Using the Search Conference Technique for Team Socialization and Strategic Planning

Teams are an increasingly important component of all organizations’ operational effectiveness (J. R. Katzenbach and D.K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams, Boston, Harvard Business School Press, 1993). Historically, groups of people were joined together in order to facilitate work accomplishments, with little consideration for the socialization required in order to function effectively. As a consequence, group members often functioned independently with little integration, interdependency, or synergy. As the importance of effective team functioning became more obvious, the need for more effective socialization and team building was recognized.