Group? Team? What’s the difference?

Although we hear the word “team” all the time, no single definition exists that explains – once and for all – exactly what constitutes a team. However, I recently came across an article by Linda Hill and Kent Lineback that offers one of the more interesting definitions I’ve seen: “A team is a group of people who do collective work and are mutually committed to a common team purpose and challenging goals related to that purpose.” I will briefly discuss each part of the definition.

Collective work

The word “collective” means “forming a whole or aggregate” as well as “done by or characteristic of individuals acting in cooperation.” The notion of a team being a “whole,” i.e. greater than the sum of its parts, is an important one. So is the idea that members of teams act in cooperation. They prioritize shared agendas over individual ones and work together to accomplish meaningful goals.

Mutually committed

Mutual commitment connotes a sense of shared accountability, a critical characteristic of any high-performance team. As Hill and Lineback write, “[Team] members share a genuine conviction that ‘we’ — the potent concept behind every team — will succeed or fail together, and that no individual can succeed while the team fails.”

Common team purpose

A common purpose creates a sense of everyone being “on the same page.” For example, ask any member of a sports team and they’ll say their common team purpose is to win the championship. Similarly, an organizational team should be driving toward a mutual objective, whether it’s delighted customers, fewer accidents, or more cost-effective processes.

Challenging goals

Without challenging goals, teams will languish. Such goals — achievable with grit, persistence, and resilience — drive teams forward with passion and energy.

Hill and Lineback also write that team members need clarity about roles, processes, and interpersonal interaction amongst each other. “When all of these crucial elements are in place,” they assert, “groups become teams.” Of course, it’s one thing to list these essential team elements in an article and quite another to enact them. Team members naturally have differing agendas, needs, wants, personal goals, etc. The ability to sustain a team of individuals who enjoy working together to accomplish meaningful goals is one of the key responsibilities — and challenges — of leadership.

Hill and Lineback offer some questions to help their readers understand what’s involved. For example, asking team members how committed the team is to a compelling and meaningful purpose can expose vulnerabilities that can slowly eat away at morale. Another question — “Do we share a set of values and beliefs about what we expect of each other and how we treat each other?” — shines a light on interpersonal relationships and team norms. Leaders should ask such questions of their team members often.

What questions do you ask your team to gauge mutual commitment, shared purpose, and personal fulfillment?