Teams and ways to manage them

Teamwork is at the core of human behaviour, and it fulfils our innate desire to belong. Collaborating and being part of the group ensures our survival in the predatory environment and is still an important influence in our social life. Thus, it is no surprise that in the last few decades, the biggest human innovation and accomplishments were all achieved through teamwork. Take, for example, the steam engine, moon landing or in recent years, electric vehicles, all have been achieved thanks to people working together towards a single vision. However, even though it is our nature to collaborate it is not a simple task to effectively manage and succeed as a team. Only a few teams succeed and many come short, every football cup has only one winner and many losers. So, what does make a winning team? Here we will discuss the optimal team size, how to allocate group roles and most importantly, how long should the teams last (it is not as straightforward as many think).

Deciding how big of a team is needed to complete a given task could be the task in itself. Research suggests that for individuals within the group to reach their peak, the optimal group size is 4.7 members, let’s call it 5 for simplicity. It is implied that teams with over 5 members will start to suffer from decreased job satisfaction, worsening relationships and lower participation rates. However, taking it into practice, it is unrealistic to limit every team to just five individuals simply because some projects might be too large to handle for such small teams. Therefore, it is highly contextual what team size would be optimal for a given task, but it is important to remember that with every additional member, team efficiency will decrease exponentially.

Team roles are a much less studied topic due to their context limitations. It is difficult to identify specific responsibilities that could be universally applied. Yet some argued that 9 key team roles are present in all effective teams. Those are: team-worker, implementer, monitor evaluator, plant, shaper, coordinator, technical specialist, completer and resource investigator. Many people will have a predisposition, be so biological or environmental, to certain roles and might struggle to fulfil the responsibilities of others. Therefore, it is important to distribute those roles correctly. There have been scales designed to determine which role suits you best, however, sometimes people are keen to take on new responsibilities and develop themselves further. It is worth mentioning, that an individual can fulfil more than one role as long as they do not get too overwhelmed, in a team of five, some members would play multiple roles.

Team longevity is not something that many think about when creating a team. After all, most teams are created to complete a project and tend to be disbanded soon after. However, teams of directors or creative teams tend to last much longer. This happens because such teams were created without a clear project and their goals are ever evolving. When teams stay the same for too long they start to become stagnant and suffer from decreased creativity and significant drop in efficiency. Research shows that it takes around 2 years for the newly formed group to reach its potential and after 5 years of teamwork productivity tends to fall by almost 80%. It is believed that in 5 years, people tend to drain their existing ideas and without new stimulation, creativity falls. Therefore, it is advised to reshuffle teams every 5 years or so to keep a competitive edge in the modern market.

Overall, teamwork stands as a cornerstone of human behaviour, deeply ingrained in our evolutionary history and fulfilling our innate need for belonging. Research suggests that optimal team size hovers around five members, beyond which diminishing returns in efficiency may occur. While the context may dictate variations in team size, it is imperative to recognise the exponential decrease in efficiency with each additional member. Moreover, the allocation of team roles plays a critical role in team success. While individuals may have predispositions to certain roles, flexibility and the willingness to take on new responsibilities are essential for adaptability within the team dynamic. Furthermore, the longevity of teams must be carefully considered. While project-based teams may naturally disband after completion, ongoing teams require periodic reshuffling to mitigate stagnation and maintain creativity and efficiency.

In essence, while teamwork remains a fundamental aspect of human achievement, its optimisation requires a nuanced understanding of team dynamics. By carefully managing team size, roles, and longevity, organisations can harness the full potential of collaborative efforts, driving sustained success and innovation in an ever-evolving landscape.