Are you ready for TEAMS?

Cross-functional Teams--Part II

-- Purchasing, 6/17/1999

There's an old joke that goes something like this: "How do you get to Carnegie Hall?" The answer? "Practice, practice, practice."

Every musician, professional athlete, career soldier, writer, comedian, and CEO knows the value of practice. Yet most organizational teams are lucky if they ever get to practice before being charged with high-stakes results. It just doesn't make sense, especially when applied to the concept of using cross-functional teams in business.

Warning: Teams must have the opportunity to try out being a team without consequences, without fear of failing. That's how they get better. That's how they learn to trust each other. And that's precisely how a group of individuals gain the skill sets to become a team.

But maybe you're not ready for teams. Or maybe your organization is not ready for them. Make no mistake, teams don't appear overnight; like crops, they must be cultivated, tended, and encouraged.

If you can't answer "yes" to most of these questions, you need to step back and look at the expectations you have for teams in your organization. The key questions:

• Are teams an appropriate solution for our needs?
• Do we have realistic expectations?
• Are we willing to allow team development over time?
• Can we support teams through coaching?
• Are we willing to invest the resources necessary for team development?
• Are we committed, on the corporate level, to working within the team framework to accomplish our organizational goals?
• Do we have sponsor(s) for our teams?
• Are we willing to provide the support mechanism to ensure intra- and inter-team productivity?
• Have we identified those areas where teams will not work?
• Is our organizational culture ready to reward team productivity?

When and if you have determined that teams are a viable structure to achieve your strategic initiatives, then it's time to address another set of fundamental questions or you'll never harness the potential power of teams.

• How do you turn a collection of individuals into a team?
• What skill sets do team members and team leaders need to have?
• How does the organization need to change to support a team-based culture?
• What common pitfalls need to be avoided?

In short, how do you get the most out of this highly touted--albeit misunderstood--workhorse: the cross-functional team?

A team is two or more people focused on a common purpose, working interdependently to optimize performance through innovative methods. It's that simple--and it's that complex.

Here's another distinction worth noting: There's a big difference between teams and teamwork. Teamwork--the extent to which positive communication and cooperation occurs--is a result of team success. But it's not a primary goal, and it does not ensure team performance. Teamwork alone cannot create or develop a team. Key point: Teams don't exist to display teamwork--a popular misconception, and a common reason for teams failing.

If you want to know more about teams, here's a recommended reading list:

1. Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius: The Secret of Creative Collaboration

Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1997.

2. Peter M. Senge, The Fifth Discipline

New York: Currency/Doubleday, 1990.

3. Edward M. Marshall, Transforming the Way We Work: The Power of the Collaborative Workplace

New York: American Management Association, 1995.

4. Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization

Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1993.

5. Zawacki, Norman, Zawacki and Applegate, Transforming the Mature Information Technology Organization Re-energizing and Motivating People

Colorado Springs: EagleStar Publishing, 1995.

6. Michael Hammer, Beyond Reengineering: How the Process-Centered Organization is Changing our Work and our Lives

New York: HarperBusiness/Harper Collins, 1996.

7. Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, Competing for the Future

Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994.

John R. Myers is Sr. VP, The Tracom Co., a Colorado-based consulting, training, and education firm, specializing in team building and team leading. Tracom runs workshops around the country. For a schedule or other information, contact PURCHASING at 617-558-4291.