Take a moment to consider the healthcare team or teams you manage. Are you thinking about the work teams that you already have in place for your healthcare organization’s day-to-day operations — perhaps teams made up of employees from the same department? That’s one kind of employee work team. However, there are many other types of teams that you can or will develop and manage within the scope of your work as a healthcare administrator, leader, or manager. Each team may have unique responsibilities, objectives, and skill levels. The size, culture, members, and resources available for each team may vary significantly. So, too, may the challenges, and assessments for each team.
Your management approach may be similar from one type of employee work team to another. However, there will be differences. For example, short-term teams will not have as much time to develop their routines, relationships, and teamwork as permanent work groups. Teams of employees who have never worked together before and very large teams may require more getting-to-know-you activities and training than smaller teams of employees who have worked together for years. Virtual teams may communicate and function differently from those that have the opportunity to work face-to-face. And self-managed teams generally will require much less oversight from you than those you lead. Ashley McCann(1) says, “Learning about different team types in the workplace can help you put together the right group for the goal you’re pursuing.” Then, it will be essential to understand the unique nature of the teams you manage. As long as your team type is aligned with your strategy, McCann says, “You set yourself — and your people — up for success.”
Is Your Team the Right Type of Team?
Unless you’re building a new healthcare organization from scratch, you already have work teams in place, and you are probably managing some of them. Most organizations have or form work teams that are structured by common practice, culture, and tradition. New teams look a lot like the teams that already are in place or teams in similar organizations. Unfortunately, many organizations don’t consider the many different types of teams they can form and stick to a few team types because that’s the way they’ve always done it. However, there are many ways to structure a team, and forming the wrong type of team for the goals and tasks at hand will lead to failure, or, at least, suboptimal team performance.
The first thing you need to consider when establishing a new team or managing one that exists is this: what type of team is the best for what you’re trying to accomplish? If you answer that question correctly, you will make your team more successful and your job of managing it considerably easier. You may have inherited or been assigned a team of a specific type that you feel is wrong for the goals or tasks assigned to it. Or you may have chosen a team type yourself and realize now that a different type would have been better. When you determine that the wrong team type is hindering or crippling your team’s performance, the best thing for you to do is change your team type.
Is changing team type going to be a tough pill to swallow? Yes. Employees usually don’t jump for joy at the thought of change, and some working on the wrong type of team may cling to it ferociously because it is familiar and comfortable. For many, it may be the only type of team they know. However, don’t be surprised if at least some team members feel a sense of relief when you change team type, because they may have found it stressful to work on a team that isn’t performing well. But even if team members kick and scream about changing team type, you, as their manager, must take responsibility for making the change and do it. Explain to your team that its current team type is not working. Illustrate how a different team type will serve the team and your organization better and make each person’s job easier. Most importantly, involve your employees in the team type change process. Disha Gupta(2) says, “It’s vital to keep employees in the loop and ensure that they understand what the changes are and how employees will be affected.”
In some cases, you may have no choice but to dismantle a poorly functioning wrong-type team and rebuild a new right-type team from scratch. More often, you will be able to pivot the team you have to a new type without making drastic personnel changes. Gupta refers to this as reactionary or remedial change. Reactionary changes often involve some trial and error, Gupta says. Quick action usually means that you won’t have as much time as you would like to plan or transition. Therefore, be absolutely certain that you have correctly identified the best team type for your goals before you act. Then, be patient as you work through the change process, and monitor every aspect of the team type change.
You may be tempted to muddle along with the wrong team type. Maintaining the status quo certainly is the path of least resistance. However, a mistyped team will never be as effective as a right-typed one. Ultimately, a mistyped team’s shortcomings will be its undoing, or, at least, lead to lackluster performance. It is very unlikely that a mistyped team will excel, and most likely, the experience of serving on a mistyped team will be frustrating and stressful for your employees. Accept what you have to do in the short term and have the right team type in the long run. Gupta says, “Reactionary change may not be ideal, but it’s inevitable.”
