seminar 6b

Chapter 11: Developing and Leading Effective Team

Seminar 6b* When Does Work Groups becomes teams?- Team: Small group with complementary skills who hold themselves mutually accountable for common purpose, goals, and approach - Task groups that matured into the performing stage common commitment- Adapted from J R Katzenback, 1999

*What are the types of work team?

- One company will have several types of work team and coordination between different work teams are also imperative, how do we ensure that?

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* Effective Work Teams

- Teamwork Competencies

- Effective Teamwork Characteristics

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Chen, G., Donahue, L. M., & Klimoski, R. J. (2004). Training Undergraduates to Work in Organizational Teams.


* Why Do Work Team Fail?- Unrealistic Expectation that resulted in frustration that cause people to abandon their teams

Managementa) Wrong type of team remember the different teams discussed earlier, teams are not interchangeable (WARNER, M.J., 1995)b) Company Culture high levels of control not good for team work, low hierarchy better (Cohen, S; Bailey, D. (1997))c) No Shared Goals Goals that are created by management are more likely to fail than if team sets it’s own goals Google 20% time (most effective teams) d) Cultural Differences No two cultures are the same friction between team members from different cultures can cause team failure culture differences individualistic vs. collectivisme) Skill Diversity Teams that have a low skill diversity are more likely to fail (Cohen, S; Bailey, D. (1997). Team Membersa) Conflicts Relationship and task differences task more likely to cause failure interpersonal no effect on performance (Cohen, S; Bailey, D. (1997)b) Too outcome orientated need to set norms etc., can cause burn out (Cohen, S; Bailey, D. (1997)

* 3 Components needed for Effective Teamwork1) Cooperation- While competition from the outside does promote internal cohesiveness, cooperation within the organization is powerful.- Cooperation should promoted within and among teams in organizational

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- Research has found that: + Cooperation is superior to competition in promoting achievement and productivity.+ Cooperation is superior to individualistic efforts in promoting achievement and productivity.+ Cooperation without intergroup competition promotes higher achievement and productivity than cooperation with intergroup competition.-E.g. GE 2 teams for medical system engineer in Japan and Wisconsin produces 2 different products usable only in local countries. (Negative)- E.g. Pixar’s employees to furnish own workspace enjoy working as part of team2) Trust- Involves a "cognitive leap" beyond the expectations that reason and experience alone would warrant. This carries with it the inherent risk of betrayal. - Sometimes you have to just hope that others are doing their part and will act responsibly. Remember that ‘trust begets trust’-People in work teams have to trust that others will do their part or else they may micro manage each other and they will lose efficiency

- How to build trust?+ Nath D (2008) Team coalesce and trust if allowed space for surface and sharing of deep imagery1) Communication: Open flow of info and accurate feedback. Being candid2) Support: Be avail and approachable. Provide support for other’s ideas3) Respect: Delegation to others and also active listen4) Fairness: Give credit and recognition to deserving. Be impartial and objective5) Predictability: Be consistent. Keep both expressed and implied promise6) Competence: Build expert power in terms of decision and technical knowledge.+ Be credible and trustworthy

3) Cohesiveness- A sense of “we-ness” that helps the group stick together- Two Main Forma) Socio-emotional cohesiveness: Sense of togetherness based on emotional satisfaction enjoys each other’s companyb) Instrumental cohesiveness: Sense of togetherness based on mutual dependency needed to get the job done need each other

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- How to enhance Cohesiveness? (Westinghouse’s College Station Plant employee have 8 times more output due to small work group and daily performance review)

- Virtual Teams (IBM uses virtual teams for a lot of projects)+ Information technology advances have allowed group members in diff location to conduct business.+ Benefits: a) Flexibility b) Low cost c) Improved utilization and resources+ Disadvantages: a) Geographical Distances b) Cultural Difference c) Low trust

d) Lower accountability lower commitment+ Still follow group development process of Tuckman+ * Meaningful face-to-face contact especially during early phases of group development process, is absolutely essential

- Self Managed Team (General Mills cereal plant in California night shift)+ Groups of employees granted administrative oversight for their work+ Rely on 4 indirect influence tactics: (JV Wheeler, 2003 study of 300 S.M.T)a) Relating: Understand structure and show concern for individual memberb) Scouting: Seek outside info, diagnose problem, and facilitate problem solvingc) Persuading: Gathering external support and resources, influence team to be more effective and pursue organizational goalsd) Empowering: Delegating and facilitating team decision making, coaching+ Managerial Resistance due to threat to job security+ Cross-functionalism offer new ways of looking at ideas+ Benefits: a) Lower cost as removal of middle managementb) Employee participation increase autonomy increase higher motivationc) Higher productivity as they are able to utilize own strength betterd) Highly innovative due to cross-functionalism and also more freedom+ Disadvantagesa) Poor judgment b) Abuse power c) Unrealistic Expectation d) No motivation

* Attributes of High Performance Teama) Participative leadership (empowering) b) Shared responsibility (accountable) c) Aligned on purpose (goals & functions) d) High communication (open & trust) e) Future focused (view change positively) f) Task- focused (result-orientated) f) Creative talents g) Rapid response (identify and act on opportunities)

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seminar 6b

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