per Tuckman’s model of team formation is one of the most important ones on which the success or the failure of a team depends to a great extent. For example, if there are pitfalls in this stage or if the different members of the team are not being able to gel or mingle together during this stage then this can affect the prospects of the concerned team in the latter stage (Housley 2017). In this regard, it needs to be said that this is stage during which the leaders are selected and also the leader is required to understand the key capabilities and competencies of the different members of the team (Gilson et al. 2015). It is on the basis of this understanding that the different tasks are delegated to the individuals in the latter part of the project. More importantly, the completion of the tasks which are allocated to these teams depends to a great extent on the kind of tasks which are delegated to the different members of the team and also the leadership capabilities of the individual who has been selected as the leader of the concerned team (Parker, Holesgrove and Pathak 2015). Thus, it can be said that the stage of formation stage is one of the most important ones on which the success or the failure of a particular team depends to a great extent.

The case study “Successful teamwork: A case study” (2002) by the authors Tarricone Pina and Joseph Luca, through an analysis of the two teams at Edith Cowan University clearly reveals the factor that could contribute towards the failure of different teams. As already mentioned, ineffective formation process used for the formation of the team is one such aspect which could contribute in a substantial manner towards the creation an unsuccessful team. More importantly, the case study by giving the probable reasons for the failure of the second team clearly indicates that an ineffective leader or an inadequate leadership style followed by the leaders can contribute in a substantial manner towards the failure of a team or its inability to achieve the objective with which it has been formed. As opined by Bolman and Deal (2017), the personality of a leader and also the leadership style followed by him or her for leading the different members of a team decides to a great extent the success or the failure of the concerned team. In the particular context, of the unsuccessful team described in the case study it can be said that the leadership style followed by the leader of the team was a flawed one.

Implications for Managers and Organizations

Mathieu et al. (2014) are of the viewpoint that the leaders within the framework of different teams are required to perform various kinds of job roles. For example, one of the major job roles of an effective leader is to convey information to the different members of the team regarding the job roles that they are required to perform (Child 2015). However, in the particular context of the unsuccessful team under discussion here it can be said that there was no such initiative on the part of the leader. More importantly, another important job role of the leaders on which the effectiveness of a team depends greatly and also the fact whether the task which has been given to the concerned team would be completed or not is the role of task or work delegation that the leaders need to perform (Taylor 2016).

As opined by Cox and Bobrowski (2016), the leaders of the teams are required to delegate the different tasks to the team members on the basis of the expertise level of the individuals and for this an effective understanding regarding their key competencies is essential. However, the leader of the unsuccessful team under discussion lacked this basic ability and thus the tasks were delegated to the different members of the team on the basis of their agreeableness rather than on their expertise level. The net result of this was the fact that tasks which were allocated to the different members of the team were not completed in an effective manner or within the deadline which was provided to them and this contributed in a substantial manner towards the failure of the concerned team.

Santos, Goldman and De Souza (2015) have stated that the different leaders within the framework of various teams are also required to undertake the role of supervision as well as monitoring the work of the different members of the team. For example, the leaders are required to assess the work of the different members of the team on a regular basis and see whether the team members are making progress or not (Mahembe and Engelbrecht 2014). More importantly, on the basis of these periodical assessments the leaders are at the same time required to offer constructive feedbacks to the team members so that they are being able to improve their performance by working in an effective manner on the feedbacks which has offered to them (Owens and Hekman 2016). The leader of the unsuccessful under discussion here took no initiative for any such activity and thus the members of the team were not being able to complete the different tasks which were allocated to them in an effective manner.

Forming Stage of Teams: Key to Success

As opined by Woodcock (2017), personal accountability and collective kind of work culture are two of the most basic requirements of a successful as well as effective team. However, when the unsuccessful team of the Edith Cowan University is analyzed on the basis of these two paradigms it is seen that these two attributes are missing within the framework of their team. For example, within the framework of the team under discussion here it was seen that there was no initiative on the part of the different members of the team to work in a collective manner and the net result of this was the fact that each of them worked in an individualistic manner (Ashforth, Schinoff and Rogers 2016). This hampered not only the outcomes of the project for the completion of which the team was formed but at the same time contribute towards the failure of the concerned team as well. More importantly, the entity of personal accountability was missing within the different members of the concerned team and thus no one took personal initiative for the completion of the concerned project. These in short are some of the major reasons for the lack of success attained by the team under discussion here. Thus, the managers of the contemporary business world need to ensure the fact that they do not repeat these same mistakes within the teams for which they are responsible. On the contrary, they need to ensure the fact that they follow the attribute of an effective team mentioned in the earlier sections of this paper like effective leadership, effective communication skills, adequate task delegation on the basis of the skill of the team members, foster collective culture within the team and others.

References

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