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This video categorically illustrates the differences between groups and teams

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This podcast gives another perspective on differences between teams and groups. It also outlines the importance of knowing the variation between the two.

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The word team is often used a bit too casually to refer to any group of people working together. However, not all groups are teams. Knowing whether or not your group is a team or a working group can make a difference in how you work together. Both are valuable, but treating a working group like a team or visa versus can cause problems. Listen to this short episode to learn the difference and why it matters.

What You'll Learn

The definition of a team and working group and why you need to know the difference.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Resources

The Weekly Challenge

Assess the groups you are a part of, which are teams and which are working groups? Talk with the group and come to a consensus. Talk about why it matters.

Transcript

Feel like reading instead of listening? Download the PDF Transcript now or read it below. Enjoy!

Transcript for Episode #033: The Difference Between Teams and Working Groups

Amy Climer: Welcome to of The Deliberate Creative Podcast. My name is Amy Climer. This podcast episode, we are going to talk about the definition of a team. That may seem kind of elementary, a bit silly, but this podcast is all about building innovation in teams, and I do not think I have ever actually defined what a team is. The reason I wanted to share it is because I had a huge aha! moment when I read the book The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach and Smith , and they define teams in there and it really helped me understand some confusion that I had experienced as a member of teams in the past.

Definition of a Team

So let me explain. Katzenbach and Smith give this definition of a team; that "a team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable." So there are three things that a team needs in order to actually be a team. There has to be a common purpose. There are performance goals; there are some goals that they are setting for themselves. And there is an approach and they are holding themselves mutually accountable.

Now, I think this definition is actually somewhat aspirational, that high functioning teams would have all those three things. But perhaps not every team is there yet. But the aha! moment for me came when I was reading this and I read a different definition, the definition of a working group. Because I realized there are some teams that I have been on that actually were not teams but they were actually working groups.

Definition of a Working Group

So a working group is where members are coming together primarily to share information, to share best practices, or perspectives, and to make decisions to help each individual perform within his or her area of responsibility. So there is not necessarily a shared accountability, there is no common purpose, at least there is not like a small group common purpose. Ultimately at the end, each individual is making their own decisions about how they want to move forward and there is no collaboration, essentially.

So let me give you an example. I am a member of a mastermind group. If you are not familiar with mastermind groups, first of all, they are super awesome and I highly recommend creating one. This is a group that I created here in Madison where I live. We meet once a month, there are five of us who are members. All of the members are consultants and coaches. We all are self employed, we have our own our business. We meet once a month with the sole purpose to help each other succeed and to support each other and to be a sounding board. I think of it as the group where I can ask questions that I cannot ask anywhere else.

At the end of each meeting, we all go round and we share our goals for the next month. At some point, usually a few days before the following meeting, I will send an email out, "Oh hey, just a reminder this meeting is coming up. And by the way, here are the goals that we all committed to last month." Then we start the next meeting and we share how are things going and have you met your goals for the previous month. But if someone did not meet their goals, that is okay. I mean, occasionally somebody might push them a little bit or provide some support or feedback, but it does not impact me if somebody else did not reach their goals because we are not all working towards the same thing. I mean, yeah, we are all working towards having a successful business and having a positive impact in the people that we serve, but ultimately my success is not directly impacting other people in the group, and vice versa.

I think of that mastermind group as a working group. We are there to support each other, but we do not fit the definition of a team. So a team again, there is a common purpose, performance goals and they hold themselves mutually accountable. What I found is that a lot of times organizations will create what they are calling a team, but it is actually a working group. It causes a lot of confusion because they are saying, "Oh, you all are a team and you need to act as a team," but there is actually no common purpose that they need to be mutually accountable for, and they are really more of a working group.

So when I read these two definitions by Katzenbach and Smith, I realized that that had been a source of confusion with some teams that I had been a part of. I do not think of my mastermind group as a team because for all the reasons I already mentioned, but the groups that I am a part of where we are truly a team, it is about that collaboration. The success of our team is dependent on who we are, in part at least, are we meeting those three things; do we have a common purpose, performance goals, do we hold ourselves mutually accountable? And that other piece of are there complementary skills? So there are things that maybe I am not so good at, but somebody else in the team is, and vice versa, and we really compliment and support each other in that way. That is a really exciting place to be as a part of a team.

That is the definition of a team. I have found it is really helpful to just understand the difference between a team and a working group.

The Weekly Challenge [6:27]

Here is your challenge for the week. Think about the groups that you are a part of. Whether it is a group that you are working with on a regular basis, daily, or weekly, or is it a group that comes together monthly or quarterly. Think about all those groups that you are a part of, whether it is a committee, whether it is called a team or not, and try to assess if you are actually truly a team or if you are actually a working group. And bring this up with the group and have a conversation about it. That in itself can really be a valuable discussion. Have that conversation about, "Are we truly a team or are we a working group?" Often groups want to be a team, but they do not quite have those criteria in place yet, and when they know and understand those criteria, then they can start striving for them and that can really change the dynamics and change the success of the team. So there you have it. That is your weekly challenge, is talk to your team or group and figure out if you are a team or a working group.

