MsGoodbody found that the first stage, when the team is actually formed, is the most important in determining success. Team leaders can help to build relationships in different ways. 'They can try and get people to share some level of social information, for example about their country or their family.'
As team co-ordinators, they also need to know how to summarize relevant information from the conversations that they have with individual members for the rest of the group. 'There's a fine line between making sure everybody is aware of what's going on and inundating people with e-mails they don't need, ' she says.