Working in Teams

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Chapter 5

• Working in Teams

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Teams vs. Groups Whats the Difference?

• Groups
• Two or more individuals, interacting and
  interdependent, who have a stable relationship, a
  common goal, and perceive themselves to be a
  group
• Teams
• Groups that work closely together toward a common
  objective, and are accountable to one another

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Stages of Group Development
Stage I
Prestage I
Stage II
Stage III
Stage IV
Stage V
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
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Stages of Group Development

• Stage I Forming
• The first stage in group development,
  characterized by much uncertainty
• Stage II Storming
• The second stage in group development,
  characterized by intragroup conflict
• Stage III Norming
• The third stage in group development,
  characterized by close relationships and
  cohesiveness

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Stages of Group Development

• Stage IV Performing
• The fourth stage in group development, when the
  group is fully functional
• Stage V Adjourning
• The final stage in group development for
  temporary groups, characterized by concern with
  wrapping up activities rather than task
  performance

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Putting the Five-Stage Model Into Perspective

• Groups do not necessarily progress clearly
  through the stages one at a time
• Groups can sometimes go back to an earlier stage
• Conflict can sometimes be helpful to the group
• Context can matter airline pilots can
  immediately reach performing stage

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The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model

• First phase
• The first meeting sets the groups direction.
• The first phase of group activity is one of
  inertia.
• Transition
• A transition takes place at the end of the first
  phase, which occurs exactly when the group has
  used up half its allotted time.
• The transition initiates major changes.
• Second phase
• A second phase of inertia follows the transition.
• Last meeting is characterized by markedly
  accelerated activity

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The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
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Brainstorm

• What makes an ineffective team?

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Characteristics of Ineffective Teams

• Not sharing issues and concerns
• Overdependence on the leader
• Failure to carry out decisions
• Hidden conflict
• Not resolving conflict
• Subgroups

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Brainstorm

• What makes an effective team?

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Characteristics of an Effective Team

• 1. Clear Purpose
• 2. Informality
• 3. Participation
• 4. Listening
• 5. Civilized disagreement
• 6. Consensus decisions

• 7. Open communication
• 8. Clear rules and work assignments
• 9. Shared leadership
• 10. External relations
• 11. Style diversity
• 12. Self-assessment

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A Model of Team Effectiveness
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Abilities

• Teams need the following skills to perform
  effectively
• Technical expertise
• Problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Interpersonal skills

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Roles in Groups

• Task-oriented roles
• Roles performed by group members to ensure that
  the tasks of the group are accomplished
• Maintenance roles
• Roles performed by group members to maintain good
  relations within the group
• Individual roles
• Roles performed by group members that are not
  productive for keeping the group on task

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Group Size

• Research Evidence
• Smaller groups faster at completing tasks
• When problem-solving, larger groups do better

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A Model of Team Effectiveness
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Roles of Team Leaders

• Creating a real team
• Setting a clear and meaningful direction
• Making sure that the structure will support
  working effectively
• Ensuring that the team has a supportive
  organizational environment
• Providing expert coaching

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A Model of Team Effectiveness
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Dimensions of Trust

• Integrity
• Honesty and truthfulness
• Competence
• Technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills
• Consistency
• Reliability, predictability, and good judgment in
  handling situations
• Loyalty
• Willingness to protect and save face for a person
• Openness
• Willingness to share ideas and information freely

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What can you do to build trust in your team?
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Building Trust

• Demonstrate that youre working for others
  interests as well as your own.
• Be a team player.
• Practice openness.
• Be fair.
• Speak your feelings.
• Show consistency in the basic values that guide
  your decision making.
• Maintain confidence.
• Demonstrate competence.

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Diversity it teams

• Is it good or bad to have diverse teams?
• Why?
• What happens in a team if there is too much
  diversity?

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Diversity

• Advantages
• Multiple perspectives
• Greater openness to new ideas
• Multiple interpretations
• Increased creativity
• Increased flexibility
• Increased problem-solving skills

• Disadvantages
• Ambiguity
• Complexity
• Confusion
• Miscommunication
• Difficulty in reaching a single agreement
• Difficulty in agreeing on specific actions

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Teams and Workforce Diversity

• Impact of diverse groups
• Diversity in personality age, gender and
  experience promotes conflict, which stimulates
  creativity and idea generation, which leads to
  improved decision making
• Cultural diversity in groups initially leads to
  more difficulty in building cohesion, gaining
  satisfaction, being productive
• Problems pass with time (certainly by three
  months)
• Culturally diverse groups bring more viewpoints
  out

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Virtual Teams

• Teams that use computer technology to tie
  together physically dispersed members in order to
  achieve a common goal.
• Advantages
• Can do all the things other teams do, but at a
  distance
• Disadvantages
• Lack paraverbal and nonverbal cues, and have
  limited social contact

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Building Trust on Virtual Teams

• Start with an electronic courtship and provide
  some personal information
• Assign clear roles so members can identify with
  each other
• Have good attitudes (eagerness, enthusiasm, and
  intense action orientation) in messages
• Address feelings of isolation
• Provide recognition and feedback

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Beware! Teams Arent Always the Answer

• Questions to determine whether a team fits the
  situation
• Can the work be done better by more than one
  person?
• Does work create a common purpose or set of goals
  for the people in the group that is more than the
  aggregate of individual goals?
• Are members of the group interdependent?

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Summary and Implications

• The introduction of teams into the workplace has
  greatly influenced employee jobs
• Factors affecting group performance
• Norms control group member behaviour by
  establishing standards of right and wrong.
• Status inequities create frustration and can
  adversely influence productivity.
• The impact of size on a groups performance
  depends upon the type of task in which the group
  is engaged.
• A groups demographic composition is a key
  determinant of individual turnover.

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Summary and Implications

• High-performing teams have common
  characteristics
• They contain people with special skills
• They commit to a common purpose, establish
  specific goals
• They have the leadership and structure to
  provide focus and direction
• They hold themselves accountable at both the
  individual and team levels
• There is high mutual trust among members

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Summary and Implications

• It is difficult to create team players. To do
  so, managers should
• Select individuals with interpersonal skills
• Provide training to develop teamwork skills
• Reward individuals for cooperative efforts

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Paper Tower Exercise

• Each group will receive 20 index cards, 12 paper
  clips, and 2 marking pens (1 red, 1 green)
• Using these materials you will build a paper
  tower that will be judged on height, stability,
  and beauty
• Stage 1 (12 minutes). Plan your construction. No
  building allowed.
• Stage 2 (15 minutes). Construct the tower. Be
  sure to put your group somewhere on the tower.
• Towers will be delivered to the front of the
  room, where they will be judged by the class.

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Paper Tower Questions

• What percent of the plan did each member of group
  contribute, on average
• Did your group have a leader? Why or why not?
• How did the group respond to ideas during the
  planning stage?
• Did you have task-oriented roles?
  Maintenance-oriented roles? How helpful and/or
  effective were these roles?
• To what extent did you follow the five-step model
  of group development?
• What were helpful behaviours? Non-helpful
  behaviours? Why?