How to Create Team Interdependence for Higher Performance

How to Foster Team Collaboration

Many people believe that placing a group of high performers together will result in high performance.? Unfortunately, that is not always the case.? Just look at the 2023 Mets, Yankees, Padres, and Angels who all had the highest MLB payrolls loaded with All Star players but did not even make the playoffs.? Change management consulting experts know that individual talent alone does not always equate to team performance.

Conversely, many of us have been on less talented teams that have produced more than the sum of their parts.? Interdependent teams — where members rely on each other’s skills, knowledge, and support to reach shared goals — can often outperform their more independent counterparts under the right conditions. Fostering true interdependence within a team in a way that creates high performance requires a thoughtful approach to building trust, aligning goals, and setting everyone up to perform at their peak.

First Things First: Are We a Team or a Working Group?

The first question to ask is are we (and do we need to be) a team to best achieve our objectives?? This is important because teams come in varied sizes and shapes; one approach is not right for every team — there are simply different approaches to achieving results based upon how the work needs to get done.

Regardless of approach, all groups operate in a context about their shared fate based upon how necessary, willing, able, and dependable they believe those around them to be.

You are a Team If…

A teaming approach is required when more than two members must exchange “things” to successfully achieve a common set of objectives. Teams outperform individuals when performance requires multiple skills, judgments, and experiences.? Effective teams have high levels of interdependence where team members integrate their efforts and expertise with others to achieve a cohesive outcome.

In a high-functioning interdependent team, members not only share responsibilities but also actively support each other’s growth and success.? Examples include basketball, rugby, soccer, and football teams.

You are a Working Group If…

It is important to recognize that not all groups need to be teams to succeed. If no collective work product beyond the sum of their independent tasks and individual accomplishments is required for success, then being a working group is sufficient.? Effective working groups have high levels of independence and individual accountability.

Working group members focus on their individual tasks with limited need for interaction to be successful. Examples of working groups include swim, golf, wrestling, and gymnastic teams.

The Top 8 Warning Signs — Why People May Resist Team Interdependence

If you are trying to shift from a working group to a team to improve performance, you should be aware of why people resist teaming efforts.? We know from change management simulation data that people resist teaming for valid reasons, including:

1. Lack of Trust

If there is not enough psychological team safety?for people to be able to count on each other to collectively succeed, effective teamwork will be difficult. The same is true if the team does not trust management or leadership to fully support the shift to teams with the right structures, incentives, and reinforcement mechanisms.? A lack of trust can be exacerbated by poor communication, conflicting or unclear goals, role confusion, ineffective business practices, weak decision making, personality clashes, and workplace politics.

Does your team have enough trust to rely upon each other to get important work done?

2. Fear of Failure

Project postmortem data tells us that relying on others can feel like a loss of control. If people believe that they no longer have a choice in how things are done or that counting on others would add too much risk to their ability to meet their individual performance expectations, they may resist teaming.? For teams to excel, each team member must have the capability, motivation, and capacity to perform.

Does being a team increase or decrease the perceived risk of individual failure?

3. Lack of Alignment

Our organizational alignment research found that strategic clarity and cultural alignment account for 71% of the difference between high and low performing teams. For teams to thrive, individuals must agree on why they are a team, be committed to the team’s purpose, believe that the expected results are possible, buy into the goals and roles, and trust that the payoff to collaborate and depend upon each other is worth it.

Is the strategy and culture aligned enough for the team to succeed?

4. Loss of Something Important

Behaving as a team is a change for many groups. Even if changes are viewed as positive, every change begins by people needing to leave behind the way things were.? This creates a sense of loss that must be managed during the transition.? Change management training participants tell us that the most common losses to manage are ones related to turf, status, power, influence, relationships, structures, comfort, personal identity, and knowledge.

Have you appropriately acknowledged and managed what is individually ending for each person on your team so that everyone can move forward together?

5. Lack of Openness to Change

People must be open to trying new ways of doing things to shift from independence to interdependence. If there is not enough dissatisfaction with the current state, the old ways and thought patterns will override the desired new ways of working as a team.? There must be a solid business case to make the change that is supported by meaningful incentives and proportionate consequences for teaming to take hold.

Are people open enough to teaming to take the first steps?

