Why do you need to be able to work in a team? Teamwork: Key Success Factors

A friendly and well-functioning team is the dream of any manager, since organizing teamwork takes up a large percentage of his time. However, this often does not save the company from tension, conflicts and, as a result, a decrease in the quality of work. The main criterion for organizing successful teamwork is, of course, a high-quality solution to work problems.

The effectiveness of any activity is assessed using the following formula: productivity * quality * resource costs * reliability. It is believed that teamwork is more effective than working alone. However, at the same time it causes much more negativity and fear. This phenomenon is not associated with the shortcomings of teamwork as such, but with the inability to organize it. Therefore, in this article we tried to collect the most interesting and important information that reveals the principles of successful teamwork.

What is a team?

Organizing effective teamwork starts with organizing a good team. But not every group of people working together can be called a team. A team is a small number of people with complementary skills, bound by a common vision, striving for common goals and sharing responsibility for their achievement.

In a team, everyone's interests are secondary. Each team member must have a high professional level, be able to make decisions and interact effectively with other people.

Team members depend on each other, or rather, the work of one depends on the work of the other. Therefore, there is equality and constant exchange of information in the team. Team members share responsibility for achieving the goal with each other. There is such a phenomenon as team accountability - these are certain promises that generate trust and guarantee the achievement of results.

To the great regret of managers, it is impossible to immediately assemble a good team. To do this, a group of people working together must go through a series of developments. important stages. Here's how a team is organized:

1. Adaptation – mutual information and analysis of tasks occurs. People communicate with each other carefully, pairs and triplets are formed. They seem to test each other and develop norms and principles of mutually acceptable behavior, which results in some wariness in the team. The effectiveness of teamwork at this stage is low.
2. Grouping – small subgroups are created based on likes and interests. Discrepancies between personal motivation and teamwork goals are identified. Team members can resist task demands, thereby determining the level of emotional expression allowed. For example, a secretary throws papers and sees how they react to it.
3. Cooperation – team members are aware of their desire to work towards solving a problem. It's open and constructive communication first appears together with the pronoun “we”.
4. Standardization of activities - norms and principles of interaction in the team are developed. There is a feeling of trust, interpersonal communication is at the highest level.
5. Functioning is the decision-making stage for solving problems constructively. Everyone has their own role. The team openly expresses and resolves conflicts. Now we can talk about a true team that has common goals for all members of the team, joint activities to achieve these goals, the presence of good and adequate organizational structure, good psychological climate. The organization of effective teamwork at this stage can be considered successfully completed.

Psychologists describe a number of phenomena that occur in groups and are related to the effectiveness of teamwork:

• volume effect - performance results depend on the size of the group (the effectiveness of a very small or very large group will be the least).
• Effect quality composition groups - the results of team work depend on the homogeneity and heterogeneity of the composition (a group whose members are of different gender and age, but almost identical in social characteristics, works best together).
• conformity - the behavior or beliefs of group members change as a result of real or perceived group pressure. Role public opinion is very high for each team member, and everyone respects the principles developed by common efforts.
• Deindividuation – loss of self-awareness and fear of evaluation in situations of anonymity that do not focus attention on a specific person.
• risk shift phenomenon - a group makes either the most or least risky decision than its members would make individually.
• “grouping” of thinking - all members of the group are exclusively engaged in searching for a solution that suits everyone and discard fairly realistic options.
• social laziness - if responsibility is divided among group members, then everyone starts working “carelessly.”

We can talk about some signs of organizing a good team. In it, participants consider themselves part of a working group. There is a balance between effective teamwork and collaboration. Group members feel competent, perform tasks independently, and are responsible for their completion. There is continuous discussion between them to improve cooperation and enhance teamwork efficiency. Each person freely offers his ideas and criticizes others.

Team members are aware of each other's assignments and have an understanding of each other's talents and abilities, which means they have interest and respect for each other. There is an atmosphere of open and constructive communication in the air, everyone is open to open dialogue. Information is constantly, quickly and purposefully transmitted to each other. There is openness to the outside world and the organization of constructive cooperation with other teams.

Who are you - an inspirer or a critic?

In a good team, each member feels there is a fit between what he gives to the group and what he receives from it. This is achieved due to the fact that each person takes his optimal place in the team. Performing his function in this place, he feels a balance between what he can and what he wants.

Research has proven that for the most effective teamwork to occur, nine roles must be present in a group. They do not necessarily have to be played by nine people - some team members can combine the performance of certain functions, playing not one role, but two or more. These are the roles:

1. "Worker Bee"

   He is a disciplined and very reliable person. He is conscientious in interpersonal commitments due to constant internal control. He is practical, trusting and tolerant of his colleagues, conservative and internally conflict-free. Works for the team without focusing on his own goals. Acts on the principle: “work is a moral duty.” It is the “worker bees” who turn the decisions made and teamwork strategies into specific tasks - they sort the goals and build the logic for achieving them. But the principles of organizing effective teamwork are such that teams consisting entirely of “worker bees” (even if they have a very high level of intelligence) do not achieve above average results, because They do not have valuable ideas and are not flexible - they get stuck when changes are needed.

2. "Supervisor"

   This is an emotionally stable, calm and self-confident person. It is characterized by organizing the development of a strategic vision, integrating and coordinating the team's efforts to achieve goals. Able to find an appropriate role for everyone in the team. He can listen, consider and evaluate the merits of all proposals without prejudice, resulting in the formation of the opinion of the entire group. Instead of creative thinking, he has a strong character.

   He is highly motivated to achieve results, has an average level of intelligence (116-132), because... people who have too much intelligence become overly reflective. Sees the strong and weak sides others, a good communicator, knows how to listen. His disadvantages include the fact that he tends to be influenced by other people or may be inflexible in his assessments. He does not know how to inspire enthusiasm and leads effectively only in stable conditions.

3. "Motivator"

   This is a very energetic, “hopping” person. He doesn't get along well with managers, and when he gets bored, he gets eaten by his boss. He is restless, dominant, dynamic, has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles (they tone him up). For him, life is a challenge. If a manager is a social leader of teamwork, then a “motivator” is a target leader responsible for a separate project. He quickly absorbs information, lacks shyness and timidity, and is prone to disappointment. Disadvantages include his irritability, impatience, and tendency to dissatisfaction.

4. "Idea's generator"

   He is creative, gifted with a rich imagination, able to solve complex tasks creative person. He is more concerned with the image as a whole than with its details. He is in charge of organizing the development of new projects, but others will develop the ways to implement these projects. Such people are gullible and unprotected from attacks from society.

   They can make stupid mistakes because they spend a lot of time on creative energy, ideas, but do not take into account the needs of the group or do not contribute to achieving the team's goals at all. He needs management support. If the “idea generator” is criticized, he may refuse to cooperate altogether. This is his drawback - he is not too concerned about organizing effective cooperation.

5. "Supplier"

   This is a resource explorer, an extrovert, full of enthusiasm. He is sociable, develops contacts well and uses other people to his advantage, skillfully directing a business conversation to a conclusion that is useful for himself. He leaves the group and brings information, ideas, materials needed for the group.

   His disadvantages: he is ineffective when working alone, he needs the admiration of others. May waste time on things not related to the goal. He is not able to work in monotonous and monotonous situations. That is why he often quarrels with the “worker bees”. It keeps teamwork from stagnating and gives the group a sense of reality.

6. "Critic"

   This is the person who monitors and analyzes what is happening. For him, the correct organization of work is more important, the task is more important than people. He is very prudent and reasonable, and predicts the situation well. His criticism does not offend people, since it is based on the principle of “nothing personal.” This is a strategically thinking and insightful person, he considers all options and draws unmistakable conclusions. Its main function is to evaluate ideas. He is able to justify his position and sees the strengths and weaknesses of any project.