Twelve Common Types of Teams
There is no consensus in the research about the exact number of workplace team types, or even how to categorize team types. For example, there are team types described in terms of team function, purpose, work style, location, and management. However, a review of literature on this topic suggests that there are 12 common team types most often cited:
Supervisor-led teams: Supervisor-led teams have an elected or appointed supervisory figure, often an administrator, leader, or manager in a position of authority. That individual may consider input from the employees under their supervision, but, generally, they make most decisions on their own. This form of management is more common for teams undertaking relatively simple tasks. With growing task complexity, however, team members are more likely to exert personal influence and autonomous decision-making. Pumble(3)warns that within strictly supervisor-lead teams, “most of the unit’s success depends on the competence of the leader.” That individual needs to be able to foresee necessary future steps accurately, coordinate and manage workflow, and develop the full potential of their employees.
Semi-autonomous teams: Semi-autonomous teams are not fully supervisor-led or self-managed, but a little bit of both. They have designated higher-ranking supervisors but also consider input from team members when making decisions. Pumble says, “This can be done through formal channels of communication, or during informal conversations.”
Self-managed teams: Self-managed teams form when employees can handle their tasks with little oversight. Employees serving on self-managed teams tend to be independent and reliable. They manage their own goals, workflow, and deadlines, rather than follow a leader’s directions. Connie Benton(4) says, “People who work on a project make up their own strategy, rules, and follow them to achieve success.” Nonetheless, self-managed teams report their progress to a manager who has the authority to step in and change processes or even team members when deemed necessary. Lumen(5) says that self-managed teams often have the authority to implement decisions and coordinate with other teams and individuals who will be impacted by their decisions. They also are likely to foster and develop internal leadership. McCann suggests that the flexibility available to self-managed teams often results in creative problem-solving and an increase in overall productivity. Despite these advantages, self-managed teams may result in the more naturally assertive people taking the informal lead, while others may try not to rock the boat. As well, Lumen warns, “Self-managed teams require a change in structure on behalf of the organization and a high level of commitment on behalf of all parties to ensure their success. Most self-managed teams that fail do so because of a lack of commitment on the part of the organization.”
Functional work teams: Functional work teams, also known as simple work teams, are the team type most managers think of first, because they generally support the day-to-day activities of an organization. A functional team’s goal is to carry out assigned tasks and assignments. In healthcare organizations, functional work teams do everything on a tight daily schedule to keep the day from spinning out of control. They solve simple problems to accommodate changes, challenges, and monkey wrenches in the schedule so they can ensure continuous quality care for patients and make each day productive. Functional teams usually are made up of people from the same department. According to Lumen, they generally have “a similar focus and tend to work together relatively easily.” It may be that not every healthcare administrator, leader, or manager will agree with Lumen that functional teams work together relatively easily. We’ve all seen what happens when they don’t. However, employees on functional teams usually do work together well, especially when they benefit from effective ongoing management and relationship building.
Project teams: Project teams often are made up of individuals who have different roles, tasks, and deadlines but who work together toward the same outcome. A project team usually is temporary. Benton describes four main types of project teams:
Functional project teams: Functional project teams (often called cross-department teams) are permanent work groups that contribute to the other teams or departments within the organization. Members of functional project teams usually work on projects with each member having different responsibilities. Everyone on the team usually reports to one manager, following a traditional project management hierarchy. The advantage of functional project teams is that they carry out needed work while being strictly under the control of a single manager. The disadvantages are that they usually are not flexible, follow an upward decision-making process, and can be prone to relatively complicated communication with other area specialists.
Cross-functional project teams: Cross-functional project teams consist of individuals from different teams or departments who are brought together to tackle a certain task for a specified period of time. The team is disbanded once the goal is achieved, and employees return to their regular work teams or are moved to another cross-functional team to tackle a new project. The advantages of cross-functional project teams are that they have a relatively high speed of project completion, can and often tackle multiple projects, and harness their members’ different viewpoints and experiences to generate fresh ideas. The disadvantages are that they may experience what Benton calls “cohesion difficulties,” and are prone to conflicts, inefficiencies, and challenges to management more often than other team types.
