Making the Team: A Guide for Managers

Essential Conditions for Successful Team Performance

Obviously, there are a number of factors that must be in place for a team to be successful (Hackman, 1987; Steiner, 1972). The team members must

1. bring adequate knowledge and skill to bear on the task;

2. exert sufficient motivation and effort to accomplish the task at an acceptable level of performance; and

3. coordinate their activities and communication.

Next, we discuss each of these essential conditions in greater detail.

Knowledge and Skill

For teams to perform effectively, members must have the requisite ability, knowledge, and skill to perform the task. This requires that the manager appropriately match people with the right skills to the tasks at hand and to the organizational human resource ...