Module1 Team Building

8/2/2019 Module1 Team Building

1/74

Leading and Building Teams

Objectives

After reading this unit you should be able to:

understand what is a team compare teams with groups

distinguish between various types of teams

describe situations when teams are preferred over individuals

describe the processes involved in team building

specify features of effective teams

leadership in team building

team sustenance


2/74

Structure

Introduction

Why Teams?

Groups and Teams: what is Difference?

Types of Teams

Building Effective Teams Team Effectiveness and Team Sustenance

Leadership in Team Building

Summary

Self Assessment Questions

Father Readings


3/74

Introduction

A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who

are committed to a common purpose, performance, goals andapproach for which they hold mutually accountable. Every group

can not be considered as a team. Teams are more than sum of

individual members contributions. There exists synergy. Members

of the teams possess complimentary skills and work in

interdependent manner while working for agreed objectives.

Team building has emerged as a popular tool of workplace

management during mid sixties and remains popular approach

even now in numerous industries. Norman Hill suggested the

following common knowledge among managers regardingteamwork may have served as guiding point to accept team

approach to work:


4/74

Involvement is a precondition to commitment, people become

involved seeing their ideas, become part of their work and work

environment.

Management should work like team leaders and coaches.

Management has a facilitating or developing role rather than a

directing role.

Work groups have the necessary capacity to cope with their ownproblems provided they are aware of their capacity and problems.

Employees are innately cooperative and self actualising, preferring

the chance to exercise a degree of control over their work

environment.Typical hierarchical organizations and their inherent trend towards

more


5/74

formal rules and dysfunctional bureaucratic behavior can becomemore effective and functional by eliminating status distinctions andemphasizing interpersonal trust, openness, and self disclosure.

Why Teams?

Team approach to work seems to have several advantages overindividual approach at work. Evidence suggests that team works

better when task requires multiple skills, judgment, andexperience. Further, competition demands flexibility among theplayers. Teams have shown more flexibility in adapting changingdemands as compared to traditional departmental structure.Organizations also use teams to motivate their staff as staff gets

enough opportunity to influence operational decisions by havinginteractions. Teams are also being used to utilize the talentsavailable with the organizations in more efficient ways. Last but notleast teams are being used to democratize the workplace wherethere is hierarchical relationship between the members of theworkforce.


6/74

If you want to see work teams see project teams of InfosysTechnologies. These project teams are formed with a purpose toachieve the projective objectives effectively and efficiently. Members

of project teams are selected on the basis of their complimentaryskills and experience and their work is highly interdependent innature. Most often part of compensation also depends on how theentire team has worked. Members of the team thoroughly discussthe problem, work closely, and communicate frequently while

working on the problems.Robbins cited the Case of Boeing Company using team approach.Boeing Company decided to follow self regulating, cross-disciplinarywork teams in place of military style hierarchical structure in air craftdesign. The planning and development of Boeings new 777-200

twin jet involved an intensive collaboration of designers, productionexperts, maintenance people, customer service staff, financespecialists and even airline customers. A small group of 8 to 10members were given the responsibility of refining and meshing allthe aspect of aircraft program from the start. The purpose was to get

the feedback of each team on entire aircraft design as a whole and


7/74

act quickly on ideas irrespective of who is giving the idea/feedback.Boeing Management believes that the use of teams allows thecompany to produce better products, faster and at a lower cost.Now teams are being used by many organizations all over the world.Pick up any business magazine, you will invariably find on something on use of work teams in various companies. General Electric,Johnson, 3M Co, Maruti are to name few the companies that areusing teams in work organizations. After all what is the reason for

such popularity?It should be kept in mind that teams are always in preferred mode ofworking. Teams take more time and consume more resources thanindividuals at work. For example, team require more communication,more conflicts are to be resolved. Thus, team should be used only

when benefits of using team definitely outweigh cost. Three pointsshould be checked whether the task is such which can e done betterby more than one person. The nature of complexity of the task willprovide the answer. If the complexity of the task is high, multipleperspective is required, teamwork may be an appropriate option.

Simple and routine tasks dont require teamwork. Second, does the


8/74

work generate common goal/objective leading to possible synergy,i.e., working together has potential to generate better outcome thansum of individual contributions. And lastly, is the workinterdependent? i.e., performance of members depends onperformance of other members. If the work is interdependent again,teamwork is a better option. Now a days many car dealers have forcustomer service cells consisting of customer service personnel,mechanics, part specialists, and sales rep to provide better service.

With this kind of intervention, customer is provided with better serviceand any of his quarries can responded to immediately to the best ofhis satisfaction. If the work is simple it can be done by one person,which has no potential to generate synergy and when there isinterdependence among members, team work any not a good

approach to follow.

Groups and teams: What is the difference?

Group and teams may look alike but all groups are not the teams. All

teams start as groups, but not all groups become teams.


9/74

The elements that distinguish teams from groups are:-

(1)full commitment by members to a common goal and mission,

(2) mutual accountability,(3) shared leadership,

(4) trust and a collaborative culture

(5) achievement of synergy, and

(6) complementary skills.

Teams are found to be higher on these six variables as compared

to groups. Groups meet to share information for enabling each

member to perform efficiently in his/her own area of responsibility.Normally groups may not jointly work on collective goals. Teams

have full commitment to collective goals and mission. Group may

have designated leader while teams have shared leadership.


10/74

Similarly, group is individually accountable for performance, while

teams are mutually as well as individually accountable for outcome.

Groups may have random and varied skills while members in

teams normally have complementary skills. Effective

teams are able to attain synergy while in groups, performance is

merely an addition of contribution of individual members. Teams

also share the culture of trust and collaboration while groups may

not share similar degree of trust and collaboration. Example of

Indian Cricket Team can be taken as a case.

