We have all worked in dysfunctional teams at some point and know the agony and frustration associated with them. Most of us have experienced some teams in our lives that were a joy.
There are hundreds of rules for getting teams to work better together. They all work if you can get the teams to really do them. I have two favorite rules that really make a difference in the quality of teamwork. They are:
- Never make jokes in a team environment at the expense of one of the members
- Develop a Team Charter with specific consequences for Social Loafing.
The attached white paper gives the rationale for these rules and how to accomplish them.
http://www.leadergrow.com/TwoRulesforImprovedTeams.pdf
As you quite rightly state, there are hundreds of applicable rules in this subject area.
The two that I would advocate most strongly would be:-
• Identify each member’s strengths and weaknesses to be able to allocate the correct tasks – this will put most people in the place that they are happiest and will ensure that they are able to be motivated through the ability to work effectively and autonomously.
• Remember that people are not perfect and be prepared to mitigate the outcome of mistakes with; professionalism, decency, democracy in a manner that earns and maintains respect for your leadership.
A close third (if permissible) would have been to identify the group in relation to their hierarchy of needs and motivate them accordingly in a clear direction towards the target goal in an unambiguous manner.