Essay Example: Successful Team by Peter Scholtes

The word team has numerous meanings and can refer to different kinds of groups. The most appropriate meaning is that a team is a group of people working together to achieve a common goal for which these individuals hold themselves mutually accountable. The main elements of a team include the following the members have a shared work interest, the tasks performed are interdependent and there is a shared responsibility for the output of the tasks performed (Peter R. Scholtes, 2003). In an attempt to bring out the main components of a successful team, Peter Scholtes developed the ten ingredients of a successful team. This essay will delve into these ten ingredients.

The first ingredient is clarity in team goals; a team goal refers to a broad primary outcome that the members of a team want to achieve. This ingredient is not only limited to having a joint mission or a common purpose; it further requires that the members understand the goal, mission or purpose and those other individuals who are not members of the team also easily understand the goal. Sports teams illustrate this ingredient, some of these teams have members that have not agreed or have not understood the goals set. Failure to understand the goals causes the teams to fail miserably.

The second ingredient is the improvement plan; an improvement plan is a document that outlines the goals that the team has to achieve. The goals are broken down into objectives and milestones; these milestones enable the team to monitor its progress. The improvement plan also enables the team to understand what they require to achieve their goals. An example of this ingredient is the project teams in offices that outline their goals by breaking them down into objectives. The improvement plan enables the teammates to learn from the previous mistakes they made.

The third ingredient is defined roles; this element outlines that every member of the team should know their duties and their responsibilities. Once the team members are well versed in their duties, the likelihood of confusion in the group is minimal. The teammates can achieve their goals easier and more efficiently. An example is the way a football team each player is expected to know their position and the duties that come with that position. A striker scores goals, the defender defends, and the goalkeeper prevents the other team from scoring.

The next ingredient is clear communications; the team members are at all times expected to depict proper communication skills. These communication skills include clear speech and adequate listening. An illustration is the failure of one member of a team of paralegals to do his/her part, the paralegals were expected to research on a particular case and proceeded to divide the work amongst them. The failure of the paralegal to inform his/her teammates of his/her failure to do his/her part will cost the team.

Beneficial team behaviors are the fifth ingredient. Peter was of the view that a team should perform certain behaviors. These beneficial team behaviors cause the team cohesiveness to become stronger than ever before (Peter R. Scholtes, 2003). An illustration of these beneficial team behaviors include belief; a successful team will at all times believe that it can achieve goals and can meet deadlines (Webster, 2017).

Well defined decision procedures, this is another ingredient that requires teams to come up with proper methods of solving problems and efficient ways of making resolutions. The decision making should also be accompanied by appropriate information and data. This information is used to enable the team members to make reasonable decisions. An example is the board of directors of any company; the board is made up of many directors who work together to run the company. The directors have a proper method of making decisions which is either through a poll or a show of hands. These processes are governed by the Articles of association of the company.

Balanced participation, this ingredient outlines that each team member should equally participate to contribute equally to the success of the team. The balanced participation ingredient is illustrated by numerous school groups projects which have certain students who in specific groups fail to help in the group project. The lack of the support of one team member drags the other team members down.

Establishing ground rules, this ingredient outlines that the team members should develop ground rules that will govern the way the team members carry out their business as a group. These ground rules should be appropriate and comfortable for the individuals making up the team. An example is a team that sets ground rules such as the time to meet, the forbidden acts that should not be done such as chewing gum.

Awareness of the group process, this ingredient deals with the information that group members get from the other group members and current group processes. The information is used to complete the task efficiently.

Finally the use of scientific approach in teamwork, this ingredient depicts that managers should measure productivity by setting high targets for the workers (Evans, 2017). An example is the setting of high targets in sports teams such as winning their respective leagues. These high targets will boost the team members' morale and enable them to achieve great things.

As discussed above a team is a group of individuals who work together to achieve a common goal. Peter outlines ten ingredients that can be applied to come up with a successful team. Each team should be subjected to these ten ingredients.

References

Evans, J. R. (2017). Managing for quality and performance excellence. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Peter R. Scholtes, B. L. (2003). The Team Handbook. Madison: Oriel A SAM Group Company .

Webster, M. (2017, February). Do You Recognise These 10 Essential Team Behaviours? Retrieved from Leadership Thoughts: https://www.leadershipthoughts.com/10-essential-team-behaviours/