chapter 10: leading teams

what is a team?

*A unit of two more people who interact coordinate their work to accomplish a shared goal or purpose for which they are committed and hold themselves mutually accountable* a group of people, but the two are not one in the same *Benefits organizations and employees* -Improved productivity and quality -Greater flexibility and speed -Flatter management structure -Better employee involvement and satisfaction -Lower turnover

task conflict

*Disagreement among people about the goals to be achieved or the content of the tasks to be performed* (Ex: two members of top management might disagree about whether to acquire a company or enter a joint venture as a way to expand globally)

types of teams

*Functional teams* The team made up of a supervisor and subordinates in the formal chain of command -Part of the traditional vertical hierarchy -Sometimes called a *vertical team* or a *command team* -the functional team can include three or four levels of hierarchy within an apartment. (The financial analysis department, Human Resources department, and a sales department are all functional or vertical teams) *cross-departmental teams* Team made up of members from different functions apartments within the organization -often called *cross-functional teams* -Typically used for projects that affect several departments & require many views to be considered -One type of cross departmental is the *special purpose team*, sometimes called a project team -This team is focused on a specific purpose & disband once the project is completed *evolution to self directed teams* teams made up of members who work with minimal supervision and wanted jobs to produce a complete product or service -Cross departmental team may gradually evolved into a self-directed teams -in the next stage of evolution, team members work together without the ongoing direction Of managers, supervisors, or assigned team leaders Job satisfaction increases partly because self directed teams enable people to feel challenged, Find their work meaningful, feel more control over their work lives and develop a stronger sense of identity within the organization

Group vs Team

*Group:* -Has a designated, strong leader -Individual accountability -Identical purpose for group and organization -Performance goals set by others -Works within organizational boundaries -Individual work products -Organized meetings; delegation *Team*: -Shares or rotates leadership roles -Mutual/ind. accountability -Specific team vision or purpose -Performance goals set by team -Not inhibited by organizational boundaries -Collective work products -Mutual feedback, open-ended discussion, active problem-solving

socioemotional role

*Includes behaviors that maintain people's emotional well being and strengthen the social identity* Display the following behaviors: Encourage Harmonize Reduce tension Follow Compromise

uses of virutal teams

*One primary advantage* The ability to rapidly assemble the most talented group of people to complete a complex project, solve a particular problem, or exploit a specific strategic opportunity

relationship conflict

*Personal incompatibility that creates tension and feelings of personal animosity among people* (EX: a recurring problem for many hospitals that have implemented teams is conflict between doctors and nurses or other team members)

team norms

*an Informal standards of conduct that is shared by team members and guides their behavior* Two common ways they develop: 1) begin to develop in the first interactions among members of a new team -*first behaviors* often set a precedent for how the team will interact 2) making *explicit statements* about the desired team behaviors

team member role

*associated with behaviors that help the team accomplish its goal* Display the following behaviors: Initiate ideas Give opinions Seek information Summarize Energize- stimulate the team into action

how teams develop

*forming* Stage of development and that includes orientation and getting acquainted -The leaders challenge at this stage of development is to facilitate communication and interaction among team members to help them get acquainted and establish guidelines for how the team will work together -leaders can draw out shy or quiet say members to help them establish relationships with others *storming* Stating development in which individual personalities and conflicts emerge -This stage is marked by conflict and disagreement -It is essential that teams move beyond this stage or they will never achieve high performance *norming* stage of team development in which conflicts have been resolved and team unity emerges -consensus develops as to who the natural team leaders are and members roles are clear -the stage is typically short and moves quickly into the next stage -the team leader should emphasize openness within the team and continue to facilitate communication and clarify team roles, values and expectations *performing* Stage of team development in which the major emphasis is on accomplishing them teams goals -the team leader should concentrate on facilitating high task performance and helping the team self manage to reach its goals *adjourning* Stage of development that occurs in committees and teams that have a limited task to perform, the emphasis is on wrapping up, gearing down and signifying closure -task performance is no longer a top priority, and leaders frequently focus on team members social and emotional needs -the leader may wish to signify the teams disbanding, with a ritual or ceremony, perhaps giving out certificates or awards to signify closure and completeness

Rules for reaching a win win solution

*separate people from the problem* Stay focused on the problem and the source of conflict rather than attacking or attempting to discredit each other *focus on underlying interests* Demands are what each person wants from the negotiation, whereas underlying interests represent the "why" behind the demands *listen and asks questions* *insists that results be based on objective standards* Requires focusing on objective criteria and maintaining standards of fairness than using subjective judgements about the best solution

leading a virtual team

*team made up Of geographically or organizationally dispersed members who share a common purpose and are linked primarily through advanced information technologies* -sometimes referred to as a *global team* A cross border work team made up of members of different nationalities whose activities span multiple countries (10.5 in book)

team cohesiveness

*the extent to which members are attracted to the team and motivated to remain in it* *determinants Of cohesiveness* *1)* Team interaction: when teams members have frequent contact, they get to know one another, consider themselves a unit and become more committed to the team *2)* shared goals: when team members agree on purpose and direction, they will be more cohesive *3)* Personal attraction to the team: Members have similar attitudes and values and enjoy being together

