Work Team (Meaning and Explanation)

We explain what a work team is, the roles it contains, its types and other characteristics. Also, its function in the animal world.

What is a work team?

A work team It is a group of individuals oriented towards the achievement of a single common objective that is, the entrepreneurship of teamwork or collaborative work. Usually, it allows people with different talents, knowledge or abilities to be associated to advance towards the common goal, thanks to the synergy of individual capabilities.

Since time immemorial, teamwork has been one of the most effective strategies for the development of humanity, since where the individual fails, the group generally prevails. It is not for nothing that we are social, gregarious beings, who prefer to live in the company of their peers. And in that sense, work teams of different natures have always existed.

Its strength and effectiveness lies in its cohesion and in the sense of belonging that its members share, which promotes solidarity and cooperation. Thus, the weaknesses of some are compensated by the strengths of others, and the group can advance towards its proposed objectives.

However, this type of dynamic can only occur when teamwork does not turn into competition and internal struggle.

Characteristics of work teams

Work teams are usually characterized by:

Have common objectives Every work team moves together towards the achievement of the same objective, the advantages of which will be shared among the members of the group or which will be equally beneficial for all. Every team must operate as if it were a single entity.
Possess some type of leadership Every work team has a leader, or a set of leaders, in charge of leading and making decisions, if not coordinating efforts and resolving internal disputes.
Its parts have interdependence That is, the members of a work team need each other to be able to achieve the objective, since otherwise they could try to do it on their own.
It has communication dynamics For a work team to function, it must have communicative dynamics, that is, ways of sharing information and nourishing each other in a reciprocal manner.

You may be interested: Organizational Structure

Types of work equipment

informal work team — Informal teams can emerge spontaneously.

There are six possible forms of work team, depending on its orientation and purposes. These are:

Informal teams With a flexible internal organization, usually self-managed, these groups emerge from the common interests of individuals or the possibility of resolving doubts, needs, etc., regardless of any type of officiality or administrative formality. And with such simplicity they can be dissolved, once the proposed objectives have been achieved.
Traditional equipment As their name indicates, they are teams formed “the old way”, that is, based on the legitimate power emanating from the organization, and therefore they are formal teams. They have clear and well-defined guidelines within it, and usually constitute clearly identified areas, departments or functional teams.
Problem solving teams Created for a specific purpose, these teams emerge to face the problem in question and disappear as soon as it has been resolved, grouping together the best-qualified individuals to jointly provide a quick and effective resolution.
Leadership teams Also known as equipment managementare made up of leaders of areas, departments or other teams, and are established to agree on general guidelines of the organization or collaborations between areas that would be very cumbersome to carry out by bringing together their entire staff.
Self-directed teams Common in the outsourcingthese are teams that are given the freedom and autonomy to direct their efforts and decide what is the best strategy to achieve an objective, regardless of their position within the organization or company. They usually elect their own members and have a horizontal leadership structure.
Virtual teams Typical of the global era that inaugurated the 21st century, they consist of groups of individuals geographically distant from each other, but connected thanks to technology. Their work tools are usually videoconferencing, email and other forms of Internet connection.

Roles in a work team

A work team can have as many roles as it requires, and these can be formal or not, fixed or rotating, all according to the nature of the group. Even in some cases the same individual can play more than one role.

The main assignable roles in a work team are:

Leader or coordinator The person who makes the decisions, guides the joint effort or resolves internal disputes, trying to maintain a cordial and effective environment within the group, oriented towards teamwork and not towards competition. Your duties include motivating and setting an example.
Secretary The one who is in charge of the internal bureaucracy of the team, if any, or of the minimum administrative management necessary to have internal order, such as keeping the file, making minutes of each meeting, communicating the members of the group with each other, etc.
Creative The person or persons in charge of the artistic or creative part of the group are usually dedicated to the design, embellishment or writing of the documents emanating from the team, as well as presentations, dissertations, etc.
Resource generator The one who is in charge of obtaining the necessary resources for the constant and fluid functioning of the group, regardless of what type of resources they are. He can be thought of as a “producer” in cinematographic terms.
Evaluator The one who evaluates, as its name indicates, the management of the work group, in order to provide feedback based on the objectives achieved and know how close they are to achieving the final objective.

Work team and work group

At first glance, both terms seem to be synonymous: work group and work team. But a fundamental difference separates them, which has to do with the degree of internal organization they have.

Teamwork in animals

animal work team — Las Ants stands out for the effectiveness of its work teams.

Animals also work as a team, especially in cases where there is mutual benefit for individuals as is the case of biotic relationships of commensalism. Commensal animals enter into a relationship of mutual benefit or the benefit of only one without the detriment of the other, generally around food or protection from predators.

This is what, for example, some marine predators and certain species of scavenger crustaceans do: the former go to the latter to clean their teeth, removing the pieces of the hunt, in exchange for providing them with easily accessible food.

It is also common to see teamwork between individuals of a hive or massive lair as is the case with many insects. These common efforts among numerous individuals make it possible to repel aggressors, transfer enormous amounts of food and, in short, benefit the entire hive, even if it is at the expense of a few individuals. Ants are the best example.