New Rules for Teamwork

Not that long ago, teams were typically composed of people with similar skills working in the same place. Their efforts were based on the idea that by working together in a well-managed process, they could deliver replicable results. Today, companies of all types are called on to demonstrate integrated, cross-functional, project-based teamwork in their operations. New ideas about teamwork are emerging, some based on experience, some guided by new practices, some made up on the fly. But none of this has yet cohered into a systematic approach to improving how teams work. In this article, the authors set out new principles of teamwork that focus on continuous, real-time testing, learning, analysis, adaptation, and improvement.