Beyond Team Building

1THE FIVE CS OF TEAM PERFORMANCE

Albert Einstein once said: “What a person does on his own, without being stimulated by the thoughts and experiences of others, is even in the best of cases rather paltry and monotonous.” Einstein was simply recognizing that producing great things—whether it be new products, services, internal processes—requires the collective efforts of a team. Leaders of highly successful companies understand that business is a team sport—and they work to build an organization comprised of effective work teams.

As we begin our study of teams and team performance, you might start by thinking about your previous team experiences. Think about each team: How did that team perform and how did that team affect you as a member of the team? While we might not think of it as a team, the first “team” that we were a part of is our family. In a family we learn whether we can trust other people, how to work (or not work) together, how to help one another, how to communicate, and how to solve problems. Our family team is not one that we can typically choose—it's a function of fate—but nevertheless it has a significant impact on how we think about working together in a group setting and how to function effectively in a team. As we age and go to school we begin to function in other types of teams: sports teams, debate teams, study-groups, musical groups, and so forth. From our experience in these teams, we also develop our attitudes about whether we like being on a team and ...