Groups and Teams: The contrast between group and team styles

In the blog last week, we explored an initial introductory overview of some of the key topics that will be addressed during our new theme of groups and teams. This week we shall focus on examining the basic contrast between these two styles of working.

Key differences between groups and teams

Groups

Being a member of a group is frequently defined as a natural human condition in that we are born without our choice into membership of a specific culture, nation, family, clan, cast, or social class, together with various other subgroup associations such as some religious affiliation.

One example of collective membership of a group on a grand scale is illustrated on the eve of the Chinese New Year. Here, the celebratory meal is traditionally accompanied by watching the annual Gala Festival on TV at 8pm that is announced as the coming together of the Family of China.

Of course, being an active participant member of such groups requires significant personal development over a long period of time that is guided by fellow extended family members and the educational system in a process called socialisation.

Teams

However, as we shall see across this series, successful team membership is not a natural condition, as it requires very specific training in a range of complex behavioural, attitudinal, and interpersonal communication skills. Moreover, unlike group membership, the team approach can only be applied effectively in very selective contexts that we shall be evaluating in detail across this blog series.

So, as an initial overview into this fascinating topic, the basic factors that differentiate groups and team is illustrated below.

Working in Groups	Working in Teams
The leader acts as a manager with line authority	The leader acts as a facilitator and coach
Come together to receive and share information	Come together for discussions, problem-solving, decision-making, and planning
Power, problem-solving, decision-making is generally top-down	Power and authority are delegated and negotiated
The line manager decides how work tasks should be delegated	The members decide the distribution of roles and tasks
Purpose, goals, and the approach to work are primarily shaped by the line manager	Purpose, goals, and the approach to work are discussed and negotiated by the team
Focus on achieving individual goals	Focus on achieving team goals

To conclude, in the blog next week we will move on to evaluate the advantages and disadvantage of working in both groups and teams.

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Question 1

Why might the role of facilitator be more challenging than that of a manager?

Question 2

Would being a team member be more demanding than working in a group?

Question 3

Are there some advantages of working in groups rather than teams?

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We shall explore Question 3 in the next blog.