Teamswork: strategy in action

Teamswork: strategy in action

Atkinson P.Management Services, Spring 2006, Vol. 50 No. 1, Start Page: 15, No. of pages: 4

Purpose – To explore approaches for assessing how well a team operates in an environment of process management change. Design/methodology/approach– Contends that the basic for improved change lie in three areas: focus and direction; energy or passion; and team alignment, which binds the other components together and can be thought of as teamswork. Suggests that organizations need to revisit the focus-passion-alignment formula to assess where they are going wrong and leverage some quick turnarounds. Considers the importance of not looking for complexity when simplicity is the answer, of understanding team dynamics and teamswork, and of examining personality dynamics, team composition, team rules, team development and decision making. Discusses three models for assessing the effectiveness of teamswork in any business: team diagnosis; interaction analysis; and team development. Expands on a four stage model of team development as a powerful process to examine the relative maturity of a team in terms of assessing their teamness, which involves forming, storming, norming and performing. Originality/value – Champions the value of team composition and team leadership, introducing the concept of teamswork and its potential impact on morale, motivation, the business culture,customer service and business results.ISSN: 0307-6768Reference:35AJ213

Keywords: Dynamics, Strategic objectives, Team management, Team working