Making the Team: A Guide for Managers

Time

Another contextual factor is time and the organization's norms of marking time—in particular, deadlines. How much time should a group devote to completing its work? A typical response might be “as long as it takes.” This answer is neither good nor practical. When a work group is given a specific amount of time to do a job, its members adjust their behavior to “fit” whatever time is available. When time is scarce, team members work harder, worry less about the quality of their output, and focus on the task rather than social or emotional issues. However, if more time becomes available, these employees continue to work as though time was still scarce, rather than relaxing. It is important to properly manage how teams are initially introduced ...