Key charcteristics of teams
There are some key characteristics that are helpful in distinguishing a group from a team.
Here are eight characteristics of a team:
- Succeeding: A team has a high chance of succeeding - or at least working together to achieve - but a football team doesn't always win - but it certainly strives to do so.
- Objectives: A team has clear objectives that everyone within in the team is committed to,.
- Someone in charge: A team usually has someone who takes responsibility for the achievement of a task. The person who takes this responsibility may depend on what the task is at the time; and the role that they play may vary - from autocratic (where the team is basically just told what to do) to democratic (where the team and the leader take joint responsibility for the decision making).
- Different skills: A team is made up of different people with different skills and personalities who should complement each other and achieve 'synergy' - which is that the team performs better than the sum of the individual members.
- Balancing: A team balances the what (the task) with the how (the process).
- Supportive culture: A team should have a supportive culture which allows people to speak freely and to have different opinions but where this is valued rather than criticised.
- Learning: A team should learn from both its success and failures and adapt accordingly. It should always be striving to improve its performance.
- Work hard/Play hard: A team should work hard and play hard by having challenging objectives but achieve them in a mutually supportive and fun way.
The 8 characteristics of teams
Audio: Distinguishing a group from a team
(1 minute 38 seconds)
Download a transcript of this audio/recording
It is important to remember that all teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. But they do share characteristics and so remember not to re-invent the wheel.

