Characteristics of an Effective Team
by Philip G. Hanson and Bernard Lubin1. The team members share a sense of purpose or common goals, and each team member is willing to work toward achieving these goals.
2. The team is aware of and interested in its own processes and examining norms operating within the team.
3. The team identifies its own resources and uses them, depending on its needs. The team willingly accepts the influence and leadership of the members whose resources are relevant to the immediate task.
4. The team members continually try to listen to and clarify what is being said and show interest in what others say and feel.
5. Differences of opinion are encouraged and freely expressed. The team does not demand narrow conformity or adherence to formats that inhibit freedom of movement and expression.
6. The team is willing to surface conflict and focus on it until it is resolved or managed in a way that does not reduce the effectiveness of those involved.
7. The team exerts energy toward problem solving rather than allowing it to be drained by interpersonal issues or competitive struggles.
8. Roles are balanced and shared to facilitate both the accomplishment of tasks and feelings of team cohesion and morale.
9. To encourage risk taking and creativity, mistakes are treated as sources of learning rather than reasons for punishment.
10. The team is responsive to the changing needs of its members and to the external environment to which it is related.
11. Team members are committed to periodically evaluating the team's performance.
12. The team is attractive to its members, who identify with it and consider it a source of both professional and personal growth.
13. Developing a climate of trust is recognized as the crucial element for facilitating all of the above elements.
By Philip G. Hanson and Bernard Lubin. Adapted from "Team Building as Group Development,"@ 1986 Organizational Development Journal, Spring. Adapted with permission. This list may be freely reproduced for educational/training activities. Systematic or large-scale reproduction or distribution (more than one hundred copies)-or inclusion of this list in publications for sale-may be done only with prior written permission from the Organizational Development Journal.
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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