The two critical functions of team effectiveness are performance and development.
The Components and Characteristics that Hackman & Walton as well as Larson & LaFasto proffer for team effectiveness are are;
- Compelling purpose and Clear, Elevating Goal. A compelling purpose energizes team members, orients them toward their collective objective. (Hackman, 2012, p. 437). The team goal must be involving or motivating so that the members believe it to be worthwhile and important. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).
2. Right people and Competent Team Members. Teams should be composed of the right number and mix of members to accomplish all the tasks of the team. (Hackman & Walton, 1986). Team members need certain core competencies that include the ability to do the job and the ability to solve problems. (LaFasto & Larson, 2001).
- Real team and Unified Commitment. A common mistake is to call a work group a team but treat it as a collection of individuals (Hackman, 1990). Excellent teams are those that have developed a sense of unity or identification. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).
- Clear norms of conduct and Standards of Excellence. Clear norms of conduct are how we should behave (Hackman, 2012). It is especially important that the organizational context or the team itself set up standards of excellence so that members will feel pressure to perform at their highest levels. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).
- Supportive organizational context and External Support and Recognition. Team leaders provide a supportive context for teams by focusing on the team’s direction, structure, and external relations. (Hackman & Walton, 1986). Teams can achieve excellence if they are given the resources needed to do their jobs and are rewarded for team performance. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).
- Team-focused coaching and Principled Leadership. Leadership has been described as the central driver of team effectiveness. (Zaccaro et al., 2001).
Results-Driven Structure. Appropriate structures enable teams to meet their needs while still accomplishing team goals. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).
Collaborative Climate. The ability of a team to collaborate or work well together is essential to team effectiveness. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).
Principled Leadership is a leadership that enhances the effectiveness of their team by keeping the team focused on its goals, maintaining a collaborative climate, building confidence among members, demonstrating technical competence, setting priorities, and managing Performance. (Larson & LaFasto, 1989)
The 4 sets of processes that influence team effectiveness are: cognitive, motivational, affective, and coordination (Zaccaro et al., 2001).
The cognitive process helped us come up with the young professionals’ summit. It was in a bid to solve the problem of the church being detached from the work our members do. So the idea our youth team came up with was geared to reach out to all our young professionals in church who needed a space of conversation to network and synergize as they grow in the market place. So I guided the team to brainstorming on the best ideas to help us serve this segment of our congregation so we finally came up with the idea of a summit which happens annually.