Business organizations are looking for ways to build effective work teams in order to reap the benefits of improved quality, faster production, lower costs, or increased revenue. In order to accomplish better teams, organization must start by deciding what the management levels sponsoring the work or project teams are willing to do in order to achieve the desired success.
Once the management is willing to make the necessary commitment, then team leaders who are willing to carry out the commitment may be selected in order to accomplish expected team results. Here are eleven action-oriented responsibilities managers need to review and then look for leaders to be account able for.
- Offer good interpersonal communication skills, leadership responsiveness, reduction of barriers and commitment to the success of team.
- Provide a purpose or mission for the team and lists of available resources and team empowerment limitations.
- Set realistic productivity expectations for team and member accountability and responsibility.
- Evaluate team performance regularly and give feedback on what the team is doing well and where improvement may be needed.
- Help team to develop their ground rules for group behavior and team meetings.
- Aid team in developing their obtainable goals and achievable plans that include measurements for quality performance and team success.
- Allow opportunities for both team and individual member growth in assignments, projects, and problem-solving.
- Select appropriate skill mix and diversity in team membership and ask the team for input if membership changes are needed.
- Suggest occasional role rotation and cross-training between members for team growth and to prevent loss of momentum if a member becomes temporarily unavailable.
- Encourage participation of all members continuously and explain interdependence on each other as resources.
- Insure training options are available for team-building, communication, meeting management, idea generation, diversity, problem-solving, decision-making, trust, conflict resolution, quality improvement tools, and other skills necessary for team members.
Willingness to fulfill these eleven responsibilities will mean leaders who can carry the teams toward accomplishment of the expected team results. Committed managers who sponsor the teams will find they have better teams with a high achievement record for reaching the desired success rates for the organizations. This means the organizations find they are no looking for ways to build effective work teams. Instead they are reaping the potential benefits of improved quality, faster production, lower costs, or increased revenue.