UNIT 2: CREATING GREAT TEAMS

2020_PHC528

B.M. Hlalele
E. Tshobeka
Key topics
1. Why have teams become so popular?
2. Differences between groups and teams
3. Types of teams
4. Creating effective teams
5. Turning individuals into team players
6. Different approaches to team roles
7. Summary and implications for managers
8. The five-stage model of group development.
9. Punctuated-equilibrium model

2
Why have teams become so popular?/why teams?

Most successful companies use some form of team work to improve

performance
As organisations have restructured themselves to compete more effectively
and efficiently, they have turned to teams as a better way to use employee
talents
Teams are more flexible and responsive to changing events than traditional
departments
We expect future organisations to rely more on project-based structures and
temporary teams

3
 Why have teams become so popular?/why teams?
Time constraints can give teams less time to develop and may impact on
relations, trust and performance
Teams facilitate employee participation and are an effective means to
democratise organisations and increase motivation

4
 Differences between groups and teams
Very important!

Work group: A group that interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each
group member perform within his or her area of responsibility.

Work team: A group whose individual efforts result in performance that is greater than the sum of
the individual inputs.
Comparing groups and teams

5
Types of teams
Four types of teams

Figure 11.2 p 370

Problem-solving teams: Groups of five to 12

employees from the same department who meet for a
few hours each week to discuss ways of improving quality,
efficiency and the work environment.
Self-managed work teams: Groups of ten to 15 people
who take on responsibilities of their former supervisors.

6
 Creating effective teams
Context: What factors determine whether teams are successful

Adequate resources – timely information, proper equipment, adequate staffing,

encouragement and administrative assistance
Leadership and structure – teams must agree on who is to do what and must share the
workload; leadership is important in multiteam systems
Multiteam systems: Systems in which different teams need to coordinate their efforts to
produce a desired outcome.
Linking skills that help leaders achieve results through teamwork:
People linki – active listening, communication, team relationships, problem solving and
counselling, participative decision making, interface management
Task linking – objective setting, setting quality standards, work allocation, team
development, delegation
Leadership l – motivation, strategy formulation

7
 Creating effective teams
Context: What factors determine whether teams are successful

Climate of trust – members of effective teams trust each other and their leader, allowing them
to take risks and expose vulnerabilities
Five team dysfunctions must be overcome according to Lencioni:
1. Absence of trust – if there is enough trust, members will be open toward each other, won’t be afraid to
be honest and will shun organisational politics
2. Fear of conflict – when fear of conflict is overcome, members can disagree, challenge each other and
engage in passionate dialogue
3. Lack of commitment – teams committed to decisions hold one another accountable for adhering to
decisions and standards
4. Avoidance of accountability – teams that practice accountability will focus on what is best for the team
and will achieve results
5. Inattention to results – teams that focus on achieving results are able to achieve genuine buy-in around
important decisions

Performance evaluation and reward systems – reward system should reflect team
performance as well as individual contributions
8
 Creating effective teams
Team composition

Abilities of members
Part of a team’s performance depends on knowledge, skills and abilities of its individual
members
These abilities set limits on what members can do and how effectively they will perform in a
team
High-ability teams perform better when the task entails considerable thought and they are
more adaptable to changing situations
The ability of a team’s leader also matters and can help less-intelligent team members when
they struggle
Personality of members
Teams that rate higher on mean levels of conscientiousness and openness to experience
perform better
Conscientious members are good at backing up other team members and sense when support
is needed. Open team members communicate better with one another and provide more ideas

9
Creating effective teams
Team composition

Key roles of teams

Allocation of roles
Teams have different needs
and members should be
selected to ensure all various
roles are filled
Managers need to understand
the individual strengths each
person can bring to a team,
select members with their
strength in mind and allocate
work assignments that fit with
members’ preferred styles

Figure 11.5 p 379

10
Creating effective teams
Team composition

Diversity of members
Organisational demography: The degree to which members of a
work unit share a common demographic attribute, such as age, sex, race, educational
level or length of service in an organisation, and the impact of this attribute on
turnover.
Turnover will be greater among those with dissimilar experiences because communication is more
difficult and conflict is more likely
Demographic diversity seems to be unrelated to overall team performance
Proper leadership can improve the performance of diverse teams
Cultural diversity can interfere with team processes in the short term
It can be an asset for tasks that call for a variety of viewpoints, but culturally heterogeneous teams
have more difficulty working together and solving problems
These difficulties seem to dissipate over time (after about 3 months)

