The Real Team

J. Richard Hackman / 关苏哲 / 高北Zhejiang Education Publishing House · ChinaApr 2024

Rating 4.2
Word count
127K words
Chapters
20
ISBN
9787572274282

Tags

Management Collaboration MechanismTeam BuildingManagement ClassicTeam CollaborationWorkplace EfficiencyLeadershipManagement WisdomHarvard ResearchField Cases

Summary

True Teams is a classic work by Richard Hackman, professor of social and organizational psychology at Harvard University. Through long-term research on teams of various kinds, Hackman explores in depth several key questions in the field of teams, including how team members can use collaboration to solve complex and challenging problems in team management, and how managers can create environments that support team success—in particular, how to build high-performing teams in complex organizational settings. He found that by establishing six conditions that enhance team effectiveness, teams can complete tasks more perfectly while also strengthening members' collaboration skills and promoting their learning and career development.

These six conditions are: a real team; a compelling team purpose; the right people; clear norms of conduct; necessary organizational support; and timely team coaching. In addition, Hackman proposes three criteria for assessing team effectiveness, five different types of teams, three key processes of team functioning, and the "60-30-10" principle of team design. These research findings apply to diverse situations and environments and have been proven effective in intelligence, sports, and medical teams as well as aircraft crews, orchestras, and many other types of teams, becoming an effective theoretical foundation and methodology for managers solving problems at every stage of a team's life.

Editor's review

This book is Harvard professor Richard Hackman's classic work on teams, systematically answering the truly critical questions in team collaboration: what counts as a "real team," and how managers can create the conditions for team success. The six conditions for effectiveness it proposes—a real team, a compelling purpose, the right people, clear norms of conduct, necessary organizational support, and timely team coaching—form an operational analytical framework rather than empty slogans. Hackman also provides three criteria for assessing team effectiveness, five team types, three key processes, and the "60-30-10" principle, enabling the theory to be applied in intelligence, medical, sports, aviation crew, orchestra, and other settings. The book's value lies in pulling team management away from gut instinct and back toward evidence-based design thinking. It is suitable for managers to consult repeatedly when forming, diagnosing, and adjusting teams, and for readers interested in organizational behavior as a systematic reader.

Who it's for

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Reading tips

  1. Read the chapters on the six conditions for effectiveness first, then score your own team item by item to identify weak spots.
  2. Turn the three effectiveness criteria and five team types into a self-assessment form and fill it in as you read.
  3. When reading the "60-30-10" principle, design one adjustment plan around a project currently underway.
  4. Read together with team members and hold a discussion around the chapters on norms of conduct and organizational support.

About the publisher

Zhejiang Education Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Zhejiang Education Publishing House is a professional publisher focusing on educational publishing while also serving general readers and academic accumulation, with publications covering textbooks, educational readers, popular science, and academic works. Judging from the more than 1,000 titles in the database, the press places considerable emphasis on classics and traditional culture for general readers: modern literature includes Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Wandering and Wild Grass, Xiao Hong's The Story of Hulan River, and Zhu Ziqing's Back View; classical poetry includes Three Hundred Tang Poems and selections from the "Good Chinese Poetry" series, such as the Chu Ci and Qing ci anthologies. Related authors include modern writers such as Lao She, Lu Xun, Xiao Hong, and Zhu Ziqing, as well as classical literature selectors and annotators such as Hengtang Tuishi, Jin Xingyao, Jin Kaicheng, and Qian Zhonglian. Common categories in the database also include social novels, classic works, prose and miscellaneous writings, popular science, and inspirational growth, reflecting a publishing orientation that balances educational service with the popularization of public culture.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 各方赞誉
  3. 译者序 成为真高管，打造真团队
  4. 前言 如何设计和领导高效团队
  5. 引言 如何带领团队面对挑战，释放潜能
  6. 第一部分 正确地认识团队
  7. 第1章 什么是有效团队，什么是无效团队
  8. 第2章 何时需要团队，何时不需要团队
  9. 第3章 如何评估团队有效性
  10. 第二部分 如何激发团队攻克难题
  11. 第4章 创建真正的团队，为攻克难题做好准备
  12. 第5章 设定富有感召力的团队目标，为解决难题指明方向
  13. 第6章 挑选合适的成员，使团队能力更全面
  14. 第7章 建立明确的行为规范，促进团队高效协作
  15. 第8章 给予必要的组织支持，激发团队执行力
  16. 第9章 提供适时的团队指导，最大限度减少过程损失
  17. 第三部分 如何领导高效团队解决难题
  18. 第10章 把握领导高效团队解决难题的关键
  19. 第11章 为高效团队解决难题扫清障碍
  20. 致谢