Vision of the team is to win and play good cricket. While forming

the team players complimentary skills are taken into consideration.

Team may be having batting specialists, all rounder's fast bowlers,

spin bowlers depends on wicketkeeper, quality of fielding and of


11/74

course on quality of bowling. Thus performance of the bowlers

depends on wicketkeeper, quality of fielding and of course on quality

of bowling. Thus performance of members is interdependent. Each

member of the team trust and collaborate with each other and have

mutual accountability. Members of the team are fully committed to

the goals and missions of the team. Here leadership (captaincy) is

decided, however, there is no rigid hierarchy. And, the defined

leaders also take the views of senior players before taking crucial

decisions. If an individual goal becomes important for the player

than the team goals, you can see visible deviation in the behaviour

of member. A player becomes too cautious if nearing century is

achieved. Many times hostility among members is observed when

there is mismatch in priorities of team goals and personals goals/

ambitions.


12/74

Numerous work organizations are redesigning/restructuring workaround teams and expect to benefit from this intervention withoutany additional input believing that teams are able to generatesynergy. Definitely, teams have potential for generating high

performance in organizations however putting teams in place is notsure route to high performance. We need to ensure certainprocesses and common attributes of high performance teams toattain high performance.

Types of Teams

There can be many kinds of teams. The simplest team can be amanager and his direct reports. Another example may be members

of music bands. Teams can be ad-hoc or temporary groups such astask forces, committees formed for a specific purpose and for alimited time. For example, a task force is organized by districtadministration to deal with flood/earthquake in the area. Once thecrisis is over team gets dissolved. There can be permanent team likemembers of sections and department working on issues


13/74

arising out of organizational objectives. Similarly, there can becross-functional teams bringing together experts from a variety ofbackgrounds to work on new and innovative problems. Now it isnot necessary that team members work face to face to attain

team objectives. Team members working to achieve commonobjectives from remote stations and connected through intranetand internet from virtual teams. Thus teams can be differentiatedon four dimensions:

1. Purpose: Why teams have been formed? It may be forovercoming a crisis, developing a new product, improving qualityor for solving a problem?

2. Duration: Whether the team is of continuous/ permanent or the

same is temporary/ ad-hoc nature?3. Membership: Whether membership is discipline based or thesame is multi-disciplinary/cross functional

4. Nature of interaction: Whether the interface among members isface to face or the same is mediated through computer

technology?


14/74

Robbins talked about four major types of teams:

1. Problem-solving teams

2. Self managed teams3. Cross-functional teams,4. Virtual teams

Problems Solving Teams

This is the most classical form of teams. These teams typicallyconsists of a small group (5 to 12) members of employees fromsame department who meet for few hours weekly or fortnightly todiscuss ways of improving quality, efficiency, and work

environment. These are called problem solving teams.In problem solving teams people discussed problems, madesuggestions for improvements in process and work methods.However, these teams were not having any authority toimplement their decisions in organizations. The usual way was to

make presentations before the management team which used to


15/74

give go ahead signal to suggestions made by problem solvingteams. Quality Circles are the examples of problem solving teams.Quality Circles are usually permanent in nature, membership is

voluntary, functional or discipline based and interaction is face toface and purpose to solve the most pressing problems quality,efficiency etc faced by the team. Quality circles have been used toimprove productivity, efficiency, housekeeping, customer service andlayout of the organization.

2. Self Managed Work Teams

Self managed teams are improvement over problem solving teams.Since problems solving teams do not have authority to implement

their own decisions, they do not go beyond a point and members getdemotivated that their decisions are not being implemented. Selfmanaged teams are group of employees (typically 10 to 15 innumber) who perform highly related to interdependent jobs andassume many of the roles assigned to their formers supervisors


16/74

Typically, this includes planning and scheduling of work, assigningtasks to members, collective control over the pace of work, makingoperational decisions, and taking action on problems. Fully selfmanaged work teams select their members and mutually evaluateeach others performance. Thus supervisory positions becomeredundant and sometimes even eliminated.

In GEs locomotive-engine plant, in Grove city of Pennsylvania, there

are about 100 self managed teams and they make most of plantdecisions. They manage maintenance, schedule the work andauthorise equipment purchase. In Oriental Bank of Commerceemployees have their own job rotation arrangement although theyhave not named their initiative as self managed team. Xerox,

General Motors, Coor Brewing, PepsiCo, Honeywell, HP are somefamiliar names using self managed teams. In US approximately 30%of employees are using self managed teams as a concept is beingaccepted here too. Self managed teams are again permanenet innature, membership is functional, objective is to improve efficiency.


17/74

The same are being used primarily to increase employeeinvolvement. Otis Elevators is making successful use of selfmanaged teams in India.

3. Cross-Functional Teams

Cross-functional teams consists of members belonging to samehierarchical level, but having different skills and professional

background and have come together to accomplish a task. Projectmanagement teams in software organizations normally use suchcross-functional teams.

Cross functional teams are being used in consultancy assignments

where experts of varying background join in and provide theirservices. Once the assignment is over the team get dissolved. Suchtemporary teams of cross-functional experts are also called taskforce. Task force is adhoc, membership is temporary and goal is tosolve the problem. Expert committees consisting of experts from

diverse background which dwell upon academic programme and its


18/74

Content and processes can be considered cross-functional team.Such teams are normally of continuous nature and have face to faceinterface and purpose of such teams is to enhance the quality ofproduct/programme.