Contract project teams: Sometimes, organizations need to engage outsource companies to complete specific projects. For example, this is often the case when a healthcare organization undertakes a construction project or a new software system. Experts brought from external organizations work on a task for some time and leave once the project is completed and the contract has ended. A project manager needs to be able to support a constant, often demanding communication process and be fully responsible for the work of every team member. The most obvious advantage of contract project teams is that organizations have the opportunity to work with knowledgeable contractors only when they need them, without investing a lot in their training and upkeep. They can harness valuable external experience and expertise, and in some cases, offer the possibility of working remotely. The disadvantages of contract project teams are that outsiders may have difficulty negotiating the organization’s challenges and politics, that they generally require more complicated project progress assessments, and that they place a high level of responsibility for the project on the manager’s shoulders.
Matrix project teams: Matrix project teams are best known for their “two bosses” reporting system that requires employees to inform two managers about some aspects of the work they are doing on a project. Benton says, “This team structure may be a bit challenging for the workers in terms of dual command issues. But, at the same time, managers are free from unnecessary decisions on certain project aspects, as two people can easily divide the responsibilities.” Other advantages of matrix project teams are that this structure generally is accessible to managers who are accustomed to a traditional project management process, and that managers individually need to control only their part of the project. Disadvantages of matrix project teams are that they require a relatively complex project outcome assessment, the two bosses must work well together, and that they can restrict administrators, leaders, and managers about which personnel will be available to them to work on the project at any given time.
Co-located teams: Co-located describes teams where everyone works face-to-face in one shared physical workspace. They are the most common type of team in healthcare organizations, because that is what patient care generally demands. Appsierra(6) suggests many benefits enjoyed by co-located teams. These include accelerated team communication, increased trust and mutual respect, streamlined processes, and relative ease of management. Potential disadvantages of co-located teams are the extra costs for the infrastructure required to bring team members together to a shared location 100% of the time, and the increased potential for conflicts and misunderstandings that can come whenever people spend a lot of time together, especially during times of stress. Appsierra warns that for larger teams, “The communication within the team will get much more complex and slower, which may not allow members to work to their full potential or productivity.”
Distributed teams: Distributed teams consist of employees who work in different locations that are brick-and-mortar, virtual, or a combination of the two. For example, a healthcare organization that has multiple locations can form distributed teams that have a regular or periodic face-to-face component. There may be a single headquarters for the team, or there may be rotating locations. Becky Simon(7) explains, “Distributed teams can be separated physically by different time zones, offices, or floors of the same building.” Distributed teams have become a favorite among the people who work on them. Workleap(8) reports, “Employees have unanimously praised the distributed workforce model for many reasons.” For example, distributed teams offer employees flexibility and allow them to control their work in a way that is most productive for them. They provide opportunities for organizations to create more diverse teams, leading to greater innovation. They can lower overhead by reducing the amount of brick-and-mortar square footage needed. Workleap adds, speaking of its own distributed teams, “We’ve collectively begun to realize that work is not about a ‘space,” it’s about people — wherever they may be.” That said, an obvious potential disadvantage of distributed teams is that they can create social subgroups according to location and an us/them mentality. Those working remotely may feel more socially isolated, too.
Virtual teams: Virtual teams are 100% remote. They are comprised of employees and possibly contractors who work in different physical locations and who rely heavily on virtual collaboration tools to get things done. Branislav Moga(9) says, “Virtual teams provide members with a better life–work balance and allow business owners to employ the best experts in the field, regardless of the fact that they live on another continent.” Online collaboration tools are especially important to keep virtual teams organized, informed, and communicating synchronously and asynchronously. Like distributed teams, virtual teams can save money on brick-and-mortar facilities and increase diversity. However, Pumble warns, they can suffer from a “lack of non-verbal cues present in in-person interactions.” These nonverbal cues constitute the majority of interpersonal communication. Pumble says, “Unfortunately, they are much less apparent in, for example, video conferences, sometimes making communication awkward and stunted.” Technology snags can threaten or interfere with team communication and workflow. Building team relationships also can be challenging in a virtual work environment. John Allen(10)says, “You can’t just pop down to the pub for after work drinks or watch everyone embarrass themselves at the annual holiday party. So, you’re going to have to get creative.”
