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 Chapter 8

Leading Teams

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 Learning Objectives

• Understand when and why participation should be

used to improve leadership effectiveness.
• Explain the benefits of and provide guidelines for
delegation.
• Apply the use of various types of teams and self-
leadership.
• Lead teams effectively and manage and avoid team
dysfunctions.

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 The Leadership
Question

What are the factors that make the

implementation of teams so challenging for
many leaders? What can be done to improve
the situation?

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 Continuum of Participation

Organizational Structure
Traditional Team-based
organization organization

Occasional use
of teams and
employee
High management participation Total delegation
control = No employee = High employee
participation participation

Management Control

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Criteria for Use of Participation

• When the task is complex and quality is

important
• When follower commitment is needed
• When there is time
• When the leader and follower are ready
• When the leader and followers can easily
interact

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 Benefits of Participation

• Development of followers
• Better decision on complex tasks
• Increase in follower motivation and
commitment
• Opportunity to empower followers

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 Role of Culture

• Collectivist cultures emphasize team

processes
• Higher power distances reduces team
empowerment
• Humane orientation supports use of
teams
• Horizontal-vertical dimension also
plays a role

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 Benefits of Delegation

• Frees leaders’ time for new tasks and

strategic activities
• Provides employees with opportunities to
learn and develop
• Allows employees to be involved in tasks
• Allows observation and evaluation of
employees in new tasks
• Increases employee motivation and
satisfaction

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 Guidelines for Good
Delegation

• Delegate pleasant and unpleasant tasks

• Clarify goals and expectations
• Provide support and authority
• Monitor and provide feedback
• Delegate to different followers
• Create a safe environment
• Develop your own coaching skills

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 Excuses for not Delegating

• My followers are not ready

• They do not have the right skills
• I am uncomfortable delegating my tasks
• I can do the job quicker myself
• My followers are too busy
• I am responsible for my followers mistakes
• My own manager may think I am not
working hard enough

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 Characteristics of Teams

• Members are fully committed to common

goals they develop
• Members are mutually accountable to one
another
• Members trust one another
• Collaborative culture
• Shared leadership based on facilitation
• Synergy

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 Self-Managed Teams

• Power to manage their own work

• Members with different expertise and
experience
• No outside manager
• Power to implement team decisions
• Coordination with other teams
• Internal leadership based on facilitation

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Elements of Self-Leadership

• Positive and motivating thought

patterns
• Personal goal setting
• Observation and self-evaluation
• Self-reinforcement

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 Strategies for Developing Self-
Leadership

• Listen more; talk less

• Ask questions rather than provide
answers
• Share information rather than hoard it
• Encourage independent thinking rather
than compliant followership
• Encourage creativity rather than
conformity

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 Structural Factors in
Building Effective Teams

• Size of the team

• Composition of the team
• Role of leaders

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 Team Composition:
Heterogeneity and Homogeneity

Homogeneity:
Less conflict
More cohesion
Faster agreement

Heterogeneity:
More creativity
Better decisions in
complex environments

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Role of Team Leaders

Coordinate
activities Define team
boundaries

Help define Make

goals individual
contributions

Counsel and
Obtain
training
encourage

Observe from
Help manage distance
conflict

Assess
the team

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 Team Training Activities

• Team
• Cross training
• Coordination training
• Self-guided
• Assertiveness training

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 Dysfunctions in Teams

• Groupthink
• Free-riders
• Negativity – bad apples
• Lack of cooperation and trust

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 Groupthink

Antecedents
High cohesion Symptoms
Complex situation Illusion of invulnerability
Strong leader Belief in morality of group
Insulation from outside Rationalization
Lack of procedures Stereotyping of outsiders
Self-censorship
Illusion of unanimity
Direct pressure
Self-appointed mindguards
Consequences
Poor information gathering
Selective information
processing
Few alternatives
Failure to consider risk
Failure to evaluation
alternatives
No contingency plan

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 Helping Teams Become
Effective

• Voluntary membership
• Clear purpose
• Appropriate training
• Continuous monitoring
• Develop cooperation and trust

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 Building Trust

Competence
&hard work
Celebrate
success Integrity

Reward Open
cooperation communications

Fairness & Mutual respect

equity & support

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 The Leadership
Question Revisited
• Teams can be overused and organizations do not
reward teams well
• To succeed team should be used only when they can
actually contribute more than individuals could
• Train members and leaders well
• Leaders must delegate effectively and help teams
clarify the boundaries of their tasks and responsibilities
• Teams are not a cure-all, but rather one of the tools
available to leaders.

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 What Do You Do?

You have been assigned to put together a team to

support a high-profile client with a new product your
company has developed. Your boss has given you
the pick of any one you would like, but she is
suggesting that you pick the best and the brightest
performers to assure that the client gets top-notch
service. What factors do you consider to create
your team?

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Leadership Challenge

• Focuses on guidelines for delegation

• Listens to feedback, even if unpleasant
• Tasks should be spread among followers
• Delegation to different people provides
opportunity to develop followers and
observe performance
• Volunteers are highly valuable; they have
the motivation to do the task

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Leading Change:
Google

• Happiest place to work

• Extensive data collection on what makes
employees engage and collaborate
• Use data to create a supportive workplace
• Chief culture officer in charge
• Flat structure and participatory leadership
• Provide employees with opportunity to
contribute to society

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 Leadership In Action:
Mackey

• Entirely team-based organization

• Empowers employees
• Profit and gain-sharing
• “Declaration of interdependence”
• Employee happiness
• Continuous learning
• Internal promotions

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