Team Competence
Definition
Imagine a set of individuals each of whom is a genius about part of the problem at hand. However, none has the social skills and teamwork capabilities necessary to work together collaboratively. While possessing the relevant knowledge and expertise, such a group would be lacking the qualities identified in this question. Both social skills and technical knowledge are integral to effective group problem solving.This situational factor relates to the distinction that is frequently made between groups and teams. Teams are groups that have a history of effective collaboration and that repeatedly put the team's success ahead of individual accomplishment.
One of the indicators of team competence may be found in the history of the team's functioning. However, there are occasions in which the group has never worked together before (and therefore has no such history), but its component members have demonstrated collaborative abilities in other situations. As a consequence, you could be optimistic about the prospects that they would function as an effective team in the absence of demonstrated history.
If your knowledge of the group's history or the skills of its component members leads you to believe that the group will function like a high-performance team, select High or Probably High. If you don't know, choose Uncertain, and choose Low or Probably Low if you believe that it's performance potential is significantly less than some of its component parts.
Examples
High
- As mayor of a small affluent town, you chair the city council. It is made up of five elected members, all of whom are from the same political party. You are fortunate to have a set of colleagues who work together so well.
- A year ago the CEO asked you to assemble a cross-functional team to develop a blueprint of the structure and operations of the company a decade hence. The team has been spectacularly successful. It has been a great source of pride for you to see how effectively the team has worked together and the care and diligence with which they have approached the assignment.
Low
- Group members do not exhibit a great deal of respect for one another. You are surprised at the amount of bickering at group meetings, and that has made you more reluctant to call meetings.
- Your group is made up of five scientists, each from a different discipline. Individually each is a skilled professional in his/her area, but you have not yet been successful in getting them to work together as a team. They tend to be protective of their own disciplines and reluctant to acknowledge that it does not provide all the answers.