4. Virtual Teams

Virtual teams use computer technology to have interface amongmembers of the team who work together to achieve a common goal.They allow people to collaborate online through various means likewide area networks, video conferencing, email whether they are onroom away or far a part. For example, team of news crew ofDoordarshan providing information from various stations can be

considered to work in virtual team and their goal is to provide qualitynews to customers/viewers. Virtual can do everything that otherteams do: share information, make decisions and complete tasks.They include members from same organizations or may havemembers from other organizations (for example, suppliers and

collaborating organizations). Virtual teams have an advantage over


19/74

Traditional teams as they overcome time and space problemthrough computer aided technology but they also have to be morecontext independent as they dont receive Para verbal andnonverbal cues in communication, thus have limited social context.

Group Dynamics

Group dynamics is concerned with the interactions and forces

among group members in a social situation. In the context of thiscourse on Management Functions and Behavior, it is important tounderstand dynamics of members of formal or informal group in theorganization. In the 1930s Kurt Lewin popularized the term, GroupDynamics to mean interaction of forces among group members in a

social situation.In course of time, various meanings were attached to the termgroup dynamics (Kelly 1974). One of the meaning suggests how agroup should be organized and conducted. In democraticleadership, member participation and overall cooperation are

emphasized.


20/74

Another meaning of Group Dynamics is that itis a set of techniques. In various groupexercises it tries to make the leader as well as

the member effective. An attempt is made tomake the above members play their roles in amanagement situation of group discussions,team building, finding, finding out various

solutions to problems by brainstorming andunderstanding ourselves in relation to otherswhile we transact or interact with others.

The last meaning of the term Group Dynamicsis closest to Lewins use of the term suggestinginternal nature of the groups as to how theyare formed, what their structures and

processes are, how they function and affect

B ildi Eff ti T


21/74

Building Effective Teams

Team building process should be natural and becentered on specific and identifiable tasks. Is

the problem is challenging and capable ofstimulating various aspects of team process,building of team becomes smooth. Process ofteam building may be further accelerated if thepeople selected to work on the team are likelyto work together in future as compared toindividual artificially grouped. Moreover,effective teams are not static, they adapt to thetask at hand. For example, a large project may

unfold different phases in the project, whichwill require teams with varying skills and briefs.Keeping various requirements, Parkinsonsuggested that team building needs to cover atleast five areas:


22/74

1. Task management Teams should follow a systematic approachto managing the work. It should include formal goal setting,planning, organizing time management, problem solving andreview. On some aspects, members may require additional input.Many tasks may likely to go continuously, for example, review ofprogress. Monitoring of continuous progress may affectsubsequent phases of work depending upon the progress.

2. Process Management This involves many interpersonal

competencies like questioning, listening, summarizingencouraging, initiative, expressing opinion, synthesizingexpressing and responding to feelings, gate keeping etc. Teammembers need to be taught and they need to practice the same.

3. Inter-group communication Team work parallel to many other

teams. Many time teams need to share resources or need tocommunicate to others for getting its objectives fulfilled. Thisrequires teams to develop communication, negotiation skills andunderstanding of political climate in the organization.

4. Team style What instance members of the team take will affect


23/74

teams performance. Similarly, what instance, what role teammembers take will also affect teams outcome. It is thereforeexpected that team leaders, members adopt appropriate influencingstyle matching with the needs of team members and the situation.

5. Contribution management Since the team is nothing but asynergistic combination of individuals, while building the teamsindividuals skills expertise, needs and personality must beunderstood in the context of teamwork since these features will helpin assuming various team roles. Team leaders in particular, have totake additional responsibility to understand each membersstrengths and weaknesses, and manage the team such a way thateach member is able to contribute to the team endeavor to themaximum.

Teams are essentially groups, thus follow the principles of groupdynamics in the process of team formation and development. Itteam building process/programmes we need to take care of threekey aspects for development:


24/74

1. Prepare the team members People require time to adapt toteam working instead of individual working. Some of the skillsrequired for team working need to be taught, the process ofteaching takes time. Similarly, many people feel that teamworking is resorted to due to individual incompetence. Suchfeelings needs to be addressed to and dealt with firmly. To do allthis organisation may require competent facilitators. Training,rewarding team performance over individual contribution and

presenting people with positive attitude towards team working asrole models may help preparing team members.2. Clarify the teams objectives A large amount of friction and

conflict gets generated during forming and storming stage.Clarifying the teams objective and course of action in advance

may reduce such friction or conflict. If team facilitator provides thecourse of action for the team along with rule of the game and roleof the members are clarified and defined in advance, wastage ofteams energy on unproductive issues is minimized.

3. Set measurable goals many teams grapple in the dark because

they are not clear what they are willing to achieve. It is very


25/74

Important to establish clear goals and develop clear indicators ofmeasuring teams progress. Teams must develop yardsticks ofmeasuring progress and all efforts be made by teams to achievethose objectives.

Appendix 1 provides set of activities to check whether individual issuitably prepared to work in teams? Whether processes requiredfor effective team functioning have been taken care of. Thechecklist provides good yardstick of variables involved team

building process.

Behavioural Guidelines for Developing Effective Team

Whetten and Camerom (2002) provided how the team

development take place. They have supplied a comprehensiveset of behavioural guidelines for developing effective teams

1. As a leader of a team you must develop credibility by:- Demonstrating integrity and displaying congruence

- Being clear and consistent about what you want to achieve


26/74

- Creating positive energy by being optimistic and complimentary- Building a base of agreement before moving on with taskaccomplishment

- Managing agreements and disagreements by using appropriatearguments

- Encourage and coach team members to help them improve- Sharing information about the team itself and from external

sources, and encourage participation

2. After developing credibility, you must articulate a motivating visionfor the team having following attributes:- Left brained (rational objectives) and right brained (symbols andimages element

- Challenges to status quo- Passionate language based on core personal principles- SMART (specific, measurable, aligned, realistic but stretching, and

time bound)- Goals


27/74

3. You can play the role of effective team member in facilitating taskperformance by:

Giving direction- Seeking information- Giving information- Elaborating others ideas- Urging task performance- Monitoring progress

- Analyzing the teams processes- Testing the reality of suggestions- Enforcing team rules- Summarizing comments

4. You can play the role of effective team member in buildingrelationship among team members by:

- Supporting team members- Harmonizing disagreements- Relieving tension through humour


28/74

- Confronting unproductive behavior- Energizing others- Developing teams members abilities- Empathizing with others

5. When encountering team members who block the teamperformance with unproductive behaviours, confront the behaviorand /or isolate the unproductive behaviour.

