Understanding the Difference Between Leading a Work Group and Building a High-Performing Team

As the amount of time individuals spend working in teams continues to increase, unfortunately so does the level of dissatisfaction and frustration among those team members. While it may at times seem like a hopeless situation, there is a shining light when the organization is truly committed to team development. Building high-performing teams is work. It takes time, requires the presence of key leaders and commitment of the organization to learn and grow the skills of individuals and the team. Rather than create a list of what can or has gone wrong when trying to build high-performing teams in the workplace, let’s switch gears to a few key items that must go right!

Understanding the difference between a work group and a team is important. I often see these blended together in the workplace. Simplified, a work group is a number of people who work together and coordinate their efforts. They have individual goals that they work toward. While groups work toward separate goals, they have a related interest that brings them together. On the other hand, a team is a group of people who work together to accomplish a shared purpose or goal. Each team is the sum of its parts, which means members of the team rely on one another to accomplish the outcome. Organizations have both work groups and teams.

In a work group, the members are independent from one another and have individual accountability. On the other hand, in a team all the members share a mutual accountability and work closely together to solve problems. These dynamics establish the way tasks are handled and overall collaboration. Teams strengthen or weaken by the efforts of one another. Having this understanding between work groups and teams is key.

Time and presence of the owner, key management or leadership is a must when building high-performing teams. If they are not present, there can be and often is question. They are the foundation of the organization and foundation to a strong team. Team members look to the key leaders for direction and vision, crave their presence and passion. I cannot count the number of times I have had team members say to me, “if only, I had some of his/her time” or “we never see him/her anymore.” Think about this like a dial and how much effort and focus is spent on this. If you are just starting to build a team or are new to building teams, know that you will have to invest more your time and presence if you want a strong foundation. If you’re team isn’t as strong as it once was, you likely need to assess if your team is “craving” a little more of your presence and time.

Investing this time and presence pays dividends and goes a long way toward building respectful long-term relationships in the workplace. It is essential for employees in any role, but it is even more crucial for teams that rely on each other to manage projects successfully and efficiently. Your farm has lots of “projects.” Every day is like a project in many ways. Working in teams can be so rewarding and at the same time, it is often difficult to find the time to juggle how to be present and best manage the different members of the team. If you do though, you are on your way to a strong foundation.