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Aim
If you’re looking for a short introductory activity to prompt reflection among team members on the characteristics of effective teamwork, this exercise will fit the bill.
It encourages discussion among team members to extract learning points from past team experiences, both good and bad, and use these to identify what makes an effective team in order to improve their own team performance. Allow 30 minutes for completion.
Suggested Resources
- Task sheet
- Fipchart
- Marker pens
What to Do (15 Minutes)
- Briefly explain the purpose of the exercise, i.e. to analyze the characteristics of good and bad teamwork and identify ways of improving team effectiveness. Distribute the task sheet (attached).
- You can take either of the two following approaches to this exercise, both of which will take 10 minutes:
- Split the participants into pairs, and allow each pair to reflect on the best and worst teams in which they have worked. Encourage them to think about the reasons for the success or failure of these teams and to list them accordingly.
- Divide the participants into two groups: one reflecting on the best teams in which they have worked, and why they were successful; and the other reflecting on the least effective team in which they have worked, and why.
Review Activity (7 Minutes)
List the participants’ findings on a flipchart or whiteboard under the headings ‘What creates a great team?’ and ‘Blocks to team effectiveness’ and discuss them. You might expect some of the following characteristics[1] to emerge during the discussion on characteristics of an effective team: a clear goal – that ensures that all team members know what the team is trying to achieve
- Results-driven structure – in which success is judged on results
- Effective team members – with a desire to contribute, the ability to collaborate and possessing the essential skills
- Unified commitment – every team member should be involved, to instill team spirit
- Collaborative climate – a healthy balance between the competitive and cooperative efforts of team members
- Standards of excellence – team members should have high expectations of themselves, other members and the team as a whole
- External support and recognition – having resources to achieve targets and receiving external and internal recognition
- Principled leadership – leaders should demonstrate a clear commitment to the team and lead fairly, openly and impartially
Apply Learning (7 Minutes)
After identifiying characteristics of effective and ineffective teams, lead the team into a discussion on their own current performance and how they can improve the way they work together. Welcome all suggestions and encourage team members to take ownership of them.
What Makes a Great Team? – Task Sheet
This short exercise will help you to identify not only what makes a good team, but also what can block a team’s effectiveness.
Task
- Reflect on the most successful team in which you have ever worked. What made the team effective?
- List the characteristics of the team that made it successful.
- Now reflect on the worst team in which you have worked. What blocked the team’s effectiveness?
- Again, list the characteristics of the team that caused it to be ineffective.
References[1] Characteristics identified by Larson and LaFasto in Teamwork: What Must Go Right, and What Can Go Wrong (Sage Publications Ltd, 1989).