Action and performing teams: Action and performing teams are common in healthcare organizations because of the nature of the work that is required to provide care for patients. Members of action and performing teams usually are trained and experienced specialists. Together, they carry out complementary, interlinked roles. Each member of the team has expert knowledge of performance standards and protocols for the tasks they perform. Pumble explains, “In practice, this means that team members can perform their duties without prior training, or introduction to other team members and their roles. For example, a surgeon can perform surgery even if he has never met his anesthesiologist before. In a sense, this is because all surgeons and all anesthesiologists would (if they are experts) perform the same task in the same situation.” Collaboration between team members on action and performing teams depends on the environment and the assigned protocols.
Advisory teams: Advisory teams pull together people from different work units and areas of expertise to perform jobs the organization is not equipped to do. They function in parallel with the production process. For example, Pumble says, managers may temporarily take part in quality circles, selection panels, and other advisory teams to study and solve problems, and recommend solutions. They make suggestions and recommend a course of action, but most often, they do not implement those suggestions.
Cultural teams: Teams may be organized around a single culture or multiple cultures. Pumble says that single-culture teams are “mostly uniform when it comes to workplace expectations in terms of appropriate behavior and attitudes.” The language barrier common to other types of teams is essentially non-existent in single-culture teams, and team members communicate with little worry about being gravely misunderstood. Despite these advantages, too little difference within a single-culture team can be a catalyst for conformity. Pumble explains, “People get cozy and comfortable and tend to flow with the prevailing mood, ideas, and opinions of the crowd.” Multiple-culture teams, on the other hand, consist of members from varying spheres. Members’ varied training, backgrounds, and experiences can make them more innovative. However, communication among cross-cultural team members can become awkward and stilted, and there is more opportunity for misunderstandings. Pumble says, “When people with different presuppositions come together, there are bound to be clashes of opinion and temperament.” Additional challenges of cross-cultural teams are potential language barriers and differing outlooks on work, leadership, and collaboration.
Task force: A task force team often is formed temporarily to tackle specific business issues. Then, after resolving the issues, a task force team will dissolve. Heflo(11) suggests that members of a task force ideally are “the best of the company in the area.” Heflo adds that the goal of a task force is not only to resolve the issues at hand in the best way possible but to do so in the shortest time possible.
While these are the 12 most common types of teams cited in the literature, other sources offer entirely different ways to classify team types. For example, teams can be formed around a common interest, profession, or problem. Study Smarter(12) suggests six types of teams organized exclusively by culture. These are a culture that is corrosive, country club, comfortable, competitive, cut-throat, or championship. And Predictive Index(13) suggests a most interesting way of typing teams according to their behaviors. See the sidebar that accompanies this article for more information on behavioral team types and how to manage them.
What Type of Team Is Right for You? Answer These Twelve Questions
Organizations often form employee teams according to custom and lean toward the team types they know and are comfortable managing. However, a more strategic approach is to form teams by type according to the goals and tasks you set for the team, the needs of the organization, resources, and the work at hand. Ask yourself the following questions whenever you have an opportunity to create a new team or re-type one that already exists.
What is the team’s purpose? Having a common purpose provides direction and drives the commitment of the team members. Lumen says, “Teams that are destined to be successful put a lot of effort into defining their common purpose — creating it, discussing it, and agreeing on it — so that they can use it as their guiding principle.” Any and all activity performed by the team should support the common purpose.
What will be the exact roles and tasks of team members? Be specific. Consider the ideal balance of knowledge, skills, abilities, experience, personalities, and diversity that would enable the team to fulfill its purpose. Lumen suggests, “In order for the team to be successful, they’ll need to have three different skills among them — technical expertise, problem-solving skills, and decision-making skills. A good balance of the three is an imperative — too much of one and not enough of another will lower a team’s performance.” It also helps if the team members have good interpersonal skills. Lumen adds, “There needs to be a diversity of skills, but if a team also features members of diverse age, gender, education, functional background, and experience, this bodes well for them.”
