It’s not just you. The fact is, we are all spending more time working in teams than we used to. HBR reported that the time managers and employees spent working together collaboratively increased by 50% or more over the past two decades — a trend that continues to accelerate.
It is impossible to overstate the benefits of great teaming. Yes, “teaming,” not just teams. Teaming is action-focused — an ongoing effort to align, refine and enhance your team.
Our Teaming for Success Model includes nine dimensions that describe teaming fundamentals — the elements that all teams need to consider, develop, focus on and do well to achieve high levels of effectiveness, cohesion, and performance. No matter what stage of development your team is at, these nine dimensions are the collective competencies that define what great teaming looks like.
9 Dimensions of Teaming in the Workplace
1. Purpose
Successful teams start with a clear purpose and vision of success. Having a clear and agreed-upon mission helps define why the team exists and enables the creation and execution of strategies. When the whole team understands and agrees upon the purpose, they create a sense of shared meaning, and the team can make a more significant impact.
2. Context
To be successful, every team must understand the broader context of how they fit within the organization and where the need for the team is coming from. Teams need to understand the business challenge, the interdependencies they have with other groups, and what the customer wants.
3. Structure
Structure defines the talent, establishes roles and responsibilities, and outlines the decision-making process. The structure should describe the team leader’s role, the responsibilities for each team member, and the team’s degree of collaboration. Building structure around how decisions get made and how problems are solved are critical success factors for every team.
4. People and resources
Understanding existing potential resources and talent is essential to implementing a team’s purpose. Resources include time, equipment, supplies, information, budget, and, most importantly, people. An inventory of existing or needed skills, abilities, and expertise is an important ongoing part of successful team performance as goals change and evolve.
When selecting new team members, look for people unlike yourself or others on your team to eliminate skills gaps and create new strengths. If every member of your team were great at the same things, there would be no one to handle the other stuff. Great teams have a diverse group of people, skill sets, and backgrounds. Diverse teams solve problems sooner because they bring a variety of ideas that enable them to choose the best solution faster.
5. Planning
Planning translates purpose into day-to-day actions, and the more complete the planning is, the less rework there will be. Creating specific and measurable work plans involves identifying tasks, sequencing those tasks in helpful ways, and assigning those tasks to team members with deliverable dates and check-in points.
6. Morale
Individual and team engagement and buy-in are critical underlying success factors that support a high-performing team’s development. When team members have high morale, they are more committed, put in the effort required to overcome obstacles, and believe the team can be successful. Recognition of efforts and understanding of personal motivations by the team’s leadership, understanding of the team’s broader team context and purpose, and active participation in team activities drive strong team engagement.
7. Operations
Operations are the team processes and behaviors that enable highly functional team dynamics. These team processes include team meeting productivity, reward and recognition, learning and development, and performance management. Establishing healthy team processes is essential in avoiding self-oriented behaviors like blaming, withdrawing, or competing against others. These operating principles establish the rules of engagement and build a continuous improvement mindset.
8. Communication
Establishing healthy and open communication processes is vital for a successful team. This includes ensuring meaningful dialogue, defining appropriate methods (email, text, phone), and frequently sharing information. Determining how to deliver feedback and resolve conflict is also an essential part of every team’s communication processes, along with the appropriate times to collaborate.
9. Results
Every high-performing team focuses on achieving high-quality results. Great teams are clear about their results and how to measure the desired business and people outcomes. They effectively progress, demonstrate results to upper management, and strive for high degrees of excellence.
Conclusion
As more organizations move toward a team-based model or increase their use of teams, knowing how to build, lead, and participate in teams is a critical skill for the modern professional to develop. These nine dimensions provide a framework for performing a teaming audit to identify your strengths and growth opportunities. Identify a dimension to develop, and start teaming!
Article originally published by Forbes
