Teams That Work

Back in the 1980s, coauthor Scott Tannenbaum joined an intramural basketball team. Going into the third game, he was feeling pretty confident. His team had already won their first two matches, and, perhaps more importantly, they played well together as a team.

But on the day of that third game, he watched in disbelief as the other team warmed up. They were dunking the ball, and could jump higher and shoot better. On Scott’s team, the tallest player could barely touch the rim with a running start! Needless to say, they didn’t win that day.

Here’s the key message: Teamwork is a learned skill, but it won’t overcome a lack of capabilities.

We all love a good story about the plucky, but talentless, underdogs who come together as a team and pull off an unexpected victory. Unfortunately, these stories are mostly the stuff of fiction. Scott’s intramural team had an abundance of spirit, but they just didn’t have the skills needed to beat their competition.

No matter how much you invest in making your team effective, it’s important to recognize that teams simply cannot perform well if they don’t have sufficient skills to do their jobs. If your team is lacking in a key area, then you’ll have to hire someone or send your team for training. No amount of teamwork can make up for that gap.

That said, it’s also true that some team leaders fixate on talent, filling their teams with the best technical experts money can buy. They, too, may find their teams’ performances are still mediocre at best. How can that be? Surely a team made up of the best would make the best team, wouldn’t it?

The key is to think of teamwork as a capability like any other. Being a team player isn’t merely an attitude or personality trait; it requires specific capacities and skills – these can be learned by the team or directly hired, just like technical skills. And teams that demonstrate these capabilities perform better.

So, what are team-related capabilities? Research emphasizes four: good communication, such as listening actively and asking effective questions; giving and receiving feedback; working through conflict; and interpersonal skills like empathy and the ability to interpret nonverbal cues.

While your team members need the technical knowledge to do their jobs, you can further boost their performance by investing in, and hiring for, team-related skills.