Managing Teamwork

Planning

Groups that did a better job of planning had less blame and more effective teamwork than groups that did not plan well. Caution: this is not to say that "more planning is better" or that "all planning is equal." Some groups (typically in older companies) can become absorbed with planning. This can lead to inflexibility and being slow to respond to changes. On the other hand, young companies are often characterized by moment-by-moment changes and decisions.

Action: Identify even small parts of jobs that would benefit from additional planning. The more your company is growing and changing or the more you have to respond to sudden events in the marketplace, the more limited your planning may be. Ask, "What are the one or two things, that if we planned them better, would help us the most?" Some things you consider planning may be a form of teamwork itself. Example: a warehouse team wanted better planning because they were frequently out-of-stock on popular items. Their analysis revealed that they needed better and more effective teamwork with marketing and sales so they could anticipate promotions and specials. Once accomplished, their work was more pleasant, customers were more satisfied, and the company was stronger.

Role Clarity

When employees know what is expected of them, which aspects of their jobs are most important, and how their performances will be evaluated, workgroups typically will have higher teamwork. All of us have seen baseball games where two outfielders ran for the same ball, then looked at each other as the ball dropped to the ground between them. Employee surveys show that if people are not clear about their roles and how they relate to each other in the group, effective teamwork may be difficult to achieve.

Action: Make job expectations and performance measures clear. Be sure to include both typical and exceptional circumstances. As much as possible, managers should focus on the goals for each person (or the group) rather than prescribing specific work methods. Allow the individuals who perform the tasks to suggest how those goals will be accomplished. Managers will get what they want while employees will benefit from increased involvement, increased freedom and authority, and procedures that are more refined to their needs.

Teamwork is an important factor to manage well. The trick is to realize that coaching may not be enough. You need to manage the factors in the workplace that influence effective teamwork. Analogy: just telling someone to "jump higher" doesn't reduce the force of gravity that affects how they can respond. Just telling people to act as a team does not free them from constraints posed by factors in the environment. Once you manage those factors, you may see team building exercises become more effective and last longer.

Each organization is different. For your specific organization, administering an employee survey can identify these environmental factors. The Continuous Improvement Process from NBRI not only identifies these key factors, but helps you put that information into action.