Introduction
A team should be greater than the aggregation of the contributions of its pieces. From experience in a sports team setup, it is possible to tell when a team is headed in the right direction. One can also argue that the team lacks one of the fundamentals that make a proper, performance-oriented unit. Falcon Eye Team embodied several concepts detailed by Katzenbatch and Smith (1993). This paper aims to analyze the performance of the Falcon Eye Team vis a vis the tenets of a disciplined team as provided in the course reading while integrating observations from experience.
Concept One: Teams as Discrete Units of Performance
In this regard, teams are supposed to coalesce around a shared, well-defined goal. Notably, the goals tend to reflect the performance of the team. From this understanding, the goals can vary from making the regional finals for a sports team to achieving a 50% increase in sales for a corporate team. Katzenbatch and Smith (1993) make the crucial point that team goals and purpose should be ever-evolving to reflect the circumstances in which the team operates continuously. Goals continually shape the team’s performance, ensuring it works at its highest level possible.
In the case of Falcon Eye, the team should have applied itself more in formulating a common goal to modulate a time-bound performance schedule. In hindsight, the team could have deliberately assigned itself a goal, such as emerging at the top of the project, to harness the requisite motivation and effort from the team members. Such an approach could have ensured a better placement than the team’s sixth place.
Concept Two: Interpersonal Skills
The human element of teams cannot be separated from their endeavors. In addition to the general elements of good human relations, such as politeness, kindness, and helpfulness, teams must also aspire for other attributes to succeed. From personal experience in a sports team, some individuals are very considerate when correcting and admonishing other team members. Such skills are critical and were perhaps lacking in the context of Falcon Eye. For instance, members would occasionally tune into team meetings late, and there was no one with the wherewithal to remind them without appearing to be a “taskmaster.” Salient interpersonal skills are essential to proper team performance and success.
Concept Three: Types of Teams
Another thing I learned from the course project is that different types of teams often require individual reorientation. As stated earlier, admonishing team members in an academic endeavor is much more complex than a sporting setup. In the classification of Katzenbatch and Smith (1993 p. 117), Falcon Eye was a team that makes or does things—mainly, making a camera and drone company competitive at a simulation level. There are elements of this sort of team that could have been applied effectively by Falcon Eye, as outlined by Katzenbatch and Smith (1993). For instance, detailing critical delivery points or milestones would have further regulated the progress and performance of the Falcon Eye team. Preparing financial statements should have been an essential critical delivery point since it was significant in evaluating team performance.
Concept Four: Building Team Performance
The importance of this concept is that it is revelatory. Team performance is built and does not precipitate out of anything (Katzenbatch and Smith, 1993). This was evident in sports teams, whereby teams that started the year or tournament with a high level of application in training often ended up sustaining high levels and were rewarded. In the case of Falcon Eye, there was a need for the team to start with a sense of direction from the first meeting, whereby members would be made aware of the team’s potential and desire to emerge best in the ongoing exercise. Over time, this would have inculcated a high level of performance among team members sustained to the end, potentially resulting in first-place achievement. In the future, one must establish a high level of performance within the team from the very first instance.
Concept Five: Team Make-Up
The individual elements of a team ultimately guarantee the team’s potential and dynamics. Thus, a team should have the right skills, attitudes, and experience to achieve their goals (Katzenbatch & Smith, 1993). This is essential in sports teams, where a blend of skills allows the team to be multifaceted and creative. In the case of Falcon Eye, the team make-up was right as the members were diversely skilled, with different members good at computations, preparing reports, and organizing schedules. One learning taken from the exercise is that there is a need for individual members to aspire to fill specific gaps that may be lacking in the team. In Falcon Eye, there was a need for a silent leader, as observed from sports teams in the past, to hold everyone accountable even when they may not have formal authority.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Falcon Eye Team provided a highly educative and engaging experience. The lessons learned from the team project are crucial for future team engagements. The most vital concept is team performance and how it is modulated by goals and purpose. The exercise is positively impactful for individuals who are likely heading to corporate settings where teams are the spine of operations.