11
Creating effective teams
Team composition

Size of teams
Experts agree that keeping teams small is the key to improving group effectiveness
Most effective teams have five to nine members
Experts suggest using the smallest number of people who can do the task
Members of large teams have trouble coordinating, especially under time pressure
Member preference
Not every employee is a team player
Individuals who prefer to work alone create a threat to morale and member satisfaction when
forced to team up
High-performing teams are usually composed of individuals who prefer working as part of a group

12
Creating effective teams
Team processes

Effects of group processes

Figure 11.6 p 381

Common plan and purpose

Effective teams begin by analysing the team’s mission, developing goals to achieve that
mission and creating strategies for achieving the goals
Successful teams put a lot of time and effort into shaping their common purpose, which
provides direction and guidance
It is important that team members strive for the same type of goal
Reflexivity: A team characteristic of reflecting on and adjusting the master plan
when necessary.

13
Creating effective teams
Team processes

Specific goals
Successful teams translate their common purpose into specific, measurable and realistic
performance goals
Specific goals help clear communication and maintaining focus on getting results
Goals should be challenging
Team efficacy
Team efficacy refers to teams’ confidence in their ability to succeed

14
Creating effective teams
Team processes

Mental models
Mental models: Team members’ knowledge and beliefs about how the work gets
done by the team.
Team’s performance suffers if members have the wrong mental models, which is likely to
happen with teams under acute stress

15
Creating effective teams
Team processes

Conflict levels
Conflict on a team isn’t necessarily bad
Relationship conflicts – based on interpersonal incompatibility, tension and animosity
toward others – are almost always dysfunctional
Disagreements about task content stimulate discussion, promote critical assessment of
problems and options and can lead to better team decisions
How conflicts are resolved can make the difference between effective and ineffective
teams
Social loafing
Effective teams undermine social loafing by making members individually and jointly
accountable for the team’s purpose, goals and approach

16
Creating effective teams
Turning individuals into team players

Developing team identity: Breaking down silos

Team leadership is confronted with the challenge of preventing functional areas (vertical
specialisation) such as maintenance, production and sales, or management levels
(horizontal segmentation) from forming silos by focusing only on their own interests
A silo mentality negatively influences team identity, leading to destructive outcomes
Selecting: Hiring team players
When faced with job candidates who lack team skills, managers have three options:
don’t hire, don’t assign them to a team, or train the candidate to make them a team
player
Organisations often don’t do enough to analyse the team context and situation to
determine which type of person will fit best
Resist the urge to hire the best talent no matter what; sometimes the most talented
person is not an effective team player
17
Creating effective teams
Turning individuals into team players

Training: Creating team players

Training specialists conduct exercises that allow employees to experience the satisfaction team
work can provide
Workshops help employees improve their problem-solving, communication, negotiation,
conflict-management and coaching skills
The five-stage group development model and improvisational theatre are also useful tools to
teach employees
Rewarding: Providing incentives to be a good team player
An organisation’s reward system must be reworked to encourage cooperative efforts rather
than competitive ones
Many companies direct most of their performance-based rewards towards team performance
Team members who work effectively should be recognised
Intrinsic rewards (such as camaraderie) can be very satisfying too

18
Creating effective teams
Turning individuals into team players

Coaching: Appointing a team coach to develop the team

More and more teams appoint a coach to help them operate as a unit and perform optimally
Team coaches help the team to deal with team processes, breaking down silos, managing
diversity, building trust, engaging in challenging dialogues and openly discussing sensitive
team issues
Core competencies for a good business team coach include:
◦ Knowledge – coaching process, leadership practice, management development,
business acumen, training and development, individual and group behaviour and
diversity management
◦ Skills – building effective relationships, facilitation expertise, EQ skills, political and
contextual intelligence, change management and capacity for flexibility
◦ Attitude and values – authenticity, self-awareness, openness, honesty, empathy,
ethics, trust, enthusiasm and passion, inspiration and integrity

