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It's been out since March, but I just discovered some interesting research by Kathryn Shaw and her colleagues at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. The title of their study is "Teamwork Can Boost Manufacturing Productivity."

That, by itself is not news. Neither is the core conclusion.

"Using data from steel minimills, the study shows that teams had the greatest impact if they tackled complex tasks in these environments, enjoyed meaningful incentives, and knew that management listened to them."

But a little further on there was this lovely tidbit.

"There is one caveat: The teams' gains are significant only when they are addressing complex processes such as improving product quality or solving assembly line problems, not relatively simple tasks such as organizing shifts."

That's an insight that makes perfect sense in retrospect, but that I didn't think of before. Of course it makes sense to use your problem solving teams on significant problems. That should result in bigger impact and it should make for a more interesting assignment for team members.

The corollary is not to waste your productive team problem-solving time on routine tasks, especially when they can be done better by a single individual. Scheduling and other tasks that can be guided with recipes or guidelines don't require the time or attention of a team with experience and diverse viewpoints.

The takeaway for me was to use your tools, techniques and assignments in the best mix for maximum productivity and morale.

Wally's Working Supervisor's Support Kit is a collection of information and tools to help working supervisors do a better job. It's based on what Wally's learned in over twenty years of supervisory skills training. Click here to check it out.