5. The Discipline of Teams (management series)

1. The third of ten business articles is called "The Discipline of Teams," a 1993 HBR article. One of the key questions of this article is why some teams perform and others do not. "There is a basic discipline that makes teams work. We also found that teams and good performance are inseparable; you cannot have one without the other" (112).

Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith are quite particular about what they identify as a team. It is not just any working group to them. Teams require mutual accountability--they are synergistic units of performance that are greater than the sum of their parts.

"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable" (112).

"Most successful teams shape their purposes in response to a demand or opportunity put in their path, usually by higher management."

2. A first step is to translate mandates into performance goals.

• Specific performance goals helps to define a set of products to be worked toward and achieved.
• They facilitate communication and constructive conflict within the team.
• provides focus toward results
• "The combination of purpose and specific goals is essential to performance" (114). "Goals help a team keep track of progress, while a broader purpose supplies meaning and emotional energy."

3. A team should be of an appropriate size. Less than 10 is probably optimal. [As an aside, Keith Drury used to say that if there were more than 6 people in the room, the decision was being made elsewhere."]

Teams should have the right mix of skills. There are three key skill areas:

• technical or functional expertise
• problem-solving and decision-making skills
• interpersonal skills

Skill potential can be as important as existing skill.

4. Mutual accountability is essential. "No group ever becomes a team until it can hold itself accountable" (116). Commitment and trust are also essential.

5. Three kinds of teams:

• Teams that recommend things. Two critical aspects -- getting a good start and the hand off after a recommendation is formed. The first requires clarity in the charge. The last often involves re-engagement by the management that gave the charge.
• Teams that make or do things. The team option makes sense at the place where the cost and value of the company's products and services are most diretly determined. A relentless focus on performance is imperative.
• Teams that run things. Remember, a team needs specific performance goals. A top level reporting group is not a team unless it is working toward specific goals that are more distinct than the overall mission of the organization.

6. Successful teams:

• Establish urgency, performance standards, and direction
• Pay special attention to first meetings and actions
• Have clear rules of behavior
• Have a few immediate performance goals
• Challenge each other regularly with new facts and information
• Spend lots of time together
• Give positive feedback