Building an effective team doesn’t just happen. Or as John Dyer says, “You don't just take a bunch of people and throw them in a room and wave a wand and say, ‘You're a team, start acting like it.’”
Team design matters. In this episode of Behind the Curtain: Adventures in Continuous Improvement, podcast co-hosts Professor Mohamed Saleh and Dyer discuss the importance of team design, including team types, team tasks, team size and the skills required of team members. Moreover, they raise the question: Do you need a team at all?
Assuming the answer is yes, Saleh speaks to three types of teams: technical, cross-functional leadership and project teams. “It's really important to understand the type of team that we're talking about, so you understand the design,” he says.
The type of team required also depends on the problem that needs to be solved, Saleh adds.
Both continuous improvement experts stress the need for diverse perspectives, with Dyer proposing that the team include at least one person who has never worked in the area before. “You need that fresh set of eyes,” he says.
Saleh stresses the importance of interpersonal skills in team design. Otherwise, he notes, “I might have six people on a team, and each person is amazing at their task, but they don't know how to work together. There is no trust between them. There is no respect between them. They don't listen to each other; they can't effectively communicate.”
