Team: What Makes An Effective Team?

A team needs to have a few characteristics to be effective. One characteristic is the ability to communicate. Another is cooperation within the team. There are a few more characteristics such as; an effective use of time, a clear purpose, and clear roles and task assignments. Yet one of the most important things needed to have an effective team is to have good leadership.

The ability for a team to communicate effectively is essential to building an effective team. For if a team cannot communicate efficiently with each other, there won’t be any way to have good cooperation within the team. Without communicating the roles and task assignments there wouldn’t be as much of an efficient use of time. The purpose needs to be communicated clearly so the entire team knows where they are headed.

A team that cooperates is more likely to work better and more efficiently as a team.  Using cooperation the team will be more effective by utilizing each of the team members’ unique skills. By doing so the team would be able to perform tasks, as a whole, which each individual team member would be unable to accomplish on their own. A team that cooperates well with itself will likely have good communication and would likely be an efficient team.

A team that uses their time efficiently will get things done quickly and on time. Good cooperation plays a role in effectively using time. The better the team cooperates, the more efficiently they can use the time available to them. In order to use their time efficiently, a team needs to assign each team member roles and tasks clearly. Good leadership is what helps assign those tasks and roles.

To be effective a team needs to determine a clear purpose. Without a clear purpose the team wouldn’t have a goal to build motivation to achieve. With a clear purpose set the team knows where they’re heading. They can use that knowledge to assign tasks and roles in order to make an effective use of their time.

To make an effective use of their time, a team’s leadership will assign each member roles and tasks. If each team member cooperates with the leadership and does what’s assigned to them it will make an effective use of time. This in turn will allow the team to be efficient in whatever they are trying to accomplish.  Having good leadership will boost a team’s efficiency in nearly everything they try to accomplish.

Good leadership can hold a team together in the roughest of situations, such as in a firefight. If the leadership was to fail and no one stepped up to take it over the team would become near inoperable. Good leadership helps keep the purpose clear for the team. They will assign what needs to be done amongst their team. They will make sure that each team member does his part. If part of the team fails to do what needs to be done, the entire team will fail. Something is only as strong as its weakest point.

In conclusion, I have gone over a few of the key points needed to have an effective and efficient team. Good leadership, communication, and cooperation within the team are some of the most important things a team can use to build their effectiveness on. Assigning tasks and roles, having a clear purpose and using time efficiently will make a team more efficient. Building on these key points, an effective team can be made.