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Teams are expected to produce results, but performance is hindered when team members don't work together well. A collaborative team environment is essential for the team's success. To create a collaborative environment, team members must practice the following:
Have a Common Purpose and Goals. A team is defined as a group of people working together toward a common goal. Without a goal, there is no team. Ideas for creating a common goal include:
Trust Each Other. Team members must trust each other if they're to work together successfully. Ideas for creating trust among team members include:
Knowing everyone's role and being familiar with the responsibility of those roles create efficiency and flexibility. Ideas for clarifying roles on the team include:
Communicate Openly and Effectively. Miscommunication can create hard feelings and undermine the success of the team. Ideas for improving communication include:
Appreciate Diversity. Team members come from all walks of life, with different backgrounds and perspectives. Ideas for taking advantage of team diversity include:
Balance the Team's Focus. Finally, team members need to recognize that they should measure and monitor the products and services the team provides as well as the team's internal group dynamics and relationships. (Sometimes team members get so involved in the process of becoming a team they forget the reason they were made a team in the first place, or vice versa.) Ideas for creating that balance include:
Originally published on August 1997.
(Resource: Tips for Teams: A Ready Reference for Solving Common Team Problems, by Kimball Fisher, Steven Rayner, and William Belgard, 1995.)