Groups don’t become teams just because that is what someone calls them. Nor do teamwork values alone ensure performance. The essence of a team is shared commitment. Without it, groups perform as individuals, with it they become a powerful unit of effective performance.
Adult learning is from conversation and most teams have meetings that are managed in a way that prevents open constructive conversations. Therefore an organisation’s leadership style is based on the quality of its conversations and mimicking of the leadership behaviours of the most senior leaders. Reward systems also play a critical role.
For organisations to have world class teams, the Board needs to role model the behaviours of a high performing team. The behaviour of the Board is amplified and will act as a beacon of “how to behave and how to get on around here”
I believe that unless you start at the top, there is always the danger of teams developing their own interests and fiefdoms which promote competitive behaviours that are not in the overall interests of the organisation. A clear signal from the Board of what good team behaviour looks like and delivers is far more likely to build the capability for long term cross functional team working.