The Difference Between A Team

And A Group
By Deborah Mackin

Years ago an executive director called me from Arizona saying that

she had converted her organization into teams overnight and had told
people to pair up with those who wanted to work together. She was
calling because she couldn't figure out what to do with the people with
whom nobody wanted to work. Her question: could those people just
be a group rather than a team?

That question prompted a fascinating exploration: when does a group

become a team? What are the distinguishing characteristics of a team
that are different from a group? The behaviors of a real team are
decidedly different from a group.

We believe the best definition of a team is from the book Wisdom of

Teams. "A team is a small group of people with complementary skills
and abilities who are committed to a common goal and approach for
which they hold each other accountable." Let's pick this definition
apart. The best size for teams is 7-12 individuals. Larger teams require
more structure and support; smaller teams often have difficulty meeting
when members are absent. Members have skills and abilities that
complement the team's purpose. Not all members have the same
skills, but together they are greater than the sum of their parts. On
teams, members share roles and responsibilities and are constantly
developing new skills to improve the team's performance. Teams
identify and reach consensus on their common goal and approach,
rather than looking to a leader to define the goal and approach. Most
importantly, teams hold their members accountable. What does this
mean in practical terms? When they experience conflict with a
member, they speak to that member directly rather than to a
supervisor. When a member isn't performing to the level required, the
team addresses the performance problem.
Now let's look at how a group functions. A group can be defined as a
small group of people with complementary skills and abilities who are
committed to a leader's goal and approach and are willing to be held
accountable by the leader . A group supports the leader's goals and
the leader-dominated approach to goal attainment. A group drives
individual accountability rather than shared accountability. Leadership
is predominantly held by one person rather than the shared, fluid
leadership on a team. In a group, the dominant viewpoint is
represented; in a team, multiple, diverse viewpoints are represented.
Decisions in a group are made by voting or implied agreement;
decisions on a team are typically made by consensus.

So, would it be right to say that teams are good and groups are bad?
Absolutely not. A better question to ask is: when do you use a group
and when do you make the extra effort to develop a team? Let's face it,
groups are far easier to create than teams, so it makes sense to be a
group when the following exist: the decisions and process are already
determined, buy-in is not necessary, time is a critical factor and there is
split or minimal management support for teaming. To form the group,
identify a strong, effective leader and empower the person to recruit
group members, formulate the goal and approach and drive decision
making. This approach would be practical for short-term projects with
outcomes already defined.

Teaming, on the other hand, should be used when you need broad
buy-in for the best results, when no one person has the answer and
when shared responsibility is important to the success of the goal. To
achieve a real team is difficult and time-consuming. There is no magic
bullet that will transform a group into a team overnight. It takes time to
develop the skills to work well together and understand how to solve
problems and make decisions effectively.

The next time your group or team gets together, ask the members
"What would it take for us to be a real, high performance team?" Then,
as you brainstorm the answer, challenge them to press forward toward
being a team.