United States tariffs are increased on countries worldwide and then decreased! Stock markets and bond markets go up and down and up again! Industries go on hiring binges and then do wholesale layoffs. The technology industry, for example, has done this numerous times. They escalate salaries and have “hiring wars,” only to have wholesale layoffs and year or so later. We all have specific examples of how our world has turned uncertain.
What is going on with all these gyrations? What can organizations do to prepare for and deal with the regularly appearing uncertainties in our business lives?
Effective teams are an ideal way to create a buffer and deal with times of uncertainty. But WHY and HOW can teams help to create this buffer?
WHY Teams Help In Uncertain Times?
One of the most important aspects of teams is that people have the opportunity and ability to specialize. Effective teams have people with the types of specialties needed at a particular time. No one is an expert in all things. Effective teams have people who are knowledgeable of issues, concepts, and techniques necessary to take appropriate action on important things on a moment’s notice. This is essential in times of uncertainty, since decisions need to be made quickly with limited external information. People who are specialists in the needed area have that information at their fingertips and don’t require great amounts of time to do research. The research is already in their heads.
Another beauty of effective teams is they have people with different behavioral strengths and limitations. For example, there is a balance between those who think and collect information and those who use the information to take action. If you just have those who collect the data, they continue to collect the data and by the time the decision is make, the information used is antiquated or decisions are not made at all. If you just have those who take action, the decisions made will most likely be poor decisions because the decision is made without sufficient information. Effective teams also have people who are optimistic and help motivate or give people courage to make decisions, even though there is limited time to get full information before making decisions. Effective groups have diverse skills and strengths that prepare them for times of uncertainty.
A third important positive aspect of teams during times of uncertainty, is that people can be psychologically or physically absent (on vacation, ill, taking care of family, etc.) when team actions and/or decisions need to be made. Effective teams can make decisions at any time, even when other team members, including its leaders, are absent. This is essential during times of uncertainty, so people can “step up to the plate” and take a leadership role to make decisions when leaders are not available, for whatever reason.
There are numerous other reasons why teams are more effective than individuals, but these three are key during periods of uncertainty.
