If you ever really want to build a “real team” on purpose, you will have to give them space!
A real team needs to build their own purpose, share information and communicate in ways not generally the norm in most businesses these days and they need to figure out how they work best together. As the senior leader commissioning this team, give them the space to do these things!
When you give them space, it may feel a bit too loose and like having too little control. It may feel a lot like giving up control and having a renegade group inside your company. And, if you don’t set it up properly, that may be what you get.
What I’m saying here is that a real team doesn’t fit “business as usual” (BAU) in an organization still centered around top down control and tall, formal hierarchy with power held by a few.
Giving them space can mean:
Not all HR policies will work for the team and that’s O.K. (reviews and feedback)
That the manager (team lead) will have to do some real work and may not attend all the meetings you want them too and that should be O.K. too (you can still communicate )
One-way feedback is replaced by continuous “roundtable feedback” from all members
On the job training and development needs to be available when the team needs it
Sometimes you won’t get the manager into a meeting it might be a different member leading that area and that is great for people’s development and team efficiency
The team develops their own purpose that may sound different and fit into the department / corporate statement
So, give them space and give them time. A real team will deliver more to current and future goals than previously seen if you just give them space!