Summary and overview of key topics

¶ … strong team in a workplace (or in any group or organizational situation). The authors define what it means to be a team, how teams are expected to carry the load effectively, and break it down into kinds of teams. The team that is the most appealing to a person who really likes to get work done cooperatively is the "self-directed work team" (p. 3). The sharing of management responsibilities (including budgets, the hiring of new talent, scheduling of work, and evaluating its own performance) is the goal that many small teams strive for.

But one of the most important aspects of Chapter 1 is III -- "What Teams Need." So much has been written and spoken about "team-building" but teams don't have a chance of reaching the actual pinnacle of success without the tools to arrive at that pinnacle. For example, clearly defined goals and purposes should be explained and understood. What are we trying to get done? Is this company just about making money and beating the competition? Or are we in this to produce outstanding and reliable products that the consumer will love? Teams need measures to get to the place they need to go, and without common values, they are not in sync. The part of Chapter 1 that stands out is "Access to People in the Know" (in other words, as good as teams might be, without resources quickly available they cannot always produce greatness).

On page 7, the authors address one of the biggest sticking points of any organization -- resistance to change. It is always more comfortable to keep doing it the same old way, but on the other hand, change is necessary for progress. On page 9 the importance of having leadership that communicates the need for change, that describes the "vision" and presents a "clear picture" is made very clear. Change management is a subject that books have been written about and scholarly articles constantly portray as a pivotally important aspect of successful business growth.

Chapter 2: This chapter goes into the leadership part of team dynamics and breaks down the various roles that individuals play as leaders. I had not heard of "sponsors" within the matrix of leadership and teams. Sponsors are in fact the managers who stay close to the team; in fact the sponsor actually picks out the team leader and team members -- and the coach -- and since the sponsor had taken that role, if the team leader and members don't produce as expected, the sponsor bears the responsibility. The success or failure of the changes talked about in Chapter 1 are in the hands of the sponsor, and the sponsor's duty is to make everyone happy, including the stakeholders, the executives, the customers and the team itself. The chapter doesn't say who selects the sponsor, but obviously that is an important role so an upper management person very familiar with the needs of teams -- and with the best leadership in the company -- must be the individual that selects the sponsor.