6. Provide feedback on unhelpful behaviour having followingfeatures:- Focused on the behaviour, not the person- Based on observations and descriptions rather than on inferences

or personal judgments- Related to specific here and now behaviour and not past orabstract behaviour- Sharing of ideas more than the giving of advice- Based on the amount of information given on what the recipient

wants or requires

Information that benefits the receiver rather than just being an


29/74

- Information that benefits the receiver rather than just being anemotional release

- Shared at appropriate times and places

7. Learn to identify the stage in which the team is operating in orderto help facilitate team development. Know the key attributes ofthe forming, norming, storming and performing stage ofdevelopment.

8. In the forming stage:- Encourage team member orientation- Foster trust- Encourage relationship building- Clarify purpose and expectations

9. In the forming stage:- Forster unity- Show support- Provide feedback- Encourage team member empowerment

10 In the storming stage:


30/74

10. In the storming stage:- Manage conflict- Legitimise expression of differences- Foster interdependence

- Work towards consensus building

11. In the performing stage:- Identify and capitalize the teams core competence- Foster innovation and continuous improvement

- Encourage speed- Encourage creative problem solving and excitement level of

performance

Team Effectiveness and Team Sustenance

Once teams reach the performance stage, their concern centersaround effectiveness and efficiency. Before reaching at this stageteam has already dealt the issues of skepticism, uncertainty, non-

contribution, dependence and self-centeredness typical of formingstage. It has developed clear set of rules to deal with the problems,


31/74

vision, and loyalty and have dealt with the issues of conformity andloyalty and have dealt with the issues of conformity and groupthinkat forming stage. It has also worked through conflicts and

unproductive friction and power issues typically arising at stormingstage. It has now reached to a stage where they have potential togenerate extraordinary performance. Teams raise questions like: How can we continuously improve? How can we nurture innovativeness and creativity?

How can we build on our core competence? How can we maintain a high energy level in the team?

While solving any problem teams follow the philosophy ofcontinuous improvement the essential components of the approach

are specified below:1. Customer focus: Who are the users of your product or service.They include not only people who buy organizational products butalso internal customers (such as finance, dispatch personnel) whointeract with and serve others in organization.


32/74

2. Even best can be improved: Quality is a journey and not adestination. Thus strive for continuous improvement.3. Improve everything that team does: Map every activity that isundertaken by the team. Find how improvement can be introducedin every thing that team works on. May it be a product, a service, ameeting or financial services Define Problem. Define objective of thedecision. What is the problem? How to reach there from here?4. Measure whatever team does: Develop measures of everything

that team does. It also involves measurement of teams skills andother resources. Improvement can be assessed only if there isreliable and valid measure of input, process, or outcome.Performance and contribution can also be assessed if there is ameasure of performance.

5. Empower team members: Empowered teams work moreeffectively than low or non-empowered team.

At this stage (performing stage) team member display high degreeof cohesiveness that emanates form high mutual trust, unconditional

commitment to teams, mutual training and development and


33/74

entrepreneurship.Researches have revealed following attributes of effective team:1. High performance outcomes2. Specific and shared purpose and vision3. Mutual internal accountability4. Blurring of formal status5. Coordinated shared work roles6. Synergy

7. Extraordinary high quality8. Creativity and continuous improvement9. High credibility and trust10.Clarity of core competence

After effectiveness, team sustenance becomes critical issue. Howdoes one keep a good team in its existing state of efficiency andeffectiveness? In other words, how does one continue to make iffunction? It is difficult to maintain the core purpose and tempo ofthe team over a long time. As a manager you are supposed to

ask yourself and the team the following questions:


34/74

Why do we exist? What and who would be affected if we went out of existence? Are there more cost-effective ways of achieving our purpose and

aim than having the current team? Has there been a significant change in our mission as a team.

Have we perceived, or been given new responsibilities ? Are we still the right people to be tackling this work. Does it still

need a team effort?

So, a managers task is to maintain the standards of the team andraise them, and enhance the level of cooperation which in turnresults in increased effectiveness. Contrary to this mature team arefound to develop apathy. As time passes by teams become more

complacent and due to cohesiveness gains achieved throughfollowing diverse perspective also diminish. Mature team is alsosusceptible to group think and resistant to accept and implementchange.

T t th bl d t i th ti ti f t i


35/74

To counter these problems and sustain the motivation of maturingteam, Robbins suggested four-pronged steps:

1. Prepare members to deal with the problem of maturity: Teams aregiven feedback that they need to face maturity issue. They are

not unique. Every team goes through this phase. They should notlose heart when initial excitement dries away and conflicts startsurfacing. They need to face the situation and need not lose faithin team concept.

2. Offer refresher training: When team is stuck they may be given

refresher training in communication, team building process,conflict management and leadership. Such intervention may buildconfidence and mutual trust among each other.

3. Offer Advanced training: Members may have exhausted their skillset while working on initial problems. Now they are confrontedwith more complicated conceptual, interpersonal and technicalskills.

