“TEAMwork vs. TASKwork” Learning Object

• Help members of a team distinguish between team-related and task-related activities
• In differentiating these activities, help teams find ways to support their practical tasks while also creating a healthy cooperative environment
• Create a more cohesive, positive, and high-functioning collaboration

There are three parts to this activity, with guidelines in the "TEAMwork vs. TASKwork worksheet" and outlined below. Each part is estimated to take about 15-20 minutes. Just a subset of these parts can be used with a group, if time saving is needed.

Before beginning the activity, consider whether it will be conducted in-person or online. If in-person, the worksheets may be printed for everyone to documents their ideas through writing, with these ideas shared out to the group at the end of each part described below. If conducted online, this document could be shared digitally so that live editing and contributions from members of the team could be captured simultaneously and be visible to all.

PART 1: Characterize high-performing and struggling teams

15-20 minutes

1. On the first page of the worksheet, list in the first column what a high-performing team looks and feels like (at their “Peak”), and in the second column how a team struggling to cooperate looks and feels (down in the “Valley”)
2. After a period of idea generation in each column, have members share their ideas related to what well-functioning and struggling teams look and feel like.

PART 2: Label characteristics as “TEAMwork” or “TASKWork”

15-20 minutes

1. After completing Part 1, have members spend some time reading over the definitions and examples of TEAMwork and TASKwork listed on the second page of the worksheet.
2. Next, they should label the “Peak” and “Valley” team characteristics listed on the first page’s table as being related to TEAMwork or TASKwork using the words “TEAM” and “TASK,” respectively.
3. Note that not all activities can be neatly sorted into the “TEAMwork” or “TASKwork” category. In some cases, activities may involve a close integration of both teamwork and taskwork. The important consideration for a team is to not focus exclusively on their taskwork at the expense of laying a solid foundation for, and continuing to reinforce, productive engagement among team members. In these cases of overlap, the characteristic can be labeled as “TEAM/TASK” or “BOTH.”
4. This labeling step can be done collaboratively, with individuals taking turns labeling the characteristics in a shared document. Alternatively, participants may label their own table independently and then share out to the group examples of the “Peak” and “Valley” characteristics that they labeled as being “TEAM,” “TASK,” or both.

PART 3: Brainstorm ways to sustain and recover teams

15-20 minutes

1. After gaining a better understanding of both the team- and task-related aspects of a team in Part 2, participants are invited to generate ideas for how to sustain their own team as high-functioning as well as how to help it recover from struggles. Using the third page of the worksheet, the sustaining ideas should be captured in the first column of the table and recovery ideas in the second column.
2. As with the other parts, idea generation can be captured individually and then shared out to the group, or conducted collaboratively in a shared document.
3. Additional reflections on the ideas for helping the team may be discussed at the end (and as part of future team meetings; see ideas for next steps below).

A greater awareness of what can lead teams to “sink” or “swim.” While groups typically focus on the tasks they must accomplish, they may not realize or forget the importance of also attending to the teamwork aspects of the collaboration.

A Team in Turmoil

Ideally, a team will complete an activity like this before conflict strikes. In doing such foundational work, instances of conflict can be mitigated or avoided. However, if a team finds itself in crisis and in need of an intervention to facilitate discussion, parts of this activity may be helpful. If the team is seeking a neutral ground to discuss issues, it may be helpful for members to consider how other teams may struggle and perform well. Part 1 of this activity could enable this discussion. The conclusion of Part 1 could be an opportunity to discuss how teams struggle in general, or specifically how the current team is struggling, and how they can recover. The two guiding questions from Part 3 may be helpful to introduce at this discussion stage.

Setting the Agenda

It is one thing to learn about the importance of both team- and task-related dynamics of a team (“talk the talk”), but it is a bigger lift to implement processes in the team that continue attention to both of these items (“walk the walk”). After completing this activity, one way for teams to keep both dynamics front of mind is to add agenda items related to each. Groups are likely to have agendas full of task-related items, such as deadlines and budget meetings, but are less likely to include team-related items. What is needed to support a healthy, cooperative environment is likely to vary across teams, but some examples of teamwork agenda items may be celebrating accomplishments of members (or the group overall), encouraging respectful debate and dissenting opinions, and checking in on everyone’s workload and offering support where needed. While it may seem odd to write items like these on an agenda, it is an excellent way to make sure they do not go unnoticed and unattended.

Additionally, making processes like “Thumbs Up/Down," to get a temperature read across members of the group, part of the typical way the team interacts can also continue to enhance inclusion and engagement of all members.

The increased understanding of team dynamics achieved through this activity is helpful for teams that will be engaged over the long term. Teams that meet regularly, such as laboratory groups or colleagues in an office, will find this a valuable activity to help them better understand what can impede healthy working relationships and productivity. Through discussion toward the end of the activity related to making plans for sustaining a productive team and helping it recover when it struggles, the group is prepared to recognize and help address issues that arise.

As noted in response to the prior question, while this can be a valuable activity for any team, it may be less useful or a priority for a short-term team, such as one meeting infrequently or for less than a month. Given the activity takes relatively long to implement (up to an hour) and makes plans for supporting the team over time (Part 3), it may not be as imperative to engage in as other activities for teams meeting for a short time. However, one or more of the parts can be implemented independently to shorten the length.

Include in team meeting agendas both TEAMwork and TASKwork items to emphasize the importance of these topics and continue building strong working relationships among members. The activity outlined above can give everyone a common language for talking about group dynamics, but it must be continually attended to in order to sustain a cooperative and productive team.

Consider two follow-up activities to continue supporting team interactions and fostering a supportive environment:

• Engage in a Shared Team Roles activity
• Draft a Collaboration Agreement

The distinction between and importance of teamwork and taskwork are based on research by Stephen Fiore and colleagues; see a few relevant citations below.

• Fiore, S.M., Gabelica, C., Wiltshire, T.J., & Stokols, D. (2019). Training to be a (team) scientist. In K.L. Hall, A.L. Vogel, & R.T. Croyle (Eds.), Strategies for Team Science Success (pp. 421-444). Springer.
• Fiore, S. M. (2008). Interdisciplinarity as Teamwork: How the Science of Teams can inform Team Science. Small Group Research, 39(3), 251-277.
• Fiore, S.M., Carter, D.R., & Asencio, R. (2015). Conflict, Trust, and Cohesion: Examining Affective and Attitudinal Factors in Science Teams. In E. Salas, W.B. Vessey, & A.X. Estrada (Eds.), Team Cohesion: Advances in Psychological Theory, Methods and Practice (pp. 271-301). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Articles and resources related to scientific collaborations abound! The first three resources below are comical accounts (full of truth) of successful and unsuccessful collaborations. The final two resources are more comprehensive guides to team science, which may be skimmed for helpful chapters and advice.

• Ten Simple Rules to Ruin a Collaborative Environment
• Ten Simple Rules for a Successful Collaboration
• Ten Simple Rules for a Successful Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
• Collaboration & Team Science Field Guide
• NRC’s report on Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science