**Executive Summary
This briefing explores the demand for, and development of, academic
departments as teams. With nearly 80 percent of all administrative
decisions in universities taking place at the department level, there is
a growing realization that team leadership at the department level may
be more critical now than ever before. The academic leader's challenge
is to create a dynamic collective culture. This briefing begins with a
definition of academic teams and analyzes the team's dimensions, such as
size, skills, diversity, common purposes, and accountability. Next, the
briefing guides the reader through the four stages of team development:
forming, storming, norming, and performing.
However, because barriers to teamwork are embedded in the structural,
cultural, and political fabrics of universities, the next section helps
academic leaders to assess the readiness of their departments for
teamwork. The final sections discuss the faculty-based model for
building effective teams through leadership, goal alignment,
decision-making, conflict management, and faculty excellence.
**