iTeam: Putting the “I” Back into Team

iTeam: Putting the “I” Back into Team

by William E. Perry
Released July 2013
Publisher(s): Addison-Wesley Professional
ISBN: 9780133489101

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Book description

This is the digital version of the printed book (Copyright © 2009).

It will surprise few professionals working in software development today to read that teams and teamwork are critical ingredients of a global economy. Productivity, product development and release, and even a company's survival increasingly will depend on teams to solve business problems. What may come as a surprise -- and a wake-up call -- is that, in many businesses, teams are completely ineffective.

One reason, posits William E. Perry in iTeam: Putting the "I" Back into Team, is that most organizations put too much emphasis on joint effort, removing responsibility, ownership, and reward from individuals appointed to teams. What typically results is dysfunctional, essentially leaderless, and lacking in motivation.

Perry's call to put the emphasis back on individual responsibility among collaborating teammates is an urgent one. Decisions now made by management will more and more frequently be made and implemented by teams, making it necessary for organizations to ensure that the creativity and innovative methods of individuals be retained on teams.

Through extensive team experience and interviews with hundreds of individuals who have spent thousands of hours in team meetings, Perry has identified the attributes of great teams and great teamwork. iTeam examines the ten biggest challenges standing between most teams and excellence and explores in depth the fifty best practices teams can employ to improve performance.

Concluding that world-class teams comprise individuals who do what is right for their organization, and do what is right the right way, iTeam presents a clear, practical argument for building teams that have at their core a strong, proven leader who encourages and motivates team members to fulfill their team responsibilities.

Topics include:

Reengineering the Team Approach to Problem Solving
The Top-Ten Challenges to Effective Teamwork
Selecting a Team Leader Who Will Lead
Defining Team Entrance and Exit Criteria
Selecting Team Members for Specific Roles
Building Trust Among Team Members
Training Team Members to Accomplish Their Assignments
Listening to the Voice of the Customer
Breaking Down Silos
Avoiding Groupthink
Assuring That Team Efforts Are Successful
Rewarding Individual Team Members
Keeping Teamwork Competitive
Emerging Team Practices
and much more

Table of contents

  1. About This eBook
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Also Available from Dorset House Publishing
  5. Dedication
  6. Contents
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Foreword
  9. 1. Reengineering the Team Approach to Problem Solving
    1. Team Approaches That Contribute to Success and Failure
    2. The Business Team’s Cast of Characters
    3. Four Types of Business Teams
    4. Team-Effectiveness Self-Assessment
    5. Four Principles That Make Great Teams Great
  10. 2. The Top-Ten Challenges to Effective Teamwork
    1. “Laws” That Inhibit Team Success
    2. How the Top-Ten Challenges Were Identified
  11. 3. Challenge 1: Selecting a Team Leader Who Will Lead
    1. Putting the “I” into Selecting a Team Leader Who Will Lead
    2. Typical Approach to Selecting a Team Leader
    3. World-Class Approach to Selecting a Team Leader
    4. Five Selecting-a-Team-Leader Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Team-Leader Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Team-Leader Challenge
    7. Team-Leader Plan of Action
  12. 4. Challenge 2: Defining Team Entrance and Exit Criteria
    1. Putting the “I” into Defining Team Entrance and Exit Criteria
    2. Typical Approach to Defining Entrance and Exit Criteria
    3. World-Class Approach to Defining Entrance and Exit Criteria
    4. Five Defining-Entrance-and-Exit-Criteria Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Defining-Entrance-and-Exit-Criteria Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Defining-Entrance-and-Exit-Criteria Challenge
    7. Entrance-and-Exit-Criteria Plan of Action
  13. 5. Challenge 3: Selecting Team Members for Specific Roles
    1. Putting the “I” into Selecting Team Members
    2. Typical Approach to Selecting Team Members
    3. World-Class Approach to Selecting Team Members
    4. Five Team-Member-Selection Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Team-Member-Selection Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Team-Member-Selection Challenge
    7. Team-Member-Selection Plan of Action
  14. 6. Challenge 4: Building Trust Among Team Members
    1. Putting the “I” into Building Trust Among Team Members
    2. Typical Approach to Building Trust Among Team Members
    3. World-Class Approach to Building Trust Among Team Members
    4. Five Building-Team-Trust Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Building-Team-Trust Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Building-Team-Trust Challenge
    7. Building-Team-Trust Plan of Action
  15. 7. Challenge 5: Training Team Members to Accomplish Their Assignments
    1. Putting the “I” into Training Team Members
    2. Typical Approach to Training Team Members
    3. World-Class Approach to Training Team Members
    4. Five Training-Team-Members Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Training-Team-Members Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Training-Team-Members Challenge
    7. Training-Team-Members Plan of Action
  16. 8. Challenge 6: Listening to the Voice of the Customer
    1. Putting the “I” into Listening to the Voice of the Customer
    2. Typical Approach to Listening to the Voice of the Customer
    3. World-Class Approach to Listening to the Voice of the Customer
    4. Five Voice-of-the-Customer Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Voice-of-the-Customer Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Voice-of-the-Customer Challenge
    7. Voice-of-the-Customer Plan of Action
  17. 9. Challenge 7: Breaking Down Silos
    1. Putting the “I” into Breaking Down Silos
    2. Typical Approach to Breaking Down Silos
    3. World-Class Approach to Breaking Down Silos
    4. Five Breaking-Down-Silos Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Breaking-Down-Silos Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Breaking-Down-Silos Challenge
    7. Breaking-Down-Silos Plan of Action
  18. 10. Challenge 8: Avoiding Groupthink
    1. Putting the “I” into Avoiding Groupthink
    2. Typical Approach to Avoiding Groupthink
    3. World-Class Approach to Avoiding Groupthink
    4. Five Groupthink-Avoidance Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Groupthink-Avoidance Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Groupthink-Avoidance Challenge
    7. Groupthink-Avoidance Plan of Action
  19. 11. Challenge 9: Assuring That Team Efforts Are Successful
    1. Putting the “I” into Assuring Team Success
    2. Typical Approach to Assuring Team Success
    3. World-Class Approach to Assuring Team Success
    4. Five Assuring-Team-Success Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Assuring-Team-Success Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Team-Success Challenge
    7. Assuring-Team-Success Plan of Action
  20. 12. Challenge 10: Rewarding Individual Team Members
    1. Putting the “I” into Rewarding Individual Team Members
    2. Typical Approach to Rewarding Individual Team Members
    3. World-Class Approach to Rewarding Individual Team Members
    4. Five Individual-Team-Member-Rewards Best Team Practices
    5. Impediments to the Individual-Team-Member-Rewards Challenge
    6. Strategies to Overcome the Individual-Team-Member-Rewards Challenge
    7. Individual-Team-Member-Rewards Plan of Action
  21. 13. The Ultimate Team Challenge: Keeping Teamwork Competitive
    1. Keeping Teamwork Competitive Is As Simple As 1, 2, 3
    2. Emerging Team Practices
    3. Final Thoughts on Putting the “I” Back into Team
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: iTeam: Putting the “I” Back into Team
  • Author(s): William E. Perry
  • Release date: July 2013
  • Publisher(s): Addison-Wesley Professional
  • ISBN: 9780133489101