This was just a short episode. I hope this is helpful. I hope you all have a wonderful week. I want to thank everybody for listening. I love it that you are listening out there. I can see the stats. I can see your downloads, so thanks for listening. If you have not yet, head on over to iTunes, write a review for the Deliberate Creative podcast, share an honest review. I love to get that feedback. If there are topics you want in a future episode, send me an email. You can go to climerconsulting.com and send me an email from the contact page. I will put a link in the shownotes to the book The Wisdom of Teams by Katzenbach . The shownotes can be found at climerconsulting.com/033 because this is Episode 33.

Have a wonderful week everyone. See you next time. Bye.
Note: The links on this page may be affiliate links. That means I get a small commission of your sale, at no cost to you. However, I only share links to products that I or my guests believe in. Enjoy them!

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Episode 33: The Difference Between Teams and Working Groups

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The word team is often used a bit too casually to refer to any group of people working together. However, not all groups are teams. Knowing whether or not your group is a team or a working group can make a difference in how you work together.

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The article outlines the differences between the purpose of a group and a team within an organization.

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Differences Between Group Work & Team Work

In the business world, the words "group" and "team" seem interchangeable, but smart entrepreneurs realize there are subtle - and important - differences. Recognizing these differences early on will help business owners and managers to achieve their organizational goals with the staff on hand.

What Is a Group?

A group in the workplace is usually made up of three or more people who recognize themselves as a distinct unit or department, but who actually work independently of each other. For example, a small business may have a client services group, but one person may focus on local clients, one person may focus on regional clients and a third person may assist those individuals. Also, groups tend to be permanent fixtures with ongoing goals or responsibilities.

What Is a Team?

A team consists three or more people who may come from different departments within a business, but collaborate on the same purpose, goal or project. For instance, before your business creates a new product, you might organize a team composed of people from all departments - engineering, finance, legal, marketing, etc. - to think through your potential new product and avoid costly surprises down the road. With a team, individuals recognize the expertise and talents of others needed to achieve the team's goal. Additionally, teams are often formed for temporary assignments with one specific goal, focus or outcome in mind.

Why Form Groups?

Managers recognized many years ago that two heads are better than one, thus small businesses have turned to groups or departments for many reasons. With group work, members have a shared knowledge of the group's objectives, but specific tasks or responsibilities are assigned to different individuals. By separating work into groups - such as one devoted to marketing, one devoted to accounting, etc. - individuals within those groups are able to maximize their expertise on a long-term basis.

Why Form Teams?

Businesses form teams usually to tackle a specific - and usually temporary - goal or project with the intent of leveraging the collective expertise of a variety of people. Because experts from various departments are involved, teams can avoid potential problems early on in a project. For instance, a team of only engineers may create a new product but may not understand whether it's affordable until someone with a finance background completes a "return on investment" or ROI analysis on its feasibility. Having a finance member involved in the team from the beginning will help the engineers to create an affordable product in the first place, saving time and resources. Teams can be very productive because involving people with different talents provides teams with increased opportunities to work more efficiently.

About the Author

Robin Fritz earned a B.A. in journalism and an M.B.A. from Indiana University, and works as a financial writer (18-plus years). She teaches business writing classes as an adjunct lecturer for IU. Ms. Fritz has also worked as a news correspondent, was a speech writer for the Indiana Senate, and was public information officer for the Indiana Dept. of Education.

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Differences Between Group Work & Team Work

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In the business world, the words "group" and "team" seem interchangeable, but smart entrepreneurs realize there are subtle - and important - differences. Recognizing these differences early on will help business owners and managers to achieve their organizational goals with the staff on hand.

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This case study followed 83 production groups and found that self-directed teams contributed more than traditional work groups. It outlines differences in communication styles, participation, and processes.

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Abstract

The study examines the impact of self‐directed group work on team competence. The sample consists of 83 production groups from 20 medium‐sized enterprises: 44 self‐directed work groups and 39 traditional work groups. Results based on process‐analytic behavioural data, collected at the group level of analysis, show that self‐directed teams are more competent than traditional work groups on seven out of 12 aspects of competence. Self‐directed teams show greater methodological competence, to some extent greater professional and self‐competence but no greater social competence when completing optimization tasks. In addition, the work characteristics participation, formal team communication, continuous improvement process, training and team‐oriented tasks were related to team competence in the subsample of self‐directed work teams.

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Self‐directed work groups and team competence

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The study examines the impact of self‐directed group work on team competence. The sample consists of 83 production groups from 20 medium‐sized enterprises: 44 self‐directed work groups and 39 traditional work groups. Results based on process‐analytic behavioural data, collected at the group level of analysis, show that self‐directed teams are more competent than traditional work groups on seven out of 12 aspects of competence.

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This TED talks about the importance of being able to bring groups together to form teams in order to solve problems. The examples are extreme, but prove a point. It also outlines differences between teams and groups through examples.

