Team leadership Flashcards
Team definition
A team is a collection of individuals who…
- work together on tasks and projects
- share responsibility for outcomes
- see themselves and who are seen as an intact social entity
- are embedded in one or more larger social systems
- manage their relationships across organizational boundaries
What do you consider
to be the best predictor
of individual performance?
-emotional intelligence
-individual job performance
-solve complex issue
—> intelligence and mental ability the most individual performance
Team performance?
Having a Team with a equal time of talking where most productive
—> communication most important : helps to solve the complex problem —> better result in the end
Team ≠ Team
People who are really good but in team not
–> Sum of individual performances
+ Process gains
- Process losses
= Team performance
The Input-Mediator-Output Model
voir page 15 (graph)
This diagram represents a team effectiveness model, illustrating how organizational and team contexts (e.g., culture, leadership, and diversity) influence team states (e.g., trust) and team processes (e.g., communication). These interactions ultimately determine team effectiveness, measured by goal achievement. The development process follows a structured progression from context to processes, states, and outcomes.
Our goal is team effectiveness
But what does that actually mean ?
-Work outcome
-Collaboration skills
-Individual Development
=Effectiveness
Work outcomes
The work results are (at least) acceptable to those who receive, review, or use them.
Collaboration skills
The team members enhance their ability to collaborate.
Individual Development
Experiences foster
personal growth and
well-being of the
members
Model by Katzenbach
- Working group
2.Pseudo-Team
3.Potential team - Real team
5.High performance team
Working group
-No demanding performance requirements
-No mutual accountability
-Interaction among members primarily for the exchange of information, perspectives, and ‘best practices’
-Making decisions that support the individual member
in their performance within their area of
responsibility
Pseudo-Team
-There may be demanding performance
requirements or opportunities
-However: Lack of focus and insufficient striving for collective performance
-Joint performance is lower than the potential of the individual members
Potential team
-Challenging performance goals and striving to
improve performance capacity
-However: The need for greater clarity regarding
common goals, shared performance objectives,
and collective effort
-No real feeling of joint responsibility («we feeling»)
Real team
-Small group of people whose abilities complement one another
-Joint striving for common purpose, shared performance goals and collective effort
-Joint responsibîlity and a strong «We Feeling»
High performance team
-Fulfills the same requirements as the „Real team“
-However, above and beyond, its members involve
themselves actively in furthering their colleagues personal development and success
-Members develop strong interpersonal ties and show high levels of trust
-Identification , learning,motivation and passion are all very high
Model by Katzenbach:
Principles for High Performance Teams: 6 principles
- Small number of members (<12)
2.Complementary skills and abilities
- Shared sense of a common purpose
4.Performance goals are clearly defined
5.Shared working approaches
- Mutual accountability and trust
- Leaders must be team players
Tuckman’s Model
Phases of Team Development
- Forming
- Storming
3.Norming - Performing
Forming (Phases of Team Development)
-Getting to know the other members
-Insecurity
- Orientation-seeking
-Dependent on team leader
-Determining acceptable behavior in the group
-Mutual expectancies
-Group forming
Storming (Phases of Team Development)
-Personal positioning
-Expressing personal opinions and determining positions
-Expression of differences (cultural,
opinions, values)
-Negotiation of positions and roles
-Power play and building a hierarchy
-Dangerous phase for stereotypes
and group fluctuation
Norming (Phases of Team Development)
-Intensive personal
participation and commitment
-Self-confidence
-Group identification and “we” feeling
-Cooperation, consensus, and respect
-Efficiency and effectivity in task
accomplishment
-Agreement on common goals, standards,
rules, roles, work organization
Performing (Phases of Team Development)
-Every individual is an important part of the group
-Individual ideas become part of the team’s success
-Mutual acceptance
-Collaboration
-Caring for team members
-Corporate Identity
-Effective performance
(Identification with task and group)
Forming (Leader Support in Team Development)
-Provide orientation
-Clarify roles
-Determine work processes
-Promote team building
Storming(Leader Support in Team Development)
-Manage emotional reactions
-Intervene in conflicts
-Provide help and support
Norming (Leader Support in Team Development)
-Develop and establish group
norms
-Work on mutual acceptance
-Highlight commonalities
Performing (Leader Support in Team Development)
-Maintain performance
-Continue to promote successful
collaboration
-Integrate new members
-Avoid relapse in prior phases
Diversity in Teams
Team leadership includes diversity management
* There is an increasing level of diversity/heterogeneity in teams (e.g., with respect to
gender, age, nationality etc.)
