Team Ingredients

A "team" is any two or more people who join up to achieve a desired outcome. That means that, even if you have only one employee, one co-worker, one manager you can form a team with him/her to...

Teams don't have to be formal. By carefully matching up skills and personalities among those you work with, you can create extraordinary teams -- ones that accomplish their desired results quickly, efficiently and effectively.

Of course, having the perfect blend of personalities and skills is not the only thing a team needs to excel. You need to develop:

• Clear goals. Everyone on the team understands the purpose and direction of the team and works together to push for success.



• Shared roles. Team members understand their roles but are willing to share roles with others -- and pick up the slack for the sake of the team.



• Open and honest communication. Team members must speak clearly... listen carefully to each other... freely discuss issues... provide ongoing honest feedback... and trust each other.



• Effective decision making. Successful teams are familiar with and use many different decision-making techniques, including consensus... majority vote... decision-by-expert, etc. Make sure the method that works best is implemented by the team and recognize different methods may work for different decisions.



• Appreciation of each other's strengths. Team members must be recognized and valued for the unique contributions they make -- in terms of ideas... thinking styles... experiences... and opinions.



• Constructive conflict-management systems. Though it's often painful, successful teams outline strategies for conflict resolution and deal with differences head-on.



• Cooperative climate. An effective team encourages everyone's participation, trust and openness. Its members must feel equally committed and involved as they work to reach the desired goal.