At the beginning, team members are a collection of individuals. The facilitator to Team A recognizes this and guides the team through this initial phase during the planning process. Team A emerges from the planning process aligned with a clear and common purpose, ground rules for the team operation and an understanding of each other's roles and responsibilities. Team B is still a collection of individuals focusing on individual goals as opposed to team goals. Team A, although not there yet, is far ahead of Team B in developing a synergistic work environment.
Synergism is a very powerful phenomenon, where the whole is much more than the sum of the parts.
As part of the planning process Team A has clarified and agreed upon the project mission and objectives and received approval from senior management. Because everyone is clear on the purpose and objectives, this provides a framework for subsequent decision making. The result is both better and faster decision making. The team can react quicker to changes or difficulties it encounters. Now, alignment can be used to harness the very powerful synergy created by the team.