Teams are fast becoming a flexible and efficient way to enhance organizational performance. Yet today's business leaders consistently overlook opportunities to exploit their potential, confusing teams with teamwork or sharing. In this book, two senior McKinsey & Co. partners argue that we cannot meet the challenges ahead, from total quality to customer service to innovation, without teams. The authors talked with hundreds of people in more than fifty different teams in thirty companies to discover what differentiates various levels of team performance, where and how teams work best, and how to enhance their effectiveness. Among their findings: formal hierarchy is actually good for teams; successful team leaders fit no ideal profile; commitment to performance goals is more important than commitment to team-building goals; top management teams are often smaller and more difficult to sustain; and team endings can be as important to manage as team beginnings. The wisdom of teams lies in recognizing their unique potential to deliver results and in understanding their many benefits.

Jon R. Katzenbach is a founder of Katzenbach Partners, consultants in the areas of team, leadership, and workforce performance Douglas K. Smith is a leading consultant on organization, performance, and change