Teams vs.

Collaboration Collaboration looks into issues relating to what the needs are in the organisation, what each department or user requires. The sets of information and needs are used to work towards achieving the organisational goals and objectives, the requirements and the people involved vary and managing different expectations and needs with participants who are not necessarily a solidified unit is what differentiates collaboration and teams. Teams are comprised of a single unit of people focused on achieving a specific objective, all the members work in unison and conform to the same sets of expectations and desires.

Developing an effective team

The development of teams as I approached it focuses on one off teams that have a specific task to be accomplished within a specified time frame. According to Bruce Tuckman the development covers five stages; 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Forming; the stage of coming together Storming; the stage of working out the teams identity Norming; the stage of agreeing how the team will work Performing; the stage of harnessing what the team can do for the benefit of others Disbanding; the stage of completion

As a potential manager the challenge would be how to move from one stage to another, is there a golden rule governing what stage follows another? Supposing at one stage the team is not resolved in what approach to take or some members are not up to speed with the task at hand, does the team disband or should one consider a different approach. These are questions to guide one in understanding team development. Throughout the stages of develop one must look at a variety of management styles to ensure the team successfully navigates through the steps in unison. Team charter and mission For each team to maintain focus and stick to the core objectives of the team it is imperative to develop a team charter and mission statement to ensure that there is one guiding document to direct the members. This is something I have not witnessed in the teams I have been a member of in local country setting. The formal approach to team development skips this important step. Team Assessments For a manager to maintain the team in line with objectives there has to be continuous performance assessments to gauge when the team or its members are straying on the mark in relation to the objectives. Assessment has multiple methods and strategies to the approach; I find it imperative that whichever method is used, it should be continuous throughout the lifespan of the team. In order for the team to benefit from the assessments the managers have to give real time feedback in an effective one on one basis. This should be coupled with a joint planning phase to develop action points and a way forward. My perception is to have the development of the action plan led by the subordinate with guidance from the manager; this empowers the member to grow more in terms of planning and strategizing.

Team Roles and Responsibilities Following the assessment trends then it becomes easy to define ones roles; ideally the roles should be evolving depending on the stage that the team is in. responsibilities must be assigned according to the capacity of the members and the vision of the leader. This also has a thin line between how well one delegates tasks. As a leader one needs to know how best to nurture the talent of the team members. With managing teams a manager needs to know how best to handle the different personalities and traits each team member brings to the team. This can be a complex process so it is necessary for managers to know certain tools to guide in how to manage personality traits. The personality matrix developed by Dr. Eileen Russo uses two dimensions of personality: expressiveness and assertiveness. The matrix shows the breakdown of the four personality quadrants that result. 1

Leadership Skills, 2010 MTD Training & Ventus Publishing ApS, ISBN 978-87-7681-603-2