* Causes for increased diversity, e.g.:
− Globalization
− Individual mobility, changes in roles
− Demographic changes
Primary (superficial) diversity dimensions: example
e.g., age , gender , nationality , origin , education level ,
hierarchical level , function
Primary (superficial) diversity: definiton
- These are usually visible to all members at the
beginning of a team formation, as they are perceivable without interaction. - These dimensions are not easily changeable and
are often used as a basis for distinction and discrimination.
Secondary (deep) diversity dimensions: definition
- These emerge only during the course of team
development - They can often overlay the primary diversity
characteristics.
Secondary (deep) diversity dimensions: example
Communication style, family status , personality , work
style, work values , work experience , informal knowledge
and role in the organization , native language , religion )
Team Composition
Relationship Between Team Diversity and Team Performance
Team Diversity –> +/- Team performance
page 39
Team Composition
Relationship Between Team Diversity and Team Performance
New research makes it increasingly clear that companies with more diverse workforces perform better financially
–> Functional diversity shows mixed effects, with some studies indicating that it amplifies conflicts and reduces performance, while others show the exact opposite.
Consequences of diversity: Two opposing perspectives : optimistic view
Improved information processing: «More Diversity, more cognitive resources, better outcomes of teamwork.»
Consequences of diversity: Two opposing perspectives : pessimistic view
Social categorization leads to subgroup formation:
«More diversity, worse interpersonal processes, diminished team outcomes.»
Leading diverse teams means:
Realizing the positive potential while preventing possible negative effects
Social Identity Theory: Basic assumptions
-Individuals like and are attracted to others that are similar to themselves (e.g. gender, age, values etc.)
- Synergy effect: Resources can complement each other („The whole is more than the sum of its parts“)
Social Identity Theory: The effect on groups and organizations
-Diverse teams may come to better decisions due to their plus of resources (more knowledge, more
competencies, more experiences) than uniform teams
-Diverse teams may avoid ‘group think’ more effectively
-Diverse teams may help to increase organizational performance
Groupthink
The tendency for Groups to think in Harmony
Similarity Attraction & Social Identity Theory: Basic assumption
-Individuals like and are attracted to others that are similar to themselves (e.g. gender, age, values etc.)
-Formation of subgroups in teams based on diversity characteristics and identification of team members with these subgroups
Similarity Attraction & Social Identity Theory: The effects on groups and organizations
-Dissimilar persons within a team tend to reduce communication and cooperation
-Due to risk of subgroup formation: Less cohesion, less commitment to joint tasks, reduced performance
-Diverse teams may reduce organizational performance due to mistakes in communication, reduced
cooperation etc.
Diversity in Teams: Information processing theory
-Increased performance due to enhanced
problem solving and decision making
-Increased creativity,innovation, and customer
understanding
-Mutual learning and motivation
-Avoidance of groupthink
Diversity in Teams: Similarity attraction & social identity theory
-Conflicts due to prejudices and stereotyping
-Mistrust and misunderstandings
-Communication and coordination problems:
process losses
-Loss of productivity due to increased time
investment
Team Composition:
Recommendations for Leaders
- Consciously put together diverse teams
2.Develop a shared group or organizational identity
3.Develop a culture for diversity and appreciation
Consciously put together diverse teams
-Use diverse teams above all for complex tasks, which involve
departing from the routine
- Avoid strong faultlines (imaginary lines between the person of the subgroups within in your team )
Develop a shared group or organizational identity
-Convey higher order similarities
(company culture and identity, etc.)
-Special team building measures, encourage informal contact, etc.
