The work and research we generate at Team Management Systems focuses on identifying and understanding the critical work activities necessary for all teams to be successful. The research provides insights into optimal team performance in terms of nine team performance factors, summarised by the Margerison-McCann Types of Work Wheel as seen below. Effective teams continually demonstrate a sustained focus on all of these nine performance factors.


The importance of each work function to teamwork is described in more detail below:

Advising
Advising work is concerned with giving and gathering information. It means ensuring that you have all the information available for the team to make the best decisions and deliver results.

Innovating
Innovating is a key aspect of teamwork and involves challenging the way things are currently being done. Technology is changing so quickly that the way you are currently performing tasks may no longer be the best way. There are always better ways of doing things if you only take time to discover them.

Promoting
To obtain the resources – people, money, and equipment – to carry out your work, you have to 'sell' what you are doing to other people. Resources to implement new ideas will only be given if your team can persuade and influence people higher in the organisation.

Developing
Many ideas don't see the light of day because they are impractical. The Developing activity ensures that your ideas are moulded and shaped to meet the needs of your customers, clients, or users. It involves listening to their needs and incorporating these in your plans.

Organising
Here the emphasis is on getting into action and making things happen. Clear goals have to be established and action taken to ensure that results are delivered on time and to budget.

Producing
Once plans are set up and everyone knows what has to be done, the team can concentrate on Producing. This activity focuses on delivering the product or service on a regular basis to high standards of effectiveness and efficiency.

Inspecting
Regular checks on work activities are essential to ensure that mistakes are not made. Quality audits of your products or services will ensure that your customers or clients will remain satisfied. Inspecting also covers the financial aspect of work in your team, as well as the security aspects, the safety aspects and the legal aspects.

Maintaining
All teams need to uphold standards and maintain effective work processes. Your car will fail if it does not have its regular service. Teams can fail too, if the team processes are not regularly checked and maintained.

Linking
Linking is the activity that ensures all team members pull together, and makes the difference between a group of individuals and a highly effective and efficient team. It covers the linking of people, linking of tasks and leadership linking.

Models such as the Margerison-McCann Types of Work Wheel provide a reliable and valid way of measuring, monitoring, managing and thus improving team performance, by generating relevant qualitative and quantitative feedback data from both team members and external stakeholders. Too often in managing team performance, the team review focuses on subjective individual evaluation, however, Profiles such as the Team Management Profile and the Team Performance Profile will give an objective assessment.

Julie Pigdon