Name at least four of the major considerations when building a group into an effective team. Briefly, describe what a manager should do in each area.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The most essential considerations in building a group into an effective team are (1) cooperation, (2) trust, and (3) cohesiveness. These are followed by (4) performance goals and feedback, (5) motivation through mutual accountability, (6) size, (7) roles, (8) norms, and (9) awareness of groupthink.

Cooperation: Help employees to share knowledge and learn from one another.
Trust: Through enhancing your credibility by showing professionalism, technical ability, and good business sense, you can build trust in your team members.
Cohesiveness: Managers can stimulate cohesiveness by encouraging people to have face-to-face exchanges at work.
Performance goals and feedback: The manager should make sure that teams have and know their purpose, and it is expressed in measurable goals and feedback.
Motivation through mutual accountability: The manager encourages the team to accept responsibility through actions such as allowing the team to hire its own members.
Size: Managers understand the advantages and disadvantages of small and large teams, and try to build on strengths while alleviating weaknesses.
Roles: The manager should facilitate other team members in determining what their roles in the group will be.
Norms: Managers can stimulate cohesiveness by allowing people on work teams to pick their own teammates, allowing off-the-job social events, and urging team members to recognize and appreciate each other's contributions to the team goal. Cohesiveness is also achieved by keeping teams small, and making sure performance standards are clear and accepted.
Groupthink: The manager should allow and encourage criticism and bring other perspectives into the group.