The elements of effective teams: 10 questions to ask

 

A new manager in one of our training sessions commented: We have the right people, so why isn’t the team working? Behind her comment was a different question: Am I doing something wrong?

Not necessarily.

When a team is formed, we often make assumptions. For example, we assume that everyone understands the purpose, that roles and responsibilities are clear, that people will communicate effectively and that everyone knows how to work well together. We also assume that they will speak up when something isn’t working, that they will resolve disagreements constructively and that everyone has the same understanding of what the team is trying to achieve.

Often, we don’t discover that these assumptions are wrong until something goes wrong: a project misses a deadline, decisions take too long, responsibilities overlap, a disagreement becomes personal, or someone feels they aren’t being heard.

We also bring our own personalities, experiences, expectations and ways of working to the team. One person may think out loud, while another prefers time to reflect before speaking. One may be comfortable challenging ideas directly, while another may be more cautious about disagreement. Some people naturally take the lead, while others contribute by listening, questioning or bringing a different perspective.

Putting a group of capable people together doesn’t automatically create an effective team. An effective team develops through the everyday behaviours of its members: how clearly people communicate, how they handle disagreement, how they share responsibility, how they give feedback and how willing they are to learn from experience.

That’s why it’s worth taking a step back and looking at how a team actually works together—not just what it is expected to achieve.

 

The “how”, not the “what”

The what is usually relatively easy to define. A team has targets, objectives, projects, deadlines and deliverables. These tell us what the team is there to accomplish. The how is less visible, but it is just as important. How do people communicate? How are decisions made? How are disagreements handled? How do team members share responsibility? How do they give and receive feedback? How do they respond when things don’t go according to plan?

Two teams can have exactly the same objective and very different experiences, and very different results, because of how they work together.

The “how” is found in the interactions between team members. It is the conversation before a decision is made, the way someone responds to a different opinion, whether people feel comfortable raising a concern, how responsibilities are shared and what happens when someone makes a mistake.

Over time, it’s the “how” that shapes the team’s culture, relationships and ability to get things done.

So when we talk about effective teams, we need to look beyond the question “What does this team need to achieve?” and ask: “How do we work together to achieve it?”

How effective is your team?

Here’s a simple activity we use when running workshops with existing teams. It is designed to get people talking about the how of teamwork—not just whether the team is achieving its goals.

Some of the questions may seem familiar. Others focus on aspects of teamwork that are easy to overlook, particularly when a team is focused on targets, deadlines and results. In our experience, questions around learning, reflection and relationships can receive less attention than the more tangible aspects of team performance.

Try it with your team

Select one team of which you are currently a member. This could be your department, a project team, a management team or another group you work with regularly. First, ask each team member to answer the questions individually. Rate each statement on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being low and 5 being high:

Don’t overthink your answers. Your first instinct is often useful.

1. Do we have a clearly defined purpose?
2. Are our roles and responsibilities well-defined, understood and followed?
3. Do we have the tools and resources we need to achieve our objectives?
4. Do we listen to each other?
5. Do we all actively participate in problem solving?
6. Do we work constructively through conflict?
7. Does our team leader provide relevant and specific feedback on whether we are meeting expectations?
8. Do we work and learn together?
9. Do we take time to assess our progress and how we are working together?
10. Would we choose to work together on another team?

Compare your answers

This is where the activity gets interesting. Don’t simply add up the scores and focus on the total. Instead, compare your answers with those of your colleagues. Where are the scores similar? Where are they different? For example, if one person gives listening a 5 and another gives it a 2, ask: What are you experiencing that led you to give this a 2?

The differences in perception can be more valuable than the scores themselves. They can reveal experiences that other team members may not be aware of.

Look beyond the numbers

You may find that your team scores highly on purpose, roles and resources, but lower on listening, conflict, learning or reflection. This isn’t necessarily a problem. It is an opportunity to ask why. Teams that are strongly focused on goals and results can sometimes spend most of their energy on what needs to be achieved and less time considering how they are working together to achieve it.

Questions 8–10 are particularly useful here. They encourage the team to step back from day-to-day tasks and consider whether they are learning together, reflecting on their progress and creating a team experience that people would want to repeat.

Turn the conversation into action

Once you’ve discussed the results, choose one area that the team would like to improve. Let’s use listening as an example.

Ask:

• What would need to happen for you to score listening higher?
• What is one specific thing we could change for us to score higher on listening?
• What would be different in the team, if we were better at listening?
• How would we notice this difference?

Key Takeaways

• Having the right people isn’t enough. How people work together matters just as much as who is on the team.
• Don’t take teamwork for granted. Purpose, roles, communication and expectations need to be made clear rather than assumed.
• Differences can be a strength. People bring different personalities, experiences and working styles to a team. Understanding and making use of those differences can strengthen collaboration.
• Focus on the how, not just the what. Targets, objectives and deliverables tell us what a team needs to achieve. The way people communicate, make decisions, handle conflict and share responsibility determines how they get there.
• Team effectiveness is everyone’s responsibility. Leaders have an important role in creating the right conditions, but every team member influences how the team works.
• Look for different perspectives. Differences in how team members experience the same team can reveal issues that aren’t visible from one person’s perspective.
• Don’t let the numbers tell the whole story. A team assessment is most useful when it starts a conversation about what is working, what isn’t and why.
• Small changes can make a difference. Agreeing on one specific behaviour to change is often more useful than creating a long list of improvements.
• Effective teams keep learning. Taking time to reflect on how the team works—not just what it achieves—helps teams adapt and improve over time.
• Ask the question regularly. How do we work together, and what could we do differently to make our team more effective?