-Encourage informal contacts
Develop a culture for diversity and appreciation
-Encourage intensive discussions and empathy, openly address
differences
-Demonstrate value of diversity for the team
Team Emergent States (TES): definition
Cognitive, affective, motivational categories that are “dynamic in nature and vary as function
of team context, inputs, processes, and outcomes”
Team Emergent States (TES): theorie
- Cognitive Team Emergent
States (CTES)
2.Affective Team Emergent
States (ATES)
- Motivational Team
Emergent States (MTES)
4.Cognitive/Affective Team
Emergent States (CATES)
- Cognitive/Motivational Team
Emergent States (CMTES)
Cognitive TES
Cognitive TES concern member beliefs or thoughts
- Team Cognition
2.Team Trust
3.Team Climates
Team Cognition
-Team cognition is the manner in which knowledge for team functioning is mentally organized, represented, and distributed within a team
-Antecedents: e.g. Team design, team composition, team leadership
-Team cognition positively predicts outcomes such as team performance as well as team behavioral and motivational processes
Team Trust
-Team trust reflects members’ beliefs in the «dependability and trustworhiness of team members»
-Antecedents: Member ability, integrity, and emotional intelligence
-Outcomes: Team trust positively impacts team-level outcomes such as team attitudes, information processing, and performance
Team Climates
-Team climates reflect member perceptions of norms, attitudes, and expectations perceived to operate within a specific context
-Outcomes: Facet-specific team climates impact team-level performance, behavioral, and cognitive outcome
Affective TES
Affective TES includes psychological states relating to feelings, attitudes, and emotions
- Team Cohesion
2.Team Psychological Safety
Team Cohesion
-Team cohesion means members are emotionally attached and bonded to one another and committed toward the team
-Observations on changes: Experiments on astronauts in isolated, extreme environments
-Antecedents: Shared responsible leadership responsibilities, open information sharing among team members, interdependence among team member
-Outcomes: Cohesive teams tend to perform better than non-cohesive teams; also in reverse (better performing teams can become more cohesive as a
result of their successes)
-Long-term effects: Effects of team cohesion can last even after the team has disbanded – particularly cohesive teams may develop friendships and networks
that they draw on for the rest of their lives.
Team Psychological Safety
-Team psychological safety concerns beliefs that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking
-Antecedents: Team leadership and composition
-Outcomes: Team psychological safety engenders desirable outcomes including performance, behavioral, and affective outcomes
Motivational TES
constructs reflect team beliefs relating to the intensity, direction, and effort
regulation toward team task accomplishment
- Team Confidence
Team Confidence
- Despite the proliferation of team confidence-related constructs and team efficacy (beliefs about task-specific team ability) are the most researched.
-Antecedents: Organizational support and formalization, team composition, and team leadership (shared, empowering, transformational leadership), team
trust and empowerment
-Outcomes: Team confidence-related constructs are related to team performance outcomes
Team Processes
Team context –> Team states –> team process –> team effectiveness
page 55
Team Processes
Example of Team Processes: Different Types of Conflict
- Relationship conflict
- Process conflict
3.Task conflict
Relationship conflict
Emotional tensions on an interpersonal basis (e.g., dislike
among group members, feelings of tensions and friction)
–> To be avoided
–> Speak openly, discuss and
overcome
Process conflict
Controversies over issues of duty,
responsibilities, power and
resource delegation
–> Initially allow and discuss
–> To be avoided later on
Task conflict
Differences in viewpoints and
opinions related to the content of
the team‘s tasks
–> Allow at the beginning of the
project and during the work phase
–> Utilize productively by means of
discussion rules, brainstorming, etc.
Conflicts and Team Performance
A meta-analysis was conducted to examine how three
different types of intragroup conflicts affect the group.
Conflicts and Team Performance: Results
- Relationship conflicts and process conflicts show a negative correlation with group performance.
- Task conflicts show no correlation with group
performance.
BUT: Task conflicts can negatively impact performance if
they excalate into relationship conflicts.
page 57
Conflicts and Team Performance: correlation
Corrected
correlation
between
task conflict
and
team performance
Consequences of Unresolved Conflicts:
Social Loafing
-Social loafing: When working in groups, people put less effort
in a task than they would put in the same task when working alone.
-Social loafing can occur when individual inputs cannot be
identified and decreases motivation
-This leads to lower team performance
-As one example, social loafing studies observe the “bystander
effect”
-“Bystander effect”= When the presence of others discourages
an individual from intervening in an emergency situation
-Underlying problem of the “bystander effect”: Diffusion of
responsibility
Possibilities to reduce social loafing
-Increase the transparency and identification possibilities of individual results
-Incentive system: Combination of individual- and team-based compensation
-Allocate meaningful activitites
-Offer the possibility for team members to choose their tasks within the team
Possibilities to build effective teams : Recommendations for Managers
- Provide Sufficient Resources & Support
2.Create a Positive Team Culture:
3.Targeted Team Formation & Composition
4.Encourage Team Development & Training
5.Assess the Necessity of Teams
Provide Sufficient Resources & Support
- Ensure teams have access to necessary tools, technologies, and budgets.
