Qualities Of An Effective Team Essay

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According to our text, Communicating at Work, an effective team has eight characteristics. These characteristics are: clear and inspiring shared goals; a results driven structure; competent team members; unified commitment; collaborative climate; standards of excellence; external support and recognition; and principled leadership. A group goes through four stages in becoming an effective team; forming, storming, norming, and performing (Adler and Elmhorst, 240, 251). Most of the characteristics of an effective team are brought to the team by one or more members, others are formed during the development process. In today’s environment of companies doing business in a global economy, teamwork is essential. “Employees working in effective …show more content…

Management must be willing to recognize and reward the team when goals are met or exceeded. Management must also be willing to re-vamp a team that is not working effectively, removing members that are unable to contribute in a competent manner, or exhibiting lack of trust in each other. In addition, peer review and evaluation of the team is crucial for accountability. Without each member’s assessment of the others, members cannot be held to the high standards of excellence necessary for the fourth progressive stage of team building, performing. Teams without the necessary characteristics of an effective team often become stuck in one of the lower stages of team formation, such as storming or norming. Team failure can be caused by a variety of other reasons, such as: fear of conflict, wrong mix of people, too many I-guys, lack of role clarity, and losing focus on the business objective (Lindsell-Roberts, …show more content…

N., and S. R. Parton. "Workplace Communication: What The Apprentice Teaches About Communication Skills." Business Communication Quarterly 68.4 (2005): 429-56. Web 19 Apr. 2012. Lindsell-Roberts, Sheryl. "Chapter 12: Go, Team!" New Rules for Today's Workplace. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011. Web 19 Apr. 2012. McAtavey, Jean, and Irena Nikolovska. "Team Collectivist Culture: A Remedy for Creating Team Effectiveness." Human Resource Development Quarterly 21.3 (2010): 307-16. Web 25 Apr. 2012. Oakley, B., R. Brent, R. M. Felder, and I. Elhajj. Turning Student Groups into Effective Teams. Tech. 1st ed. Vol. 2. Stillwater: New Forums, 2004. Ser. 2004. Business Source Complete. Web 25 Apr. 2012. Vice, J. P., and L. W. Carnes. "Developing Communication and Professional Skills Through Analytical Reports." Business Communication Quarterly 64.1 (2001): 84-96. Web 20 Apr. 2012. Vik, G. N. "Doing More to Teach Teamwork than Telling Students to Sink or Swim." Business Communication Quarterly 64.4 (2001): 112-19. Web 21 Apr. 2012. Wardrope, W. J. "Department Chairs' Perceptions of the Importance of Business Communication Skills." Business Communication Quarterly 65.4 (2002): 60-72. Web 20 Apr.

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