Tool Box
Issue No. 50 - December/ /
The secrets behind an effective team
by Alice Staniford
Most of us have been part of a team at some time in our lives - at work, playing sport, or in the community. Some of these teams appear to function beautifully, like a well-oiled machine. Others do not.
Why is this and what defines an effective team?
In a recent keynote address at the Industrial and Organisational Psychology conference in Sydney, Professor Eduardo Salas of the University of Central Florida presented his summation of research on workplace teams over the last 25 years. Salas asked the question: “What do effective teams do?”
The answer, he says, involves a number of different factors which can include:
Trust – Being able to rely on others is essential. If team members cannot trust each other or fear being ‘let down’ by a teammate, this is likely to undermine their ability to share information and work with others in a mutually supportive way.
Shared Vision – All team members need to be heading along the same road and in the same direction. If people in the team are striving toward their own individual goals rather than the vision of the team it is difficult to build a true sense of cohesiveness and commitment.
Clear Roles and Responsibilities – It is important that each member of the team knows the part they play in the ‘bigger picture’ of the team and understands how his or her role contributes towards meeting the team’s objectives. This means having an unambiguous understanding of their own roles, as well as the roles of others, and includes how the work of each person is connected.
Shared Mental Models – Shared mental models are sets of knowledge understood by all members of the team about how the team functions. These are not formal or written rules, but rather an unconscious understanding of what to do and what to expect from others. Shared mental models allow individuals to predict and explain the behaviour of team mates. This helps team members to recognise behaviour patter...