-Establish clear leadership structures to provide direction and foster
collaboratio
Create a Positive Team Culture
- Promote a supportive climate based on trust and psychological safety
- Strengthen teamwork by incentivizing and rewarding collective success
Targeted Team Formation & Composition
- Prefer small teams to minimize coordination efforts and inefficiencies
- Select members with the right technical skills and interpersonal
competencies
Encourage Team Development & Training:
- Offer training in communication, conflict resolution, and collaboration
- Ensure all team members share a common vision, clear goals, and a unified understanding of tasks
Assess the Necessity of Teams
-Implement teams only where interdependent collaboration adds value
- Avoid unnecessary team structures when individual work is more efficient
Types of diversity in teams and organizations
- Primary (surface) diversity dimensions
- Secondary (deep) diversity dimensions
Primary (surface) diversity dimensions
- Primary dimensions of diversity are visible for
all members right after team composition,
because they can be recognized without
interaction - Primary dimensions are relatively stable and
often provide a basis for boundaries and
discrimination
Example : Primary (surface) diversity dimensions
- Age
- Gender
- Nationality / Ethnicity
- Education
- Hierarchical position
- Function in company
Secondary (deep) diversity dimensions
- Secondary dimensions of diversity become
obvious during the team development
process - Primary dimensions are often overlaid by
secondary diversity characteristics
Example : Secondary (deep) diversity dimensions
- Communication style
- Family status
- Personality
- Role in the organization
- Informal knowledge
- Religion
- Language
- Values at work
- Foreign experience
- Working style
Diversity in teams: Consequences of diversity: Two opposing perspectives
- The optimistic view on diversity: Improved information processing: “More diversity, more
cognitive resources, better outcomes of teamwork” - The pessimistic view on diversity – Social categorization leads to subgroup formation: “More diversity, worse interpersonal processes, diminished team outcomes”
Leading diverse teams means:
Realizing the positive potential while preventing possible negative effects
Information processing theory
- Increased performance due to
improvement in problem solving and
decision-making abilities - Increased creativity, innovation, and
customer understanding - Mutual learning and motivation
- Avoidance of groupthink
Similarity attraction & social identity theory
- Conflicts due to prejudices and
stereotyping - Mistrust and misunderstandings
- Communication and
coordination problems: process losses - Loss of productivity due to increased time
investmen
Actors + Resources in the Project Phases
- Start of the Project
- Early Phase
- Middle Phase
- Late Phase
Start of the Project
- Identify network of team members
(outline network of relationships) - Develop clear understanding of
access to external resources (e.g.,
information, policy, technical
support)
Early Phase
- Observe and interview
environment to better understand the end user - Identify dependencies: Who is affected by the project? Who might potentially take over the
project later? Build relationships with these groups - Alignment of own project with the strategic direction of the organization
Middle Phase
- Identify missing know-how within the own team and ensure external access to this knowledge.
- Close coordination with other
teams regarding issues and specifications. Close coordination of schedules - Ensure top management support
(facilitated access to resources and decision makers)
Late Phase
- Ensure support in the organization
to allow for successful
implementation - Maintain a good relationship with
top management and sustain their
enthusiasm for the project
Boundary Management – The External Perspective
- The external perspective on teams shows that boundary management activities influence team
performance - Boundary management can relate to groups external to the company (e.g., customers, competitors) or internal to the company (e.g., sales, production, marketing)
- A clear understanding of the access to key resources and the political landscape (key decision makers) increases a project’s chance of success
Ancona & Caldwell (1992) distinguish three types of Boundary Management activities
- Scouting
- Ambassadorship
- Task Coordination
Scouting
Activities aimed at developing an understanding
of the environment (e.g. market) and possible barriers (e.g. technical problems)
Ambassadorship
Activities aimed at building a good relationship
with decision-makers (e.g. top management)
Task Coordination
Activities aimed at gaining access to the
resources present in the environment (e.g. know-how of other teams)
