Definition of Terms

Term	Definition	Comments
Team	Two or more people working together	By this definition, for example, a marriage is a team. Clearly with this broad a definition, a team encompasses all human interactions.
Team member	Anyone working with others	Unless you are a hermit living without any interaction or dependency on others, you are part of a team.
Team leader	Individual representing and speaking for the team	This may be a fixed role or, depending on the type of team, this position may be conditionally defined. Take note that the role of Team Leader may not have any content within the group or, at the other extreme, the Team Leader may directly manage the entire team.
Team environment	How a team is managed or otherwise incorporated into a greater whole.	For example, many business teams operate within a organizational hierarchy.
Team model	How a team power and responsibility are distributed, assigned, and their stability/flexibility.	Dimensions include: Fixed roles, responsibilities, and assignments Reporting structure Areas of flexibility/rigidity Doing vs directing
Reason for team	Reasons include: To produce tangible results To compete To provide a service	The mindset that creates the team can also have rigidity/flexibility.
Team theory	Approaching team as: Black box, i.e. without access to the dynamics of how the team functions internally Within the box, i.e. what a team member has access to	Approaching the team as a black box places major limitations on what can be known. Approaching the team from within creates uncertainties due to the effect of the observer. A team theory must span the full range of our definition of team. However, aspects of the relationship not relevant to the team interaction need not be directly dealt with.
The greater whole	That for which the team produces its results and which interacts with the team	Two extremes: An isolated team is one in which there is no greater whole and the team just works for itself. Most teams are not isolated but rather must integrate their results with another level in a business, another group, another place, another environment
Team processes	One "within the box" deconstruction of the dynamics affecting a team: Inclusion, i.e. what does the team accept and what does it not. Synergy, i.e. working with what has been included, how are results achieved Integration, i.e. delivering results to the greater whole	Inclusion and synergy are not states. They are ongoing processes with a feedback loop onto themselves, i.e. some of their results affect what the process does next. The effect of feedback can be small or large The effect of feedback can result in amplification of the team activity/result or can result in filtering the team activity/result.
Team types	Minimal Politician Loose cannon Country club Ordinary Independent World class