7. "Analyst"

   Considers all factors and leads the team to make the right decision. His shortcomings are that he pays little attention to people and is not able to motivate; he lacks warmth and cordiality. Due to increased attention to detail, he may lose strategic purpose. “Analysts” do not show themselves clearly, so they should not be collected together. They interact best with a “leader,” a “motivator,” and a “idea generator,” so the organization of their work should go in this direction.

8. "Mastermind"

   This is the “soul of the company” person, a team player. Responsive, calm, receptive, diplomatic, able to listen to others. It prevents friction, regulates conflicts, calms down - in general, ensures good morale of the team. He is able to exert a delicate influence on those in conflict, find common ground for those arguing, and give the team additional strength in times of crisis.

   It is easy for all team members to interact with him, because... The “masterminds” themselves attribute any problems to the costs of their work. Disadvantages include the fact that masterminds are indecisive, have poor ability to act, and are susceptible to the influence of other people. For them, the task is nothing, the main thing is the team. Unable to lead, they work best with a motivator.

9. "Controller"

   This is the closer, the “completer” of projects. He is organized, conscientious, disciplined, and cares about the result. He knows how to bring any task to completion. The “Controller” is capable of intense efficient work over a long period.

   It’s bad if his activities are accompanied by perfectionism - then completion may be delayed for a long time. The “controller” can be picky towards others. He is reluctant to delegate authority. Works well with “suppliers”, “idea generators” and “motivators” - they propose ideas, and controllers bring them to life. They are respected by the “worker bees”. The worst interactions are with “analysts.”

10. "Specialist"

    This is a team member with rare knowledge and skills. An expert in a specific professional field. Needed by a team when solving a very specialized problem. Others perceive it critically, because seems boring. The organization of this person’s work is characterized by the fact that he can get carried away with small details to the detriment of the main goal.

All this does not mean that all nine people must be represented on the team. But depending on the problem being solved, a certain set of roles is needed, which will allow you to avoid competition between similar roles and achieve results with minimal costs.

How to make a team work effectively?

It is difficult to achieve high performance indicators even from one person. But what to do if you have a whole team under your command and they depend on you? efficient organization her work? There are a number of mistakes that reduce the effectiveness of a team:

• Inconsistency between the leader, the team and the type of problem being solved.
• Poor selection of employees for the team.
• Poor socio-psychological climate.
• Lack of a clear goal or criteria for achieving it
• Poor teamwork performance

These mistakes are the most common, but they can be avoided. The work motivation of almost any person consists of three components: payment, interest and social significance. And if everyone knows the first two elements, then the last one is often forgotten. But this is wrong - team members must be convinced that they are carrying out an important project, the implementation of which will bring significant benefits to the company. This should be repeatedly discussed and shown at meetings between management and the team.

And yet, the basis of any team is people. On the one hand, they must have quite extensive additional knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the goal. On the other hand, they must be easy to train, since teamwork itself is an educational process, during which the employee’s qualifications increase.

The team leader plays a special role among employees. A competent leader, in addition to management, planning and control, must organize and motivate the workforce to joint activities, as well as to develop self-government in it. Due to the nature of the human factor, this is often more difficult than performing other duties: a machine works as much as it is programmed to, but a person always works differently.

Most main criterion when choosing a leader, his clear understanding of the organization of the team’s work. The main mechanism of influence is negative and positive Feedback. In addition, he represents the team in interaction with others and removes external obstacles. A good leader is one whose work as a team member is not obvious to other members.

As mentioned above, at the initial stages of team formation, the psychological climate within it is characterized by increased conflict potential. Top management needs to take this into account and be loyal to the team in such a crisis period. You can reduce the number of clashes through training, brainstorming and working on interesting projects, during which the team will feel like a single whole.

In order to reduce the number of conflicts, the team needs clear rules and operating principles. Moreover, these conventions must be formulated and accepted by the team itself from within. Violation of these rules should be punished, and not “put on the brakes.”

As a rule, a team first feels like a team only when teamwork brings the first success. Therefore, the most optimal first goal for a team would be a goal that is complex, but achievable in a relatively short period of time. This will significantly improve team spirit.

It happens that a team, overly immersed in working on a project, loses touch with reality, which can negatively affect the effectiveness of its activities. To prevent this from happening, the manager must organize the flow of external information to and from the team. This will help its participants stay on their toes.

As already written above, the organization of group interaction in teamwork plays a special role. Intense personal contact between team members requires time and a place where the team can calmly work and communicate. Meetings will also be useful in non- work time– especially in a crisis situation.

Thus, to maintain effective teamwork, the following is necessary: ​​determining the requirements for a team leader and searching for him based on these requirements, knowledge and consideration of the principles of forming a highly effective team, understanding the stages of team development and taking into account the limitations of teamwork.

It is often impossible to take into account all the subtleties. Every teamwork has weaknesses, and only a successful team has these weaknesses compensated by strengths. In any case, working in a team is a risk. But whoever does not take risks does not drink champagne and does not reach the highest peaks.

Discussion 0

At the very start of my business, I once attended an event where a successful entrepreneur spoke. He was asked the standard question: “What is the most important thing in business?” Without hesitation, he answered: “The most important thing in business is to create a Real Team. Cohesive, creative, competent, dynamic, well motivated. Everything else is secondary: ideas, resources, infrastructure, etc. If you have a good team, you can do any business, promote any idea, even an ineffective and banal one - the Team will still “pull” the business. “He’ll bite his teeth into it” and make the project a leader!”

First, let's define what we will call a team in this article. IN in a broad sense a team is everyone who works in one company, and it’s good when, no matter the size of the business, everyone feels like one single team (few people succeed in this, good example Virgin or early Google).

At the startup level, the team is all your key employees and specialists.

With the growth of the business and the number of people involved in it, the team is now managers responsible for key areas of the business and key specialists who are directly involved in developing the strategy and tactics of the organization, on whom you can rely and with whom you move together towards the intended global goal . These are no longer employees, these are comrades. It’s about this kind of team we're talking about in the article.

Is it possible to do without a team completely? Yes, sure. The project has not yet reached a certain scale. I myself have small (but quite successfully earning) Internet projects, where the entire team is myself. But in a serious project designed for a large audience, there is no way to do without a team. Here, for sure, one in the field is not a warrior.

Why do you need a team?

A team is needed, first of all, to develop strong solutions. The collective mind is always stronger and the collective experience is always wider. As a result, the team almost always makes a stronger and more informed decision than one person. Or it enhances an already thought-up good solution by an order of magnitude. more team, the more knowledge and experience she has and the stronger her decisions can be. But the larger the team becomes, the more difficult it is to manage.

And of course, the main members of your team will take over and oversee key areas of the business. Everyone will have their own areas of responsibility, but in fact you will become a single integral mechanism.

How to select people for your team?

The stage of selecting people for a team is very important for any manager. But, as you know, “Personnel decides everything.” Therefore, we must try to do as much as possible less mistakes. Here I can recommend the following:

1. It is best to invite people to your team with whom you have already had experience working or collaborating in various ways. It’s very good if you have seen this person at work (and on vacation), you know what competencies he has and what feats he is capable of :)

2. You should not start a business with close friends and relatives and, accordingly, take them into the team. There are a lot of negative examples. Close personal relationships will also hinder business, and joint business will pose a threat to the relationship itself. Take better people with whom you know, whom you respect and who respect you.

3. At the initial stage, you will most likely not have big money to hire super-specialists with super-fees. But it is not particularly critical yet. It is important to find good and promising specialists in their fields and give them opportunities to constantly learn and build their competencies. And they will grow with you and with the business. If you still need a super-specialist, you can try to motivate him in another way (more about motivation below).

4. As the business grows, many managers begin to entrust the worry of hiring employees to the HR department and deputies, and at best, they themselves look at resumes. But a good manager always controls the process and always conducts personal interviews with all key employees and especially with managers. And he has the last word. Twice in my life I have met with such leaders and I think that this is a very correct approach.

What kind of people should a business team consist of?

