Groups vs. Teams: Which One Are You Leading?

As health care leaders, we often pull staff together to review a process or work on a variety of projects. Think back to the last project you asked staff members to work on. Were they working as a group or a team? Words shape everything: our perception, perspective, the worth of the collective group and the product it produces. The literature uses the terms group and team interchangeably just as many leaders do. Until we define a word, it can have a variety of meanings. The fundamental factors that distinguish between groups and teams are very different, and the distinction between the two is very important. Learning the difference between a group and a team will afford you, as a leader, success in relationships with your staff, project sustainment, and staff members that will naturally rise to leadership roles. All teams are groups; however, not all groups are teams. The purpose of this article is to define the term team and identify strategies nurse leaders can use to effectively develop, analyze, and support high-functioning, collaborative teams.