Making Teams Work

Making Teams Work

13 minutes produced by Ash Quarry Publications, USAc 1998£120+ VAT from Gower PublishingBy post from Lorna Gordon. Gower Publishing Direct Sales, Bookpoint Ltd, 39 Milton Park, Oxon, OK14 4TD. Tel: +44 (0) 1235 827730; Fax: +44 (0) 1235 400454

Keywords Teams, Management, Productivity

The video is no. 10 in the second series of 12 videos in the A la Carte video series now distributed in the UK. It is a formal presentation by Dr Edward Hubbard, President and chief executive officer of Hubbard and Hubbard, Inc. answering questions in a prepared sequence. Arguing that teams are more effective than individuals, he distinguishes between different types of relationship between a manager and members of a team.

If all direction is from the manager to the team, productivity is less than would be the case when individuals are given more responsibility. Whilst employees would welcome that many managers want to ensure that everything is done correctly, involvement of members in decision making is seen by such managers as a threat to their own status. They "have a tough time delegating".

But, argues Hubbard, 'leading does not always mean being up front'. But, if the manager is reluctant to delegate, it also means more work for himself! A third type of team is one where each member has some responsibilities and the manager is more a coach. But such self-managed teams are rare, because employee power is high, with each individual sharing equality in management.

The type chosen depends on the agreed goals. Shared management will not apply in emergency situations. To be effective a team must be fluid and members need training in the necessary competencies to handle specific situations. There are problems - what of the individual very competent at his/her job but a bad team member? Qualities required for team memebership are those of leadership,analytical skills, problem solving and being able to follow others. Such diverse teams can produce more than those with more uniform memebers. And conditions are changing. With information technology, changes in the workplace and the fact that many work as individuals with no direct contact with others in the team(who may work far away from them) we are reaching the point of the "visual team"calling for a new approach.

Such a presentation can only serve a useful training purpose if discussion is centred on real problems encountered in an organsation.