POINT: On a teamwork blog http://blogs.bnet.com/teamwork/?p=103 one reader commented “I agree that over-emphasis on teamwork can be counter-productive especially when it comes to big projects that are assigned to “team.” Since no one person feels directly responsible for seeing such a project through, people often assume some one else will do it and it never gets done. Sometimes collective responsibility means no responsibility at all.”
2+2=5 COUNTERPOINT: It has been said that having too many chefs in the kitchen can ruin the stew. Undoubtedly, there are often many negative team experiences all of the time. We can all think of dozens of times where we were a part of a team and had a horrible experience. I would argue that for every negative team experience, there is an element of mismanagement
The best team leaders know the strengths of their team inside and out. They know when to give a task to a couple of team members to work on or to an individual on the team. They literally have their finger on the pulse of the team at all times and know what is working and what isn’t working.
The writer suggests “sometimes collective responsibility means no responsibility at all.” I know that when I’m on a team with four or five other individuals that are counting on me to do my “task” that makes me even more engaged in my role on the team. That is a feeling that is instilled by the leader. If a team’s culture gives a sense of counting on others to do everything, that’s gut-check time for the team leader, it falls on them.
What do some of our readers think?
photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/diversey/4134107057/
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