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Collaboration: The Culture of Teams
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 A recent Harvard University study of business teams found that only 15% of team performances were rated as "exceptional" or even "acceptable".
Yet few business leaders would disagree with leadership guru Warren Bennis when he told the Best of Teams conference in Chicago last year that key decisions will be made by teams, not individuals, in successful corporations of the future. Group activity - or "collaboration" - is no doubt fundamental to emerging work practices. It's just that as yet, we don't do it particularly well.
Why is this so? For certain, there needs to be more training in the people skills that go with working on teams.
But there's a growing realization that teams can't work in a vacuum - or in a muddle with all the other team and individual work around them. More attention is being paid to the ways people work together and how physical space affects team performance. And the news is largely good. Group needs are not the polar opposite of individual needs - it appears that organizations need only strike a balance between the two. |
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Persistent visual display
Flip charts, posters, whiteboards, timelines - these "persistent" displays of the group's thoughts and results make it easy for members to pick up the threads of one another's ideas from before lunch or last month. "The key success factor is the sharing of," says John Richter, director of product management at Steelcase. "The visual display of information helps groups develop a 'shared mind' and 'shared memory'."
Displaying information is naturally easier within dedicated space. But the harsh reality is that with multiple teams on the go, it's impossible to give every team a permanent home. Difficult choices must be made. "For certain teams, the amount of information that needs to be displayed can fit on one easel or a few sheets of paper," says Mr. Richter. "These can be carried to any work environment." |
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Technology accommodation
For "dispersed" teams that don't work in the same area, technology becomes a greater issue. But Mr. Richter points out that groups don't necessarily use the best technology to exchange information - they use the one they're most comfortable with. For instance, almost half of group communications use e-mail, while just 2.4% use videoconferences. (See chart.) "In remote locations, you have to have a relationship built on trust before you can rely on some of these technologies," he says.
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It's also common for groups to resort to the medium of least resistance. "Unless it's as easy to use as the coffee machine, if it doesn't work right away, the group will fall back on the next most reliable means," he says. "If they can't use the electronic whiteboard, they'll use a fax. If they can't use a videoconference, they'll travel. If they can't use groupware, they'll use e-mail. Easy-to-use, widely available technology is essential."
Local control
Groups need control over their surroundings as much as individuals do. They need to move tables and chairs, plug into networks or store documents. "This doesn't mean you put everything on wheels," says Mr. Richter. The result is often akin to marbles on a plate: chaos. "Suddenly, team members have to think about furniture and fixtures they didn't worry about before."
He suggests that team space include a large group area with adjacent sub-team "wings" where two or three people can meet. Give teams the basic architecture and infrastructure to do their work, then let them configure the space as they wish.
Great teams take plenty of groundwork: clear performance goals, good interpersonal skills, and emotionally committed members with adequate time, to name just a few essentials. But don't neglect the impact of team space. |
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