10 Signs Your Team is Effective

By Eva Rykr | Posted on March 1st, 2010

Often times we find ourselves working collectively with a group of individuals on a project. Does that mean the group is automatically a team?

Here’s 10 ways to help you identify if you are part of a group or a team:

1. Purpose

Team members share a sense of why the team exists and are proud to be working on accomplishing its mission and goals.

2. Priorities

Team members know what needs to be done next, by whom, and by when to achieve team goals.

3. Roles

Team members know who does what to get things done and when it is a good idea to allow a more skillful member to do a certain task.

4. Talent

Team members feel their unique personalities are appreciated and well-utilized.

5. Decisions

Team members clearly understand leadership authority and decision processes.

6. Conflict

Team members deal with conflict openly and productively; project-related conflict is seen as important to decision-making and personal growth.

7. Norms

Team members work together according to group norms and these guidelines are seen as standards for everyone in the group.

8. Effectiveness

Team members find team meetings efficient and productive and look forward to spending such time together.

9. Success

Team members know clearly when the team has experienced success and share the joy in such excellence proudly.

10. Feedback

Team members take advantage of opportunities for feedback and view that feedback as valuable for updating their skills to achieve new levels of high performance.

A group of people working together does not automatically make a team. What do you have? A group of individuals or a team?