How many people will be required at a minimum? Lumen says that a team should be made up of no more than ten people, and optimally, no more than exactly the number of team members that are necessary to do the work. Large work units or divisions can be divided into smaller teams. Lumen warns, “When teams have more members than they need, cohesiveness and mutual accountability suffer, and social loafing can creep in.”
What resources will be needed by and available to the team? Financial resources, equipment, supplies, physical space, and personnel are extremely important resources. Lumen says, “Adequate resources are the item that most impacts a team’s ability to do its work. Lack of resources impedes the team’s ability to do their work, so it’s imperative that organizations support their team with the right amount of funding and tools for the job.”
Must the team be comprised entirely of employees? If not, who else could be considered for team membership? For example, could contractors be engaged to form a team or work in one alongside your employees? Are there other stakeholders who could participate in the team?
Should or must the team be capable of self-management? Or would the team best be served by hands-on supervisory leadership? Consider what you know about the individuals who will serve on the team, the culture of teams in your organization, and the working style of the manager who will oversee the team.
Is it necessary or desirable for the team to be in a single location? How do you foresee the team meeting, working on tasks, and coordinating efforts if members are not under one roof? Could this interfere with team function and the quality of the work?
Could some or all the work be done virtually? If so, by whom? What advantages, if any, could there be if work is done virtually?
Who will have decision-making authority within and/or outside of the team? What authority will the team have to make decisions on its own? How will they make those decisions? To whom will they report decisions or seek approval for them before proceeding?
Which of your current employees would be strong candidates for the team? Are you lacking employees who have the skills, personality, and experience to serve on the team? If so, where can you find the talent you need? How can you adjust your hiring criteria for future recruits?
Will team engagement be permanent or temporary? If temporary, how long will the team exist? How will you know when the team is no longer needed?
How will you assess the team’s performance? Will you assess the team collectively, by individual team member, or both? Will you or must you use an existing performance and reward system in your organization to manage the team? Or are you free to come up with your own assessment criteria? Keep in mind that accomplishing the team goal must not be the only criterion for assessment. A successful team performs at a high level while minimizing wasted resources and social loafing. Lumen says, “Team members in successful groups understand the effects of social loafing and hold themselves accountable for a certain level of productivity.” Successful teams make members individually and mutually accountable for the team’s goals, and members are clear on those expectations. Team members contribute equally, but not necessarily identically, and share the workload. A successful team doesn’t carry dead weight. Moreover, part of your assessment must consider how the team manages conflict. Certain types of conflict can be healthy and beneficial for teams, but usually not those that are relationship based. Lumen explains, “Relationship conflicts — team members who aren’t getting along, exhibit interpersonal incompatibilities, etc. — are almost always to the detriment of the team’s success.” Conflict around task content, on the other hand, often is beneficial because it helps the team avoid the trap of groupthink.
Which Type of Team Is Right for You?
We have focused our attention on many different types of work teams and how you can choose the team type that is best for the goals and strategy at hand. It’s important, too, to consider your own preferences as a team manager. Some team types will be easier and more enjoyable for you to manage because they fit with your skills and preferred management style. Some will be more challenging. For example, managers who like to be very hands-on with their teams may find it difficult to work with self-managed teams. Those who prefer in-person face-to-face communication to get their work done may find it challenging to manage a virtual team. And managers who are action- and product-oriented may find that managing an advisory team doesn’t feel very satisfying. It may be a tall order to expect a manager to be able to manage every type of team well, but that may be what you need to do at some point in your career.
Think of team types as just another tool to put in your management toolkit. The more types of teams you feel comfortable managing, the more tools you will have to work with. Challenge your assumptions. Begin by being honest with yourself about the types of teams you prefer to manage. Why do you prefer them? Which types of teams do you feel would be the most challenging for you to manage? Why? What could you do to become more comfortable managing those team types? Have you had a bad experience managing a particular team and concluded that you don’t like managing any team of that type? If so, is that a sound conclusion?
