Highly Effective Teams

Highly Effective Teams

Team is a word that is often thrown around today. People play on athletic teams and work in teams. But what does a highly functioning team look like? Based on my research, I want to share some basic characteristics of highly functioning teams.


1.       Mourn with those who mourn and rejoice with those who rejoice.


We hear sad news of colleagues and are quick to offer sympathy and extend a hand of help. We may even feel bad for an individual’s poor performance.  Highly functioning teams are there for each other. They empathize with team members when someone is going through struggles.


Rejoicing in another’s good fortune is not always as easy. Usually, someone else’s success means our failure or, at a minimum, lack of success. We find it difficult to be as excited for that individual who gets accolades for their performance. It becomes even more difficult when another individual or group seems to be getting more benefits or notice for their performance than you or your group. It becomes a “Marsha, Marsha, Marsha” syndrome. Instead of being excited and celebrating with them, we become angry, resentful, or jealous. The result becomes an unhealthy competition for recognition. Highly functioning teams celebrate each other’s successes. In fact, they will be the first to recognize a teammate’s hard work and achievement.


2.       Don’t care who gets the credit.


A highly functioning team doesn’t lose focus. They do not get caught up in who did what. They set out to achieve a goal and do not care how it is achieved. They are not worried about everyone knowing their particular contributions to the success. It is more about achieving the goal than who did what to achieve the success. Often members of highly functioning teams who are receiving recognition for their achievements are quick to point out the contributions of all the other members of the team. It is less about me and more about the team.


3.       Accept failure without pointing fingers


On the other end of the spectrum, a highly functioning team does not point fingers. They recognize there will be failures. They know to achieve there have to be some setbacks. Highly functioning teams have members who take responsibility for their failures and their role in a failure. They are willing to help and support the weaker members of the team without calling them out. They will take time out of their busy schedule to support those on the team that are struggling because they know they are only as good as their weakest link.


4.       Know their roles


In athletics, we often see the best of the best form a “dream” team but successful results do not follow. On the other end of the spectrum, we see teams that seem to lack “superstar” status be successful. The difference? One team is dedicated to each other and the goal. The other team is dedicated to themselves. They are more interested in individual accolades. On highly functioning teams individuals know their strengths and weaknesses. They concentrate on putting people in their strengths so the individual and the team can be successful. Jim Collins in his book Good to Great refers to it as getting the right people in the right seats on the bus.


The highly functioning teams work to their strengths while understanding their weaknesses. They support others by not setting individuals up for failure but success. Setting up people for success takes getting to know each other well and being willing to admit that we are not good at everything. It also takes accepting that someone may be better at something than we are.


5.       Do everything without complaining or grumbling


Not everything will go well. We will not agree with everything our boss, coach, or colleagues decide to do. What we do next will determine the team’s success. Highly functioning teams do not sit back and complain. They look for solutions. They take the time to analyze the decision. If it is possible and necessary, they address the person making the decision. Otherwise, they review the decision using their expertise to make the best of the situation. Often after time has passed, they find that the decision when followed can lead to great success. Instead of wasting time and energy complaining, they are putting their time and effort towards a positive outcome.


Each team serves a different purpose and creates their own goals. However, highly functioning teams work well together. Highly functioning teams are highly effective. The good news is that if your team does not have these five characteristics, it is not too late. You can turn it around. Once you do, you will find your team working more efficiently and achieving the results you desire.

Why We Need to Work Together

Tuesday, I did a search at Education Resource Information Center (www.eric.ed.gov) on teacher collaboration. I received over 10,000 articles referencing this topic. This week there was an article in Education Week stating that in order to implement common core standards properly, collaboration was going to be key. Two years ago our school tried to imbed collaboration within our daily schedule. Last year our district made a commitment to provide teacher collaboration at the beginning of the day on Wednesdays. I share all this to remind us of the importance of teacher collaboration.


For too many years, educators have worked in isolation. When I look at other successful professional organizations, I always see a team approach. The best hospitals have doctors who work as a team. The best law offices use a team of lawyers to attack a case. The best athletic teams work as a team. Over and over again successful companies, organizations, and athletic teams work together. The old saying that two heads are better than one is not just some cliché. To hammer the point, even more, I would like to share the following statement, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return on their labor; If either of them falls down, one can help the other up…Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV)


Collaboration is the key to the educators current and future success. Collaboration doesn’t mean that we all agree. Collaboration means we share our thoughts and ideas around a problem seeking the best solution while seeking consensus. As educators, our focus is on student learning. We collaborate on what needs to be learned, how we know students have learned it, what we will do for those who don’t, and what to do for those who already get it. These collaborative conversations may involve classroom management, classroom instruction, assessments, assessment results, etc. Again, addressing these issues is best done as a collaborative team using the expertise of you as professionals rather than in isolation. The more we do together, the greater chance we have for success!

Can We Help All Students

I truly believe that all teachers and administrators want students to learn. They want the students to enjoy and excel at the subject which is being taught. I don’t believe that all students want to learn. In part, they don’t want to learn because they don’t see the purpose of or enjoyment for what is being taught. This is where the dilemma lies.


For teachers to meet the objective of student learning, they are willing to do almost anything. They are far too often looking for the silver bullet to solve this problem causing them to try the latest and greatest. When it doesn't solve all the problems, they become frustrated. They get frustrated with the trend. They get frustrated with the person imposing the trend (i.e. administration, other teachers, etc.). They may even turn their frustration toward the students or parents.


Students are not machines that are broken down and can be fixed using an owner’s manual. They are humans that have varying degrees of interest and ability. Each individual that walks into the classroom comes with a set of characteristics that cause them to have more aptitude or tolerance for various subjects, behaviors, and/or expectations. A one size fits all approach to curriculum, instruction, and classroom management will never work. No wonder teachers and administrators become so frustrated when the hope of a new program or technology that will have all students actively learning and passing that high stakes assessment does not work. It will never work. If we adopt a program that we believe will solve all our ills, the program is doomed to failure.


As Marzano states, educating students is both an art and science. Certain strategies lend themselves to provide more success than others. They offer greater odds of success but don’t guarantee success. That is why multiple strategies and programs must be implemented to meet the needs of all our students. The science is having knowledge of the programs and strategies that provide the greatest odds for success. The art is the skill of knowing when and how to implement those programs and strategies.


How do we improve our knowledge and skill? First, it is through practice. We must be in the classroom. When teaching, we learn quickly what does and does not work. Second, it is through sharing of ideas. Today, there are so many ways to share ideas. We build in Professional Learning Communities for teachers to collaborate. There are conferences to attend. Technology has provided online webinars, discussion groups, blogs, status updates, video conferencing, etc. Third, it is through traditional professional development. There are plenty of books, articles in magazines and online, and conferences to attend where teachers and administrators can learn. The trend in education has been to focus more on researching practices. Therefore, these conferences, books, and articles should be able to site the “odds” of success.


Educators collaborating and practicing are the keys to student success. We cannot place all our hope in a particular program. We cannot become frustrated with ourselves or others when something does not work. With experience, we learn that one method works with some individuals and not others and more optimally in one situation compared to another. We continue to learn and grow through collaboration, practice, and hard work. When all this is put together, we are increasing the odds of success for all students.