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Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes For Effective Teams

When moving to a team-based structure, organizations must invest in training and team development in order to make the change successfully. There may be short-term costs for the start-up training needed for such basic skills as running effective meetings, problem-solving, giving and receiving feedback, and decision-making, among other skills. The short-term costs, however, will produce long-term gains in effectiveness and efficiency.

At OPM's 1995 National Performance Management Conference, research psychologists from the Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) Training Systems Division in Orlando, Florida, described their in-depth research into what makes teams effective. During their presentation, they specifically discussed the knowledge requirements, skill dimensions, and attitudinal factors that their research indicates are needed for effective teamwork.

• Knowledge
• Skills
• Attitudes
• Training and Development Strategies

Knowledge. Members of effective teams:

• possess knowledge of the team's mission, objectives, norms, and resources;
• understand the task and the indicators of what needs to be done;
• understand the logical order to perform tasks;
• agree on a logical way for dividing tasks;
• understand how to perform specific tasks;
• know their role in exchanging information, handing off tasks, and other interaction patterns;
• have accurate knowledge and a realistic assessment of the problem to be solved; and
• understand various teamwork skills that members need to be effective.

Skills. There has been a trend toward defining teamwork behaviorally, as a set of teamwork skills. The NAWC has developed the following list of skills that characterize effective teams. Members of effective teams are able to:

• assess and monitor the performance of the team and its members;
• be flexible and adapt rapidly to events;
• step in to correct and/or strengthen the actions of others;
• exchange complete, timely, and accurate information;
• encourage and build the morale of other team members;
• resolve conflicts with mutual satisfaction;
• express themselves clearly and appropriately to others;
• plan, cooperate, and share in approaches to solving problems; and
• see problems or issues in their context and be sensitive to the environment of the situation.

Attitudes. NAWC defines "attitude" as "an internal state that influences an individual's choices or decisions to act in a certain way under particular circumstances." Several attitudes are unique to the team context and have a direct bearing on the team's interaction processes. Such attitudes can be nurtured and developed. Members of effective teams have:

• a team orientation, where thinking of teams is a natural way to approach issues;
• a shared vision where there is an agreement on what is the ideal state;
• team cohesion, with a strong sense of the collective "we";
• mutual trust and confidence in each other's integrity, loyalty, and character;
• trust in the team's collective effectiveness; and
• a belief that the skills of dealing with others have value.

Training and Development Strategies. Training and developing individuals separately in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes listed above will not be as effective as training the team as a group. In fact, addressing such issues as task interdependence, team member turnover, and task variety is most effective when intact teams are trained using task simulation, role playing, and guided task practice. The training technique used will depend on the knowledge or skill to be learned or attitude to be developed, but stressing group approaches rather than individual training is the key to building successful teams.

In summary, training and development are essential when establishing teams. In their book Teaming Up, Darrel Ray and Howard Bronstein observe that, for teams: "Training is a way of life. Every day holds the potential for skill development or process improvement."

Originally published on December 1995.