Understanding Power in and around the Team
All teams manage power both inside and outside the team. How well teams manage their own power dynamics, both inside and outside the team, is a critical factor in their overall success. The uniqueness of effective teams is that they do not focus on power. They focus on the team and manage everything, including power, to the benefit of the team. Some individuals are so focused in this way that they find the word "power" in relation to their team. Analysis of the research in my study, however, verified that even when they did not think the use or management of power is an element of their team's functioning, it is. Here's how:
- Effective teams are different in how they are constituted in relation to power in the external environment. Some teams are hierarchically constructed, with a person who is clearly the senior member. Others are very egalitarian and refuse to buy into hierarchical structures. Both types of teams were represented in the sampling of successful teams. Regardless of the way power is managed in relation to the external environment, power within all these successful teams is shared.
- Individuals in effective mixed gender teams do not use power to "show who's boss."
- In order to succeed, effective teams need the commitment and leadership of the person in the team who holds the most power in relation to the external environment.
- Most teams resist pressure of one kind or another from external sources, which is applied to break down the team structure and find a person who will "take charge."
When effective teams understand and use power in these ways, they are using power as an abundant resource for their team's success. They are relating to power as a positive force rather than a limited commodity. Furthermore, power within the team often has a positive influence on the systems around these effective mixed gender teams.
Common Commitment to Values and Purpose
Members of effective teams often cited compatibility, trust, strength of teammates, good communication, clear boundaries, written covenants, and plain old-fashioned hard work as factors contributing to their success as a team. These are all factors dependent on the participation of the team members in a shared working life. They are typical of the things we know to be factors in the success of any team, diverse or not. In addition to these, I found another quite different criteria at the heart of the success of the teams in this study. It is based not on hard work, but on shared values or a common purpose that permeates the team.
Effective team members talked about a determination to succeed because of the important work they are doing. For them, a successful team is central to achieving their purpose. They are so committed to this purpose that they will resolve or even overlook any number of differences and problems in order to be able to continue that work. One person called it "our passion for the mission of this organization." Accompanying this passion may be a sense of urgency. In such cases, the mission of the organization is so urgent in the minds of the staff that there is no time to waste being ineffective. This perspective does not seem to prevent the team from taking some time to work at making the team effective, however.
Sometimes these team members expressed their commitment in terms of values rather than purpose, saying, "we have shared values" to bind us together in our work. In teams that hold values as central, team members demonstrate that their behavior in relation to each other is congruent with the values of the organization. Obviously, these are organizations that include in their teamwork much discussion of the values of the organization and what those values mean for individual employees as well as service to constituents.
The binding character of common purpose and values in the organization may be unique to the non-profit organization. More research would be necessary to know. It was definitely a unique characteristic that provided motivation for success among most teams in this study.
Testing Your Team
Using these three basic criteria as the basis, any team can analyze its effectiveness using a simple chart. Column one provides the criteria for effectiveness in one of the three categories I have discussed. Column two allows each team member to evaluate his or her own ability in that area. Column three allows teams to evaluate how they are doing as a team in the area defined.
A sample chart shows how one team working together might complete the analysis. The middle column could also be filled out by each individual member of the sample team to indicate how that member evaluates himself or herself as a team member. It's worthwhile to note that the sample team is not perfect according to these criteria, but is working toward being a fully effective team.
This exercise should be reviewed and redone by teams at least every six months as a way of evaluating improvement in team effectiveness.
Carol E. Becker
Senior Consultant
Growth Design Corporation
Author of Becoming Colleagues
Jossey Bass Inc., Publishers, 2000 |
