Leading Teams Flashcards
team
a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish a specific goal
advantages of effective teams
- creativity and innovation
- improved quality
- speed of response
- higher productivity and lower costs
- enhanced motivation and satisfaction
drawbacks of teamwork
- some tasks are better performed by individuals than teams
- artificial if no meaningful common purpose
- ineffective if not consistent with the organisational culture, strategy and reward system
- can be time consuming and prone to conflict
- teams may be no better than individuals (groupthink, social loafing etc)
types of teams
- functional teams
- cross-functional teams
- self-managed teams
- virtual teams
functional teams
a team composed of a manger and his or her subordinates
cross-functional team
a team composed of employees from about the same hierarchical level, but from different areas of expertise
self-managed team
a team that consists of multi-skilled employees who rotate jobs to produce an entire product or service often led by an elected team member
virtual team
a team that uses computer technology and groupware so that geographically distant members can collaborate on projects and reach goals
things effective virtual leaders do
- use technology to build relationships
- shape culture through technology
- monitor progress and rewards
team characteristics
- size
- diversity
- member roles
size
teams need to be large enough to incorporate the diverse skills needed to complete a task,enable members to express good and bad feelings, and aggressively solve problems. However, they also should be small enough to permit members to feel an intimate part of the team and to communicate effectively and efficiently. In general, as a team increases in size, it becomes harder for each member to interact and influence the others.
diversity
because teams require a variety of skills, knowledge and experience, diverse teams are generally more effective. Diversity in terms of functional area and skills, thinking styles and personal characteristics is often a source of creativity. In addition, diversity may contribute to a healthy level of disagreement that leads to better decision making.
member roles
- task specialist
- socio-emotional.
task specialist role
a role in which the individual devotes personal time and energy to helping the team accomplish its task. They often display the following behaviours:
- initiate ideas
- give opinions
- seek information
- summarise
- energise
socio-emotional role
a role in which the individual provides support for team members’ emotional needs and social unity. They display the following behaviours:
- encourage
- harmonise
- reduce tension
- follow
- compromise
stages of team development
- forming
- storming
- norming
- performing
- adjourning
forming
the stage of team development characterised by orientation and acquaintance
storming
the stage of team development in which individual personalities and roles, and resulting conflicts, emerge
norming
the stage of team development in which conflicts developed during the storming stage are resolved and team harmony and unity emerge
performing
the stage of team development in which members focus on problem solving and accomplishing the team’s assigned task
adjourning
the stage of team development in which members prepare for the team’s disbandment
team cohesiveness
the extent to which team members are attracted to the team and motivated to remain in it
determinant of team cohesiveness
several characteristics of team structure and context influence cohesiveness. First is team interaction. When team members have frequent contact, they get to know one another, consider themselves a unit and become more committed to the team. Second is the concept of shared goals. If team members agree on purpose and direction, they will be more cohesive. Third is personal attraction to the team, meaning that members have similar attitudes and values and enjoy being together
two factors in the team’s context also influence cohesiveness. The first is the presence of competition. When a team is in moderate competition with other teams, its cohesiveness increases as it strives to win. Finally, team success and the favourable evaluation of the team by outsiders add to cohesiveness. When a team succeeds in its task and others in the organisation recognise the success, members feel good and their commitment to the team will be high
consequences of team cohesiveness
morale is higher in cohesive teams because of increased communication among members, a friendly team climate, maintenance of membership because of commitment to the team, loyalty, and member participation in team decisions and activities. High cohesiveness has almost uniformly positive effects on the satisfaction and morale of team members
moreover, a friendly, positive team environment contributes to productivity, as well as member satisfaction
life talk
discussing such outside interests as families, vacations, house buying, and clothing
troubles talk
complaining about such sources of discomfort or dissatisfaction as limited resources, challenging client or annoying manager, preferably in a jocular tone
the power of life talk and troubles talk
life talk and troubles talk are rituals that enhance team cohesiveness by surfacing similarities of experiences, by creating shared moments and by enhancing the team mood
teams norms
a standard of conduct that is shared by team members and guides their behaviour
types of conflict
- task conflict
- relationship conflict
task conflict
conflict that results from disagreements about the goals to be achieved or the content of the tasks to be performed.
relationship conflict
conflict that results from interpersonal incompatibility that creates tension and personal animosity among people
balancing conflict and cooperation
a healthy level of conflict helps to prevent groupthink. Thus, a degree of conflict leads to better decision making because multiple viewpoints are expressed. However, conflict that is too strong, that is focused on personal rather than work issues or that is not managed appropriately can be damaging to the team’s morale and productivity. Too much conflict can de destructive, tear relationships apart and interfere with the healthy exchange of ideas and information. A moderate amount of conflict that is managed appropriately typically results in the highest levels of team performance
styles to handle conflict
- dominating style
- avoiding style
- compromising style
- accomodating style
- collaborating style
dominating style (my way)
reflects assertiveness to get one’s own way, and should be used when quick, decisive action is vital on important issues or unpopular opinions, such as during emergencies or cost cutting
avoiding style (no way)
reflects neither assertiveness, or cooperativeness. It is appropriate when an issue is trivial, when there is no chance of winning, when a delay to gather more information iris needed or when a disruption would be costly
compromising style (halfway)
reflects a moderate amount of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. It is appropriate when the goals on both sides want to split the difference, or when people need to arrive at temporary or expedient solutions under time pressure
accomodating style (your way)
reflects a high degree of cooperativeness, which works best when people realise that they are wrong, when anise is more important to others than oneself, when building social credits for use in later discussions and when maintaining harmony is especially important.
collaborating style (our way)
reflects a high degree of both assertiveness and cooperativeness. The collaborating style enables both parties to win, although it may require substantial bargaining and negotiation. The collaborating style is important when both sets of concerns are too important to be compromised, when insights from different people need to be merged into an overall solution and when the commitment of both sides is needed for a consensus.
negotiation
involves people engaging in give-and-take discussions and considering various alternatives to reach a joint decision that is acceptable to both parties.
types of negotiation
- integrative negotiation
- distributive negotiation
integrative negotiation
a collaborative approach based on a win-win assumption, whereby the parties want a creative solution that benefits both sides of the conflict
- fosters trust and positive long-term relationships
distributive negotiation
a competitive and adversarial approach on which each party strives to get as much as it can, usually at the expense of the other party
- does not lead to positive long-term relationships
rules for reaching a win-win solution
- separate the people from the problem
- focus on interests, not current demands.
- listen and ask questions.
- insist that results be based nonobjective standards.