4. Learning Experience: Teams may be encouraged to own theirdevelopment and search opportunities for continuous

improvement. Teams should try to evolve ways to learn throughdealin with members fears, conflicts and frustrations.



36/74


Although in ideal conditions every member of the team is capable ofproviding leadership to teams, and leadership is a shared process in

team approach to work. Moreover in self-managed teams, there isno requirement of a formal leader. Inspite these assertions,leadership remain an issue with teams. Who will coordinate theeffort? Who will insure that members are sharing the workloadproperly? What will be the process of decision-making followed in

the team? How conflicts will be resolved? How rules will be formed?These are some of the questions that team will be facing within thearea of leadership. Traditionally managed teams may havedesignated leaders, captain, boss coordinator who providesguidance as to how team will function. Depending on his style theleader will be directive (who keeps tight control over the activities ofthe team), delegative (who allow team members to takeresponsibility for work), participative (involving and democratic teamworking), consultative (listens to team members concern but retains

control over decision making of team) and negotiative (relies heavilyon negotiation skills to achieve team objectives). Team can also

share leadership by playing different role showing different skills by


37/74

share leadership by playing different role showing different skills bydifferent members. For example, team members may fulfill roles ofpromoter, organizer, producer maintainer and linker.

Nine Team Roles

Creator- Innovator: Initiate creative ideasExplorer-Promoter: Champion ideas after they are initiatedAssessor-Developer: Analyse decision options

Thruster- Organizer: Provide structureConcluder-Producer: Provide direction and follow throughController- Inspector: Checks for detailsUpholders- Maintainers: Fight external battlesReporters- Advisers: Seek full information

Linkers: Coordinate and integrate

Studies suggest that in traditionally managed teams two factors toplay important role in team performance: leaders expectations andhis mood. The leaders with high expectations from their teammembers end up getting superior team outcomes that leaders having


38/74

low expectations. Similarly, leaders displaying positive mood havebetter team outcomes than leaders showing poor mood. Leaderstrustworthiness also affects team outcome.

Trust is a positive expectation, that another will not, through words,actions, or decisions act opportunistically. P.L Schindler and C.CThomas (quoted in Robbins, 2001) proposed five dimension oftrust:

Integrity: Honesty and truthfulness

Competence: Reliability, predictability, and good judgment inhandling situations

Loyalty: Willingness to protect and save face for a person

Openness: Willingness to share ideas and information freely

Trust involves risk and vulnerability. Still people say trust begetstrust. Following are some of the ways trust can be built:


39/74

1. Demonstrate that you are working for others interest as well asyour own

2. Be a team player3. Practice openness4. Be fair5. Speak your feelings6. Show consistency in the basic values that guide your decision

making

7. Maintain confidences8. Demonstrate competence

Activity 1


40/74

ct ty

Checklist:

Have you selected the right team members?

Task

Yes No

Has she/he an alert intelligence?

Where applicable, has she/he a high level vocationalskills?

Do his or her knowledge/skills complement those ofother team members rather the duplicate them?

Is she/he motivated to seek excellence in results andmethods or working together?

Does his or her track record really bear out the scores

given above?

Team

Will she/he work closely with others in decision-makingand problem-solving without rubbing people up the

wrong way?


41/74

Is she/he flexible enough to adopt different roles withinthe group?

Can she/he influence other-assertive rather than

aggressive

Will she/he contribute to group morale rather thandraw cheques upon it? individual

Has she/he certain amount of will to achieve ambition,

tinged with understanding that she/he cannot do it allalone?

Will she/he develop a feeling of responsibility for thesuccess of the team as a whole, not simply his or herown part in it?

Has she/he integrity?

Does she/he have a realistic perception of his/herstrengths and weakness?


42/74

Activity 2

Task:

Purpose : Am I clear what the task is?Responsibilities : Am I clear what mine are?

Objectives : Have I agreed these with my superior, the

person accountable for the group?

Programme : Have I worked one out to reach objectives?Working condition : Are these right for the job


43/74

Resources : Are these adequate (authority, money,

materials)

Targets : Has each member clearly defined and

agreed them?Authority : Is the line of authority clear? (Accountability

chart)?

Training : Are there any gaps in the specialist skill or

abilities of individuals in the group requiredfor the task?

Priorities : Have I planned the time?

Progress : Do I check this regularly and evaluate?

Supervision : In case of my absence who covers for me?Example : Do I set standards by my behaviour?

A i i 3


44/74

Activity 3

Task:

Team members

Objectives : Does the team clearly understand andaccept them?

Standards : Do they know what standards of performance areexpected?

Safety standards : Do they know consequences of infringement?Size of team : Is the size correct?Team members : Are the right people working together? Is there a

need for subgroups to be constituted?Team spirit : do I look for opportunities for building teamwork

into jobs? Do methods of pay and bonus help todevelop team spirit?

Di i li A th l t b bl ? A I


45/74

Discipline : Are the rules seen to be reasonable? Am Ifair and impartial in enforcing them?

Grievances : Are grievances dealt with promptly? Do I takeaction on matters likely to disrupt the group?

Consultation : Is this gentle? Do I encourage and welcomeideas and suggestions?

Briefing : Is this regular? Does it cover current plans,progress and future developments?

Represent : Am I prepared to represent the feelings of thegroup when required?

Support : Do I visit people at their work when the teamis apart? Do I then represent to the individual

the whole team in my manner andencouragement?

A ti it 4


46/74

Activity 4

Individual

Targets : Have they been agreed and quantified?Induction : Does she/he really know the other team

members and the organisation?Achievement : Does she/he really know the other team

members and the organisation?Responsibilities : Has she/he got a clear and accurate job

description? Can I delegate more to him/her?Authority : Does she/he have sufficient authority for his/her

task?Training : Has adequate provision been made for training

or retaining both technical and as team member?

