6. Building Effective Teams
Katzenbach and Smith (1993) lists the following requirements for building effective teams: (i) it
should be small enough in the number of members. (ii) adequate levels of complementary skills.
(iii) truly meaningful purpose (iii) specific goal or goals. (iv) established clear approach to the
team's work. (v) a sense of mutual accountability. (vi) defined appropriate leadership structure Effective team functioning requires finding time, selecting team members, empowering team
members, providing training in relevant skills and knowledge, developing shared goals, and
facilitating team functioning - particularly in the early stages of the team's work.
Effective teams are carefully designed. When assembling a team it is very important to consider the
overall dynamics of the team. La Fasto (2001) identifies five dynamics that are fundamental to team
success. The first dynamic is team membership. Successful teams are made up of a collection of
effective individuals who are experienced, have problem solving ability, are open to addressing the
problem and are action oriented. Second is team relationship which has to do with the ability of
team members to give and receive feedback. The third dynamic is team problem solving which
implies that team effectiveness depends on the level of focus and clarity of the goals of the team.
Fourth is team leadership. Effective team leadership depends on leadership competencies. A
competent leader is focused on the goal, ensures a collaborative climate, builds confidence of team
members, sets priorities, demonstrates sufficient “know-how” and manages performance through
feedback. Organizational environment is the fifth dynamic of team success and it has to do with the
climate and culture of the organization being conductive to team behaviour.
Several authors (for example, Brower 1995; Carr 1992; La Fasto (2001); Fajana 2002) have come
up with ways of developing effective teams. While there is no best way to design, develop and
support highly effective teams, this paper summarizes the major components of effective teambuilding as: