Team behaviors: working effectively in teams

The work of building and sustaining teams is often underestimated by middle managers. A manager must have the ability to develop and evolve staff toward a new level of competence, required because of radically upgraded expectations. Managers must be clear about what it means to empower teams, to avoid the trappings of giving "lip service" to authority boundaries, which may exist only on paper. Achieving this clarity means understanding the characteristics of effective teams: a high degree of interdependence, strong sense of organizational empowerment, self-determination, competence, commitment, and genuine concern about the quality of work being performed. An important tool for the manager interested in team development is the creation of a performance model, grounded in the foundational relationship competencies necessary for team success. Performance modeling assists not only in identifying of competency gaps that can be addressed by training but also in determining the workplace barriers to team success.