Team-Building

The performance level of any team is a function of the content and process expertise team members bring to their assigned task. Having a high level of content expertise is a great starting point, but it doesn't guarantee high performance. Team members must also be skilled in group process-in knowing how to combine their individual content expertise and finally in being able to act on what they know.

Team-building is a systematic way to enhance a group's ability to perform consistently at high levels. The team-building workbook helps team members organize their thoughts, feelings, and observations about how the team is functioning and provides a way to share their individual perceptions and reach mutual understandings.

An off-site workshop is an excellent way to begin a team-building effort, but in the long run, team-building needs to become an ongoing process, a normal part of the team's day-to-day work. The truth is, a team-building opportunity occurs every time two or more members of the team interact-whether the interaction is a five-minute phone conversation or a four-hour staff meeting.

The way team members treat each other in such interactions leaves them feeling better about their team involvement or worse. The team leader can never be present or even aware of all these kinds of interactions among team members, so it's imperative that they all share responsibility for team development.

Every team member has four distinct areas of responsibility in team-building:

• Tending to their personal development of content and process skills
• Contributing to the development of other team members, including their manager
• Contributing to the continuous improvement of team processes
• Improving teamwork at the interfaces with customers and suppliers

No matter what the current level of functioning of a team, there's always room to improve it. It may not always be comfortable. You may need to talk directly about topics everyone has been avoiding. There may be disagreements as to what is keeping the team from being more effective. This is all part of the process of getting clarity about what's happening, what's important and figuring out how to improve performance.