Working groups or teams. Does it matter?

Abstract

Speech pathologists are expected to work on teams with professionals of other disciplines in many employment situations. Team terminology is abundant and ambiguous. We argue that one of the most important distinctions to be made is between teams and working groups. Many teams lack the structure to be a team and are instead a working group. A team has a measurable goal with the authority to determine the tasks needed to meet the goal with mutual accountability. Working groups can be effective, but expectations centre on the performance of individuals rather than the group as a whole. Understanding the difference between work groups and teams, and aligning expectations to the type of work situation are important for employee satisfaction and performance. Internal conflicts can arise from lack of clarity about the goals and tasks of the team or group.