We can't get there unless we know where we are going: Direction setting for knowledge work teams

In the paper, the authors closely examine one set of factors that are critical for knowledge work team effectiveness-how organizations set and communicate direction for teams. The variables we examine encompass several related elements in the organization's direction-setting context: the clarity of the organization's strategy, the alignment of individual team, and organizational goals, and the measurability and specificity of those goals. The authors also examine goal-setting processes in teams. The authors present research results from a study of 173 teams from 26 business units in seven Fortune 1000 companies. In general, we find that contextual and process direction-sharing variables do positively contribute to teams developing a shared understanding of their priorities and work to be done, and also contribute to effectiveness outcomes. Developing a shared understanding contributes strongly to team effectiveness, but not to other effectiveness outcomes. Different direction setting variables relate to different aspects of effectiveness. These findings shed light on the nature of organizations that perform complex knowledge tasks and are designed to work laterally through teams. They also provide some evidence of the difficulty of the transition from a traditional hierarchically oriented system to a team-based organization.