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Amy Edmondson: How to turn a group of strangers into a team

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Business school professor Amy Edmondson studies "teaming," where people come together quickly (and often temporarily) to solve new, urgent or unusual problems. Recalling stories of teamwork on the fly, such as the incredible rescue of 33 miners trapped half a mile underground in Chile in 2010, Edmondson shares the elements needed to turn a group of strangers into a quick-thinking team that can nimbly respond to challenges.

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This short youtube video can be very beneficial for the understanding in the difference between teams and groups.

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Teams vs Groups | Organisational Behavior | MeanThat

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This article gives a quick insights on the groups vs. teams and how to work on them in workshop settings.

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This article gives a quick insights on the groups vs. teams and how to work on them in workshop settings.

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I remember the first time I had to do a workshop for 30 or so bright-eyed students on the subject of teamwork. I had to explain the difference between a group and a team and how to form a group into a team.

Up until this particular workshop what I have known about the group concept and the team concept could have been summed up like this: "a bunch of people coming together to do something." Sure, it is not something you would put on a flipchart and call it a definition right?

After some research, I realized I wasn't entirely wrong.. but I was not right either. There is a lot more behind the team versus group distinction and knowing the difference does matter when you deliver a training on group dynamics or teamwork, or you need to assemble a working group or a marketing team to do the job.

The question is why does it matter?

Save time designing your next team workshop

The group vs. team dilemma

Remember those meetings or workshops where people only wanted to do their own tasks without taking into consideration everyone else's? When decisions were made by those whose voice was the loudest? When people would drop out because they did not see where they could contribute?

These unpleasant experiences are not uncommon in the workplace or at a training, but knowing what to expect from a group and what to expect from a team might help to prevent such incidents.

Although there are several distinctions between a team and a group, there are 3 main guidelines which differentiate the concepts from one another.

The first one is dependence.

Groups are consisting of people who are independent of each other and all of the group members have a different set of tasks that are usually carried out by one individual. The tasks are clearly defined and not dependent on each other.

Let's take the example of passengers on a flight. They are all on the same plane though they have very different reasons to be on that specific one, therefore they are just a group.

On the other hand, a team consists of individuals and tasks that are interdependent and rely on each other. Sometimes team members share similar roles and responsibilities. Just like the cabin crew on the plane: their primary reason to be there is to make the journey comfortable for the passengers.

This shared responsibility notion brings us to the second category that helps us understand the differences between teams and groups: accountability.

Since group members are working individually their work is also valued individually. The opposite is true for a team. As the saying goes: "The team is more than the sum of its parts." They are dependent on each other, share the responsibilities and are collectively judged.

When a passenger misses the plane it's only her to suffer the consequences. However, if the plane is not leaving on time because a stewardess doesn't find the objects to perform the safety check and others don't help her out, it is very likely that the whole cabin crew suffers for the fault.

Finally, the last distinction point is time.

For groups, the "lifespan" is usually longer, not really specified (though in some cases there are definitive starting and ending points).

In the example of passengers that means that some of them reached their destination when the plane lands, while other might continue their journey as passengers.

Teams, however, come together for a stipulated time which ends when the goal is achieved by the team. For the cabin crew, the goal is to ensure a comfortable journey for the passengers. When the plane lands their job is done.

Let's recap what we know about a group: it consists individual members who are concerned about their own individual tasks and outcomes, the members are judged by their own independent work and thus usually the lifetime of a group is specified.

In comparison team members are co-dependent, share tasks and responsibilities, work closely with each other. The team itself as a whole is responsible for the outcome and judged collectively. The team's life ends when they achieved their goal.

From group to team - The 7 principles

Knowing what makes a group or a team is a good starting point, but it is hardly enough. The next step would be to decide if you need a group or a team to carry out a plan.

There are several factors that could be important, e.g. timeframe, nature of the task, or competencies, but usually, it is better to go with the "group's more productive unit" called team.

Sadly to simply call a group a team instead, does not make the trick, but according to Maddux, there are seven principles to keep in mind and in check when aiming to form a team.

There is a shared understanding between the members that personal and team goals can be achieved best with mutual support.

Members feel a shared ownership of their work and the team's goals and are committed to the commonly established (explicit or implicit) rules.

Everyone can contribute their personal or professional competencies to the success of the team's goals.

There is room to express ideas and opinions, and team members are making effort to understand each other.

Nobody feels threatened by conflict and conflict is viewed as a normal aspect of teamwork.

There is an atmosphere of trust and encouragement, and members are encouraged to improve their skills and competencies.

The decision-making process is participative and no one is left out or unheard.

Surely these principles don't appear overnight and it takes time, conscious effort and some activities to form or build a team. However, if you start to notice that finally everyone is active during decision making or conflicts are settled relatively easy you can be sure that a team was born. If you would like to hear experts on the importance of team building watch these brilliant TED talks on team building!

Do you agree with the above mentioned points? Can you add some more? Let us know in the comments we would love to learn from you!

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I remember the first time I had to do a workshop for 30 or so bright-eyed students on the subject of teamwork. I had to explain the difference between a group and a team and how to form a group into a team.