Developing

The

individual

R iti D I h i l ? I


47/74

Recognition : Do I emphasize peoples successes? Ifailure is criticism constructive?

Growth : Does she/he see the chance ofdevelopment? Does she /he see some

pattern of career?Performance : Is this regularly reviewed?Reward : Are work, capacity and pay in balance?The task : Is she/he in the right job? Has she/he the

necessary resources?The person : Do I know this person will? What makes

him/her different from others?Time/attention : Do I spend enough with individuals listening,

developing, counseling?

Grievances : Are these dealt with promptly?Security : Does she/he know pensions redundancyand so on?

Appraisal : Is the overall performance of each individualregularly reviewed in face to face.

Ch kli t D t d i t


48/74

Checklist: Does your team need maintenance

Does your team need maintenance? The following questions will

help you to decide:

Are there any symptoms of low morale, such as a decline in the

teams self-confidence, a weakening of resolve and a loss of a

sense of purpose? Has the group or organisation lost its sense of direction?

Is each individual member still clear about the teams core

mission and its principal aims? Are personal goals or objectives

related to that purpose? Is the atmosphere of the group negative and lukewarm?

Are individual members lackluster in their enthusiasms?

Has communication between members been dwindling?

Are these signs of mistrust developing?


49/74

Are these signs of mistrust developing?

All groups have potential mentalfatigue cracks. Are these cracks

widening into division between individuals, cliques, or sub-groups?

Have professional and personal standards declined in the last sixmonths?

Can you identify one or more individuals who are clearly

underachieving when measured against todays group standards?Are there complaints about your leadership?

Creating Effective Teams


50/74

Creating Effective Teams

Context

Adequate resources

Leadership and structure

Climate of trust

Performance evolution and reward system

Composition

Ability of members Size of teams

Personality Member flexibility

Allocating role Member preferences

Diversity

Work design

Autonomy

Skill variety

Task identity

Task significance

Process

Common purpose Conflict levels

Specific goals Social loafing

Team efficacy

Team effectiveness

St di f f tb ll b k tb ll h k d b b ll h


51/74

Studies form football, soccer, basketball, hockey, and baseball have

found a number of elements that successful sports teams have that

can be extrapolated to successful work teams.

Successful teams integrate cooperation and competition.Sports team with the best win loss record had coaches who

promoted a strong spirit of cooperation and a high level of healthy

competition among their players.

Successful teams score early wins. Early successes buildteammates faith in themselves and their capacity as a team.

Research on hockey teams of relatively equal ability found that 72

percent of the time the team that was ahead at the end of the first

period went on to win. So managers should provide teams with earlytasks that are simple and provide easy wins.

Successful teams avoid losing streaks. A couple of failures

can lead to a downward spiral if a team becomes demoralized.

Managers need to instill confidence in team members that they can

t rn things aro nd hen the enco nter setbacks


52/74

turn things around when they encounter setbacks.

Practice makes perfect. Successful sport teams execute on

game day but learn from their mistakes in practice. Practice should

be used to try new things and fail. A wise manager encourages workteams to experiment and learn.

Successful teams use half-time breaks. The best coaches in

basketball and football use half-time during a game to reassess

what is working and what isnt. Managers of work teams shouldsimilarly build in assessments at the approximate halfway point in a

team project to evaluate what it can do to improve.

Winning teams have stable membership. Stability improves

performance. Studies of professional basketball teams have foundthat when teammate have more time together, the more able they

are to anticipate one anothers moves and the clearer they are about

one anothers roles.

Successful teams debrief after failures and successes. The

best sports teams study the game video Similarly work teams


53/74

best sports teams study the game video. Similarly, work teams

should routinely assess their successes and failures and should

learn from them.

Sports metaphors are useful. For example, a recent HarvardBusiness Review issue had as the lead story Playing to Win Five

killer Strategies for Trouncing the Competition. The article argues

that winners in business play hardball, which means they pick their

shots, seek out competitive encounters, set the pace of innovation,and test the edges of the possible. Like sports teams, in business

you have to play hardball, which means playing to win. That is what

the sports model can teach us.


54/74

Seven keys to Building Great Work teams


55/74

Seven keys to Building Great Work teams

1. Commitment:- Commitment to the purpose and values of an

organisation provides a clear sense of direction2. Contribution:- The power of an effective team is in direct

proportion to the skills members possess and the initiative of its

members.

3. Communication4. Cooperation

(a) Follow-through

(b) Accuracy

(c) Creativity(d) Timeliness

5. Conflict Management

6. Change Management

7. Connections

Case Study


56/74

Case Study

Teamwork: The New Organisational Paradigm

The old paradigm or model of organisational structure was based on

the assumptions of a hierarchy that top leadership knows all the

answers and is in charge of the goals and work processes for the

organisation. The emerging team paradigm, on the other hand, isconstructed on new assumptions that knowledge, and therefore

insight and answers, are found throughout the organisation in the

abilities and knowhow of all organisational members when brought

together in teams. In this model, goals are mutually determined andwork processes are built around teams of experts.

