Keep on top of these critical characteristics to ensure that your team contributes most effectively to your business' success. 1.Team Foundation Purpose: Do all team members understand why the team exists? Is your team's purpose clear and understandable? Goals: Are team goals well thought out and communicated to all team members? Roles & Responsibilities: Do team members recognize how they can impact the team? Do they know what the team expects of them? To what extent are team operating procedures understood? How well does the team stick to these procedures? Leadership: Are leadership roles and accountabilities clearly defined? What resources and actions must the leadership initiate for team success? 2.Internal Team Functioning Participation and Commitment: Do team members understand why they were chosen to particpate on the team? Do they understand how the team supports company objectives? Does everyone have input into the team's activities, rather than a few? Meetings: Are team meetings focused and organized? Are meeting objectives regularly achieved? Results: Does the team deliver results that exceed or fall short of expectations? Is the team innovative in its approach? Communication. Can team members raise all issues, even the sensitive ones? Can team members openly share and discuss differences? Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks? Is there a process to give and receive honest feedback to the team and its participants? 3.Team Processes Conflict Management: Team conflict is a normal part of a team's operation. Does your team deal with conflict in a constructive way? Does the team need to initiate a conflict management process? Decision Making: Is decision making a long and arduous chore or is the process orderly, quick and successful? Is a new decision making approach required to help the team perform better? Problem Solving: Do you hear a lot of complaining and blame? Or is there an emphasis on solving problems to arrive at the best solution? Membership: Does the team have the right blend of work styles, ideas and evaluative abilities? Do you know what they are in order to match the "right" person to the "right" team task? Do you have a way to bring new team members up-to-speed quickly so that team momentum and continuity are maintained. Focusing on these characteristics, your empowered team members will take greater responsibility for the team's performance and your team's purpose will be more easily accomplished!