6 Habits of Highly Effective Teams (repost)

In the modern organization, considerable responsibility and authority are delegated to and exercised by teams. Teams plan and deliver client projects and address a wide variety of internal company needs, such as strategic planning, system improvements, and operational decision-making.

While any group that is brought together for a common purpose can be labeled a "team," what characteristics make a team truly effective? How can the "whole" become greater than the sum of the group's individual parts? How does a team perform better than individuals might perform on their own?

In 6 Habits of Highly Effective Teams, management consultants Stephen E. Kohn and Vincent D. O'Connell provide a model of superior team performance that draws on the coauthors' 50 years of combined organizational development experience and research. Highly effective teams, Kohn and O'Connell insist, are characterized less by the technical competencies of individual team members and more by widespread agreement and alignment with a small but extremely relevant set of team processes, values, and understandings.

By focusing on and reinforcing a half dozen team "habits," groups can develop the type of synergies that define collaborative excellence. The model is simple and practical, but it can yield extremely powerful results for any size organization.

Paralleling their previous publication–6 Habits of Highly Effective Bosses–Kohn and O'Connell's combined wisdom and practical exercises will show anyone trying to make a more potent contribution to an important team effort exactly what to do.