To build a team, you've got to tear down walls

Cross-functional Teams--Part IIII

-- Purchasing, 8/12/1999

Barriers to team performance usually come from one or more of three sources: the organization, the leader, or the team members themselves.

One of the most critical organizational barriers often is a lack of clarity in the organizational vision. Equally bad: An organizational unwillingness to assign the team sufficient resources, in the forms of time, money, and personnel. Without these two critical organizational support structuresclear vision and assetsthe leader cannot align team goals with the goals of the organization, and the cross-functional team effort is doomed to failure.

Team leaders must be willing to take risks, share information and, ultimately, share leadership with the group. Not all people are well suited to become team leaders, but it is essential that the proper leader or leaders be selected to head up a cross-functional team effort.

Obviously, team members also must do their part. Ultimately, every team member must learn to provide and solicit feedback, work with minimal supervision, and speak up when he or she disagrees with the team leader or with the team itself. Walls prevent accountability and kill commitment. Without accountability and commitment, you don't have a team, and you won't have a team.

Phases of team development

Team development occurs in phases. Teams pass through several stages before they can manage themselves.

Any team begins simply as a collection of individuals. Team members must learn how to work together, make decisions, resolve conflicts, and delegate roles. Over time, teams evolve and begin to act as productive units that tackle and solve existing problems and new ones as they present themselves.

Teams undertake journeys together. They achieve common ground by deciding on a destination and learning the rules of the road. Initially, the leader is in the driver's seat and charts the team's course. Along the way, team members will have to assess, diagnose, and regroup repeatedly to stay on track. They'll have to depend on each other. Ultimately, everyone will have a chance to take a turn at the wheel, if they wish.

In the first phase of team development, the team is still a group of individuals with diverse backgrounds and goals. The role of the leader in this stage is essentially that of an organizer. Here, the leader begins to direct or channel the collective energy of the group. From the first meeting, the leader must begin demonstrating desired behavior.

The next stages

In the next stage of team building, as team effort starts to pay off, members usually become excited and enthusiastic. But the team's identity remains in an embryonic state.

Phase two signals a shift to facilitative leadership that solidifies the team. Here, team members seek out common goals, develop interpersonal relationships, and assist in establishing operating methods to increase performance. The leader models facilitative behavior at this stage and promotes member participation by coaching and gradually increasing the amount of freedom, candor, and flexibility to continue team development. Concurrently, the leader becomes more candid with the team members.

With proper guidance and support, the team moves on to self-management. At this stage, team members support and encourage one another, believe fully in their recommendations, work together to overcome obstacles, and effectively make decisions and take action.

To create and maintain a phase-three team, the team members focus on common goals, working interdependently to maximize team performance through innovative methods. The leader now must allow for and encourage shared leadership while fine tuning the team.

Within each of the three critical phases of team development, the leaderand ultimately, the teammust maintain an appropriate balance between two key variables: leadership and relationships.

Leadership is really about balancing control and freedom. Here, the challenge is to provide appropriate direction or guidance while allowing opportunities for self-direction and participation in decision making. The most successful leaders are those who walk the thin line of keeping team members focused on overall goals and results while simultaneously allowing team members enough room to creatively solve problems and grow.

Relationships revolve around support and candor. Relationships require showing concern by encouraging and reassuring, yet creating a willingness within the team to accept and value honest feedback and relevant perspectives.

The way to achieve this balance is through consistency and flexibility. Consistency creates security and communicates the rules of the road, while flexibility encourages innovation and models adaptability to change.

Note: 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 MAGAZINE AT 617-558-4291.