Management strategy performance

PA 2 – Team Concepts

Many cherish the success of a team. However, achieving this success is often not easy. It encompasses numerous challenges. It is therefore important for team leaders to instill virtues and elements of effective team worm into members to enable the team to succeed. The team concept presented in the case study is the concept of synergy; achieving success in a team does not depend on the talents possessed by members but instead their readiness to work as a team and accomplish the goals jointly. Teams should thus be built on effective team elements.

Team Characteristics That Can Sink Talented Individuals

Teams often fail due to lack of effective and efficient communication. Communication plays a vital role in ensuring that the mission and visions of a team are met . Other elements that led to the poor performance of the talented individuals include; lack of enthusiasm, selfishness amongst members of the team, lack of vision and commitment as well as poor level of adaptability (West, 2012). Lack of the above factors is directly responsible for the failure of the team of talented members.

Factors Contributing to Victory for Less Talented Teams

A number of factors are responsible for the success of the team of rowers. The main factors that account to the celebrated success include; Adaptability, selflessness, enthusiasm, communication, vision, and commitment (Salas, Cooke, & Rosen, 2008). Members of the team must be highly adaptable to different situations and environments and as such, they will face little challenges along the way (Hall, 2005). This could have been an element that was missing in the talented rowers in the Coach Preczewski case. The rowers may have felt that they were too good and as such, they trusted on their knowledge rather than adapt to varying changes in the waters.

Secondly, effective communication coupled with selflessness and enthusiasm from members is other factors responsible for the success. The talented rowers may have been consumed in each of their blind ambition to succeed that they forgot that a team succeeds because of talent, coupled with a hint of enthusiasm.

Coach Preczewski’s Choices

Coach Preczewski proved to the world that teamwork does not entirely depend on the ability, quality, and skills of team members, but rather the dedication and teamwork put by members. Yes, I would allocate rowers to the boat the same way he did. However, I would mix experienced and less experienced members of a team to achieve the best results. This method ensures that the team has the guidance and technical support it requires. Another option is using less qualified but with a qualified and experienced leader.

When the Best is Not the Best

A game of football requires a high level of teamwork. Football teams with talented individuals but low team participation often record poor results than teams with untalented individuals but with high levels of team spirit and effective communication. This was well demonstrated in the World Cup series; some teams such as Germany had very highly talented individuals but did not succeed as anticipated while Croatia beat the odds to make it to the finals. This is a clear indicator that teamwork is better than a collection of talented players.

The “Right” People

The success of a team does not depend solely on having the best performers. Having the best performers with poor coordination and communication in a group often results into a failure (Xyrichis, & Ream, 2008). However, having the right people doing the right things within a team spirit results in a huge success (Burke, & Dalrymple, 2000). Brooks’ success was therefore prompted by having people ready to work together for a common goal as a team and not as individuals. His sentiment, therefore, means that having the people with the right team spirit is better than qualified people who work in a team as individuals. The success of a team, therefore, depends on the dedication and commitment of members rather than their personal skills and abilities.

Variables for Team Success

Every single team yearns for success and achievement of its goals. However, the path to the success of a team is marred by different challenges. It is therefore imperative for teams to establish themselves towards the path of success (Salas, Sims, & Burke, 2005). The most important elements and variables vital in the success of a team are; trust, communication, effective leadership, focus on common goals, and accountability for each member (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013). Trust amongst team members encourages team building and responsibility amongst members. Each member, therefore, works hard to achieve the set goals. Effective communication is another imperative variable that ensures that information is shared amongst group members in the most appropriate manner hence success (Baldwin, Bommer & Rubin, 2013). The above elements are thus critical in the success of a team.

Summary and Conclusions

The success of a team is determined by various factors that contribute to the effective cooperation of members. Groups with less talented individuals displaying effective teamwork can, therefore, outmatch teams with highly talented members working as individuals. It is, therefore, imperative to build a team based on the elements vital for a team’s success.

References

Baldwin, T., Bommer, B., & Rubin, R. (2013). Managing organizational behavior: What great managers know and do (2nd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

Burke, B., & Dalrymple, J. (2000). Teamwork in multi-professional care. Palgrave Macmillan.

Hall, P. (2005). Interprofessional teamwork: Professional cultures as barriers. Journal of Interprofessional care, 19(sup1), 188-196.

McShane, S., & Von Glinow, M. (2013). Organizational behavior (6th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill

Salas, E., Sims, D. E., & Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a “big five” in teamwork?. Small group research, 36(5), 555-599.

Salas, E., Cooke, N. J., & Rosen, M. A. (2008). On teams, teamwork, and team performance: Discoveries and developments. Human factors, 50(3), 540-547.

West, M. A. (2012). Effective teamwork: practical lessons from organizational research. John Wiley & Sons.

Xyrichis, A., & Ream, E. (2008). Teamwork: a concept analysis. Journal of advanced nursing, 61(2), 232-241.