Teams provide the foundation for organizational effectiveness, but they won't work without mutual trust and a commitment to common goals. Teams possess more talent and experience, more diversity of resources, and greater operating flexibility than individual performers. Research in the last decade has proved the superiority of group decision making over that of even the brightest individual within an organization. However, when a team lacks harmony or the ability to cooperate, the quality and speed of decision making suffer.
Successful teams must work together wholeheartedly, not just apply the principles of effective task processes. Trust among members, a sense of group identity, and a sense of group efficacy are the three conditions essential to a group's effectiveness, as identified by Vanessa Urch Druskat and Steven B. Wolff (Harvard Business Review, March 2001). Group identity is a feeling among members that they belong to a unique and worthwhile group. Group efficacy is the belief that the team can perform well and that group members are more effective working together than apart.
A direct correlation exists between harmony and productivity. Harmony in a team creates good feelings that are like lubrication for the brain - mental efficiency goes up, memory is sharpened, people can understand directions and make better decisions. A team's effectiveness depends on how well it works together. Good team leaders know how to balance productivity with attention to members' relationships and their ability to connect.
Feeling good about working for a company accounts for 20 to 30 percent of business performance, according to Daniel Goleman in Primal Leadership (2002). The link between climate and business performance has been reaffirmed by new research spanning a range of industries. For every 1 percent improvement in the service climate, there's a 2 percent increase in revenue. Workers who feel upbeat will go the extra mile to please both internal and external customers, improving the bottom line.
Working with a team coach can facilitate the group norms that build trust and a sense of group identity for members. These norms are interpersonal understanding, perspective taking, confrontation, and caring. They can be learned and developed wherever they don't exist naturally. It may take some time, but they are too important to be overlooked. By using a coach, each person on a team understands and leverages the gifts, skills, and strengths he/she naturally possesses.