For example, to prepare for the twenty-first century, General

Electric CEO Jack Welch wanted to build a boundary less

organisation at GE. He worked to eliminate barriers within the

business, such as those created by the functional groups most


57/74

hierarchies are constructed around such as marketing, production

human resources and engineering. To bring creativity, work

processes and knowledge together, GE has introduced cross-

functional teams, project teams and partnerships. GE is also

breaking down the barriers between the company and its

environment by creating alliances with others and building teams

with customers and suppliers.

with the organisational environment likely to remain unstable

and turbulent, the flexibility and adaptability created by teams is a

significant advantage. In fact, Tom Peters and many others predict

that teamwork will replace hierarchy as the dominant form of

organisation in the twenty-first century. According to fortune

magazine, Peters futurists such as Alvin Tofler and CEOs like Allied

Signals Lawrence Bossidy all agree that the demise of the old

authoritarian hierarchies, from the USSR to General Motors, is a

global, historical phenomenon that none can evade. Like it or not,

everyone who works for a living is helping create a new relationship


58/74

everyone who works for a living is helping create a new relationshipbetween individual and corporation, and a new sense of employerand employee.

Peters envisions businesses of the future to be organizedsomewhat like a movie production company. Teams of specialistswill come together for a specific project and then move on into otherteams in the same or other organisations. Key to the success of thisapproach is the understanding that managers must share both

power and responsibility with teams of people who were oncedisempowered by the rigid bureaucratic lines of authority.The downsizing of many corporations, creating flatter

organisations with fewer middle managers available to manage inthe traditional hierarchical manner, has forced organisations to more

fully empower organisation members into true teams. According toC.K Prahalad of the University of Michigan, the emphasis will be onpeople skills. Even those managers designated leaders will need tolearn how to follow the team: A team is not like a pack of sledgedogs, with one dog the leader. Its more like a flight of wild geese:

the leader always changes but they fly in a flock


59/74

the leader always changes, but they fly in a flock. The team phenomenon is particularly suited to the era of

information technology and globalization. Information highways andnetworks connect teams from all over the continent and the globe,

facilitating the exchange of information and creative ideas. Globalalliances create new opportunities to use multinational teams todevelop cooperation and creative exchange. Global alliances willseem like standard operating procedure in the next century asmultinational teams create new ventures for an exciting future.

Source: Management, Stoner, Prentice Hall of India (P) Ltd, NewDelhi,1998

Why Team-Building and Development is Important


60/74

Why Team Building and Development is Important

Team-building and development is important for various reasons:(i) It is a strong and decisive management style.

(ii) Stress among team members is reduced as problems are solvedthrough sharing loads.

(iii)More ideas are generated to enhance team achievements thusincreasing the innovativeness and creativity of team members.

(iv)Even complex multi/inter-disciplinary problems are solved in abetter and effective way by using a team approach.

(v) It is possible to solve inter-personal problems, confusion overrules and poor interpersonal relations and communication issues.

Concept, Nature and Importance of Teamwork

The word team conjures up different images to different people.Some think of sports teams while other s envision workplaceteams teams uniting hourly and salaried workers, teams

cutting across functions, teams that he facilitate labour

Management collaboration and organisational teams that direct their


61/74

own activities without supervision.A team is a group of people working for a common purpose

and goal. When groups perform operating tasks, they act as a team

and seek develop a cooperative state called teamwork. In otherwords, a team is a small number of people with complementaryskills, who are committed to common purpose, goals, and approachfor which they are mutually accountable.

Team Elements

The characteristics of effective team members are: Friendly, concerned and interested in others. Acknowledge and confront conflicts openly.

Listen to others with understanding Recognize and reward team efforts. Encourage and appreciate comments about team performance. Understand goals and are committed to achieving them. Work in a comfortable and informal climate. Are empowered and

individual competitiveness does not exist.

Communication is spontaneous and shared among all members


62/74

Communication is spontaneous and shared among all members.Diversity of ideas and opinion is encouraged. The ideas andcontributions of others are valued.

Respect, open-mindedness and collaboration are high.Members seek win-win solutions and build on each othersideas.

Trust is replaced by fear and people feel comfortable takingrisks.

Leadership is rotated and no one person dominates. Decisions are by consensus and have the acceptance andsupport members.

Factors Contributing to Team Development and Effectiveness

1. Shared Goals and Objectives2. Utilization of Resources3. Trust and Conflict Resolution4. Shared Leadership

5. Control and Procedures

6. Effective Interpersonal Communications


63/74

6. Effective Interpersonal Communications7. Approach to Problem Solving and Decision Making8. Experimentation/Creativity9. Evaluation

Effective team-building and development, therefore, involvesfive things:

(i) Mastering and practicing the steps for team-building anddevelopment.

(ii) The knowledge and skills of the team builder/team leader.(iii) Role of the team builder/team leader.(iv) Role of team members.

(v) Overcoming obstacles to team-building and development.

Mastering and Practicing the Steps for Team-building andD l


64/74

Development

i) Identify the communication barriers present in day-to-day work.

ii) Determine non-verbal messages being sent.iii) Use feedback techniques to reinforce teamwork.iv) Identify personal traits.v) Use personal traits to reinforce teamwork.vi) When in doubt, inquire to obtain the needed information.

vii) Using facts, and considering their probable consequences,advocate the appropriate action.

viii) Identify when actionix) identify conflicting styles.x) Manage conflict by using information on personal traits and

promote and reinforce teamwork.xi) Be assertive and take actins appropriate for the situation.xii)Identify conditions that could adversely affect teamwork.xiii) Identify behavior that reinforce or degrade team performance.xiv) Analyse functioning in operations, maintenance, etc., to

determine value and relevance.

xv) Determine the strengths and challenges of various organisational


65/74

xv) Determine the strengths and challenges of various organisationalteams.

xvi) Do a critique of team performance before and after some teamactivity.