Let’s imagine that you don’t like to manage virtual teams. Would more training help you negotiate a virtual team environment more capably and with greater confidence? Would you find more satisfaction in the work if you knew how to improve communication in a virtual environment? Do you know someone who manages virtual teams well and would be willing to mentor you? Can you practice using virtual team tools outside of work so you become more comfortable using them? And can you learn techniques that would help you create a warmer virtual work environment for your team and enable you to monitor their work more closely? Broadening your managerial skill set and attitude will help you to grow professionally. You may find that with some effort you are better able to manage the types of teams you’ve never managed before.
Don’t let inertia, custom, “that’s the way we’ve always done it,” or your own preconceived notions limit your thinking. Choose the type of team that is best for each goal and situation and learn how to manage it. That is the best way to set up your team, your organization, and yourself for success.
Sidebar: Managing Nine Team Types by Behavior
Predictive Index(13) conducted a large-scale study of 22,000 teams and found evidence of nine distinct behavioral work team types. Predictive Index says, “This helped us confirm that the behavioral make-up of individuals plays a clear role in the culture and work styles of a team.” Here are the nine behavioral team types and their strengths and blind spots.
1. Exploring
Description
Exploring teams are daring, risk-tolerant, and imaginative. Team members are outgoing, cooperative, and eager to work together. They have their eye on the big picture and share their ideas and resources with one another freely and informally. Team members stand by their views but are willing to listen to one another. They allow for constructive conflict, which helps them to pressure-test and produce new ideas.
Strengths
Exploring teams are ambitious and eager to drive things forward. They bring energy and excitement to their work. They are very good at building relationships and expanding their networks, and always ask, “What’s next?”
Blind Spots
Exploring teams have a strong focus on speed and innovation, sometimes to the detriment of process and efficiency. They may be overly focused on the big picture and not enough on the details needed to implement their ideas. They may be quick to abandon their ideas if they don’t work perfectly the first time.
Management Strategy
Rein in exploring teams that are overly focused on the what, and not enough on the how. Don’t dampen their enthusiasm. However, bring them back to reality when they’ve lost sight of it. Encourage iterations rather than giving up when first attempts fail.
2. Executing
Description
Executing teams are disciplined, conscientious, professional, and no-nonsense. They address conflict logically and swiftly, with a focus on facts, not feelings. They collaborate when required, but otherwise, individuals tend to work separately on their own. Team members value one another’s expertise and exchange resources as needed. Otherwise, resource exchange is minimal.
Strengths
Executing teams have a clear focus on getting work done. They focus on better ways to increase productivity and performance and are confident in their ability to deliver high-quality work quickly.
Blind Spots
Executing teams may allocate innovation resources to current work, rather than to new endeavors. They may not spend much time getting to know one another and may struggle to find cohesion. Their unwavering commitment to their ideas may make them overlook the morale of the people who will get the work done, ultimately causing employee resentment and burnout.
Management Strategy
Facilitate icebreakers and getting-to-know-you activities for executing teams. Review how resources are being used and reallocate them as needed. Ask team members to explain to you how the people who will carry out the work they devise for them will be able to do so, and what impact they expect the work to have on their productivity and morale.
3. Producing
Description
Producing teams are competitive, intense, and task oriented. They keep their eye on the prize. Team members like win-win propositions. They may not emphasize cooperation but will work together when doing so helps them reach their individual goals. Team members may use information to gain influence over others. That’s why politics often plays a major role in how work gets done on a producing team.
Strengths
Producing teams know what they need to do to produce high-quality work quickly. They are undaunted by failure and drive hard to be the best at what they do. They aspire to be on top in their field. The competition among team members holds them to a high standard of performance within the organization.
Blind Spots
Producing teams may raise the bar too high, leading to employee resentment and burnout. Too much competition between team members may cause unhealthy rivalries. Sometimes, teams can skate too close to the line, or over it, when they are doing what they feel it takes to win. Frequent conflicts may arise as employees compete for resources to meet their own goals instead of helping the team achieve its collective goals.
