Team versus Group – A Team Building Exercise

By Michael Wilkinson, CMF
Managing Director, Leadership Strategies, Inc.

Any project team, even the strongest ones, can fall into dysfunctional patterns.  As facilitators, we are called in from time to time to help project teams and intact teams (people who work together on an on-going basis) get back on track. 

As one of the critical activities in our team building workshops, we ask participants to define the difference between a team and a group in a polarity form (i.e., “While a team is this, a group is that”).  Here is a sample of how participants might respond.

What is the Difference Between a Team and a Group?

The teams are then faced with a list of items to classify as a team or group.  There are relatively easy items, like a “symphony orchestra.”  There are also more difficult items such as “volunteers rescuing a child out of a well” and “the U.S. Congress.”  For each item, the participants work in teams to decide if the item is a team or a group and they have to justify their decision by indicating one or more of the reasons A-G from the Team/Group Difference. 

The last item on the list:  “Your Organization.”  The teams have to indicate whether they believe their organization is a team or a group.

This exercise can be quite effective, regardless of what the participants decide about their organization.  The real learning is in discussing their justification (A-F).  What inevitably results is a discussion around the team’s strengths and its areas for improvement.

The discussion also often leads to a deeper understanding of how teams are organized and how teams operate.  For example, the diagram to the right indicates a team that is organized as a team, but operates as a group.  The U.S. Congress often falls into this category.  While our forefathers organized Congress to have a common purpose to work together on behalf of the country, unfortunately Congress all too often operates based on self-interests, acting independently, blaming one another.

Contrast this with the diagram to the left that portrays a team that is organized as a group, but operates as a team.  The neighborhood volunteers might fall into this category. Prior to coming together they had no common goal and no defined responsibilities.  However, to save a child stuck in a well, they begin operating collectively to achieve the goal.

However, the most effective teams are those that are organized as a team and operate a team. The symphony orchestra would fall into this category.  The have a common purpose.  They have a leader and defined responsibilities.  Though the leader is the only one perceived to be communicating continuously during performances, the orchestra works together to create an amazing blend of sounds that results in beautiful music.

How about your organization?  Is it organized as a team?  Does it operate as a team?  It is not unusual for an organization to be composed of a “group of teams.”  Each team works independently of the other teams, with no common purpose or vision.  (This is a common pitfall for government agencies and large businesses where individual departments can have their own agendas without working for the good of the whole.)  We have also seen a “team of groups.”  The leadership team is strong, but each of the individual operating units is plagued with self-interests and conflict. 

Through our website, you can investigate our team assessment and team building services.  You can learn more consulting and team tips in our class, The Facilitative Consultant.  Click here for more information.

Michael Wilkinson is the Managing Director of Leadership Strategies – The Facilitation Company and author of The Facilitative Consultant training course.Prior to Leadership Strategies, he spent eight years with Ernst & Young’s Management Consulting Group.  He recently published The Secrets of Facilitation, and is a much sought after trainer, facilitator and speaker.

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