The Knowledge and Skills of Team Builders/Team Leaders

1. Background Reading in Team-Building Theory

i) Theory of Team Growthii) Repertoire of Discussions2. Availability of Structured Experiences3. Skill in Process Feedback4. Personal Acceptability

5. Co-facilitating Experience6. Personal Openness

Role of the Team Builder/Leader


66/74

Role of the Team Builder/Leader

The team builder/leader should not merely have the requisiteknowledge and skills but should also play his role in a mannerthat facilitates team-building and development. For this, he needsto follow these essential steps/actions:

1. Establish clear aims by helping team members bogged down with

methods come out of it, so that teams know where to go.2. Start the process in a modest way; big oaks grow from littleacorns.

3. Communicate concepts that team members can grasp.4. Ensure agreement on total commitment before embarking on

action, since gaining commitment is time-consuming.Commitment grows from real understanding, and change withoutcommitment is difficult.

5. Develop organizational acceptance by ensuring understandingabout team-building and managing resources right.

6. Build realistic time schedules.

7 Consult widely and genuinely


67/74

7. Consult widely and genuinely8. Relate team-building to the organisations work.9. Encourage openness and frankness

10.Do not raise false expectations, since broken promises affectcredibility.11.Re-organise work if necessary.12.Always remember, you can lead a horse to the water, but you

cannot make it drink. Thus,

a) People cannot be forced to change.b) People cannot be forced into pretending to change.c) People cannot e forced into openness and honesty.

13. Remember those who are not part of action can be jealous;people always like to be in the thick of things.

14. Remember, team-building can precipitate other problems, sinceother groups often start feeling insecure.

15. Always learn to delegate, since delegation usually leadsdevelopment.

16. Take responsibility for your own acitons.

17. Learn from mistakes: admit when you are wrong, review


68/74

y g,progress regularly and encourage feedback.

18. Remember, honest feedback is the most valuable thing yourcolleague can give you.

19. Practice what you preach, since actions speak louder thanwords.

20. Make everyday work relevant by reorganising, ensuring theteam effectiveness.

21. Build contacts with other teams etc.

Role of Team Members

It is also important to ensure the following:

1. All team members are clear about the objectives of the team.2. Individual skills are identified and roles clarified.3. The team is structured appropriately for the needs of the task.4. The team reflects on its work methods, and sets targets for

improvement.

5. The team has self-discipline, using time and resources well.6 The team has sufficient opportunities to meet and work through


69/74

6. The team has sufficient opportunities to meet and work throughany problem.

7. It supports members and develops close relationships.8. It has an open relationship and is prepared to confront difficulties

and obstacles to effectiveness.

Overcoming Obstacles to Team-Building & Development

The following are areas that should be worked on to remove suchobstacles:(i) Clear objectives and agreed goals.(ii) Openness and confrontation.(iii) Support and Trust.

(iv) Cooperation and conflict(v) Sound procedure(vi) Appropriate leadership(vii) Regular review.(viii) Individual development

(ix) Sound inter-group relations

Team Building Process


70/74

Team Building Process

In organisations that are still in an active stage of growth and theteam culture not very strong, the first step is creating awarenessabout team-building and development, particularly with respect to:

1. The concept, nature and importance of teamwork.2. Team-building processes and interventions

3. Factors contributing to and hindering team-building anddevelopment.4. Steps in team-building and development5. Knowledge ad skills required for the competent team builder.6. The approach needed to be adopted by the team builder.

7. Characteristics of effective team members.

A model of Team-Building


71/74

A model of Team Building

Stage Themes Task Outcomes Relationship

OutcomesForming Awareness Commitment Acceptance

Storming Conflict Clarification Belonging

Norming Cooperation Involvement Support

Performing Productivity Achievement Pride

Adjourning Separation Recognition Satisfaction

Case Study


72/74

y

Large Teams that Work Like Small Teams: Microsoft

Bill Gates

Learn from mistakes. What was a major failure you had? Flexible time.

Visionary risk takes. There are lots of failures. That is accepted here It is better to take chances and fail than never to take

chances at all.

Early in Microsofts evaluation, Bill Gates came to the conclusion that


73/74

ythe best software was created by small groups of developers. When thecompany decided to move from Seattle, its Redmond Campus wasdesigned to reinforce small groups. To create the right environment,

office accommodation was provided in a series of two-storey buildings,which allowed team members to interact with their development groupson daily basis, rather than opt for the classic corporate HQ.Gates also instituted systems that reinforced the effectiveness of thesmall team mentality. According to the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnologys (MITs) Professor Michael Cusumano, in Microsoft Gateshas created a special culture that fosters creativity, both individually andin teams, at the same time meeting commercial deadlines anddemands.

The Microsoft product development philosophy is labeled synch-and-stabilise. This involves focusing creativity by evolving features andfixing resources, and doing everything in parallel with frequentsynchronizations. Exactly what it means is obscure. But clearly, there is

method in their madness.

What is striking about the Microsoft approach, says Professor Cusumano, isthat the company is not the free wheeling ideas factory it is often portrayed


74/74

that the company is not the free wheeling ideas factory it is often portrayedas being. In particular, he points out, the seemingly relaxed atmosphere isonly one part of the picture. Pizzas may be delivered directly to desks, butthere is also a great deal of control- or discipline at work. It may appear

jolly and collegiate, but it is deadly serious. (Interestingly, Tim Jacksonsrecent book on Intel produced similar observations of the chip maker.) Forexample, the scope and ambition of each and every project is carefullydelineated. The numbers of people involved and the time they spend on aparticular project are also carefully controlled. Some rules are unbending

bugs have to be immediately repaired to ensure that work is coordinated.

But, as Michael Cusumano points out, this is simply good projectmanagement, as applicable to software development as to any otherbusiness where project development is continuous. People are given

responsibility and allowed to determine their own working patterns andschedules up to a point. The boundaries are very clear and simple.People know where they stand, how the system works and what isexpected from them. The system works because the people are smart

Module1 Team Building

Documents

Transcript of Module1 Team Building