Summary

Teams maximize the coordinated expertise of various professionals within and across organizations, communities, and the globe. Social work skills used with groups, especially contracting, monitoring team processes, managing conflict, creating a climate of openness, and developing and supporting group cohesion and mutual aid need to be purposefully utilized in practice with teams. In addition to implementing these skills with clinical groups, social workers can and should apply them in their work as team leaders and team members with community-based and organizational committees and work groups. Additional outcome-based research is needed to better understand the efficacy and utility of teams. Emerging trends in this field include embedding the notion of teams in a wider web of mezzo and macro collaborative activities, including those mandated by policies such as the Affordable Care Act and the Every Student Succeeds Act, among others; maximizing the voices of diverse clients, families, constituents and communities; addressing the impact of technology and virtual teams; understanding the impact of variable membership on teams; and recognizing teams as a vital part of social policy development and social work education.