6. Personal Needs Outweigh Group Needs

We know from organizational culture assessment findings that participation on a team and being a “team player” is a choice. If a team member’s self-interests outweigh or are misaligned with the overall group, it will be difficult for them to be a fully cooperative and collaborative team member.? People may subjugate their own needs for the good of the team in the short term, but unbalanced individual sacrifices cannot be sustained over the long haul.

Is everyone willing to compromise enough from time to time for the greater good of the team?

7. Lack Of Team Leadership Skills

We know from leadership simulation assessment data that team leaders must be able to create an environment that promotes team cohesion. This includes linking the team’s mission to the organization’s strategy, creating clear goals, roles, and processes to move work forward, creating an accountable, motivating, and inclusive work atmosphere, retaining high performers, and building learning opportunities into everyday business operations.

Do your team leaders have the skills to maximize team effectiveness?

8. Flawed Team Composition

Because team members must rely on each other to accomplish collective goals, team composition matters. Effective teams need the right amount of people with the right skills and temperament to succeed.? While each team has different needs, top teaming skills include communication, conflict resolution, change management, decision making, goal setting, planning, delegation, meeting facilitation, problem solving, and time management.

Does the composition of your team make sense to get you where you want to go?

6 Steps to Move from Interdependence to Independence

If the work that needs to get done requires high levels of collaboration and interdependence to achieve the desired results, do underestimate what it takes to set a team up for sustainable success.? Helping team members shift from independent and siloed approaches to highly interdependent and collaborative team dynamics is a big change.? Treat it as such.

1. Establish Clear, Meaningful, and Shared Goals that Align with Company Goals

When it comes to team performance, ambiguity is the enemy. Interdependence starts with a shared understanding of and commitment to what the team is trying to achieve. Strat by defining shared team goals that are clear, meaningful, and linked to individual and team performance.

You will know you are on the right path when goals and accountabilities are clear to everyone on the team and each team member understands how their work directly contributes to overall performance and buys into the level of collaboration required for them to be successful.

2. Foster an Open Culture of Trust

Trust creates the foundation for open communication, effective collaboration, and strong commitment. When teams lack trust, team members do not play well together. Low levels of team trust create low levels of team cohesion and an increase in workplace politics.? To perform at their peak, team members must be able to rely on each other without fear of judgment or rejection.

You will know you are on the right path when team members treat each other with respect and feel comfortable both giving and receiving help.

3. Design Roles to Encourage Team Collaboration

Team roles and success metrics can be defined in a way that either reinforces or undermines collaborative behavior. Design complementary roles that require team members to depend on each other’s unique strengths. If feasible, cross-train team members so that they understand and appreciate each other’s responsibilities.

You will know you are on the right path when individuals emphasize the importance of team success and have appreciation for each other’s roles and responsibilities.

4. Build Teaming Capabilities

Trust at work requires both character and competence. Team members who feel equipped to be an effective team member are more likely to trust in and rely on each other’s expertise. Conduct a training needs assessment and then invest in the right amount of communication, conflict resolution, change management, decision making, goal setting, planning, delegation, meeting facilitation, problem solving, and time management skills to help the team to perform at their peak.

You will know you are on the right path when people have what they need to do their job well and can depend on the other members of their team to produce high quality work in a way that aligns with team norms.

5. Encourage a Culture of Accountability

Mutual accountability reinforces interdependence by making each team member responsible not only for their work but for supporting the team’s overall progress. To create a cadence of accountability, agree upon team norms and performance expectations, track progress, and encourage open and constructive debate. The goal is to build a supportive and high performing team culture focused on the greater good.

You will know you are on the right path when goals and accountabilities are clear to everyone on the team, and everyone knows where things stand.

6. Ensure Teams Leaders Model Interdependent Behavior

Finally, leaders play a pivotal role in setting the tone for interdependence. When leaders encourage, model, and recognize interdependent behavior — such as seeking input from team members, collaborating across departments, or showing openness to feedback — they inspire similar behavior within their teams.

You will know you are on the right path when team members trust leaders to successfully lead the team forward.

The Bottom Line

Team interdependence for higher performance matters if you need to behave as a team to achieve your objectives.? Helping team members become more interdependent requires an environment that prioritizes shared goals, open communication, and mutual accountability. Are you setting your teams up for success?

To learn more about team interdependence for higher performance, download this Research-Backed Sample Team Charter Template