Characteristics of High Performing Teams 
   Maintaining Team Motivation 
   Facilitating True Team Effort 
   How to Build a Teamwork Culture: Do the Hard Stuff 
   How to Foster Effective Teamwork 

Characteristics of High Performing Teams

Team members:

· Share a common purpose / goals
· Build relationships for trust and respect
· Balance task and process
· Plan thoroughly before acting.
· Involve members in clear problem-solving and decision making procedures
· Respect and understand each others' "diversity"
· Value synergism and interdependence
· Emphasize and support team goals
· Reward individual performance that supports the team.
· Communicate effectively
· Practice effective dialogue instead of debate Identify and resolve group conflicts
· Vary levels and intensity of work.
· Provide a balance between work and home.
· Critique the way they work as a team, regularly and consistently
· Practice continuous improvement

© Copyright 1998 by Reid Moomaugh & Associates Permission is granted to reproduce this document for training and education.

  By Sang H. Kim

Any group striving towards a common goal works best when motivated as a team. Team spirit, camaraderie, goal setting and pulling together in the last dash for the finish line, are all powerful group motivators. In fact, the feelings we get as part of a team are more powerful motivators than actually reaching the goal itself. The satisfaction of a job well done or a best effort is more lasting than any prize or trophy. Encourage your team to enjoy the process, and watch as they run headlong to their goal... Read More

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  By Ira Smolowitz PhD

You may have seen the motivational poster exhorting people to pull together to accomplish a common task on behalf of their organization. Highlighting the poster is the acronym, "TEAM." This acronym stands for Together Everyone Achieves More.

Despite the logic inherent in organizational team effort, requisite conditions must be in place if TEAM is not to stand for Tangentially Effective Alignment with Management. Management must be certain that the organizational culture/reward system truly conveys the TEAM concept... Read More

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  By Susan M. Heathfield

Team building is creating a work culture that values collaboration. In a teamwork environment, people understand and believe that thinking, planning, decisions and actions are better when done cooperatively. People recognize, and even assimilate, the belief that “none of us is as good as all of us.”

It’s hard to find work places that exemplify teamwork. In many western countries, our institutions such as schools, our family structures, and our pastimes emphasize winning, being the best, and coming out on top. Workers are rarely raised in environments that emphasize true collaboration. Organizations are working on valuing diverse people, ideas, backgrounds, and experiences. We have miles to go before valuing collaboration will be the norm.

You can, however, create a teamwork culture by doing just a few things right. Admittedly, they’re the hard things, but with commitment and appreciation for the value, you can create an overall sense of teamwork in your organization... Read More

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Dividing employees into teams can be great for your business--as long as you provide the proper direction.

  By David G. Javitch (Ph.D)

Q: I have a big task to undertake, and I'm not sure if I should do it myself or put a team together to do it for me. What's your advice?

A: Today, most business owners use a team approach to solve problems, generate ideas and complete tasks. But before building a team, the entrepreneur needs to resolve these key questions: Can I complete the task myself? Do I have the time and resources to complete this task? Can some other person or group be even more effective than I can?

If the answers favor getting others involved, it's time to consider the advantages and disadvantages of teams. On the upside, teams combine various employee skills, ideas, knowledge bases and perspectives. Teams usually increase individual productivity and workplace satisfaction. Simply being on a team can be a key source of employee motivation, status and pride for having been selected to participate. Team output is generally higher in quality and quantity than individual performance... Read More

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