At first, I was confident that the team should consist of people similar to you (in character, temperament, reaction speed, etc.). Now I have reconsidered my views. This gives only one imaginary advantage - such a team is easier to manage. But a truly strong team must consist of different people, with different views and beliefs, with different positions, with different temperaments, with different life habits and priorities.

Risk must be complemented by caution, optimism by pessimism, creativity by pragmatism, “sloppiness” by administrative abilities. It is in such a seemingly “motley” team that those golden, average, balanced, strong solutions are formed. The main task of the leader here is to act as a moderator and collector of decisions.

But at the same time, team members must respect each other, be “saturated” with the idea and share it, have common values ​​and, finally, be well motivated.

Each team member must be clearly positioned and solve a clearly defined range of tasks, for example, finance, sales, technical support, marketing and promotion, etc. But at the same time, all team members must always be in a single information field. The team must have a constant synchronization of understanding of current tasks, meanings and short-term/long-term goals. Everyone should have the same and unambiguous understanding: who we are and where we are going.

How to motivate team members?

Of course, one of the main motivators is worthy wage, i.e. good money, received regularly and with progression in size. At the stage of starting a business, this is not always feasible. Therefore, it is necessary to build expanded motivation. For truly smart, active (in short, people who are most useful to you), in addition to money, there are other significant motivators that can and should be actively used.

1. Interesting thing

If your project is interesting in itself and also includes interesting people is a strong motivator. This is generally very important - that the work is interesting and that you want to go to it.

2. Strong mission

If your project has a strong goal, a mission, this can be motivating in itself. Change the world for the better, decide complex problem, correct a significant error, etc.

3. Potentially large business scale

If your business can potentially go beyond the boundaries of one district or one city and the project can have a national or even global scale, all this is also a great motivator for work.

4. Increasing personal competencies

If participation in a project involves acquiring new knowledge, competencies, and new opportunities for professional fulfillment, this is a strong motivator. If a project provides a rare opportunity to gain or increase unique competencies, that’s generally good. This is the baggage that a person will need in life in any case, even if the current business does not work out.

5. Ambition and ambition

If a person can realize his ambitions (for example, as a leader), this is a good motivator for many. This also includes the fact that a person must see that his opinion is listened to in the team, his decisions are made by the leader and other participants, that he really influences the business and its development. And you also need to learn to give team members more independence in making decisions, using certain budgets, etc.

6. Flexible work schedule

If you want to increase the productivity of your team, give all its members a free work schedule. This will only make people work harder, more productively and with much greater impact. You just need to set clear tasks and give the person the opportunity to decide for himself when he will be engaged in their implementation.

7. Mobility

Another effective way to increase team performance and at the same time motivate is to increase its mobility. At a minimum, as soon as possible, buy good laptops for all team members. Then the work will “move” in space along with the person :). Plus, you will also increase loyalty, as you will show additional care.

8. Workplace

Create normal working conditions for people. A normal office with a place for lunch, for discussions and relaxation, a comfortable work desk, accessories necessary for work, kitchen utensils, etc. All this greatly affects loyalty and motivation.

9. Joint recreation

Have informal evenings together, celebrate birthdays and events, don’t forget about outdoor corporate events and clubs. All this brings people together and creates additional horizontal connections in the team.

10. Collaborative learning and strategy sessions

Periodically organize strategic sessions with your team, joint trips to conferences, and joint training. Firstly, it takes you out of the routine, Secondly expands consciousness and competencies, and thirdly, unites the team.

11. Include stakeholders

A very powerful motivator is the inclusion of key team members as owners. It is clear that this should be done only with the most important and trusted team members. The share may not be large, but after that the person already perceives the business as his own, the mood and degree of responsibility changes. At the initial stage of business development, this is sometimes the only way to attract a super-specialist to the project.

12. Give a percentage of profit

Key team members can also be well motivated by including a real percentage of the company’s profit in the salary and bonus formula, even if it is not at all large. But this is a very good motivator, as it potentially allows a person to receive an irregular and constantly growing salary. And he does everything possible to increase his contribution to the joint business and influence the increase in profits. I wish you good luck in creating strong teams! I will be glad to receive any feedback on additions and just thoughts on this topic!

© Sergey Borodin 2013

This and other topics are discussed in more detail in my books in the series "The Phoenix Code. Technologies for changing lives."

People are the core building block of any organization that uses . The only time true responsibility for quality can be assigned to an individual or group is through the responsibility of those doing the work or carrying out the process.

The complexity of most processes occurring in an organization takes them out of the control of any one individual, and the only one effective way process improvement or redesign is the use of collaboration.

Why teams?

Teamwork has many benefits:

• a huge variety of complex issues can be solved by pooling knowledge and resources;
• problem solving requires a wide variety of knowledge, skills and experience;
• this approach increases morale and ownership through participation in decision making;
• improving opportunities to create connections between departments and functions;
• recommendations are more likely to be implemented if they come from individuals.

Employees will not be able to participate in activities without some commitment from senior management, a culture of improvement, and an effective mechanism for leveraging people's individual contributions. Teamwork, must be driven by strategy, structure and implemented thoughtfully and effectively.

When properly managed and developed, teamwork quickly and economically improves processes and results through the free exchange of ideas, information, knowledge and data. It is an important component of the overall quality organization, building trust, improving communication and developing a culture of interdependence rather than independence.

Team Roles

After years of researching teams, Dr Meredith Belbin has identified eight roles that, when all present in a team, give it a greater chance of success. These are the roles:

• Coordinator
• Shaper
• Specialist
• Evaluator
• Executor
• Thinker
• Communicator
• Collectivist

Coordinator group clarifies goals, sets the agenda, defines priorities, highlights issues, summarizes results, is decisive, but does not dominate the discussion.

Shaper gives shape to collective efforts by looking to the heart of the debate and practical considerations regarding the feasibility of a particular project. It may put pressure on the team, but it gives some results.

Thinker is a source of original ideas, wishes and proposals, which, as a rule, are original and radical.

Evaluator measures and analyzes impartially, and with the help of objectivity, stops the team and takes responsibility for identifying the erroneous task.

Executor converts decisions and strategies into specific and achievable objectives by considering goals logically.

Communicator reaches beyond the team, bringing ideas, information and events. He is a salesman, diplomat, communicator and researcher.

Collectivist helps maintain the integrity of the team, prevents its disintegration in case of pressure or stress

Specialist has a constant sense of deadlines.

All of these features matter, and it's an oversight when any of them aren't represented on the team: there are no stars or extras. A person's team role can be determined by using the Belbin Inventory.

It is not necessary for the team to consist of eight people, each of whom performs one of the roles, but people who are capable of performing these functions must be present on the team. In small groups, people can, and do, presumably perform more than one role. In addition, analyzing existing teams, their creation or behavior, using these team role concepts can provide improvements, for example:

• low efficiency requires a good coordinator or collectivist;
• conflict requires a shaper and a strong coordinator;
• error-prone team teams need an evaluator.

Various roles are played important role in different circumstances, for example, new groups need a strong shaper to get started, competitive situations require a thinker with good ideas, and in high-risk areas, good judgment is necessary. Teams must therefore be analyzed in terms of what roles team members can play, as well as what skills the team needs most.

Despite clearly defined roles within a team, interactions between different personalities can be a frequent source of friction. However, this can be largely avoided by understanding the differences between people. The Myers-Briggs Inventory (MBTI) is a powerful tool for team and personal development, providing a well-structured framework for understanding these differences. It is based on identifying a person’s behavioral preferences on four scales:

4 MBTI scales represent two opposing preferences (dominants) - most people can use both boundaries in different time, which will indicate preferences on each of these scales. There are a total of eight possible preferences and the MBTI type of a person contains 4 - E or I, S or N, T or F and J or P. The preferred (dominant) type must be determined by the time the questionnaire is completed, its analysis, subsequent feedback and discussion with a qualified MBTI administrator.

