Benefits – Teams be the primary building blocks of company performance

Benefits

Given the challenges many team members face communicating with each other, why do we bother with teams?

Teams will be the primary building blocks of company performance in the organisation of the future.  – Katzenbach and Smith (1994)

Some of the benefits of working in teams are:

synergy – a team can achieve more than a set of individuals working on their own because team members build on each others’ ideas

increased productivity as the team finds the most efficient way to do the work

greater commitment of team members – as the team matures, members become committed to its goals and to each other

better use of skills and expertise – a team allows people to focus on what they are good at

better decisions – more people consider the options and implications (we consider decisions later in this unit)

more flexibility in a rapidly changing environment – a team may have more scope to change its way of working than an individual

it reduces the isolation of working alone.

A survey on teamworking found that ‘Teams are seen to improve efficiency by 67% of respondents, and two thirds believe they also improve employee motivation and empowerment’.

Industrial Society (1998)

However, some people work better alone than in teams, and this should be respected.

Now do this

For the team you lead, think of the benefits of working as a team. You’ll probably think of some benefits that aren’t in the list above.

Benefits for your company/organisation?
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Benefits for you as team leader?
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Benefits for your team members?
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