Nowadays, teamwork is IM-PRESCINDIBLE!

Especially for knowledge workers, since most of them work on complex systems, in which a single person cannot understand all their characteristics or make an end-to-end value contribution alone.

But do we know how to work as a team?

In today’s work environment, understanding the differences between working in a group and working in a team is crucial to optimizing productivity and achieving organizational objectives.

Agile methodologies, in particular, play an essential role in this transition, promoting more cohesive and efficient work. Because as we will find out:

We do NOT want to be a group, we want to be a team.

Differences between teams and groups

To begin with, it is important to understand what defines a group and a team, and how they differ in terms of structure and functioning.

Main characteristics of a group

A group is an agglomeration of people working together, but independently, towards a common goal. The main characteristics of a group include:

• Independence: Group members work autonomously and do not necessarily depend on each other to complete their tasks.
• Individual responsibility: Each member is only responsible for his or her own tasks and results.
• Limited interaction: Interaction and communication among group members may be sporadic and limited to essential aspects of the project.
• Little or no coordination: There is little or no coordination among group members to achieve the shared goal.

For example, if we put together 11 soccer players, unknown to each other… initially they will not be a team, but a group.

Differentiation and roles in a team

On the other hand, a team is a set of people working interdependently, with clearly defined roles and a high level of coordination to achieve specific objectives. The main characteristics of a team, as opposed to a group, are:

• Interdependence: Team members depend on each other to complete tasks and achieve team objectives.
• Shared responsibility: Responsibility for results is collective, and all members contribute to the success or failure of the team.
• Constant communication: Interaction and communication among team members is frequent and vital for decision making and problem solving.
• High coordination and defined roles: Each member has a specific and clearly defined role within the team, which requires a high degree of coordination among them.

If the same group of 11 players also has a coach who coordinates them, assigns them a role (goalkeeper, defense, striker…) to each one, communicates a tactic to them, and makes them internalize that the objective of all of them is to win the game instead of shining individually, then they will be a team instead of a group.

Impact of structure and leadership on productivity

Structure and leadership play a crucial role in the transition from group to team and in the effectiveness of collaborative work. Here we analyze how these variables affect productivity and team effectiveness.

How the structure of a group affects productivity

In a group, the structure is usually looser and less defined. Members work independently and coordination is minimal or non-existent. This can lead to a number of problems:

• Duplication of efforts: Lack of coordination can result in duplication of tasks, which reduces efficiency.
• Lack of alignment: Without a clear structure, individual objectives may not be aligned with the common goal, leading to a dispersion of efforts.
• Lower motivation: Limited interaction and lack of mutual support can result in lower motivation and commitment of group members.

The role of leadership in team effectiveness

In a team, leadership is key to maintaining cohesion and directing efforts towards common goals.

Agile leadership is a management system based on fostering team autonomy, collective responsibility and flexible forms of project management. This is noted in one of the 12 principles of the Agile Manifesto, which reads:

“Projects are built around motivated individuals. You have to give them the environment and support they need, and entrust them with the execution of the work.”

Contrary to the widely held stereotype, leadership does not equate to hierarchy. The methodologies encompassed under the Agile philosophy stand out for their lack of hierarchy, that is, for their distributed leadership structure, in which “everyone is responsible for everything”.

Scrum, for example, includes roles such as Scrum Master and Product Owner, each with specific responsibilities that help increase team effectiveness:

• Scrum Master: A servant leader, who must facilitate communication between team members, and remove obstacles that may impede the team’s progress.
• Product Owner: In charge of defining and prioritizing the work according to the client’s needs, as well as acting as interlocutor between the team and the client.

Effective leadership in an Agile team is achieved by each person assuming his or her proper role and responsibilities. This ensures that all members are aligned with the project objectives and that a high level of coordination and collaboration is maintained. This results in increased efficiency, productivity and team satisfaction.

Advantages of team collaboration and cohesion

Working in teams, especially under Agile methodologies, offers numerous advantages:

1. Greater flexibility: Agile teams can adapt quickly to changes and new customer demands, which improves the responsiveness of the organization.
2. Better communication: Short daily synchronization meetings and constant feedback foster effective communication and ensure that everyone is aligned on objectives.
3. Increased commitment: Active participation in planning and decision making increases the motivation and commitment of team members.
4. Continuous delivery: Agile promotes continuous delivery of value, ensuring steady progress and achieving important milestones on a regular basis.
5. Rapid problem resolution: Close collaboration allows problems to be identified and resolved more quickly, improving overall efficiency.

These are the main advantages of the differences between a group and a team.

Techniques for transforming groups into effective teams

To transform a group into an effective team using Agile methodologies, several techniques or tools can be applied.

Someone may say that these tools, the first ones, are the same as those for leading a change, and he is right. So what we do is change a group of people into a team.

Some of the techniques or tools I suggest are:

1. Define a shared Vision that is a projection of a future scenario that reflects your aspirations and, consequently, those of the team. Communicate this vision clearly to the entire team, and demonstrate with actions your commitment to it, or in other words, lead by example.
2. Establish and communicate a high-level Roadmap, including medium-term milestones (e.g., every quarter or semester) that are the landing of that vision.
3. Define roles and responsibilities: Establish clear roles for each team member, such as. Scrum Master, Product Owner and development team, and ensures that each member knows their responsibilities and how to contribute to the common goal.
4. Encourage constant communication: Implement short daily stand-ups to synchronize among team members, identify obstacles and plan the day’s activities.
5. Adopt short work cycles: Use short sprints or iterations in which to plan, execute, deliver and review work, allowing for quick adjustments as needed.
6. Continuous feedback: Implement reviews and retrospectives at the end of each sprint to assess what worked well and what can be improved.
7. Agile methodologies training: Provide training and resources on Agile practices for all team members, ensuring that everyone understands and applies these principles effectively.
8. It carries out Team Building activities , which seek to form high-performance teams and improve interpersonal relationships within a group. There are hundreds of different dynamics, choose the right one in your case depending on the result you are looking for: trust, integration, responsibility, cooperation, tolerance, self-knowledge, honesty, emotional intelligence, quality of work, negotiation, assertiveness, leadership, etc.

The 5 dysfunctions of a team

There’s a book I love! We recommend it in all leadership training: “The 5 dysfunctions of a team”, by Patrick Lencioni.

It identifies 5 phases or obstacles that ALL teams go through at one time or another and that impede the effectiveness of the teams:

• lack of trust creates an insecure environment
• fear of conflict prevents constructive discussions,
• lack of commitment is demotivating,
• the avoidance of responsibilities disperses the workload,
• inattention to results prioritizes individual objectives over those of the team.

The book uses a corporate fable to illustrate how to overcome these 5 obstacles to build more cohesive and productive teams.

Conclusion

Trust is like oxygen, when it is there no one notices it but when it disappears, everyone notices – W.Buffet

The transition from working in groups to working in teams, facilitated by Agile methodologies, can significantly improve efficiency and productivity in the work environment.

Understanding the differences between groups and teams, as well as the advantages of collaboration and team cohesion, is essential for any organization seeking to optimize its performance and achieve its strategic objectives.

Implementing Agile dynamics, tools and techniques can transform groups into effective teams, providing a solid framework for ongoing success.