If each preference is represented by a specific letter, personality type can be expressed by a four-letter code, of which there are sixteen. Those. ESTJ denotes an extrovert (E), preferring to receive information through sensory (S), make decisions through thinking (T), and make judgments (J) in relation to the outside world. A person with opposing preferences on all four scales will be coded INFP; an introvert (I) who prefers to gather information intuitively (N), make decisions based on feelings (F), and perceive the outside world through sensations (P).

16 MBTI types:

ISTJ	ISFJ	INFJ	INTJ
ISTP	ISFP	INFP	INTP
ESTP	ESFP	ENFP	ENTP
ESTJ	ESFJ	ENFJ	ENTJ

• Extrovert prefers action and the outside world
• Introvert prefers ideas and inner peace
• Sensory-thinking the type is interested in facts, analyzing them impersonally and using a step-by-step process to form conclusions
• Sensory the type is also interested in facts, but analyzes them personally from the point of view of himself and others.
• Intuitive Thinker The type is interested in patterns and possibilities, making decisions based on impersonal, logical analysis.
• Intuitively-feeling the type is also interested in schemes and opportunities, but makes decisions based on personal values ​​and their impact on people.
• The type that prefers judgment is perceived by others as living in an orderly, planned manner, capable of regulating and controlling.
• Perceiver the type is perceived by others as flexible, spontaneous, demonstrating a willingness to understand and adapt easily.

Obviously, there are more than 16 personality types in the world, and it is important to highlight what we can do to accommodate all 16 types in everyday life. Each person has a dominant type in which he feels most comfortable.

For team work, dominant types and their interpretation are very important and can be used with individuals, or considered with a group as a means of improving processes.

It is imperative that the team does not skip these steps, i.e. It is better for persons with dominant functions (S or N) to collect information and make decisions (T or F). Thus, a strong ST type will prefer to gather facts (S), think logically through the decision-making process (T). With a lack of time and the need to pay attention to new schemes and opportunities - (N), to influence people - (F).

Problems and solutions can be improved by using all dominant types; if team members do not have experience using the traits of another dominant type that are not common to them, they should consult other people with the opposite type. But if a team does not have a member with, for example, a dominant (F), its members should pay special attention to the consequences of their decisions on people, rather than acting on their natural preference to ignore or avoid the problem.

Personality differences are often the result of conflict between two opposing types. For example, ST may think that colleague NF does not pay enough attention to detail and is illogical, so his decision is unreasonable. The NF may feel that the ST is "picky" and cannot see the big picture, and may be offended by his apparent insensitivity to others.

Using the MBTI gives you the understanding that there is no “right” or “bad”. These differences and strengths allow you to work more effectively. It has great importance for teamwork, and real benefits can be achieved if all team members know their dominant MBTI type and use it within the team.

Team development

You can define four stages through which all commands pass over time:

• Formation
• Storm
• Rationing
• Performance

On the stage formation (awareness) feelings, weaknesses and mistakes are suppressed, and there is no common understanding of what should be done. People do not pay much attention to the views of others and their values.

Stage assault (conflict) more risky as personal issues are revealed and the group becomes increasingly inward-looking. The values, views and concerns of others on the team become increasingly involved.

At the stage rationing (cooperation) trust and faith come to the fore, with a more systematic and open approach, resulting in clearer and more methodical work. The value of people is increased, goals are clarified, goals are set, information is systematically collected, taking into account all options, detailed plans are prepared and an understanding of the need for improvement is developed.

Criteria effective (productive) stages are flexibility, situational leadership, no protocol, harnessing everyone's energy, considering basic principles and social aspects organization decisions.

Teams that move through these stages successfully should achieve increased team improvement effectiveness and demonstrate:

• defining clear goals and agreed performance indicators
• openness and free expression of opposing opinions
• support and trust
• cooperation and conflicts
• satisfying decision making process
• relevant manual
• team process analysis
• significant intergroup relations
• opportunity for individual development

In developing his model for teamwork, John Adair used the understanding that any team, in response to leadership, needs a clear definition tasks , and the achievement of these tasks must be related to the needs teams and individual persons inside her.

The team leader or facilitator should be focused on a small central part of the model, consisting of the intersection of the three circles of "action for change", and there are three related but separate requirements for the team leader:

• define and achieve work results or tasks, such as process improvement
• create and coordinate a team
• develop and satisfy individuals and teams

In order to perform these tasks, the team leader or facilitator must perform the following functions:

• Planning
  Defining team goals and objectives. Creating a real plan.
• Initiation
  An explanation of why this plan is necessary. Assign tasks to team members. Setting Team Standards
• Control
  The influence of tempo. The belief that all actions are aimed at a goal. Support ongoing discussion. Managing team actions and decisions.
• Support
  Encouraging and disciplining teams and individuals. Creating team spirit to relieve tension and smooth out differences.
• Informing
  Providing new information team. Receiving information from the team. Summarizing proposals and tasks.
• Grade
  Checking the possible consequences of the proposed solution. Assessing team effectiveness.
  Helping the team measure their own productivity using standards.

The team process, like any other process, has inputs and outputs. A highly productive team has three main characteristics - high degree of task completion, significant maintenance of team relationships and low self-orientation.

Improvement of team members can take place by assigning additional responsibility and authority to represent the interests of the team in the process. This allows the team to gain respect.

Real work on a team involves several factors:

• Team selection and leadership
• Team Goals
• Team meetings
• Team assignments
• Team dynamics
• Team results and analysis.

Most important element the team is its members, people with knowledge and experience are needed, their number should be within 5-10 people in order to maintain the manageability of the team when good conditions to exchange views. Selection of members may include people from groups outside the processes if their inclusion makes sense, but sometimes the team starts with one or two people and grows along the way.

Team Goals should be agreed upon at the beginning of the process and should begin every team meeting. This will help focus the thoughts and efforts of team members on goals, and distract them from other problems.

Before everyone team meeting An agenda must be prepared and distributed. It should include the location, time and duration of the meeting, a list of expected participants, a list of topics that will be covered at the meeting, any assignments to be prepared by members or groups, and supporting materials that will be discussed at the meeting.

It is impossible to solve problems alone in a meeting. These should be reflected in an action plan with specific tasks for team members - team assignments. There should be a decision when the team gets together, an agreement on personal responsibilities and time frames, and all of this should be clearly stated in the minutes of the meeting.

Interaction between team members is vital to its success. The group leader should ask team dynamics and create a culture of creativity, remove barriers to idea generation, encourage all members to contribute and support all team members.

The team function is effective when the team's results are realized. Team overview and analysis keeps its members focused on goals and promotes progress, as well as helping to identify problems.

Education

A unique characteristic that indicates improved teamwork is when people voluntarily express a desire to be part of a group. Training of team members and leaders is the foundation for all successful improvement programs, ensuring that people understand the concept of teamwork and the tools and techniques that should be used in the improvement program.

Training must be ongoing to meet not only changes in technology, but also changes in the environment in which the organization operates, its structure and, most importantly, its people. The quality of training can be considered in the form of an improvement cycle, the elements of which are:

• Providing training as part of the quality policy
• Assigning responsibility for preparation
• Defining training goals
• Creating a learning structure
• Determining Training Needs
• Preparation curricula and materials
• Implementation and control of the preparation process
• Evaluation of results
• Analysis of training effectiveness.

Even if the quality policy remains unchanged, there is a need to ensure that new targets are set for improving the quality of teaching, or areas for improvement and raising standards if targets have already been achieved.

Investors in people

This is a British national standard (Investors in People (IiP), which sets the level of good practice for training and developing people to achieve business objectives. This standard was developed in 1990 by the National Training Working Group in partnership with leading organizations, staff, professionals. It provides the basis for improving an organization's effectiveness and competitiveness through a planned approach to developing and communicating goals and developing people to achieve those goals.The process is iterative and should engender a culture of continuous improvement.

