An Approach to Team Success You Haven’t Thought Of

Wix

How can teams be truly effective? Is it possible to establish a strong and developing team before team members have even met?

The Stanford Graduate School of Business highlights the research of Professor Lindred Greer on the importance of focusing on workplace dynamics rather than product details in a company. She gives a couple of tips to help teams become more effective:

1. Make Teams Diverse and Establish a Common Vision

Greer believes the thought process and planning that goes into formulating teams should be treated seriously for teams to be successful in the future. When looking at candidates, look at what their tasks would be and also how they would work with other members. Not everyone should be the same, it’s actually the opposite- have members who are different but able to complement each other. This article gives more tips on building teams.

In this diversity, teams must be united when it comes to goals and processes. Many times, thoughts and assumptions are left unsaid that end up hurting the team and its productivity. To avoid this, an orientation may be a good way to guarantee that members are on the same page.

2. Challenge the Popular Hierarchical Structure

By habit, we think a leader is necessary when working as a team. Greer says this is wrong and finds from research that “hierarchy rarely supports the improved coordination and efficiency among teams that it is designed to achieve.”

Since leading is inevitable, Greer challenges teams to make hierarchy flexible, meaning that it switches back and forth between having a chain-of-command and being flat. This can eliminate the power dynamics and its negative consequences we see in teams.

This ‘flat’ structure can be created by finding ways to give everyone a chance to talk, adopting body language that indicates leaders are no longer supervising, and basing conversation on the data presented.

3. Handle Problems Sooner Rather than Later

This one is pretty straightforward: don’t let small problems grow into something bigger that they shouldn’t be. When a problem arises, immediately figure out why it exists.

From Greer’s research, we have a new perspective on teams that we haven’t seen as much of in the past. What I’ve taken from this is when working in teams, start at the very beginning and don’t overlook the details. Doing so will create a much more collaborative and effective team.

How can you apply these ideas to organizations you’re a part of today?