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Mabel Mowatt's professional background is in social work and palliative care. Time as a manager of a palliative day care hospice increased her interest in management skills. She now combines freelance writing and teaching national courses for palliative day care leaders, with being a hospital-based senior social worker.

Those trying to manage a team may be aware of how much time is spent sorting out petty squabbles that have no relevance to the team's objectives. Unresolved difficulties cause stress and staff end up concentrating on them instead of working. Creating an effective team may take effort but it saves wasted energy.

An effective team is made up of members with differing skills and experience. The role of the manager is to blend these together. This is never more vital - or more problematic - than with the proliferation of multi-disciplinary teams.(1) As tasks become more complex, organisations are dependent on co-operation between individuals.

Anyone who has been involved in a merger of organisations will appreciate the potential difficulty of developing a common purpose and blending different management structures. It is important that individual managers keep the caring profession's focus on the needs of the client and the common goal of the team, whatever their skill base. If staff come from different educational experiences, professionals should share core values aimed at providing a comprehensive assessment and appropriate resources.

To create an effective team, managers need to ensure that staff are aware of the team goals. Participation facilitated by the manager creates a common purpose and individuals feel valued. This creates an atmosphere that encourages innovative ideas. Developing team goals, in line with the organisational goals, is a team process; a team will not be committed or effective if these are imposed from above.

Do you as a manager encourage discussion at team meetings? Do you create an atmosphere in which pinions can be aired without hard feelings? Do you consider other people's ideas as valid as your own?
Team members need feedback and it should be given in the most positive manner possible, with the intention to improve not denigrate performance. As a manager feedback must focus on whether team goals are being achieved; it must never be solely about individuals' personalities.

A team that is encouraged to study their own performance will also take a part in problem-solving, but the manager needs to be proactive in involving all team members, not just the most voluble. Performance will improve in an atmosphere where conflict is managed and not allowed to become personal. The manager, as facilitator, needs to help the team identify its talents, skills and experience and make sure that they are acknowledged but also used appropriately.

Since talents and skills vary, leadership for different projects should move around team members. They need to know that their line manager supports them; if mistakes are used as a source of learning rather than punishment, creativity will be encouraged. Staff who are constantly watching their back are wasting energy and will not dare to be innovative.

Failure to share knowledge and information can leave some feeling excluded and deskilled. Monopolising information may make the sole informant powerful, but it makes the team ineffective. Managers must lead by example and develop open communication about good or bad news. If a decision has been made that does not seem to take into account the staff discussions, then the manager needs to explain why.

Unco-operative members who have their own agenda can sabotage the team. Negativity can be infectious and debilitating. Equally destructive is the silent member, who thinks by not being involved they can blame everyone else for failures. Their non-involvement may be the main reason for failure as others' stress increases.

The main managerial tool for creating an effective team is good communication. Each person needs to have a job description which the manager should use as a basis for supervision and appraisal. Regular supervision creates a climate of open communication and opportunities for self-reflection. Individual pieces of work along with the individual's understanding of their role in the team and their effect on the team should all be included in these sessions.

Informal contact is also important; social gatherings, even coffee breaks, play their role.

An effective team is one that has a common clarity of purpose, an understanding of each other's skills and knowledge, and a willingness to communicate and develop as individuals and as a team. A team that works and plays together not only achieves its goals but also creates a good place to work.

Abstract

This article looks at the role of a manager in encouraging a group of individual professionals to work as an effective team, blending skills and experiences. The importance of supervision and appraisal as tools of the trade are highlighted and comic examples are used to illustrate particular situations.

References

1. J Stokes, "Problems in Multidisciplinary teams; the unconscious at work", Journal of Social Work Practice, Vol 8 No 2, 1994

Further Information

• A J Bateman, Developing a Productive Team, University of Nebraska, 1990
• P Lenconi, The five dysfunctions of a team, - a leadership fable, Josey-Bass, 2002
  

Useful websites

www.reviewing.co.uk

www.acas.org.uk

www.teams.org.uk

Contact

E-mail Mabel.Mowatt@luht.scot.nhs.uk