Maximizing Team Performance: Team Building and Motivation

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Maximizing Team PerformanceTeam Building and
Motivation
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Effective Team Members

• What qualities do effective team members have?
• How can you be a most effective team member in
  each of the development stages?
• How can you structure your team to facilitate
  team member effectiveness?
• What is the role of the team contract in helping
  team members maximize their effectiveness?
• What roles should team members have?

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Effective Team Member Behaviors

• Task behaviors
• Seeking and giving information.
• Providing and seeking feedback on
  team member task behaviors.
• Relation behaviors
• Encourage, motivate, and support other team
  members.
• Disruptive behaviors (NOT EFFECTIVE)
• Hostile or derogatory behavior
• Concentration of power.
• Distracting group from task.
• Argues or boasts excessively.

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Types of Roles in Teams

• Task Roles
• Initiator/contributor Opinion Giver, Information
  Provider Opinion Seeker Coordinator Evaluator,
  Summarizer.
• Maintenance Roles
• Encourager Harmonizer Gatekeeper.
• Individual Roles
• Self-serving, not team-serving
• Blocker Recognition Seeker Dominator Avoider.
• Leader Roles
• Role clarity is key!

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Effective Team Feedback

• Definition of feedback
• Communication regarding observations about
  individual and team performance made in a
  way that maintains good performance and improves
  poor performance.
• Can be both positive and negative

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Effective Feedback is.

• Immediate
• feedback is given as soon as possible after
  observation is made.
• Direct
• feedback is given face-to-face and verbally.
• Attainable
• feedback is given for performance that can be
  improved.
• the individual has the skill, ability and
  resources to perform at the desired level.

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When Giving Feedback.

• Be DESCRIPTIVE
• Communicate performance observations in a
  descriptive manner so that everyone knows exactly
  what the desired behavior should be.
• Be SPECIFIC
• Provide descriptions of specific observations
  rather than general ones.

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When and How to Give Feedback

• Combining positive and negative feedback in a
  manner that does not send conflicting messages.
• Treating all individuals with respect.
• Importance of empathy.
• Listen first! Then, listen last.
• What does the Fast Company article contribute to
  our understanding of effective feedback?

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Benefits and Risks of Feedback

• Benefits
• Identifies problems.
• Provides a system of recognition.
• Provides a sense of achievement.
• Builds mutual trust and respect.
• Risks
• Feedback used as punishment.
• Can produce defensive behavior.
• Can generate mistrust.

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Developing Trust in Teams

• Critical to
• Smooth team development
• Effective virtual team functioning
• Three elements of team success
• Performance
• Working well together
• Individual growth and development

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Dimensions of Trust
Integrity
Trust
Competence
Openness
Loyalty
Consistency
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Team Cohesion

• Definition
• Interpersonal bonds that tie the team together.
• Extent to which the team shares a social
  identity.
• Positive impacts of cohesiveness on the team
• Increased team satisfaction.
• Reduced team stress.
• More acceptance of team goals, decisions,
  norms.
• Better ability to work together.
• Higher Team Performance (when team has high
  performance norms)
• Performance affects cohesiveness as well a
  spiral effect.
• Negative consequences of high cohesiveness?

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Motivating Team Members

• Motivation Defined
• The individual forces that account for the
  direction, level, and persistence of a persons
  effort expended at work and in their team.
• Forces are driven by unfulfilled needs.
• What needs are satisfied by teamwork?
• How does motivation in a team differ
  from individual motivation?
• Potential for synergy can increase motivation.
• Potential for free riding can decrease
  motivation.

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Motivation and Performance

• Performance Motivation x Ability
• Motivation
• Effort put forth toward a goal.
• The product of desire and commitment.
• Ability
• Aptitude x Training x Resources
• Can be improved through training and providing
  adequate resources.

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Diagnosing TeamPerformance Problems

• Is it a problem with Ability or Motivation?
• If Ability, what techniques will be helpful to
  improve performance in this specific team?
• If Motivation, how to motivate these particular
  individuals?
• Improving Ability
• Provide training in task-related and teamwork
  skills.
• Make sure team members have all of the resources
  they need to accomplish their tasks.
• If necessary, recruit new team members with
  skills that are needed.
• Preventing Ability or Motivation problems.

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Is FUN Motivating?

• Fish Story (see www.fishphilosophy.com )
• How does having a fun motivate the team of
  employees at the Pike Place Fish Market?
• What difference does a positive environment make
  in motivating people?
• Team members are (and feel) valued and respected.
• Commitment to team/organization increases.
• Employees see organization as theirs and are
  committed to seeing it succeed.
• Example calling customers when sales are slow.

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Using Motivation to Improve Team Performance

• An integrative team motivation program will
• Set clear performance expectations and goals.
• Remove obstacles.
• Reward and discipline appropriately.
• Use both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards.
• Distribute rewards equitably.
• Provide timely, specific, accurate and honest
  feedback.

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Goal Setting as a Team Motivational Tool

• Goal-setting defined
• A Goal is the Aim of Action
• A goal is often called

• Objective
• Budget
• Quota
• Target

• Norm
• Task
• Deadline
• Standard

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The Benefits of Goal Setting

• Improves communication about performance
  progress.
• Focuses effort and energy in the right direction.
• Research shows it results in a 10 to 25
  improvement in performance.

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Characteristics of Effective Goals

• Difficult goals are better than easy goals.
• Specific goals are better than do your best
  goals.
• Goals in a supportive environment are better than
  under pressure.
• Rewards for partial accomplishments are better
  than all or nothing rewards.
• In atmosphere of trust, assigned goals are as
  good as participatively set goals.

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Steps in Setting Team Goals

• Step 1 Specify key result areas.
• What should be accomplished? Multiple tasks?
• Step 2 Identify measures of performance.
• Expressed as physical units, time, money, etc.
• Step 3 Specify standard or target to be reached.
  
• What is the desired level on the measure?
• How high do you set the bar?
• Step 4 Specify the time span involved.
• What is the appropriate time span for the
  activity and people involved?
• Step 5 Prioritize goals.
• Which goals are the most important?

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Goal Setting Steps (cont.)

• Step 6 Determine Coordination Requirements.
• Is goal accomplishment dependent on others?
• Consider both vertical and horizontal
  relationships.
• Should the goal be an individual or team goal?
• When, if ever, should the goals be modified?
• Step 7 Evaluate goals and performance.
• Were goals achieved?
• Why or why not?
• Provide and seek feedback.

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Dangers and Pitfalls of Team Goal Setting

• Over-emphasis on goals can result in
• Excessive risk taking
• Increased stress
• Possibility of feelings of failure
• Goals may be viewed as ceilings
• Non-goal areas may be ignored
• Short-term goals may encourage short-range
  thinking
• Dishonesty or cheating may result from lack of
  emphasis on integrity of process.
• How to avoid these pitfalls?

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Implementing Team Goal Setting

• Clarify purpose of goal achievement.
• Develop a team action plan for achieving goals
  (example team contract).
• Chart progress and results as feedback.
• Reward progress
• Reward small wins along the way toward
  achieving the ultimate goal.