The Investors in People Standard is based on four key principles, as shown in the following table:

Principles	Indicators	Proof
Liabilities An investor in people is fully committed to developing its personnel to achieve goals and objectives.	1. The organization is committed to supporting the development of its personnel	Top management can describe the strategies that must be in place to support people development to improve organizational performance. Managers can describe specific actions that have been taken and are being taken to support people's development
	2. People are encouraged for their own improvement and work with other people.	People can provide examples of how they have been rewarded for their own improvement and the improvement of others.
	3. People believe that their contributions to the organization are recognized.	People can describe how their contributions to the organization were recognized. People believe their contributions are recognized
	4. The organization is committed to providing a balance of opportunities for people to develop.	Management must create strategies to ensure equal development opportunities for people. Managers must create concrete actions that they can and do implement to create equal opportunities for people to develop.
Planning Investing in people is open about goals and what people need to do to achieve them	5. The organization has a plan with clear goals that everyone can understand.	The organization has a plan with clear goals. People can coherently explain the goals of an organization at the level of their roles within it. Groups consult on the goals of the organization
	6. Development of people in accordance with the goals and directions of the organization	The organization has clear goals that link the development of people, the goals and directions of the organization, its teams and at the individual level. People clearly understand their actions to develop themselves and the organization as a whole.
	7. People understand their contribution to achieving the organization's goals.	People can explain their contribution to achieving organizational goals
Actions Investing in people effectively develops people in order to manage their productivity.	8. Managers are effective in supporting people's development.	The organization must ensure that managers have the knowledge and skills to develop people. Managers at all levels understand what they need to support people's development
	9. People learn and develop effectively	New people or people on new job, must confirm that they have received effective adaptation. The organization must show that people learn and develop effectively.
Grade Investors in people understand the impact of investing in people on their effectiveness	10. People development increases the effectiveness of an organization, its teams, and individuals.	The organization must demonstrate that developing people improves the effectiveness of the organization, its teams, and individuals.
	11. People understand the impact of the development of the organization’s people on the effectiveness of the organization itself, its teams, and individuals	Top management understands that all the costs and benefits of developing people affect the effectiveness of the organization. People can explain the impact of development on the effectiveness of organizations and teams.
	12. The organization does everything possible to develop people	People can provide examples of relevant improvements that have been made to support their development

The four principles of the circular process are broken down into 12 indicators that organizations must meet if they want to be recognized as Investors in People.

Recognition as an "Investor in People" requires a number of steps:

• understanding of the Standard and its strategic implications for the organization
• Conducting a compliance analysis to identify gaps in current practice
• planning and carrying out activities to implement changes.
• planning and taking action to bring about change
• bringing together efforts to evaluate evidence against a standard
• achieving recognition as an Investor in People
• working towards maintaining a culture of continuous improvement.

Significant business benefits can be achieved by organizations that comply with the standard, and these can begin to emerge as they move towards the standard.

Practical benefits of working towards compliance include:

• Increase revenue, productivity and profitability. Qualified and motivated people perform better and better. Productivity increases.
• Reduce costs and losses. Qualified and motivated people constantly monitor their work to identify opportunities to reduce costs and losses.
• Improving the quality of investment in people significantly improves quality program outcomes. Investors in people add significant value to themselves with BS 5750, ISO 9000 and others.
• Increasing motivation through improved personal development and recognition of achievements. This results in improved morale, reduced absenteeism, more positive acceptance of change and identification with the organization outside of work.
• Satisfying customer needs. Investing in people has key value in order to orient employees towards customers. Thus, it allows the organization to effectively meet the profit needs of customers.
• Public acceptance. Investor status brings to people public acceptance real achievements in accordance with strict national standards. By being an Investor in people, an organization attracts more potential employees. It can also serve as an incentive for customers to choose specific products and services.
• Competitive advantages through increased efficiency. Such organizations gain a competitive advantage.

Article prepared by Andrey Garin
based on materials from foreign publications
http://www.site/

Working as a team has many benefits. Such qualities become especially noticeable in contrast to the emergence of leaders who, while demonstrating a high level of individual qualities, cope brilliantly with their tasks, but at the same time demonstrate a complete lack of understanding of team interactions.

You will learn:

• What is a well-coordinated team
• Advantages and disadvantages of working in a team
• How a team is organized and managed
• What roles do team members play?

What is a team

In order to achieve a certain effectiveness of collective interactions, it is necessary to create a team. Not every team can become a team of like-minded people. What is meant by the term "team"? This is a team of specialists who complement each other with their skills, knowledge and qualifications, united by the same desire to solve collective problems, and at the same time bearing personal responsibility for the result.

When working in a team, personal aspirations fade into the background. All team members, having a high level of personal qualifications, must have the skills to interact with partners.

All team players feel dependent on other team members, understanding that the results of personal work depend on the precise performance of their functions by other participants in the process. In this regard, one of the important command properties can be called equal rights everyone and a continuous process of information exchange. You can also highlight such a feature as mutual accountability of team members. The obligations taken establish trust within the team and serve as the foundation for the successful solution of assigned tasks.

Basic principles of teamwork

1. Collective decision making. In situations where one participant in the team process expresses a point of view that differs from the collective one, it is necessary to find compromise solutions during the negotiation process. If it is not possible to reach mutual agreement, then decisions are made through voting. In other words, the team is guided in its activities by the opinion of the majority. At the same time, none of the team members can distance themselves from collective decisions if they turned out to be so effective.

2. For the formation of team decisions, positions held do not matter, so the desire to push one’s own view of things is not welcome here. problematic issues using the level of your position in the structure of the organization. All participants have the same rights and, therefore, their views and responsibilities are of equal importance. For teamwork, such points as mutual respect and tolerance are important, but at the same time, none of the participants in the process should be afraid to make mistakes.

3. Working together to solve team problems should be understood as a unique chance to improve personal qualifications, as well as to increase the level of skills and gain invaluable experience. Such activities provide an opportunity for each member of the team to self-realize and demonstrate their best qualities.

4. In conflict situations, you should refer to the rules of normal communication between people, regardless of the situation. Excessive emotionality harms teamwork. You cannot be guided by personal dislikes or preferences regarding team members.

5. Team members must develop the ability to constructively perceive critical comments, as well as the ability to admit and analyze mistakes made. But, on the other hand, team members should be advised to present the information received professionally and thoughtfully when discovering mistakes of others. This option will be more conducive to productive work than simple criticism.

6. For many people, particular difficulties arise with the issue of containing their own ambitions. Excessive ambition and star fever must be pacified in a timely manner to achieve high team results. It is necessary to convey to each team member the idea that in case of team success, satisfaction will be much greater.

Rights and responsibilities of team members

Responsibilities:

1. All team members must direct their efforts and skills in order to realize the goals that the team faces. Despite your selfish motives, you need to share all new ideas and solutions that can benefit the participants in their permanent place of work.
2. All participants can freely express their thoughts and considerations on current issues to the management at the place of their main activity, regardless of these obligations.
3. None of the team members should question the value of team activities, even despite the general position in relation to his proposal. Also, each member of the group must be like-minded of his team and be guided by the opinion of the majority, even if it contradicts his beliefs. An exceptional case may be a situation in which one of the members does not want to be held accountable for the consequences of the decision made. In this situation, such a position is reflected in writing in the protocol.
4. All team members should be lenient towards their colleagues. Strict confidentiality regarding information about discussions and decisions made, as well as restrictions on its use for personal purposes, is encouraged.
5. In a team, everyone is considered an equal participant and therefore must be objective in their judgments and statements regarding the ideas of their partners.
6. Forbearance and respect for each other are considered the key to successful and fruitful work in a group.
7. No one should hide information that may be useful to group members for the further implementation of assigned tasks.
8. Mutual cooperation should not be influenced by personal likes or dislikes towards individual group members
9. For favorable atmosphere in a team and fruitful cooperation, all team members must establish civilized business relations with each other.

Rights:

1. Be free in your statements and judgments, demand confirmation of facts and a detailed consideration of the issue.
2. Require confidentiality and obligations not to make public thoughts and statements that were voiced during group work.
3. Receive reliable and objective information from all team members.
4. Demand protection from disclosure of one’s thoughts and statements that could cause harm to one’s personality and professional activities, as well as negatively affect the work of the team.
5. Require compliance during cooperation established rules behavior and correct attitude.

