Characteristics of a productive and effective team

What distinguishes successful teams from the unsuccessful? What are the traits of a group that reaches its full potential? Here we present five characteristics of a successful team that has stable, good results in the long run and whose members help one another out.

Strong team spirit

According to ProjectTimes.com, a quality team is capable of utilising the strengths of its members. Each person has some sort of expertise, everyone excels at something, and it is the task of a well-functioning group to make use of these strengths when working on shared projects. Quality of communication is also extremely important in teamwork; it needs to be quick, open and trouble-free.

Adequate space for one's own initiative

If team members are micromanaged, they can never achieve their full potential. As time goes on and their experience grows, employees have to be given greater space to do things on their own. This of course means they will also assume greater accountability for their part in the project.

Employees trusting one another

Mutual trust between team members is the be-all and end-all of the success of the whole group. Employees must trust one another, help one another and rely on the skills of the others. This applies to relations not only between individual team members but also between the manager and their subordinates.

Single shared vision

Any team that wants to work together and aim at a common goal must have a shared vision. One of the main tasks of the manager is to make the team enthusiastic about an attractive common goal and vision.

Sufficient rewarding of employees

A well-functioning team should not go without appropriate rewards that reflect their hard work and extra effort. If team members are not properly rewarded, they will soon lose their zeal and after some time the team as a whole will decline in terms of motivation and productivity.

 

-mm-

Article source Project Times - a US website and community focused on project management

How to start using Selflearning?

We offer one month free trial to learn that using Selflearning works.

Free trial
You can follow trends and latest development in your areas of interest.
You receive how-tos and hints directly applicable in your work
You can study at work as well as at home