4 - Teamwork and Leadership

Question 1

What is a team?

Answer 1

A group 2 or more individuals who interact and are interdependent

• one common goal/purpose
• need the help of each other to accomplish goal

Question 2

What is the bystander effect?

Answer 2

Though people feel safer in a group they are less likely to help or provide assistance if it is required

Question 3

What is social loafing?

Answer 3

People tend to exert less effort to achieve a goal when working in a team compared to alone

Question 4

What is conformity?

Answer 4

When everyone believes in one idea it is much more difficult to hold a conflicting opinion even if you believe it is the correct one

Also known as group think

Question 5

What are the two main influences of team decision making? explain them. What are two others that may occur?

Answer 5

Group polarisation (risk shift)
- if the group is leaning towards a more cautious decision the final decision will be even more cautious than that of a individual (and vice versa for risky decisions)

Group think
- conformity

Mindguard
- member who refrains from sharing information that may contradict the teams consensus

Ingroup and outgroup
- founding biases on different groups of people (in the group vs outside of the group)

Question 6

What 6 skills are required under the leadership/followship model? What is each?

Answer 6

Envisioning - a clear vision of a task or the anticipation of future problems/opportunities relating to a task. Begins with an idea, should be developed through an open communication environment so both PIC/CoP are in the loop.

Modelling - “do as I do”, one persons example demonstrates what is expected of others, includes giving advice/positive feedback when necessary

Influence - trying to get others to listen to ones’ idea and consider them, requires tact, assertiveness, “I think” or “I would like”

Receptiveness - encourage others, pay attention to, and convey understanding of others ideas, comments, or questions

Initiative - begin actions to accomplish a task without external direction, when PIC creates a vision and shares it with the CoP the CoP is able to take a higher level of initiative

Adaptability - the ability to adjust to changing environments, changing weather, traffic, abnormalities all require change and adapted decisions/plans, adaptable crew members are able to make the changes required while operating within the structure

Question 7

What are the 2 extremes of leadership styles?

Answer 7

Autocratic
- individual has control over all decisions and has little input from group members

Democratic
- group members participate in decision making process

Question 8

What qualities should a leader possess?

Answer 8

Professional competence
Communication skills
Decision making skills
Responsibility
Enthusiasm
Purpose
Humor
Flexibility

Question 9

What are the leadership styles? (6) Give an example/description of each.

Answer 9

Coercive - demands compliance, “do what I say”, drive to achieve, negative impact on climate

Authoritative - clear direction, “come with me”, mobilises people toward goal, positive impact on climate

Affiliative - people first, empathetic, relationship building, communication, positive impact

Democratic - establishing consensus through participation, collaborative, positive impact

Pacesetting - sets high standards for performance and requires people to comply with them, negative impact

Coaching - develops people for the future, “ try this”, improving performance or developing strengths for the long term goal, positive