Indaba-network.english

Alone, you cannot achieve anything. To succeed you must form a team or join a group.

Most of the major social changes have been created by small groups, by teams. The best teams meet diverse personalities that complement and enrich each other. A team of “clones” is worthless! How to build a team? You certainly have some good friends with whom you would like to travel, carry out crazy projects, do something you never did … Contact them and offer them to “take the road” with you …

Four key tools for a successful team

Any group, to be effective and successful, must have four basic tools:

1. A shared vision of what the group members want to achieve together: they must have a clear idea of their common goals and agree with them. Establishing the goals of the group must be a cooperative process. When they adhere to the goals of the group, all members are actually willing to do their best to achieve them.
2. An equitable distribution of roles and responsibilities : each group member must be able contribute to the success based on their abilities and skills. If someone has no role, he will not have the feeling to be really part of the group. Everyone must have a specific role and be recognized by others.
3. A set of rules that define what the rights and duties of each member : what are the values on which the team life is based, how decisions are made and how the work of the group and individual contributions are assessed.
4. An action plan leading the team’s work : the goals (Why?); the list of tasks to done (What?); the date on which each task must be performed (when?); which member is responsible for achieving the task (Who?); and resources (equipment and money) required for this (with what).

Leadership

Every team must have a leader. This is not an all-powerful dictator. Its role is to facilitate the participation of all and foster the team cohesion. A good leader must pay attention to three elements:

• The task: the work at hand, which usually requires practical skills and techniques;

• The group: all the people who must perform the task; they must remain united and organized, share a common vision of purpose and support each other;

• Each individual: everyone in the group with its own motivations and desire to be listened and treated according to his/her particular needs to be able to give the best.

These three elements may conflict. If the leader is too attentive to the needs of an individual, it may not meet the needs of others and threaten the group’s cohesion. If he/she is too exclusively interested in the job, he/she may not perceive the problems that exist within the group and the particular needs of each individual. So there will be conflicts that will reduce the effectiveness of the group.

Depending on the the circumstances, the leader will maintain the best possible balance between the three elements.

Useful resources:

• Look at the Resources page in the category Organizations and Networks

Join the social network project indabaXchange and form a group to manage your collective work and communicate with others.