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
Reviews
". . . Perry demolishes one of the most ridiculous
phrases that has become popular in recent times, 'There is no "I" in team.' It
is nonsense because it is the individual differences, the unique 'I's' if you
will, that make teams great. Those distinct 'I's' must be properly selected, nurtured
and then correctly channeled towards the collective goal for a team to be a great
one. . . . the book is excellent in presenting sound principles of team building
and what is often more important, team maintenance."
". . . focuses on the individual needs of team members. At the same
time, these individual needs are balanced with the team needs, assuring that the
team will be effective and able to deliver. I highly recommend this book to anybody
working with teams."
"This book is packed full of common, no-nonsense
information designed to get the corporate team functioning at peak efficiency.
. . . Putting the 'I' back into team helps the team leaders and team members realize
that the team is full of these 'I'ndividuals who need to be trained, nurtured,
rewarded and even 'cut' from the team if the need arises, for the greater good
of the team."
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