Game scenarios that will help improve your teamwork skills

In an hour of playing you will learn more about a person than if you spent a year talking with him. This truth was noticed by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, and now it is just as relevant.

During the game, you will find out what sales people are strong at, and what skills they should “pump up”. The editors of the “Commercial Director” magazine told what business games should be done in company.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of working in a team?

By working together, you can solve issues that are beyond the control of one team member.

Teamwork is a guarantee of decisions in which the interests of each participant are maximally respected.

The interaction of professionals from different departments makes it impossible for a higher authority to have a unilateral influence on the team’s activities.

Group work will minimize the risks of incorrect decisions and omissions important facts. This can be expressed by the popular proverb: “One head is good, but two are better.”

What one partner may not notice, the other will definitely notice, so teamwork is, first of all, preventing “industrial blindness” and the opportunity to solve unnoticed problems in your area.

Teamwork can attract management at various levels to interact.

A specialist with experience in team work will have a minimum of problems with his colleagues and other departments of the enterprise.

Teamwork contributes to the formation of business qualities that are important for interaction in a team. It helps to get rid of selfish views, teaches you to listen to the opinions of others and conduct a discussion correctly. The acquired qualities have big influence to the overall success of the company.

A colleague who manages to behave as a team player receives a significant promotion that is significant not only for him, but for the entire organization.

The company has the opportunity to introduce non-standard ideas, the occurrence of which in a normal situation is unlikely. In a traditional workplace, an employee is deprived of the opportunity to go beyond his thinking and narrow specifications.

Team activity is an opportunity for both one employee and the entire team to realize their creative abilities to the maximum.

For large organizations, collective work allows them to identify specialists capable of a non-standard and rational approach to tasks using ideas that are not related to their direct functions.

For small and medium-sized enterprises, the work of specialists in a group is an opportunity to make full use of their knowledge, experience and capabilities. Also, the overall potential of the group makes it possible to replace specialists and save on vacancies that the company cannot afford to maintain.

– Working in a team requires time to get used to and establish relationships between participants, which takes time. In the process of working together, a certain form of cooperation is also developed.

– Sometimes in team activities one can observe sluggishness, which is determined, first of all, by the number of employees and the combination of functions of some participants. Lack of punctuality and organization negatively affects the team's performance.

– Discussions that arise at work and develop into disputes, due to the inability of individual employees to discuss certain issues, take up time and lead to team disagreements.

– Different views and opinions of team members on the same problem lead to lengthy disputes and delay in resolving the issue.

– General encouragement of an employee for the work done based on overall results stimulates other colleagues to show hard work and competition. The anonymity of indicators affects low performance and the ability to hide behind the results of more successful colleagues.

– When assigning any responsibilities to an employee in a team, one must take into account his overall employment and demand for other activities. An overwhelming workload can have a negative impact on the overall performance of the team. The scope of tasks must correspond to the capabilities and responsibilities assigned to each group member.

– The statement: “The camel is the horse that the team portrayed” does not always mean ineffective work in a team and a waste of time, since constantly demanding the right decision from the group would be unlawful.

How does team work work?

Stage 1: Adaptation involves sharing information and discussing existing challenges. At first, team members communicate with caution, and cells of two or three people are formed. During this “grinding in”, rules of behavior are formed that are acceptable to everyone. During this period, high teamwork results cannot be expected.

Stage 2. Associations are formed, including several people, depending on interests and mutual sympathies. At the same time, a process is underway to identify inconsistencies between personal motives and team goals. Some participants in the process may make attempts to counteract the general requirements. This determines the acceptable level of manifestation of moods and emotions. An example is the emotional throwing of documents and analysis of the response.

Stage 3. Cooperation is the stage when team members realize their own desire to carry out activities aimed at solving common tasks. Here, for the first time, moments of openness and constructiveness arise in dialogues, as well as the use of the pronoun we in relation to the collective.

Stage 4. Standardization of activities involves the development of rules and norms for team activities. As a result of the emerging mutual trust, the level of interpersonal relationships increases.

Stage 5. Operation is the stage when collective adoption of effective decisions aimed at achieving set goals becomes possible. At this point, each team member receives and understands a personal role in the overall process. In a team, conflict situations arise and are resolved exclusively in an open way. At this stage, the real face of the team appears with common tasks for all participants. This process is accompanied by an attractive psychological microclimate and the formation of an objective organizational system. This stage can be considered as the completion of creating a functional team.

What influences the effectiveness of teamwork

Optimal volume. The outcome of teamwork depends to a certain extent on the number of participants (the effectiveness of a team that is too small or too expanded is minimal).

High-quality composition. The final result is influenced by the homogeneity of the team (in practice top scores demonstrate teams made up of participants of different genders and ages, but matching social criteria).

Conformism. The opinions and activities of team members are subject to change under the real or imagined influence of the team. Public opinion is a valuable benchmark for each participant, so there is complete acceptance of collective principles.

Deindividuation. The process of reducing the level of self-awareness, as well as an emotional attitude towards evaluation, even in conditions where attention is not focused on a specific member of the team.

The phenomenon of risk shift. The team is able to make decisions with a higher degree of risk than each individual member of the group.

"Grouping" of thinking. Team members concentrate on solutions that are guaranteed to suit the team, while quite effective options may be discarded.

Social laziness. Taking into account the principle of sharing responsibilities equally among everyone, it is possible to perform one's functions with the least amount of effort.

What roles do participants play when working in a team?

1) “Working bee”. This category includes those responsible and hardworking people. They are disciplined and have good self-control, which is very important in interpersonal relationships. They put achieving common goals above their own and are always ready to work as a team. In a team they show themselves to be conflict-free, tolerant of shortcomings and trusting employees. It is this category of employees that determines the team’s work strategy based on the set goals and objectives and builds a logical sequence to achieve them. But even with the high working capacity of the “worker bees”, the results of the work done will not be above average. The reason for this is the lack of flexibility and valuable ideas in decision making. This deficiency is observed even in intellectual “worker bees”, since they are conservative and prefer to act more according to the scheme; any changes lead them to a dead end.

2) "Leader". The qualities of a “leader” involve self-confidence, emotional stability and stability. Such people always calmly approach problems that arise, since they always have a strategic vision for solving them. The “leader” is able to organize a team and coordinate its efforts to achieve set goals. He is always ready to listen to the opinions of all parties, evaluate the prospects of each proposal and formulate based on them general opinion teams. What he lacks in creative thinking, he makes up for with determination and strong character.

For a “manager,” the main motivation at work is achieving a goal. People with leadership qualities of a “manager” do not have high intelligence, usually it is in the range of 116 – 130 IQ. Higher rates indicate excessive reflection, which is incompatible with the manifestation of strong-willed and strong qualities in character. A leader is always able to adequately assess the situation, see all the strengths and weaknesses of his subordinates, he is an excellent communicator and speaker. The “leader” knows how to listen to people, but at the same time he can fall under negative influence and fail to show due flexibility in resolving the issue. Psychological shortcomings include the lack of motivator qualities and the ability to act quickly in critical situations.

3) "Motivator". These people have high energy potential; they practically skip. The energy supply for such a person is to overcome obstacles; this constitutes the goal in his life. To achieve the goal, he has all the qualities - pressure, dynamism and courage. But at the same time, such people are quite restless, irritable, prone to constant dissatisfaction and intolerant of others, which sometimes leads to conflict situations with colleagues and superiors. "Motivator" has leadership qualities for target audience, you can easily entrust him with the implementation of a separate project.

4) “Idea generator”. Possessing a rich imagination and creative potential, he is able to solve any problems assigned to him. He looks at solving the problem as a whole, and not at its individual details. Able to easily come up with and organize a new project, but will develop new ones along the way. Constantly needs support from management, as he is susceptible to emotional instability due to criticism and attacks from colleagues. Often this comes from a reluctance to take into account the needs of the team, to contribute effective interaction and achieving common goals.

