Making Teams Work

Table of Contents

1. Cover Page
2. Title Page
3. Copyright Page
4. Contents
5. About This Course
6. How to Take This Course
7. Pre-Test
8. 1 The Business Case for Teams
   1. Many Problems
   2. One Solution … with Variations
      1. Example 1: Union Sanitary District (USD)
      2. Example 2: Y2K Vigilantes at Gartner
      3. Example 3: AXA’s eDOX Team
      4. Example 4: Gartner’s WCW 2000 Team
   3. Just What Is a Team Anyway?
   4. Why Teams Outperform Individuals
   5. Teams vs. Teamwork
   6. Kinds of Teams
   7. Recap
   8. Review Questions
9. 2 When to Form Teams
   1. Ready for Teams? Not Yet
   2. Three Situations That Cry Out for Teams
      1. Warning: Crisis Ahead
      2. Needed: Do More with Less
      3. The Moving Target: Continuous Improvement
   3. Teams Make (Dollars and) Sense
   4. Three Conditions Needed for Success
      1. Condition 1: Long-Term, Visible Management Support
      2. Condition 2: Willingness to Fail and Learn from It
      3. Condition 3: Zeal for Acquiring New Skills
   5. When Teamwork Works Better Than Teams
      1. Absent: The Three Conditions
      2. Nobody Trusts Nobody
      3. Sharing Information Is Enough
      4. Individual Contributions Are Enough
   6. Advocating for Teams
   7. Recap
   8. Review Questions
10. 3 Characteristics of Successful Teams
    1. What Successful Teams Have, Reviewed
    2. What Successful Teams Do
    3. A Most Unusual Investment Firm
    4. Recap
    5. Review Questions
11. 4 Getting off to a Good Start
    1. Start-Up Steps
    2. One More Giant Step for New Teams
    3. Catching Up
    4. Recap
    5. Review Questions
12. 5 What Team Leaders Do
    1. It’s Never Lonely at the Top … It’s Way Too Lively
    2. Responsibilities of Team Leaders
       1. Track Progress and Coordinate the Work
       2. Keep the Team Focused on Performance Goals
       3. Motivate Team Members
       4. Facilitate Team Meetings
       5. Facilitate Team Problem Solving and Decision Making
       6. Remove Obstacles
       7. Report to Upper Management
       8. Relate to Outside Stakeholders
    3. Additional Responsibilities of Project Team Leaders
    4. Additional Leadership Roles in Permanent Work Unit Teams
    5. Responsibilities of Executive Sponsors
    6. How One Sponsor Defined His Role
    7. Recap
    8. Review Questions
13. 6 What Team Members Do
    1. What You Should Expect from Team Members
       1. Task-Related Responsibilities
       2. People-Related Responsibilities
       3. Team Process Responsibilities
    2. Assessing Team Member Performance
    3. Recap
    4. Review Questions
14. 7 Measuring Team Effectiveness
    1. Measuring Team Effectiveness at AMD
    2. What to Measure
       1. Start with the Right Goals
       2. Measure Processes as Well as Outcomes
       3. Measure All the Team’s Accomplishments
       4. Measure Individual Contributions as Well as Team Performance
    3. How to Measure
    4. Recap
    5. Review Questions
15. 8 Hurdling Obstacles
    1. Resistance to Teaming
       1. Converting the Unbelievers
       2. Resistance from the Outside
    2. Conflicting Priorities
    3. Lack of Cooperation Among Teams
    4. Intra-Team Dissention
    5. Individual Performance Problems
    6. Loss of Focus
    7. Slow Pace of Organizational Change
    8. Inconsistent Management Support
    9. Recap
    10. Review Questions
16. 9 Handling Team Transitions
    1. New Team Member
    2. New Leader
    3. New Goals
    4. Closure When Goals Are Met
    5. Recap
    6. Review Questions
17. Bibliography
18. Post-Test
19. Index