Foundations of Teamwork - the Basics of Effective Team Building

Foundations of Teamwork

The Basics of Effective Team Building

"The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven." This is a quote by the late great Knute Rockne, the head coach of the University of Notre Dame football team from 1918 until his untimely death from a plane crash in 1931. Rockne is widely viewed as one of the most successful coaches in sports history. In the thirteen year span of his coaching career, Rockne had a .883 winning percentage and lead the Fighting Irish to six national championships (CMG Solutions, 2000). Inspiring and charismatic Rockne was bigger than life, and was a prodigious motivator. He understood more than anything the true value of teamwork and it was through this teamwork Knute Rockne fabricated a football dynasty. The following will be a look at the importance of teamwork, as well as the stages, types of teams, benefits, and hurdles of effective teamwork.

Every great leader and the most emphatic managers understand the importance of teamwork. The opening quote of this article is a reflection of the emphasis of building strong teams through teamwork. What this quote by the legendary Rockne meant was that he did not put his most talented individuals on the field; rather he played his finest group of individuals, his best team. Competent leaders and managers also understand that cognitive team building is the key foundation to engineering effective teamwork. They are able to recognize which of the five stages of team building their assembled coterie is currently in, allowing the manager to better guide and mentor the group through the team building process.

The five stages of team building are forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2008). "Forming" is the first stage of the team building process. Like the title indicates, this stage happens when the group first comes together. The members still think of themselves as individuals and may be uncertain about the goals of the team at this point. This stage comes full circle when the individuals begin to think of themselves as a part of a team (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2008). "Storming" is the next stage of the evolution. By and far the storming stage is most volatile of the five stages, characterized by intragroup conflict and strife. An internal power struggle for control of the group typically occurs as team members battle for hegemony. When the storming stage finishes its arduous cycle, relatively clear leadership within the team will have emerged. The third stage in this team building cycle is "norming". This stage of the cycle is when the structure of the process starts to solidify. The group once comprised of individuals starts to fade, replace by members that are able to gel and function much more cohesively as a team. Camaraderie to other team members is built, as well as loyalty to the team itself (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2008). Norming is complete when the members have assimilated a common set of expectations of appropriate work behavior. The fourth stage "performing" is easily the most dynamic of the five stages. The structure is fully functional and accepted by the team members (Robbins & DeCenzo, 2008). All pistons are firing of this well-oiled "performing" modus operandi. Vehemence is focused on accomplishing tasks and objectives instead of being squandered on personal conflict. Performing is also the last stage in permanent teams. The final stage of non-permanent teams is "adjourning". Once again, the title of the stage is indicative of the function. During this stage members wrap up activities and prepares for the dissolution of the team. Being able to recognize these stages of team building may give managers an insight into his or her group's aptitude for the often essential element of teamwork.

Once a team is built, it may function in various ways depending on the organization and the tasks at hand that need to be accomplished. The four most common forms of these teams are functional