Upfront planning needed for successful team building

Leading up to this article, we have talked about the history of leadership, effective leadership, community leadership, and strategic leadership. In this fifth and final (for now) article about the gift of leadership, we will be exploring organizational leadership.

People often assume that if a leader has been successful in one organization or project, they will be a successful leader in any organization or project. This is not necessarily true. Leadership comes in many shapes and sizes with a multitude of purposes. There is no one "right way" to lead. The trick is to match the leadership level and style to what is most needed at that time.

While organizational leadership, or leadership of any kind, for that matter, requires many different elements, I want to focus on just one today — team building. Especially in these tough economic times, we all need to work in teams as much as we can.

The mistake that many make when venturing into team work is not doing sufficient upfront planning. First you must determine goals with which the team will be charged. It is important that these goals be simple, clear, and specific. Each goal should contain a minimum number of objectives. The objectives should specify an end result, but not the means for achieving the result.

The second step in team building is to determine if the team's task will be tactical, problem-solving, or creative. Without determining the type of task, you will not know who should be asked to serve on the team. Tactical teams are often short-term teams composed of experts called in to complete a highly focused specific task. Problem-solving teams tend to be longer-term and they are charged with problem resolution or prevention tasks. Creative teams are often more autonomous and require members who think outside of the box and question the status quo.

Next you will need to identify the team's level of authority and control. This can be tricky. Teams with a greater amount of authority and control are generally more motivated, but because they have less managerial control you run the risk of such teams creating their own objectives and going off in unexpected directions.

The fourth key to planning for teamwork is to figure out how the team will work together. There are three general

formats within which teams work — pooled interdependence, sequential interdependence, and reciprocal interdependence.

Team members of pooled interdependence teams each work independently on assigned tasks and then combine their work.

This team structure

works well when tasks can be easily divided and when tasks are not dependent on one another.

In sequentially interdependent teams, one team member completes a task and then passes the project to the next team member who completes another task who then passes the project to another team member and so on. Projects that have different phases, which may require expertise in many different areas, are good candidates for sequentially interdependent teams.

Reciprocal interdependence team members are dependent on one another to complete the tasks collectively. Tasks for these teams are often more complex and are not easily divided into distinct functions or phases.

Finally, before you build your team, you need to determine the size of the team. Just like there is no one right way to lead, there is no "magic" team size though most would recommend not having more than 10. Smaller teams are usually more cohesive, have greater individual and team satisfaction and take more responsibility for the outcome of the teams' work.

If you are well versed in team building and want to get involved, contact the Southwest Florida Community Foundation and we will be happy to assist you in finding a way to give your gift of organizational leadership. Please ask to speak with Director of Programs Anne Douglas when you call.

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation has been supporting the communities of Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Glades and Hendry counties through endowed funds for nearly 32 years, and during that time has provided more than $30 million in grants and scholarships. For more information, call 274-5900, or visit www.floridacommunity.com.