In the Power of Teamwork by Brian Goldman, he starts the book by claiming that there is a difference between working as part of a Group and working as part of a Team. As someone who believes wholeheartedly in the power of teaching teams, this was a great reflective piece.

Teams rely on the strengths of one another and are interconnected in that they can leverage each other’s talents. They work towards a common goal and success is shared by the entirety of the team. Teams are efficient because they strive to use all members to their fullest potential. There is a vulnerability that is inherent in being part of a Team because you have to trust others with both your strengths, your gaps in skill and release control of all parts in order to contribute to the whole. In addition, teams have leadership positions which can be fixed or rotate between members depending on the task.

Working in groups is not necessarily the same thing. Those who work in groups can be doing the same sorts of tasks, but do not necessarily use the knowledge and skills of the group. They may have some members of the group who are working against others in an effort to help raise their own status. Groups are not always efficient since you can have many people struggling with the same task but not asking for help or using the strengths of their teammates. Groups may not be vulnerable since members may be concerned about their own place in the group rather than the group’s ability to succeed. Groups also may not have leadership in that everyone is doing the best they can and if they move in the same direction it can be by coincidence rather than design.

Given these two descriptors, which best describes your school?

Schools ought to be true teams rather than simply groups. We can achieve this by having open doors, knowledge of each other’s work and skills as well as leveraging those skills. Trust and vulnerability, along with solid communication are key in moving a school from good to great. 

Schools by nature of their organization have some leaders built into the system, but leadership can exist in any space. Teaching and learning teams can rotate leads to ensure that someone is bringing vision and focus to their efforts. They can identify the best person for a given task and trust that it gets done. 

Think about any sports team that you have seen. There are clear leaders (coaches and captains), there are various positions each of which requires different skills (goaltenders tend to need different skills than goal scorers) and there is a common goal (score more points than the other team). Winning teams embrace the nuances of teamwork and leverage their talent to the fullest which separates them from losing teams. Winning teams have Collective Efficacy. 

Teacher Collective Efficacy which we know is a huge factor in a school’s success. But though Teacher Collective Efficacy is the belief that as teachers we can help all students be successful, these beliefs need to be supported by practices that allow them to be achievable beliefs rather than just a wish.

This is how we change a staff of teachers into a Teaching Team.