Teamwork: What Must Go Right/What Can Go Wrong

Front Cover
What are the secrets of successful teams? Why do some teams achieve remarkable success while others fail or are consigned to mediocrity? To find the answers, Carl E. Larson and Frank M.J. LaFasto conducted a three-year study of teams and team achievement. Interviewing a wide range of teams, including the space shuttle Challenger investigation team, executive management teams and a championship football team, Larson and LaFasto discovered a surprising consistency in the characteristics of effective teams. In Teamwork, they explore the eight properties of successful teams: a clear, elevating goal; a results-driven structure; competent team members; unified commitment; collaborative climate; standards of excellence; external support and recognition; and principled leadership. A final chapter examines the priority of the steps that lead to the building of a high performance team. The authors strive to make the concepts concrete, coupling solid theory with straightforward, practical advice on how to apply it and with lively, fascinating anecdotes. The volume will appeal to practitioners, scholars, and advanced students in the areas of organization studies and management, as well as interpersonal communication.
 

Contents

Series Editors Introduction
7
Toward Understanding Teams and Teamwork
13
A Theoretically Rich Sample of Teams
20
Analyses of Management Teams
26
The Most Frequent Explanation for Team Failure
33
ResultsDriven Structure
39
Competent Team Members
59
Confidence in the Team
71
Standards of Excellence
95
External Support and Recognition
109
Principled Leadership
118
Inside Management Teams
130
References
141
69
144
About the Authors
Copyright

Collaborative Climate
85

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About the author (1989)

Carl Larson, Ph.D., is professor emeritus of Human Communication and past dean of Social Sciences at the University of Denver. His most recent work includes When Teams Work Best (Sage 2001), Successful Communication and Negotiation, and Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference. Larson consults in both the public and private sector. He received the Driscoll Master Educator Award given by the students at the University of Denver to the university's outstanding professor.