Management Strategy
Assess producing team members mostly or completely on the performance of the team, not individually. Oversee important decisions to ensure that tactics used in pursuit of a goal are ethical and fair. Intervene when resources are not exchanged fairly or when a win-win proposition is not possible or the best solution.
4. Stabilizing
Description
Stabilizing teams are structured, task-focused, organized, and practical. They operate “by the book” and are cautious about taking risks. Team members work together in a transactional manner with a clear emphasis on who does what, when, and how. They share information on a “need to know” basis and operate with clearly delineated roles and tasks to prevent conflict. Stabilizing teams may be slow to address sudden conflict and sometimes prioritize damage control over relationship repair.
Strengths
Stabilizing teams are consistent and efficient. They address errors promptly and learn from them to reduce the chance of reoccurrence. They have a clear chain of command, and team members understand who the key decision makers are and who needs to be consulted for what. They avoid unwelcome surprises in the day-to-day schedule because they know what work needs to be done, by whom, and how to do it.
Blind Spots
Stabilizing teams require a process for everything, which can limit some employees’ ability to work in ways that make them most productive. Process for process’s sake can make work slow and cumbersome. Managers may need to intervene when processes exist where they are unnecessary, or when following how things should be done stifles creativity and prevents employees from keeping pace with the market.
Management Strategy
Assess the processes stabilizing teams use with an eye toward eliminating those that are cumbersome or unnecessary. Facilitate role plays and simulations that foster employee creativity. Encourage stabilizing teams to assess, value, and embrace different working styles, without sacrificing quality or team function.
5. Pathfinding
Description
Pathfinding teams are relentless. They are prone to more conflict than other team types because team members champion their own points of view. Fortunately, pathfinding teams see conflict as valuable and welcome the chance to challenge one another and revise their thinking. Team members may not always take time to coordinate with one another before acting, which can result in poor cooperation. And while pathfinding team members are willing to share resources, they may not stop to think about what others need.
Strengths
Pathfinding teams are innovative and agile, which will delight patients with the newest and bests services and products. They tend to be highly driven and proactive teams and can move quickly to get the job done. Pathfinding teams usually are laser-focused on the market. They have an eye on the future and know what is happening in the marketplace right now, including new technologies and demographic shifts.
Blind Spots
Pathfinding teams may be prone to frustration more than other teams. They may want to innovate without regard for efficiency, and they may not stress process and accuracy sufficiently. Miscommunication and errors occur when team members rush to work as quickly as possible. Pathfinder teams may find certain decisions hard, for instance, when deciding whether to use resources for new services or improve those that already exist.
Management Strategy
Pathfinding teams may need to be managed closely to reduce frustration and ensure that resources are used wisely. Pay close attention to the predictions pathfinders make about market shifts. They, more than any other team type, will have their fingers on the pulse of the market and can predict with greater accuracy what the future looks like. Turn to them when problems require innovative solutions.
6. Cultivating
Description
Cultivating teams are cooperative, supportive, loyal, friendly, and accepting. They excel at making group decisions and respect the consensus. They avoid conflict, for the most part, and address conflict that does occur in a constructive manner. In fact, they use conflicts to strengthen relationships. Cultivating teams have a strong sense of communal ownership over their work activities. They enjoy working on projects together and take group pride in their results. Because of this, team members share their time, help, and resources freely.
Strengths
Cultivating teams value teamwork and collaboration. They make decisions with employee well-being top of mind. They prioritize employee growth and personal development, giving team members opportunities to succeed in their roles. Team members are fiercely loyal to one another and the organization. They have a “we’re in this together” mindset.
Blind Spots
Cultivating teams focus on consensus, which may require a long time and slow the work. Performance can become an issue on cultivating teams that provide members too many chances to improve. Members of cultivating teams may struggle to make tough decisions when the end result isn’t ideal for everyone.
