The Three Types of Teams in Organizations

Three types of teams have had a decent track record in helping organizations succeed: problem-solving teams, self-directed work teams, and leadership teams. Problem-solving teams are probably the most prevalent , though they are known by many names (e.g., rapid improvement teams, employee involvement teams, etc.). Basically they are permanent committees or temporary task forces bringing together the diverse skills, knowledge, and backgrounds of people to identify and analyze organizational problems and make recommendations for what could improve situations. They typically only have the right to make recommendations, while management reserves the right to decide whether to go forward with their ideas. Since the 1980s this type of team has become common in business practice. The old practice of separating the doing of the work from the thinking about the work is finally fading away in most organizations. Workers today are less likely to be required to "check their brains at the plant gate." Managers realize they benefit from the wisdom of those people closer to the action. Your job as a leader may be to facilitate the formation, development, and maintenance of such teams.

During the 1990s and into this century, we have also seen the rise of so-called self-directed work teams (SDWTs). These are groups of employees brought together to make things or deliver services. They are given the power to make decisions, not just recommendations, at least within the parameters established by management. No team operates independently from the realities of the organization that formed it. Thus SDWTs appear quite different depending on the organization in which they reside. Here are some of the ideal characteristics of SDWTs:

Being collectively responsible for an identifiable piece of the business
Receiving clear metrics daily to verify progress
Consisting of members with varying skills, abilities , and problem-solving strategies
Exhibiting little or no status differences among members
Providing opportunities to interactto meet easily and frequently
Establishing interdependent job responsibilities
Offering cross-training or at least cross-education for all jobs on the team
Having the authority to make decisions on how to get the work done
Providing a mixture of individual and group rewards
Making available the help and encouragement of external coaches and resource people.

In some companies, SDWTs have reduced or eliminated the need for supervision and have distributed the duties formerly fulfilled by representatives of management across the team members themselves . Oftentimes the team is expected to elect a peer to be the point person interacting with other departments, teams, and levels of management. The organization may provide an area manager who oversees the work of several SDWTs and helps resolve any disciplinary issues that arise within any of the teams. Studies have shown that on average SDWTs outproduce traditional work groups. However, success is dependent on how these teams are implemented. If you are in an organization utilizing the SDWT concept of teams, are you prepared to help them grow and mature? If you have been recently elected team leader, are you prepared to influence your peers?

The use of a leadership team at the top of an organization has also become more prevalent in recent years . The CEO (or facility manager) and his or her direct reports attempt to use their collective wisdom in the development of strategies to run the business. In some unionized settings, a joint steering committee is formed to gain the input of top union leaders and top-level managers. The idea is that one's business strategy must represent the integration of the perspectives of all the functions. Business life is more complex than everno one person can be an expert in so many areas. Allowing each area to run its own function has produced isolated silos and failed to gain the synergy needed to compete in today's marketplace . Teams of leaders are asked to pull together to produce strategic plans and make organizational decisions. Many of the tools provided throughout this book can help make these powerful teams succeed. Chapter 11 is dedicated to examining the unique issues in providing leadership for these leadership teams.