19
 Different approaches to team roles

Myers Briggs Type Indicator

Team facilitators use the 16 personality types to optimise relations between team
members
Belbin team roles
– organising ability, hard-working, dutiful
– welcomes all contributions on their merits without prejudice, calm, confident
– drive and readiness to challenge inertia, outgoing, dynamic
– genius, imagination, intellect, serious-minded, unorthodox
– contacts people and explores new things
– judgement, discretion, hard-headed, prudent
– can respond to people and situations, team spirit
– can follow through, perfectionist, orderly

20
Different approaches to team roles
Margerison-McCann Team Management Systems
Work preferences
Law of four Ps – we always tend to practise what we prefer. The more you practise the
more proficient you become, in turn leading to gaining pleasure from your work.
Four key issues at the heart of managerial differences:
◦ Extrovert/introvert – how do people relate to others?
◦ Practical/creative – how do people prefer to gather and use information?
◦ Analytical/beliefs – how do people prefer to make decisions?
◦ Structured/flexible – how do people prefer to organise themselves and others?

21
Different approaches to team roles
Types of work
Margerison and McCann identified nine different work functions:
◦ Advising – gathering and reporting information
◦ Innovating – creating and experimenting with new ideas
◦ Promoting – exploring and presenting opportunities
◦ Developing – assessing and testing the applicability of new approaches
◦ Organising – establishing and implementing ways of making things work
◦ Producing – concluding and delivering outputs
◦ Inspecting – controlling and auditing the working of systems
◦ Maintaining – upholding and safeguarding standards and processes
◦ Linking – integrating and coordinating team efforts

22
 Different approaches to team roles
Team Management Profile
TMP analysis identifies the following roles:
Reporter-adviser: excellent at gathering information and presenting it in a way that can be
understood, take action only once they have all the relevant information
Creator-innovator: people who are future-oriented, enjoy thinking about new ideas and
new ways about doing things
Explorer-promoter: excellent at taking ideas and promoting them to others, both inside
and outside organisation
Assessor-developer: good at taking ideas and implementing them, they are social outgoing
people who enjoy new opportunities
Thruster organiser: enjoy making things happen
Concluder-producer: highly practical people who see things through
Controller-inspector: quiet people who like details, facts and figures
Upholder-maintainer: strong personal values and principles

23
Summary and implications for managers

Developing trust within the team is crucial for success

Individual differences within the team need to be managed
One should focus more on individual strengths than weaknesses
Effective teams have common characteristics – adequate resources, effective leadership, climate
of trust and a performance evaluation and reward system that reflects team contributions
Effective teams also tend to be small – with fewer than ten people, preferably of diverse
backgrounds
Effective teams have members who believe in the team’s capabilities and are committed to a
common plan and purpose
Management should try to select individuals who have interpersonal skills to be effective team
players
Management scientists and practitioners in SA should invest time and energy in this important
topic

24
The five-stage model of group development.
 5-stage model
Stages of Group Development
Stages of Group and Team Development
Stage I: Forming
◦ Characterized by much uncertainty

Stage II: Storming

◦ Characterized by intragroup conflict

Stage III: Norming

◦ Characterized by close relationships and cohesiveness
Stages of Group Development
Stage IV: Performing
◦ The stage when the group is fully functional

Stage V: Adjourning
◦ The final stage in group development for temporary groups, characterized by concern with wrapping up
activities rather than task performance
 Putting the Five-Stage Model
Into Perspective (important!!)
Groups do not necessarily progress clearly through the stages one at a time.
Groups can sometimes go back to an earlier stage.
Conflict can sometimes be helpful to the group.
Context can matter: airline pilots can immediately reach performing stage.
The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
Phase 1
◦ The first meeting sets the group’s direction.
◦ The first phase of group activity is one of inertia.
Transition
◦ A transition takes place at the end of the first phase, which
occurs exactly when the group has used up half its allotted time.
◦ The transition initiates major changes.
Phase 2
◦ A second phase of inertia follows the transition.
Last meeting is characterized by markedly accelerated activity.
The Punctuated-Equilibrium Model
(High)

