What it takes to build the Best Team
The U.S. women’s national team made history by becoming the first to win three Women’s World Cups, overcoming a 16-year title drought by beating Japan 5-2 in the final and delivering a memorable month in Canada.
Interestingly, Sports Illustrated recognized the team’s accomplishments by highlighting, not the team, rather each individual player by giving all 23 their own cover of the magazine.
Every coach, manager or leader wants a team of exceptional individuals who can achieve greatness together. In business, the best teams are made by leaders who understand role theory.
In a group, each individual exhibits two types of behaviors – task-related and socio-emotional.
Task-Oriented Roles
- Enable a team to achieve its project objectives.
- Related to their expertise in a field such as a product design engineer, business analyst, project manager, etc.
Socio-Emotional Roles
- Help the team to build trust, collaborate and work effectively towards it common goal.
- Taken up by members informally based on values, preferences and personalities.
- For example, some members are able to motivate others, resolve conflicts or help release tension.
It’s a mistake to focus exclusively on task oriented roles and forget the impact socio-emotional roles can play on short and long term effects of the team.
Even if your team never wins the award for “Best Team” at the 2015 ESPYs, like the USA Women’s National Soccer Team, you can make it easier for them to play their best and win for your business by considering role theory and setting them up for success.
Jennifer Albrecht, Vice President of Professional Development, has been teaching and consulting with Learn iT! since 1997. Since joining Learn iT!, Jennifer has built and facilitated all of Learn iT!’s Professional Development classes including Communication, Leadership, Negotiating and Decision Making.
Jennifer strongly believes in Learn iT!’s 8 Step Model for Learning and applies it in all of the classes she builds and facilitates. Further information on the 8 Step Model can be found here.