FAQ

Is this book suitable for ordinary employees with no management experience? Yes, but the benefit depends on your purpose. The book discusses team design and how managers create conditions. Ordinary employees will better understand why teams underperform and where they fit in collaboration, but if they want direct personal work techniques, it may feel theoretical. It is advisable to read the chapters on real teams and norms of conduct first, then decide whether to go deeper.
What is the relationship among the six conditions—must they all be met at once? The book treats the six conditions as a mutually supporting whole: a real team, a compelling purpose, the right people, clear norms, organizational support, and timely coaching. They are not a simple checklist but together constitute the environment for team effectiveness. In practice you can first diagnose the weakest link, but it is inadvisable to focus on only one and neglect the others, as results will easily be limited.
Can the methods in the book be used for remote or hybrid teams? The framework discusses the basic conditions for team effectiveness—clear boundaries, shared purpose, norms of conduct, and organizational support—which apply equally to remote or hybrid teams. Operational details such as communication frequency and coaching style need to be adjusted to the team's actual situation. Readers can use the six conditions as a diagnostic tool to check which conditions are weakened in remote collaboration.
What exactly does the "60-30-10" principle refer to? This is a team design principle proposed in the book to explain where to focus investment in team building. It emphasizes that team effectiveness depends mainly on upfront condition design rather than after-the-fact remediation or individual interventions. Readers should understand this proportional thinking in light of the book's discussion of the six conditions, treating it as a reminder for resource allocation rather than a formula to apply mechanically.

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About the author

J. Richard Hackman Author · American · 1940–2013

J. Richard Hackman (1940–2013) was an American social and organizational psychologist, the Edgar Pierce Professor at Harvard University, and an authoritative scholar in the study of team effectiveness. He taught at Yale University for 20 years before moving to Harvard in 1986. Theoretically, he proposed the conditions model of team effectiveness and, with Oldham, the job characteristics model, which have had a lasting influence on organizational behavior and human resource management research. His writing centers on teamwork, leadership, and organizational design, addresses managers and researchers, and emphasizes translating research findings into actionable practical principles. Three of his works are included in the collection—True Teams, True Executives, and Making Senior Teams More Effective—all in management, reflecting his long-standing focus on how teams function and on the effectiveness of senior leadership teams.

关苏哲 Author

Guan Suzhe is a Chinese author who focuses on issues of organization and team management. Public information about him is limited; what can be confirmed is that he has written two works, Real Teams and Real Executives, both classified under management. Judging from their titles and subject matter, his writing centers on two connected themes: team building and the growth of senior managers. On the one hand, he discusses what makes a team genuinely effective; on the other, he examines the qualities and responsibilities expected of executives. Both titles begin with the word “real,” reflecting his concern with the gap between name and substance in management practice and his attempt to distinguish surface form from true substance. His style leans toward practical analysis rather than theoretical exposition, and his books are aimed at business managers and workplace readers, hoping to help them reflect on their own teams and leadership through conceptual clarification and case-based discussion. Because public information about his life and professional background is lacking, his education, positions, and industry experience cannot be introduced here. Readers may treat his works as introductory reading for thinking about management and consult other sources for reference.

高北 Author

Gao Bei is an author about whom limited public information is available. What can be confirmed at present is that his writing centers on two areas: management practice and inspirational personal growth. The library holds two of his works, namely True Teams and How to Ask a Good Question (Fully Updated Edition). Judging from the titles and categories, he pays attention to team building in organizational collaboration, and also to how individuals can ask questions and reach clearer judgments in the course of growth and thinking. His writing is aimed at general readers and leans toward the practical and the self-improving. Since no clear record has been found regarding his nationality, dates of birth and death, or professional career, no inferences are made here; this note only briefly describes the thematic orientation shown by the existing works, and readers may turn to these two books to understand his way of expression and his main concerns.