Introducing Talent Pulse 4.3: The Three I’s in Effective Teams
There’s no I in team.
In fact, there are three!
The third edition of Talent Pulse for 2017 has officially been released, and it’s already making waves. If you aren’t already familiar with Talent Pulse, its proprietary research from HCI aligned to each of our four communities. We produce insightful findings and recommendations that shape strategy and encourage action across the continuum of talent management. This time, we’ve focused on a hot topic in our Engage Your People community—the characteristics and components of effective teams in the workplace.
So what did we find? You guessed, it, the Three I’s!
From the research: It is no surprise then that when successfully implemented, functional teams increase the collective knowledge in an organization and draw together individuals with diverse skill sets and perspectives to address complex tasks and problems. And yet not every team provides results. Some hinder productivity. As with any strategy, the right combination of resources, processes, and methods are necessary for teams to be effective.
HCI believes that teams are not simply a way to organize work. Yes, it is necessary to delegate and divvy up tasks, but an effective team takes it to the next level--teams are a strategy for performance. As it says in the full report, Our research team here at HCI uncovered three core components of effective teams.
Use Intention in the composition and development of teams. Successful teams are composed of individuals with diverse skills, abilities, experiences, viewpoints, and backgrounds. Strategically incorporating skills and abilities across the four different team types is an important part of team design.
Facilitate and develop Interaction within teams. Organizations with better talent and business outcomes are comprised of people and teams who are better facilitators. These organizations are less likely to view meetings as a barrier to productivity, and are able instead to use discussion time more efficiently.
Demonstrate the importance of Influence within and outside of teams. Organizations that have highly effective team leaders have better talent outcomes and increased organizational performance. But remember, the quality and effectiveness of team leadership is not a result of its source (whether the leader was formally appointed or emerges informally through group consensus.)
Teams are a critical part of organizational success, but only if they are designed in a way that optimizes work output and collaboration. For more details on how to leverage the Three I’s and build better teams in your organization, download the full report here.