While watching Super Bowl XXXIX with some friends, something occurred to me. Why do we often show such passion for team sports but not have the same passion for critical aspects of our lives, such as our careers? How is it that the wins or losses by our favorite teams affect us more deeply than the wins or losses of our employers?

While we have no direct effect on the success and/or failure of our favorite sports teams, we become emotionally involved and passionate in our support. When was the last time the coach of your favorite team called you for advice or your favorite player heard your "creative solution" through the TV and passed to the player who was "wide open" on the 30-yard line? Continuously, we say things to each other like, I guess "your" team will have to do better, or look at "my" team’s record.

Now, at the same time, consider the fact that unless you gamble and get lucky from time to time your financial relationship as a sports fan is always in the red. Between tickets, memorabilia and the "stuff" we buy to eat and drink while watching the games, we are always at a financial negative, unless of course, unlike me, the owners and the players are cutting you in for a piece of the action in return for your years of loyal support. Let’s face it: When it comes to being a sports fan we are in an emotionally manipulative relationship, one over which we have no control, yet we remain invested to our cause as fans. Even when our team’s record is so bad we promise ourselves not to support them in the future.

Now contrast that to where we work – places where people are actually paid to be supportive. Is it logical that these same paid employees are more passionate about their favorite sports team then they are in the success of the organization or company for which they work? After all, doesn’t the success or failure of their employer actually have significant effects on the employee’s financial stability and emotional happiness? As a fan, do these employees actually feel that they have more of a role in the success of a football, baseball or stock car team, than the place that they spend 40 or more hours per week? Can part of the answer be that many employees don’t realize that are part of a team? Shouldn’t employees recognize they can play a key role and, if they choose, can have a direct effect on the future of their employer – good or bad? How do we get employees to be just as passionate about where they work as they are for their favorite sports teams? The answer is really quite simple: Make them feel like they are part of the team!

Part of the problem in healthcare organizations today is that true "teams" do not exist. We have departments, assignments and committees, as well as work groups and task forces, but we do not have "real" teams. Why do I say that? Well, let’s look at one definition of a team from the book, Team Players and Teamwork, by Glen M. Parker, "An effective team is a group of interdependent people who agree on a goal – and who agree that the best way to achieve that goal is to work together. An effective team also creates an enjoyable experience for its members, who look forward to team meetings and feel a real sense of progress and accomplishment." Think carefully about what Mr. Parker says about effective teams and ask yourself if this attitude exists among the "team members" you are or may have been associated with.

In most other industries there are many kinds of teams producing positive outcomes for their organizations day-in and day-out. Among these teams are those that are represented by distinctly different functions and responsibilities charged with the oversight for various activities throughout the organization, those that are formed within a specific operating unit, those that are inter-company focused and so on. Regardless, they must all share the same basic principles stated in the definition above if their process is going to be effective.

How do you achieve these dynamics? Well, the first step must be to obtain a "big picture" view of what a team could and should be as well as to define your potential as a member or a leader. To do this, it is advisable to read at least one or two books on team building. While there are many books written on the subject, my personal favorites are The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell (excluding his pre-Enron scandal comments extolling the virtues of that company) and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni. After delving into the "essence" of "real" teams, you will learn the critical impact that team effectiveness and dynamics can have on making or breaking your future and that of your employer. At the very least, the lack of these dynamics means you are leaving significant opportunities for improvement on the table every day.

As a start it is important to recognize the following key characteristics of all successful teams:

•Are milestones, deadlines and goals being met?

•Are customer expectations being met?

•Has the reason for forming the team changed? If so, should the team be disbanded or reformed?

•Are all team members contributing to the process or do team members need to change?

•Has the team become stagnant? If so, what can be done to reenergize the team?

The above are guidelines that should apply to teams of all types and sizes from those addressing organization-wide issues to action task forces that are formed for a specific period of time to address a specific topic. The objective is to focus on the functioning of the process and the outcome that is desired. Failure to maintain the essential focus will waste time, energy, money and, above all else, enthusiasm.