5) "Supplier". This is an enthusiast aimed at communication and exploration of resources. His communication skills make it easy to manage contacts and push business conversations in a direction that is beneficial to him. After communicating outside the team, the “supplier” provides new ideas and information materials, which are useful for general activities.

The disadvantage of team members of this type is the low efficiency of individual actions, since for the “supplier” the high ratings of others are an important motivating factor. He is also inclined to spend working time on extraneous matters and is completely unsuitable for painstaking, monotonous work, which is why conflicts with “worker bees” are not uncommon. At the same time, this type serves as a factor that gives a sense of reality and protects against stagnation in work processes.

6) "Critic". Such a team member constantly analyzes the situation. For him, the effective organization of the process is of greater importance, and not its participants - people. “Critics” are excellent at predicting the development of events and are distinguished by their prudence. It is noteworthy that criticism from such people does not seem offensive to other team members, since it is based on the principle of “nothing personal.” The most important task for “critics” is to analyze the ideas put forward. Their insight allows them to accurately identify weak and strong points, as well as to reasonably express their opinions.

7) "Analyst". Has the ability to take into account various factors, and can reasonably lead the team to make an effective decision. The disadvantage of “analysts” is the lack of an attentive attitude towards people, and, consequently, in motivating them to perform certain actions. In addition, excessive attention to detail often leads to a loss of strategic understanding. It is undesirable to form a team from a group of “analysts”. Their interaction with “motivators” and “idea generators” seems more effective.

8) "Mastermind". There are such well-established expressions as a team player, the life of the party, and so on. All of them are characteristics of “masterminds”. These are responsive and balanced people who know how to listen to others and prevent conflict situations and contribute to the normal state of the moral and psychological climate within the team. A mastermind can not only reconcile conflicting parties, but also give the team additional energy to overcome crisis situations.

Interacting with such people is easy for all team members. Among the disadvantages inherent in this type, one can note a low level of determination and susceptibility to the influence of others. In addition, the goal of the team itself may be less important to the “mastermind” than the people. "Masterminds" not so much good leaders, but effective motivators.

9) "Controller". This role is inherent to disciplined team members who feel a high level of responsibility for the result. Such people can be called project closers. They have the qualities that allow them to bring things to their logical conclusion. They are distinguished by endurance in conditions of intense activity. But, if the “controllers” have perfectionistic ideas that a higher result can be achieved, then the completion of the work may be delayed indefinitely. Such people interact well with “motivators”, “suppliers”, “worker bees”, but do not find understanding with “analysts”.

10) "Specialist". This role belongs to team members with specialized or rare knowledge. Being experts, they are very important for solving certain problems. Such people are more passionate about professional features and small details than about the general cause, and in a team they can be considered boring.

Distribution of roles using the “Celtic wheel” method

Alexander Morozov, commercial director, Center

To form a team, I suggest using the “Celtic wheel” technique, which is often used to diagnose a team. It is based on conditional typification depending on the employee’s assignment to one of the cardinal directions, each of which corresponds to a specific set of qualities. Thus, “people of the north” are able to manage and lead, “people of the south” unite the team, are responsible for the mood in it, “people of the east” generate ideas and build a strategy, “people of the west” implement the plan.

An effective team is supposed to maintain a balance of all four sides. Of course, it is difficult to find a person who strictly corresponds to any one type - you can gravitate towards two or three types at the same time. However, the qualities inherent in one type may dominate, and the properties of another will be less noticeable.

As a rule, if an employee combines several roles, they will be located sequentially on the “Celtic wheel”. The functions of a team leader and driver are quite feasible for one person. If an employee is given the responsibilities of opposing roles (for example, financier and product developer), stress is inevitable. The most effective ratio of functions associated with roles following each other in a circle is 33: 33: 33 (for example, 33% - salesperson, 33% - product developer, 33% - leader).

Thus, the optimal composition for a creative team is two or three people with different functions on the “Celtic wheel”. However, in practice, teams of more than ten participants are often obtained.

Assess the likelihood of errors when forming a team. A typical miscalculation when recruiting employees for a project is a bias towards one particular role. In my practice, there was a case when a team consisted of 11 people: eight product managers, one manager, two salespeople. There was no driver or financier in the group. The leader coordinated all product managers who worked only an hour a week, while he himself worked 24/7. At the same time, everyone wanted the same preferences.

Managing the team according to its form

Team management identifies the following organizational and cultural components of team activity:

1) External context, which includes elements such as:

– organizational component;

– qualifications of higher levels of the main company in matters of team management;

– complexity and structure of the external environment;

– presence of control structures and their quality;

– level of uncertainty of team actions;

– frequency and level of stress exposure.

When describing the culture of a particular organization, the following factors should be taken into account:

– level of formality in the process of carrying out activities;

– level of subordination and initiative of subordinates;

– defining the basic principles for carrying out activities or giving importance exclusively to the results;

– the established importance of compliance with the requirements for the workday routine, dress code and other points;

– fundamental nature and length of time of activity planning.

2) The internal context is described taking into account the following indicators:

– generally accepted team norms;

– options for distribution of power;

– general cohesion of the participants;

– distinctive ways of organizing and implementing leadership interaction (processes such as coordination, establishing internal communications, actions to resolve conflict situations, decision-making, establishing external relations);

– distribution of roles.

It should be noted that the work of creating a team is a process of forming its cultural context, that is, its subculture.

The passage of team processes is also influenced by the characteristic features of the personal interaction of the leader with team members. We can identify some characteristics that relate to the type of leader. The concept of leader type includes distinctive features that determine the relationship between the leader and subordinates.

• Collective disputes: how to eradicate conflicts between employees

According to most modern concepts leadership, it is customary to highlight the importance of such a trait as the development by subordinates of personal abilities for self-government. A leader who has such traits can be defined as a “super leader.”

Types of leaders:

2. Transactor. Such a leader, using information systems and communication principles, forms special relationships with subordinates that contribute to work efficiency and maintaining his own status;

3. A visionary hero is a leader who influences subordinates through the power of personal conviction;

4. Passionate personalities are leaders who are distinguished by their ability to lead a team, offering high goals to its members.

The relationship between the main parameters of a team (type of collective interactions, organizational and cultural component and type of group leader) makes it possible to determine the following forms of teams:

1) "Combine". The format of such a team requires unquestioning submission to the leader of all members of the group or work team. This is due to the general fear of being left without a job or the possibility of exclusion from the group, since the leaders of such a team usually have great influence within the team.

• Motivation of sales managers: advice from professionals

The team has a clear hierarchy system that determines its stability and strength. The actions of each team member here are predetermined by his position in the internal hierarchy. The manager has all the powers of government and independently makes decisions that can be quite tough. It defines the rules and boundaries of group interaction. The last word in resolving any issues always remains with the group leader.

2) "Clique". Working in such a team is based on absolute trust in the leader. A high quota of trust from group members to the leader is given for his competence and commitment to the organization even at the stage of its development. Team members not only trust such a person, they are ready to be followers and follow him as a leader with a clear vision of the future.

There is no strict hierarchy in the team, which affects the instability of the system and the blurred boundaries of the management itself. The presence of a “visionary hero” in the group can help strengthen the authority and charisma of the leader. The creation of such an additional internal leadership team helps to rationally distribute the team's resources and provide assistance to its members, but with the full and final consent of the leader himself. Each member of the group tries, first of all, to realize their own interests, without being guided by common goals and objectives. Therefore, there is a lot of competition within such a team.

In crisis situations, a team can easily break up into small groups. These moments can negatively affect the group’s activities and the achievement of its goals. Advantage management activities This type contributes to the development of individual creativity, the readiness of all group members to make innovative decisions, to set new tasks and create new projects. All information obtained by the team is considered shared knowledge and is retained within the group.

