JLBC TEAM BUILDING AT THE SQUAD LEVEL
Sustainment
Once squad members reach the sustainment phase, they will do what is needed with little to no direction. Team members are confident in their abilities and motivated to overcome obstacles to complete the task at hand. Leaders should pay close attention to signs of complacency, especially during routine tasks, to ensure that bad habits do not become the new standard.
Managing conflict is essential during any team-building phase, but it is especially critical during the sustainment phase. Complacency from some team members will cause conflict. When members fail to perform up to the established standards and norms, it breaks the trust within the team. The leader must resolve the dispute to restore trust and accountability.
FACTORS AFFECTING TEAM PERFORMANCE
Many factors affect team performance. Composition, size, group norms, and cohesiveness all play a role in the team's performance.
Leaders will not be able to select the members of their team. Choosing members commonly only occurs if the unit is temporary. There are many considerations for choosing the team members or the organizations providing members for the team in these cases. The issue or problem the team is trying to solve is a significant factor when considering the group's composition. Different problem sets will influence which members should be added to the team.
Composition
Group composition refers to the homogeneity or heterogeneity of the members. If a group is homogenous, the members are similar in critical ways to the group. This could be the branch or military occupational specialty (MOS), rank, age, education, or cultural background. This applies if the similarities are relevant to the topic on which the group is working. If a group is heterogeneous, they differ in ways that are relevant to the topic at hand.
Homogeneous groups are likely to be more effective on a simple task when cooperation is necessary, the group tasks are sequential, or the job requires quick action. Homogeneous groups tend to have less conflict, better communication, and more interactions within the team. The risk of having a homogeneous group work on a complex problem is that they may not thoroughly examine the task they are trying to accomplish and arrive at a quick but not well-thought solution.
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