What are the characteristics of Mature Teams?

Ans.    Effective and mature teams do not develop overnight. The process of being an effective and mature team is slow and painstaking. Teams have to work through and resolve a number of different issues in order to function like a well-oiled machine.

Successful teams have the following characteristics:

1.      Pride: Members of mature teams take pride in their achievements and the achievements of their team members.

2.      Equal contributors: In a mature team no single member dominates the group. There are also no decorative pieces who do not contribute anything to the team. Everybody does his bit for the team.

3.      Feedback: Team members are open to feedback and do not hesitate to ask anything that they do not understand or follow. Even criticism is done in a constructive manner.

4.      Respect and trust: There is a healthy respect for each other among team members. The members have faith and trust in the actions of the other members.

5.      Support and stability: There is stability in the group and members do not feel threatened by change. They encourage and assist each other. The feeling of ‘we’ dominates over the feeling of ‘I’.

6.      Goals: Mature teams attain their goals regularly and strive to achieve even higher goals.