1.5 - About University

10.1 H IGH-PERFORMING T EAMS:O RGANIZING TO A CHIEVE R ESULTSInspired by Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith.Leaders are forever asking the question, “What’s the best way to organize people to achievebusiness results?” Terms such as teamwork, team, and workgroup can be misleading, as theyare often used in imprecise ways. This tool will clarify the different ways of organizing to optimizepeople’s effort and contribution.Four levels of organizing, each requiring successively greater interdependence and higherlevels of teamwork, are defined and described:Individual work ➠ Workgroup ➠ Team ➠ High-performing teamEven an individual working alone within an organization needs to relate and coordinatewith others, however minimally. High-performing teams are based upon deeply shared values,goals, relationships, and processes; team members are highly involved with other team members.Workgroups, somewhere between individual work and high-performing teams, are sometimespreferred over team structures, as they require less interaction and coordination, andallow for individual accountability. A leader needs to weigh a number of factors in order todetermine the best way to organize people to maximize business results, including the natureof the work; the need for joint accountability; and the time available for coordination, meetings,and information-sharing.How work gets done:When it is best to use:Individual WorkWorkgroupTeam• The individual works alone, can do thewhole job, needs little close support, and issolely accountable for producing a product orproviding a service.• Workgroups achieve shared goals by poolingindividual work skills and knowledge to produceproducts and services.• Members consult with each other and then aworkgroup leader makes the final decision,although some decisions may be madetogether.• Work is delegated to individuals who aresolely accountable for that piece of work.• A workgroup does not need a separate identity.• Teams are distinguished by interdependence.They achieve common goals by discussing,deciding, and doing work together.• A team has a vision of the team itself (e.g.,working approach, team development).✔ Individual work is the best option whenthere are few shared goals with others, andvery little synergy would be gained fromother people’s input and perspectives.✔ Workgroups are the best option when knowledgeand skills need to be shared in order toget results, but the need for innovation orcoordination is low.✔ Workgroups are easier to form and disbandthan teams.✔ Teams are the best option when there is aneed for coordination or innovation, andsuccess or failure is not attributable to thesum of each individual’s efforts, but rather tothe aligned efforts of the team.298 SECTION 10 TOOLS FOR LEADING TEAMS AND GROUPS