Teams & Team Leadership

Question 1

Organisational Advantages of Teamwork

Answer 1

• more productive
• improves quality of life
• improves problem-solving
• better for employees social affiliation

Question 2

Group Dynamics

Answer 2

Two or more people acting interdependently to achieve a common objective

Question 3

Team design

Answer 3

• Task characteristics
• Team size
• Team composition

Question 4

Team states

Answer 4

Norms: have shared understanding?
Cohesion: identify as a team, quality of relationships?
Team efficacy: believe we can accomplish a task?
Trust: can rely on each other, and take risks?

Question 5

Tuckman’s Model of Team Development
stages

Answer 5

1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
5. Adjourning

Question 6

Gersick’s Punctuated Equilibrium Model

Answer 6

2 phases
- Phase 1 btw first meeting & midpoint
- Phase 2 btw mid-point & deadline

Group performance is low before mid-point
Then Mid point transition
If successful = performance = high
Else performance = low

Question 7

Team Spirit (Heerman)

Answer 7

1.Building a sense of relationship (belonging &
trust)
2.Creating a sense of possibility (common
purpose)
3.Experiencing team solidarity (certainty
about what needs to be accomplished)
4.Mutual recognition of other peoples’
potential to contribute
5.Establishment of a sense of freedom (the
team as an entity becomes taken-for-granted)
6.Strongest manifestation of the team as a
unified entity

Question 8

Group Dynamics Task & Maintenance

Answer 8

Maintenance: The activities team is working on internal processes and focus effort on establishing a common purpose and effectiveness

Task: activities where team focus on job at hand

Question 9

Downsides of Team Work

Answer 9

• Group Think
• Social loafing
• Free - riding
• Cultural differences

Question 10

Group Think

Answer 10

• creates feeling of invulnerability
• unquestioned belief in group
• stereotyped views of outsiders
• pressure to conform
• illusion of unanimity

Question 11

Distributed Leadership

1. Envisioning

Answer 11

Creating a strong vision of the purpose of the team that
can easily be translated into a set of values (maintenance).

Question 12

Distributed Leadership

2. Organizing

Answer 12

Providing structure through a focus on details, deadlines,
and structures (task & maintenance).

Question 13

Distributed Leadership

3. Spanning

Answer 13

Networking, gathering information, championing the
team in the rest of the organisation, dealing with outsiders,
preventing the team from becoming isolated, etc.; importantly, the
spanning leader may have to coordinate the team’s activities with the
rest of the organisation (task & maintenance).

Question 14

Distributed Leadership

4. Social

Answer 14

Negotiation, conflict resolution, “surfacing” problems, confronting anti-social behaviour (maintenance).

Question 15

What is Team Discipline?

Answer 15

Conduct + Values + Identity + Influence

Question 16

Rise of Formal and Informal Teams

Answer 16

E.g. in OB formal teams arose when it came to the group project but later on people talked to each other and sat next to each other to reflect common interests.