Team building must be:	Team building must NOT be:
a way of life the responsibility of every Team Member a continuous process about developing a clear and unique identity focused on a clear and consistent set of goals concerned with the needs and ambitions of each team member recognizing the unique contribution that each individual can make an awareness of the potential of the team as a unit results oriented enjoyable	a short term, flavor of the month imposed without regard to peoples’ feelings spasmodic reserved for only some members of the team an excuse for not meeting personal responsibilities a process where actions clearly contradict intentions seen as a chore

GROUPS VERSUS TEAMS

Groups

Teams

little communication no support lack of vision exclusive cliques the whole is less than the sum of its parts seeks to hide its identity leaves new members to find their own way but insists on conformity leader manipulates team to own ends

Plenty of opportunity for discussion plenty of support process of discovery supported by openness and honesty tactical and work groups combine easily into a single team the whole is greater than the sum of its parts seeks to discover its identity welcomes new members by showing them existing norms and openness to change leader seeks team decisions by serving the team as a focus for two way communication

STAFFS VERSUS TEAMS

Characteristic		Staffs		Teams
Goals and decisions		Made by the boss		Made jointly by team and boss
Assignments		Made by the boss		Made jointly by the boss and subordinates
Communications		In a meeting are primarily between the boss and a subordinate		Are open among all team members
Role of subordinate		Primarily to carry out assignments		Team members initiate action, make suggestions, and help in planning
Primary virtues		Loyalty and being a "good soldier"		Trust, helping, and creativity
Sharing of data		Data shared on the basis of what people feel the boss wants		All relevant data shared
Critical feedback		Rare and anxiety provoking		Regarded as important to improvement
Differences and conflicts		Avoided or smoothed over		Regarded as enriching, worked through
Work		Each staff person responsible for own work		Team members feel responsible for one another
Goal		Boss’s primary goal is to get the job done		Team leader works to get results and develop team members

CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS

Some of the factors that lead to poor communication among cross-functional team members include the following:

• Lack of appreciation of the contributions of other functions. For example, in telecommunications projects, some engineers do not value the input provided by human factors psychologists.
• Plain old-fashioned turf battles. Some departments play out their competitive games on the field provided by the cross-functional team.
• Different jargon. For example, line department users often do not understand the terminology and technology employed by computer programmers.
• Different work orientations. For example, researchers tend to take a long-term view and have an informal work climate; operation people are more short term and formal; salespeople are usually informal and have a short-term focus. While one may argue with these generalizations, it is clear that each department or function develops it own work style, which may clash with other styles from other functions.
• Different degrees of interest in the team’s outcome. Some cross-functional team members are simply more interested in the team’s purpose and may have more to gain from a successful outcome. In one government agency, team embers from one bureau have more interest in the outcome of the team because it affects their client group more than it does the other bureaus represented on the team.
• Mistaken goals. Some team members mistakenly see harmony as the goal of cross-functional teamwork. As a result, they are afraid to express a contrary point of view for fear that it will destroy the positive feelings among team members. The new result is a false consensus and a less than satisfactory outcome.