I'm set to re-read The Wisdom of Teams because I have never truly witnessed a "high-performance team" in the flesh; and also to personally get beyond my disappointment (and disbelief) of a failed team I was part of in 2000--we were reading this book jointly when the team started to unravel.
From the review of THE WISDOM OF TEAMS by Jon R Katzenbach and Doudlas K Smith:
Through their research, Katzenback and Smith identified four stages of team development:
Pseudo team – a collection of individuals for whom there could be significant performance benefits derived from working together, but who have not focused on collective performance and are not really trying to achieve it. [Also read elsewhere sometimes pseudoteams are possible because the nature of their work can be accomplished just fine individually]
Potential team – a collection of individuals for whom there is a clear benefit to be derived from working as a team but who may lack clarity about their common purpose or goals.
Real team – a small number of people with complementary skills who are jointly committed to a common purpose, goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.
High performance team – a group that meets all the conditions of real teams and whose members are also deeply committed, even beyond the team setting, to one another’s personal growth and success."
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