Want to Turn Work Groups into True Teams? Here’s How.
In recent weeks, I have attended every webinar about virtual teams I could find. Virtual teams interest me because I have been helping organizations implement them since 2001. Much to my surprise, only one of the webinars I attended actually addressed virtual teams. All the other webinars were really about remote work. Remote work does not equal virtual teams.
In addition to my recent experiences with webinars, I have been talking with many organizations since the beginning of March, and I frequently hear two main concerns related to productivity:
• One is questioning employee productivity in the work-at home environment.
• The other is a candid admission of disappointment related to lackluster “team” performance – even before the virus hit.
Good news for us: we can address both issues at the same time, and now is the perfect time to do it, with work groups and teams already rapidly adjusting to change. True teams, when planned correctly, create a structure for members’ holding each other accountable while also achieving transformation for their organizations.
If you have remote work groups/teams that are not giving you the results you envisioned, there could be several reasons. Five reasons I have seen most often when teams under-perform are listed below, and I will expand further on each one of them in future articles:
1. They were not structured for optimal team performance. Many “teams” are just departmental work groups given a new label. They were designed around the departmental function, and not necessarily around an interdependent process. Work groups CAN become effective teams if their mission focuses on “next operation as customer” principles, but organizations rarely do this effectively. Teams function best when comprised of members across one or more processes and true interdependencies exist among members.
2. The performance challenge given to the team does not require teaming to achieve it. Does your team have a challenge or expected outcome that requires them to operate differently to achieve it?
3. The team did not do “Team Basics.” Katzenbach and Smith’s voluminous research on teams found that teams need to come to agreement on several things. Once they come to agreement, holding each other accountable is more natural. At a minimum, teams should develop agreement around mission, goals, and ground rules. This does not mean merely rubber stamping something given to them by a manager. Doing Team Basics effectively can build an atmosphere of trust that is needed for generating new ideas.
4. Teams do not have the right kinds of meetings. Some teams could be great teams but their meetings are holding them back. Their meetings revolve around information sharing rather than process improvement or innovation. Meetings with information sharing do help the right hand know what the left hand is doing but will not yield the innovation you are looking for. Team meeting time must be set aside specifically for analysis, innovation, and Improvement. In fact every time the team meets, they should use Agile principles.
5. Teams need better management support. When team performance flags, leaders need to help find the cause. Do the teams have inadequate training, resources, or understanding of points 1-4, above? How about the team’s internal and external supply chain–is it adequate? Teams need access to a leader, sponsor, or coach who truly understands team concepts, practices, and performance to keep them on track.
The current upheaval presents an opportunity to take your teams or work groups to the next level of team performance. Many organizations have been forced into using technology to promote interaction – and it provides just the impetus for refining your teams.
For a conversation how to turn your remote work groups into true virtual teams, feel free to contact me through LinkedIn or at [email protected].
Leave a Reply