Management Strategy
Cultivating teams require little or no encouragement to build and foster relationships and develop professionally. However, they may require a manager’s intervention when they reach a stalemate, make poor decisions based on their own preferences, or take too long to get things done. Sometimes, a manager must step in to remove and replace a team member who has been struggling. Managers must be willing to say no to cultivating teams that place more value on the team than on what is best for patients and the organization. Be mindful that cultivating teams may be prone to thinking of themselves as silos. Look for opportunities to move some team members to other teams for projects, even temporarily, so they don’t develop an us/them mentality.
7. Bolstering
Description
Bolstering teams generally are the most social, fun, and energetic team type. Team members are supportive of one another’s ideas and like to brainstorm together in the name of innovation. They cheer each other on. Bolstering teams favor an informal communication style and enjoy robust discussions. They are proactive in helping one another by sharing information and resources. Relationships and trust tend to grow on bolstering teams because members address conflict head on and work through them together.
Strengths
Bolstering teams focus on their people and prioritize employee engagement. Team members aim to resolve conflict in a way that is comfortable to everyone. Bolstering teams believe in collective wisdom, which makes members more likely to share their insights with their teammates.
Blind Spots
Bolstering teams, like cultivating teams, feel the need to ensure that everyone’s on board before moving forward, which can slow things down. They may struggle to balance internal stakeholder needs (collaboration) and external market needs (speed or reduced spending). Process, scalability, and efficiency aren’t always high priorities for bolstering teams. Members sometimes duplicate efforts without intending to.
Management Strategy
Managing a bolstering team requires the same strategies used for managing cultivating teams. A manager must be willing to step in when things get off course. Additionally, a bolstering team may need to be reined in if it prioritizes fun and socializing over getting the work done. Encourage bolstering teams to pay close attention to the market and suggest process improvements that will make their work more efficient and easier.
8. Anchoring
Description
Anchoring teams are process-oriented, steady, cooperative, patient, dependable, and eager to help one another. They organize and carefully plan work activities, yet welcome input and try to get the whole team involved. Team members are highly in tune with what’s going on within the organization and less externally focused. They establish procedures for addressing conflict, which reduces bad outcomes.
Strengths
Anchoring teams strike a balance between process and employee adoption. They’re likely to include relevant stakeholders when defining how the work should be done. Team members are in tune with internal happenings and are well equipped to deliver top-notch work practices. They have each other’s best interests at heart.
Blind Spots
Anchoring teams, like bolstering and cultivating teams, may focus inward at the expense of what the larger organization and market require. They want to be inclusive, sometimes to a fault, requiring team member involvement and accountability when everyone doesn’t need to be involved. Anchoring teams tend to consult multiple decision-makers and may be unwilling to adapt processes. As a result, their agility may suffer.
Management Strategy
Managing an anchoring team requires the same strategies as managing a cultivating or pathfinding team. In addition, there may be times when a manager is needed to stop an anchoring team from involving more people than necessary in decisions and work processes. Encourage training and other means to help team members become more aware of what is happening outside the team.
9. Adapting
Description
Adapting teams are flexible and well equipped for new or changing situations. They self-organize well and like to see the value in combining their individual strengths. Team members exchange information organically, and their expectations about how to work change over time. Adapting teams, therefore, may excel at embracing and using new technologies. Conflicts within adapting teams usually arise because of behavioral differences. Team members generally are able to address and manage conflict capably on their own.
Strengths
Adapting teams have a knack for choosing the best person for each task. They have the flexibility to morph into the team needed at just that moment to get the work done. Adapting teams take concrete action to define and shape the organizational culture they want. Thus, they are one of the best team types to have when organizational change is necessary or desirable.
Blind Spots
Adapting teams may have members who are jacks of all trades but masters of none. They may dabble in many initiatives but struggle to do one thing exceptionally well. Adapting teams often lack a clearly defined group make-up and may have a hard time narrowing their focus to one or two key objectives. They can spread themselves too thin.
Management Strategy
Managing an adapting team requires a firm but thoughtful touch. Managers must not do anything to reduce their flexibility. However, they may need to help adapting teams understand their clear identity and goals within the organization. Team members will benefit from training to develop higher-level, more specialized skills. Managers must intervene when adapting teams are spread too thin and keep a firm hand on the till to ensure that resources are used well.
References
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