3) "Circle". Within the team there is a strict distribution of available powers, taking into account all formalities and standards. All activities are based on established rules that practically do not change. Status is the main source of influence. The criteria that determine whether a team belongs to this category are predetermination, parallelism and synchronicity in actions. Here everyone performs tasks as prescribed and moves in the same direction.

• Sales department structure: instructions for managers

The leader’s task is to involve each group member in the process until he identifies himself as part of the team. Each group member feels protected and is therefore ready to show interest in deepening knowledge and automatically practicing skills. All team members are executive and responsible, which makes it possible to practically eliminate management interference in the work of the group. Daily Activities carried out without any control.

4) "Team". The team's work is based on an open and confidential discussion of all problems, and there is a constant exchange of information. Solving the assigned tasks and goals occurs as needed. The team concentrates on achieving certain results; for this purpose, appropriate employees and resources are selected, which allows achieving the goal as quickly as possible. All stages of solving the problem and the timing of its completion are controlled by the group leader. Management and leadership here are based on facilitating interactions between all team members.

Teamwork rules

Rule 1: Work meetings and punctual attendance are an important priority. In the absence of urgent matters and tasks, attendance at the meeting is mandatory for everyone and without delay.

Rule 2. Obligations must be fulfilled. You definitely need to solve the problem if you have taken it upon yourself. If you know that you cannot do a certain job, then you should not agree to do it. If difficulties arise in fulfilling obligations, it is necessary to notify team members as soon as possible.

Rule 3: It is important to be receptive to new ideas. Before expressing skepticism that someone has already tried and failed, there should be a constructive discussion of the issue from the perspective of how this can be implemented.

Rule 4. There is no need to point fingers or assign blame. Any success is the result of team action, and failure is a chance to gain new experience, skills and the opportunity to improve the situation.

Rule 5: Confidentiality must be maintained. When situations happen that something doesn’t work out, it’s an internal issue for the team. You cannot discuss the team and its members with outsiders, much less bring them up for discussion with others. controversial situations within the team.

Information about the author and company

Alexander Morozov, commercial director, Center. Engaged in entrepreneurial activity more than 12 years. The portfolio includes more than 25 completed projects, 14 of them in the IT field, the rest in related areas. In more than 80 projects, he attracted external funding at the launch stage. Specializes in business modeling and industrial prototyping. Center is a design laboratory that manages the PRE-inc business accelerator, the Center consulting company, the experimental design laboratory “Business as Creativity Club” and several startups. Official website -www.center-game.com

Any leader strives to create a coherent and well-functioning team. To do this, you need to be able to correctly place emphasis, smooth out conflicts, and plan events correctly. It is believed that teamwork on a project can bring more profit than working alone. Meanwhile, it is the first that in practice causes many concerns and negative reactions. This is mainly due to the inability to properly organize such activities. Let's look further at the principles of teamwork.

General information

What is teamwork? It is worth saying that not every group of specialists can become a friendly and highly professional team. A team is a small number of employees with complementary skills, united by a common plan, striving for common goals and bearing equal responsibility for their implementation. In such a team, individual interests are relegated to the background. Each group member must have a high professional level, the ability to make decisions and interact with other members. Teamwork presupposes the dependence of specialists on each other. In this regard, there is a constant exchange of information within the group.

Specifics of the organization

Well-coordinated teamwork is the result of competent management activities. The team must go through several stages:

1. Adaptation. At this stage, mutual information and assessment of the assigned tasks are carried out. The group members communicate with each other carefully, and threes or pairs are formed. During the adaptation process, people in some way test each other and determine mutually acceptable behavior patterns. The effectiveness of teamwork at this stage is very low.
2. Grouping. At this stage, people agree on interests and likes. In this case, discrepancies between individual motivation and the goals of team work are revealed. Group members can resist demands. This determines the degree of permissible emotional reaction. For example, a secretary throws papers and evaluates the reaction of others to this action.
3. Cooperation. At this stage, group members realize the desire to work on the task at hand. Constructive and open communication begins, the pronoun “we” appears for the first time.
4. Work rationing. At this stage, interaction patterns in the team are created. At this stage, trust appears and moves to a higher level.
5. Functioning. At this stage, constructive decisions are made regarding the task at hand. Each participant has their own role. The team openly expresses and eliminates conflicts. This is where true teamwork begins. A favorable climate is formed within the group. All participants understand the value of planned indicators and take actions aimed at achieving them. Teamwork at this stage is considered the most successful.

Phenomena

Psychologists have described some of the effects that occur when working in a team. Among them it is worth noting:

1. Volume phenomenon. The result of teamwork will depend on the number of group members.
2. The phenomenon of quality composition. Teamwork tasks will be most successfully accomplished if group members are of different ages and gender, but with almost identical social characteristics.
3. Conformism. Changes in members' beliefs or behavior are caused by perceived or real group pressure. The value of public opinion is quite high for each member. Accordingly, all participants respect the norms developed jointly.
4. Deindividuation. It involves a loss of self-awareness and the emergence of a fear of evaluation in conditions of anonymity that do not focus on a specific individual.
5. Risk shift effect. In a group, the least or most risky decisions are made in comparison with those that would be developed by the participants individually.
6. "Rounding" thinking. The group members are looking for a solution that would suit everyone. In this case, quite realistic options are discarded.
7. Social laziness. When responsibility is divided equally among all participants, they begin to worsen their performance indicators all together.

Signs

Teamwork involves continuous discussion between participants. It aims to improve cooperation. All specialists feel part of the working community. They feel competent, perform certain actions independently and are responsible for the consequences. Each participant freely proposes the ideas he has and criticizes the others. Group members are aware of the tasks of others and have a certain understanding of each person's abilities and talents. This means the presence mutual respect and the interest of all participants. At the same time, all group members strive for open dialogue. Information flows quickly, continuously and purposefully from one participant to another.

Common Mistakes

Teamwork skills are developed over time. You cannot immediately create a successful and Friendly team. A special role in this belongs to the leader. The effectiveness of the team largely depends on him. Meanwhile, in practice, managers make serious mistakes when organizing collective activities. They significantly reduce work efficiency. Among the most common are the following:

1. Inconsistency between the leader, the team and the type of task assigned to people.
2. Poor choice of specialists to create a group.
3. Lack of a clearly defined goal or criteria for its implementation.
4. Unfavorable socio-psychological climate.

conclusions

All of these mistakes can be completely avoided. Almost every person is motivated to work by three components: pay, interest and social significance. The first two components are given quite a lot of attention in practice. At the same time, the social significance of a person is often forgotten. Meanwhile, group members must be sure that they are implementing an important project that will bring profit to the company.

Team leader

He has a special role. In addition to direct leadership, planning and control, a leader must be able to motivate and organize a team, and develop the basics of self-government in it. Due to the human factor, it can be quite difficult to implement these tasks in practice. The key criterion for choosing a leader is his idea of ​​the organization of the team’s activities. The main tool of influence will be positive and negative feedback. Effective teamwork will largely depend on personal He will represent the team in interaction with others, eliminate external obstacles.

Reducing the number of conflicts

As mentioned above, in the initial stages, working in a team is accompanied by a certain tension. Conflicts often arise. The head of the enterprise needs to take into account their likelihood and treat the group members with a certain degree of loyalty during this period. You can reduce tension by using various trainings and working on creative tasks, during which the group will feel like one organism. In addition, it is important to pay attention to the development of clear rules of conduct. Moreover, they must be formulated and accepted directly by the group members themselves. It is also necessary to establish responsibility for their violations.

Nuances

Usually a team feels like a team when it achieves its first success. The manager of the enterprise must take this into account. The first task for the team should be difficult, but at the same time completely achievable in a relatively short period. In some cases, it happens that the group becomes overly immersed in its activities and loses touch with the real world. This may have Negative consequences. To prevent this phenomenon, the manager should organize the flow of external information to the participants and the outflow of information from them. This helps maintain the tone of the team. It is impossible to learn and apply all the subtleties of the process. Any team work requires the presence weak points. In successful teams, they are compensated by the strengths of the participants.