LECTURE 5: TEAMWORK

Gireesh V Gunoury

Nove 2020
DEFINITION OF TEAM

• What is a team?

Katzenbach & Smith defined a team as

“a team is a small number of people with
complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, performance goals and approach
for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable”
WHAT IS TEAMWORK?

As per the definition provided above by Katzenbach & Smith, the

characteristics of teams are as follows:
1. Teams are basic units of performance for the organisations. They
meld together the skills, experiences and insights of several people.
2. Teamwork applies to the whole organisation as well as to specific
teams. Teams represent a set of values that encourage behaviours
such as listening and responding cooperatively to points of views
expressed by others.
3. Teams are created and energised by significant and demanding
performance challenges.
4. Teams outperform individuals acting alone or in large organisational
groupings, especially when performance requires multiple skills,
judgements and experiences.
WHAT IS TEAMWORK?

5. Teams are flexible and responsive to changing

events and demands. They can adjust their approach
to new information and challenges with greater speed,
accuracy and effectiveness than can individuals caught
in the web of larger organisational connections.
6. High performance teams invest much time and
effort exploring, shaping and agreeing on a purpose
that belongs to them, both collectively and
individually. They are characterized by a deep sense of
commitment to their growth and success.
 TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

An effective team has to have certain characteristics.

An effective team needs to:
1. be structured.
2. have a leadership.
3. have methods of operation.
4. have commitment of the whole work group.
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

According to Mc Gregor, the main features of a well functioning and creative team are as follows:
1. The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable and relaxed.
2. There is a lot of discussion in which initially everyone participates, but it remains pertinent to
the task of the group.
3. The task or objective of the team is well understood and accepted by the members.
4. The members listen to each other. Every idea is given a hearing.
5. There is disagreement. Disagreements are not suppressed or overridden by premature team
action.
6. Most decisions are reached by consensus in which it is clear that everbody is in general
agreement and willing to go along.
7. Criticism is frequent, frank and relatively comfortable. There is little evidence of personal
attack, either openly or in a hidden fashion.
8. People are free in expressing their feelings as well as their ideas both on the problem and
on group’s operation.
9. When action is taken, clear assignments are made and accepted.
10. The leader of the team does not dominate the group. There is no struggle for power.
TEAM EFFECTIVENESS

• Wickens specified in his research that effective teamwork

is ‘not dependent on people working in groups but upon
everyone working towards the same objectives’.
• The essence of all members of the team working towards
the same objectives is based on:
- promoting mutual trust and cooperation between the
company, the union and employees.
- recognising that all employees, at whatever level, have a
valued part to play in the success of the company.
- seeking actively the contributions of all employees in
furthering these goals.
CHECK-LIST FOR EFFECTIVE TEAMWORK

1. Establish urgency and direction.

2. Select members based on skills and skill potential, not personalities.
3. Pay particular attention to meetings and action.
4. Set immediate performance-oriented tasks and goals.
5. Set overlapping and interlocking objectives for people who have to work
hard.
6. Assess people’s performance not only on the results they achieve.
7. Encourage people to build networks.
8. Set up interdepartmental project teams with brief to get on with it.
9. Describe and think of the organisation as a system of interlocking teams.
10. Hold special ‘off the job’ meetings for work teams.
11. Use training programmes to build relationships.
12. Use team building and interactive skills training to supplement the other
approaches.
 Differences between a working group and a team
Work Groups Teams
Individual accountability Members work interdependently

Tend to look at their job in isolation. Has a specific and agreed purpose and collaborate

Members do not trust each other's motives Members make a conscious effort to be honest and trust each other

Members may or may not participate in group decision-making, Members participate equally in decision-making
and conformity is valued more than positive results

In a group, members receive good training but are limited in Team, members are encouraged to continually develop skills and apply
applying it to the job what they learn on the job

Discusses, decides and delegates Discusses, decides and does the work
Stages of team development

• Forming
• Norming
• Storming
• Performing
• Adjourning
 The communication patterns within each stage of
team development
Stage Indicative pattern of communication
Forming The stage of team development characterized by orientation and acquaintance.
 
Fairly open and multilateral communication, as team members seek initial indication of capabilities and roles.

Storming The stage of team development in which individual personalities and roles, and resulting conflicts, emerge.
 
Strong evidence of bilateral persuasive communication as arguments and counter-arguments are exchanged.

Norming The stage of team development in which conflicts developed during the storming stage are resolved and team
harmony and unity emerge.
 
Greater attention to bilateral feedback as team leaders confirm consent and establish roles.

Performing The stage of team development in which members focus on problem solving and accomplishing the team’s assigned
task.
 
Regulated multilateral exchanges between team members engaged in agreed roles.

Adjourning The stage of team development in which members prepare for the team’s disbandment.
 
Combination of intensified multilateral exchanges and some unilateral direction as task is pulled together, followed by
bilateral leave-takings.