How do highly productive teams come about? Are there underlying ideas that make them successful?

In their new book, Team, David Allen and cowriter Edward Lamont explore how GTD can be used to improve teamwork. They start with looking at the underlying principles, which they consider akin to fundamental laws, that allow for productive work amongst team members. (pg. 66) David and Edward identify five specific principles (pg. 67):

• Clarity
• Sufficient Trust
• Open Communication
• Learning
• Diversity

To understand these principles, it is helpful to explore one in more detail. Starting with clarity, David and Edward break down why it this principle is important.

A team needs clarity on purpose and direction. A team is defined by its purpose and most effectively operates using well-defined standards and processes. … without it, there is confusion about who’s responsible for what and who needs to be informed about it, as well as the risk of double work and eating up the attention of people who don’t need to know. Implicit here is clarity of ownership. There always needs to be one person to go to, inside or outside the organization, when clarity is needed on a problem or situation that involves the team. (pg. 68)

David and Edward also believe that clarity is important for the psychological health of the team. For them, clarity provides clear knowledge of the team’s current situation.

One of the big wins in terms of clarity is knowing – and accepting – how much the team is already trying to do, and having some view on whether it is humanly possible to achieve it. (pg. 69)

Pick up a copy of Team to learn more about clarity and the other four principles of teamwork.