Teamwork

Key Definitions

Fundamental to the concept of “team” is the concept of “group.” People have often noted that a team is a group but that a group is not necessarily a team. Therefore, one must distinguish between teams and groups.

Psychology scholar Marvin Shaw defined a group as “two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person” (Shaw in Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy 2002, 288). The two key components of this definition are the concepts of reciprocal influence and mutual interaction between members.

Business executives Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith defined a team as “a unit of two or more people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals and expectations, for which they hold themselves accountable” (Katzenbach & Smith 2003, 45). The two key components of this definition are the concepts of common purpose and shared goals.

One primary difference between groups and teams is that groups designate a leader, whereas teams have shared leadership in which an individual may take a leadership role, or individuals may take leadership roles, depending on the task and on the individuals' areas of expertise. Members of a group have individual accountability for completing group tasks, whereas team members have shared accountability for setting and meeting the outcomes for the team. In fact, for groups the purposes of the specific work group reflect the purposes of the organization wherein the groups operate. Members of teams develop their own vision and/or purpose and are not constrained by organizational boundaries. Moreover, team members have a shared sense of mission and collective responsibility for carrying out that mission.

Why Teams?

According to leadership scholar and consultant Warren Bennis (1997),

This reflects the very notion that teams serve organizations much more effectively than a mere collection of individuals.

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