We all know there’s no “I” in team. In an ideal world, all members of a work team would be equal in terms of their effort and contributions. But sometimes, teams just don’t “click,” leading to missed deadlines, failed projects, unmet expectations, and unhappy clients. That’s why putting extra time and effort into creating the best teams possible is so important. Here, two Training Top 125 companies and a few training experts offer tips for building strong, efficient work teams.
TEAMBUILDING RECIPE
It is difficult to know in advance whether a work team will be effective, but following a process for teambuilding can make success more likely. Deloitte does just that. “Teams at Deloitte are typically groups of practitioners from partner level to junior staff who band together to solve our clients’ most pressing business challenges and, in the process, help the client protect and create shareholder value,” say Senior Managers, Learning and Development Christine Murphy and Alexandra Davis. “Similar to most professional service firms, a team can range from two individuals working on a small piece of the client’s yearly audit to a cast of hundreds drawn from all four of our major service practices to help implement a client enterprise resource planning system.”
With team members sometimes spread out around the world, having a process in place helps keep the work moving. Deloitte’s size—more than 56,000 employees—also necessitates an efficient process for determining which employees would best meet clients’ needs. “The process typically begins with determining the needs of the client project, including number of individuals, desired years of experience, technical and professional capabilities, industry knowledge, travel requirements, etc. Project managers submit a request to Deloitte’s Resource Managers, who find appropriate candidates based on availability and the project requirements. Resource Managers have an extensive set of tools (e.g., the Deloitte People Network, an internal social network), which helps them identify the right candidates,” say Murphy and Davis. “References are checked and candidates often are interviewed by the Deloitte project manager, engagement leader, and client stakeholders to ensure the practitioner’s skill set aligns well with the desired engagement outcomes. Individuals who join the team then are acclimated to the project team (engagement objectives, scope of work, communication protocols, etc.) and the client workplace (company culture, hierarchy, dress code, etc.).”
In addition to skill sets, Murphy and Davis say the company is careful to keep the interpersonal intangibles in mind. They cite recent Harvard Business Review research that familiarity among team members can improve teamwork results by 10 percent and reduce mistakes/defects by nearly 20 percent. “At Deloitte,” they note, “we carefully balance both the benefit of familiarity of team members with the need to seek a fresh perspective once in a while.”
The frequent geographic gap between team members at this global company is bridged with strategic use of technology. “Sometimes, a team includes virtual members as far away as India, necessitating the use of text chat, phone, videoconference, and other virtual teaming technologies to stay connected with those individuals on-site at the client,” Murphy and Davis point out.
TECHNO-TEAMBUILDING
Indeed, there are many advantages to teamwork in the 21st century. At training technology provider Cornerstone On- Demand, “one specific feature of our talent management software and portal that is particularly relevant is a team communication feature,” says Learning and Development Manager Jeff Miller. “As the leader of a group, I can go into our portal and search individuals for particular skill sets (or identify subject matter experts through nomination) and invite them to join a virtual team. The software feature enables me to store and share information, as well as assign tasks to individuals on the team with due dates. It also allows all team members to add content for consideration and discussion.”
In addition, Miller points out that collaboration tools have gotten increasingly sophisticated. Videoconferencing, for example, is more interactive now. “We also leverage tools such as WebEx and now use BlueJeans for visual group dialogues where we can screen-share globally while seeing each other,” he says. “I wouldn’t underestimate the importance of actually seeing the people you are collaborating with, especially when dealing with remote teams. Remote employees often express feelings of isolation, and this visual context connects people in a deeper way than a traditional conference call.”
TEAMWORK IN A DECENTRALIZED STRUCTURE
Technology also can enable teambuilding within a decentralized corporate structure. Gables Residential, for example, “uses online meetings with audio and video to bridge the distance between us,” explains Vice President, Learning & Development Jennifer Antos. “We use a combination of internal and external technology tools to track and measure metrics, and we even use a proprietary online video library with more than 100 videos (many with associates teaching other associates) on topics ranging from team motivation to goal setting. It is accessible anytime/ anywhere. Finally, we use our performance management software to track team milestones, upload notes, and see the status of a goal or project at a glance.”
