The number of players that can make up an athletic team is already determined – a basketball team needs five, soccer needs 11, and baseball nine.
But, there are no guidelines for the workplace.
How many team members should you include in your office team to successfully achieve your business schools?
There is no right answer to this question as to the optimal number for ensuring team effectiveness will always be different.
What makes a good team?
A good company is often described as ‘powerful’ and ‘successful’, which paints a picture of how the office environment within the company must be highly competitive with everyone after each other’s throats.
However, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
In order to be successful, a company needs to work with a team mentality where everyone works harmoniously to achieve company goals and uplift each other.
How many people do you need in your team?
When we talk about the right team, it’s equally important to answer the ‘size question‘.
Generally, the more the number of people, the less will be the effort contributed by each individual. But, can this theory extend to business organizations as well?
We’d like to clear one thing first: size shouldn’t be the first consideration when you put together a solid and strong team.
Your first consideration should always be the type of task in hand. Think of who you would want to hire, the kind of skills set that they should possess, and the level of coordination that will be required. For example, for a sales team, each member acts as an individual instead of being interdependent.
The second consideration should be concerning team composition. This includes every individual that will make up the team. Take into account his or her work style, knowledge base, and whether or not the person in question would be able to do the task efficiently.
Lastly, the third consideration should be the size. There is no doubt that the optimal team size is important. After all, too many cooks spoil the broth and too little will get nothing done.
You have to understand that every person on the team counts. Typically, when the number of members crosses eight or nine people, it can be a bit difficult to maintain them, which is why the main team should then be broken down into sub-teams.
Now, this can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on the task in hand.
The problem with a large team is somebody can start slacking with an increased tendency of social loafing, a problem where a team can hide the lack of effort by an (or more!) individual. But then again, group team effort does help to reduce the average effort given in by the team members.
Is there a magic number that can work for every team?
The optimal numbers generally fall between 5 to 12. Some say five is good, while some say nine is the best. However, it’s the number six that many corporate leaders have been found to favor.
Still, you need to understand that simply creating a group of six members isn’t a solution. You need to ensure that the chosen six are efficient, share the same core values, trust each other and know how to get the job at hand executed properly.
We would again like to emphasize that the nature of the task should be the first consideration always when setting up a team.
Useful tips for managing your team effectively
You need to demonstrate authority and leadership to be able to efficiently manage a team. The following are a few tips to help you achieve this:
Communicate well and communicate frequently
Keep your team members in the loop about project deadlines, project frequency, and of course, the end goals. Keeping your employees in the dark about these important aspects will never be beneficial for the company’s growth.
Also, communication has to be two ways. Encourage team members to give their feedback and approach you freely if they have any questions or issues in mind.
Making yourself accessible to every team member and effective business communication is integral to the success of the company.
Giving credit where due
Boosting employee morale and constantly motivating them to improve is what a boss should do. But, many don’t acknowledge good work and only give feedback when an implied message app.
Positive feedback not only helps to build confidence but also gives them the incentive to become more involved in the project. It helps to boost creativity and set up performance parameters too.
Building positive working relationships
You need to know your team members not only on the professional front but even on a personal level. This will help you develop a much better rapport which, in turn, can work wonders for building team effectiveness.
Delegating jobs to the right person
As mentioned above, your team needs to be made out of responsible people who have the required skill set for the task.
Now, when you create a positive working relationship, you get a better idea of the strengths and weaknesses of the person. You should delegate jobs to the right person to promote productivity and achieve great results based on this knowledge.
Concluding thoughts
There is no right or wrong answer when we talk about team size. It’s important to focus on creating a team that is made out of experienced members where everyone is delegated that’s according to their abilities and limitations.
This can be one of the best ways to make sure that the company is able to realize its long-term as well as short term goals in a more efficient and effective manner.
