DREWspective

It’s my 26th birthday soon, and this year I plan on doing something. Wish me a good one.

Now, I’ve had one nagging question that has gone unanswered for a long time, and now it’s time for me to air my views. The question is, what is a team?

I’ve had three commercial permanent jobs in the last three years, all lastng less than a year (not proud of it, but possibly a clue that I should take the freelancing route). The main reason for leaving those, beside my personality quirks, is the notion of not being part of a practical, working team.

As I’ve told a recruiter recently, I’ve worked in "gangs" and "dictatorships" before, but not a team. You can accuse me of not being a team player, but that’s because I haven’t had any noticable experience in working in a team - not even in primary or high school.
Anyone can call their employees a team, or call themselves a team player, just like people are designated "leaders". Saying is very different to being.

So what is a team?

Before I answered the question myself, I did a quick search online to see if any other sources agreed. The main quote from Penn State’s Building Blocks for Teams page mirrors my initial reasoning, and explains it in a better way than I ever could:

"A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable."

- Katzenbach and Smith, 1993

Basically, my idea of a team is:

• a group of people working towards a common goal;
• that have relevant skills among them;
• recognise each other as [important] members;
• take responsibility;
• and has a leader (or leader(s) that leads the team toward the goal.

Some other great links that define what it means to be in a team, and being a team member:

http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=8
http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-a-Team?&id=328949