Gables Residential helps nurture success by providing teams with guidelines and ways to monitor and track their progress. “All teams are provided with goals, and the team leader is responsible for creating milestones so the team stays on track to meet deadlines,” Antos says. “At minimum, team leaders must evaluate the status of goals once a year; however, team leaders are encouraged to maintain a constant dialogue with the members of their team regarding the status of the project.”
Training is offered at Gables to help employees develop into good team contributors. “When teams fail,” says Antos, “it usually can be tracked down to unclear expectations and poor communication. We believe it’s imperative for managers to receive training on how to build teams, achieve consensus, have difficult conversations, and both understand and motivate people with different personality types.”
Teaching managers how to communicate more effectively is important to these employees’ ability to build and lead successful teams. Communication training that aids teamwork often involves practicing how to have productive conversations. “Many of our training programs are focused on understanding ‘what’ and ‘why’ instead of just the ‘how,’” says Antos. “We have found that behaviors only change when you create an emotional connection with the content. While creating these ‘aha moments’ can be challenging, we have found that managers tend to implement what they learn more effectively.”
AVOIDING STALEMATES
Even a team that ultimately meets goals can fall prey to timewasting delays. These holdups can be the result of a team leader who isn’t sure what to do, or a team that isn’t willing or able to follow the leader’s directions. Some organizational experts have devised systems to avoid interruptions to team workflow. Glenda Eoyang, Ph.D., founder of Human Systems Dynamics Institute, calls project groups in her organization Collaborative Adaptive Action Networks (CAANs). “Our project process is simple and adapts to particular needs. We call it Adaptive Action, and it consists of three questions: What? So what? And now what?” Dr. Eoyang explains.
“First, the leader of the project asks: What are the needs and constraints for reaching the objective? Next, he or she explores available resources and asks others on the team: So what does the project need to be successful? Finally, the leader contacts potential members of the CAAN to ask: Now what will set the project in motion?”
The teambuilding system Dr. Eoyang devised also takes into account potential problems that can arise. “When a CAAN stumbles, it usually is because different people have different expectations,” says Dr. Eoyang. “No amount of planning or pre-communication can guarantee shared expectations. We assume that differences will emerge during the project, so we make sure individuals and groups quickly recognize, surface, and resolve differences whenever and wherever they arise.”
Resolving team impasses in Dr. Eoyang’s organization usually means team members adapting in some way to meet needs. “We help our staff learn how to adapt quickly and well to any kind of challenge,” she says. “Whether they are members or leaders of a CAAN, people are expected to practice Adaptive Action so they see problems as they arise (what?), understand them in ways that are useful (so what?), and take action to shift problems into possibilities (now what?). This adaptive capacity is the key to success in the complex and fast-moving environments faced by our staff and our clients.”
Not all team members will be equal contributors—and that’s OK, provided it’s understood from the start, adds Michael Maginn, Ed.D., president and CEO of Singularity Group. “Even if an individual’s role doesn’t really become active until later in a project, that person should be in at the beginning, thoroughly oriented to the context, and kept in the loop until his or her role kicks in,” he says. “On the other hand, there are situations where team members can only contribute in short bursts of activity. As long as the entire team understands why some people’s presence is limited, then it can become part of the way the team operates. These short-term team members are still part of the team. Their unique team skill is quickly understanding the situation, making thoughtful contributions, and remaining accessible for follow-up.”
QUICK TIPS
Finding the right mix of people and assigning the task that group of people is best suited to address can take practice.
- Be sure to understand the customer or end-user’s needs, then figure out the skills required to fulfill those needs, and identify the people with those skills.
- Once available people with needed skills have been located, think about the intangibles—whether these individuals will work well together and will have a genuine enthusiasm for the project.
- Consider the technology options available to the work team. Project teams spread across the country or world are becoming more common. Collaboration and the latest videoconferencing technology can prove invaluable.
- Teams often fail due to unclear expectations from team leaders, so training workshops on improving managers’ communication skills can be helpful.
- The ability to adapt to unexpected challenges or glitches is crucial. Teambuilding structures or tools that can help employees over unanticipated hurdles make success more likely.
- Managers should provide teams with goals at the outset and check-in points to assess whether the team will be able to deliver the promised end product.