the dilemma for team members

*we have to give up our independence* Teamwork demands that they make sacrifices for group success. The idea is that each person should put the team first, even if at times it hurts the individual *We have to put up with free your riders* Freerider: a team member who attains benefits from team membership but does not actively participate in and contribute to the teams work -sometimes called social loafing because members do not exert equal effort *Teams are sometimes dysfunctional* (See 10.2 in book)

causes of conflict

-Competition over resources, such as money, information or supplies -Lack of clear roles and responsibilities -Goal differences

leading a team to high performance

1) *A compelling purpose, clear objectives, and explicit metrics* To succeed, team members have to know what is expected of them and commit to accomplishing it 2) *a diversity of skills and ambiguous Roles* Effective teams contain the diverse mix of skills, knowledge, and experience needed to perform all the components of the teams project 3) *Streamlined same size* Teams function best when they contain just enough members to perform the job, and most experts recommend that teams should err on the side of having too few members than too many 4) *decision authority over how to achieve goals* The team itself should have the authority to decide how it will reach those goals 5) *Support and coaching* Team effectiveness, productivity and learning are strengthened when team leaders provide support to team members, reinforce team identity and meaning and offer coaching

essential team compentenices

1) *Goal setting and performance management* Team members must have the ability to establish and execute specific team objectives 2) *planning and coordination* The ability to plan and coordinate is an important determinant of team effectiveness 3) *collaborative problem solving* Team members need to be able to recognize when a problem requires group participation and involve team members in searching for alternatives and devising solutions 4) *communication* Wheels of teamwork keep rolling only with good communication 5) *conflict resolution* Teams need to know how to effectively manage and resolve disagreements

styles to handle conflict

1) *dominating style (my way)* Assertiveness To Get ones way and should be used when quick, decisive action is vital on important issues or unpopular opinions 2) *avoiding style (no way)* Neither assertiveness nor cooperativeness. Appropriate when an issue is trivial, when there is no chance of winning, when a delay to gather info is needed or when disruption would be costly 3) *compromising style (half way)* a moderate amount of both assertiveness and cooperativeness Appropriate when the goals on both sides are equally important, when opponents have equal power and both side want to spilt the difference or when people need to arrive at temporary or expedient solutions under Time pressure 4) *accomodating style (your way)* a high degree of cooperativeness, which works best when people realize that they are wrong, when an issue is more important to other than to oneself, when building social credits for us in later discussions, and when maintaining harmony is important 5) *colaborating style (our way)* A high degree of both assertiveness and cooperativeness -Enables both parties to win, may require bargaining and negotiation -important when both sides of concerns are too important to be compromised, when insights from different people need to be merged into an overall solution, and when commitment of both sides is needed (10.7 in book)

conflict

Antagonist interaction in which one part attempts to thwart the intentions or goals of another

challenges of virtual teams

Building team relationships and trust *Virtual team leaders can master the following skills*: -select the right team members -start off right -use of technology -agree on ground rules

High performing teams

Led by high-performance leaders Have members who act as leaders Abide by protocols Are never satisfied They have a supportive

the value of teams

Much work organizations is *interdependent*, which means the individuals and departments rely on other individuals and departments for information or resources in order to accomplish their work Valuable in organizations where work is interdependent To successfully accomplish a task, a team has to ensure: *Coordination* *Information sharing* *Exchange of materials*

team processes

Refers to the dynamics that change over time and can be influenced by leaders -*stages of development* -*cohesiveness* -*norms* -*Conflict*

Behaviors of Good Team Leaders

Shape team norms and values Build consensus Admit your mistakes -Model this for team members Provide support and coaching to team members

Team Characteristics

Size Diversity Interdependence: The extent to which team members depend on each other for information, resources, or ideas to accomplish their tasks *Pooled interdependence* The lowest form of team interdependence; members are relatively independent of one another in completing their work [Sales team is an example] *Sequential interdependence* Serial form of interdependence in which the output of one team member becomes the input to another team member [Example: Assembly line members] *Reciprocal interdependence* Highest form of interdependence; members influence and affect one another in reciprocal fashion -Exists with a lot of knowledge based work (FBI, intelligence etc.)

Lessons From Geese

Teams succeed because they work together to overcome obstacles Individuals should stay in formation to take advantage of team synergy Taking turns being the leader and doing hard tasks leads to long-term success Encouragement makes a difference Standing by each other during difficult times builds strength

balancing conflict and coperation

Too little conflict can decrease team performance because the team didn't benefit from a mix of opinions and ideas -too much conflict outweighs the teams cooperative efforts and leads to decrease in employee satisfaction and commitment, hurtin team performance Moderate amount of conflict that is managed appropriately typically results in the highest level of team performance

consequences of cohesiveness

Two categories: *morale* Higher in cohesive teams because of: Greater communication Friendly team climate Loyalty Maintenance of membership Member participation in team decisions and activities *performance* Team in which members share strong feelings of connectedness and generally positive interactions tend to perform better Cohesiveness can also *decrease* performance in some cases -one in particular *groupthink* The tendency of people in cohesive groups to suppress contrary opinions (*The Challenger*: hesitations Of The members to express safety concerns that went against the team consensus was cited as a contributing factor to the shuttles disaster)

Handling Conflict

Use a compelling vision Bargaining/negotiating Integrative *Cooperative approach* negotiation in which conflicting parties attempt to reach a win-win solution *Distributive* Adversarial negotiation in which conflicting parties compete to win the most resources and give up as little as possible Mediation -Using a third party Facilitating communication