Completion

Phase 2
Performance

First
Meeting
Transition
Phase 1
(Low)
A (A+B)/2 B
Time
Characteristics of an Effective Team
Once again!!!
Clear purpose Open communication
Informality Clear rules and work assignments
Participation Shared leadership
Listening External relations
Civilized disagreement Style diversity
Consensus decisions Self-assessment
A Model of Team Effectiveness
Context Composition
• Adequate resources • Skills
• Leadership and structure • Personality
• Climate of trust • Roles
• Performance evaluation • Diversity
and rewards • Size
• Member flexibility
• Member preference for
teamwork
Team
effectiveness
Work design Process
• Autonomy • Common purpose
• Skill variety • Specific goals
•Task identity •Team efficacy
•Task significance • Managed level of conflict
• Accountability
Creating Effective Teams – Context
Adequate Resources
Leadership and Structure
Climate of Trust
Performance Evaluation and Rewards
Creating Effective Teams – Composition
Skills
Personality
Roles
Diversity
Size
Member Flexibility
Members’ Preference for Teamwork
Skills
Teams need the following skills to perform effectively:
◦ Technical expertise
◦ Problem-solving and decision-making skills
◦ Interpersonal skills
Roles
Task-oriented roles
◦ Roles performed by group members to ensure that the tasks
of the group are accomplished.
Maintenance roles
◦ Roles performed by group members to maintain good
relations within the group.
Individual roles
◦ Roles performed by group members that are not productive
for keeping the group on task.
Roles That Build Task
Accomplishment
Initiating Stating the goal or problem, making proposals
about how to work on it, setting time limits

Seeking information and Asking group members for specific factual

opinions information related to the task or problem

Providing information and Sharing information or opinions related to the task

opinions or problems

Clarifying Helping one another understand ideas and

suggestions that come up in the group

Elaborating Building on one another’s ideas and suggestions

Summarizing Reviewing the points covered by the group and the

different ideas stated so that decisions can be
based on full information

Consensus Testing Periodic testing about whether the group is nearing

a decision or needs to continue discussion
Roles That Build and Maintain a Team
Harmonizing Mediating conflict among other members,
reconciling disagreements, relieving tensions

Compromising Admitting error at times of group conflict

Gatekeeping Making sure all members have a chance to express

their ideas and feelings and preventing members
from being interrupted

Encouraging Helping a group member make his or her point.

Establishing a climate of acceptance in the group
Diversity
Impact of diverse groups
◦ Diversity in personality, age, gender, and experience promotes conflict, which
stimulates creativity and idea generation, which leads to improved decision
making.
◦ Cultural diversity in groups initially leads to more difficulty in building cohesion,
gaining satisfaction, being productive.
◦ Problems pass with time (certainly by three months).
◦ Culturally diverse groups bring more viewpoints out.
Advantages and Disadvantages of
Diversity
Advantages Disadvantages

Multiple perspectives Ambiguity

Greater openness to new Complexity
ideas
Confusion
Multiple interpretations
Miscommunication
Increased creativity
Difficulty in reaching a
Increased flexibility single agreement
Increased problem-solving Difficulty in agreeing on
skills specific actions
Group Size
Research shows that:
◦ Smaller groups are faster at completing tasks.
◦ When problem solving, larger groups do better.

Social Loafing
◦ The tendency for individuals to expend less effort when working collectively than
when working individually.
◦ To reduce social loafing, teams should not be larger than necessary, and
individuals should be held accountable for their actions.
Team Member Attributes
Member Flexibility
◦ The ability of team members to complete each others’ tasks.

Members’ Preference for Teamwork

◦ Team members who would prefer to work on their own threaten the team’s morale.
Creating Effective Teams –
Work Design
Effective teams need to work together and take collective responsibility to
complete significant tasks. They must be more than a “team-in-name-
only.”
Creating Effective Teams – Process
Common Purpose
Specific Goals
Team Efficacy
Managed Level of Conflict
Accountability
Creating a Team Charter
What are team members’ names and contact information (e.g., phone, email)?
How will communication among team members take place (e.g., phone, email)?
What will the team ground rules be (e.g., where and when to meet, attendance
expectations, workload expectations)?
How will decisions be made (e.g., consensus, majority vote, leader rules)?
What potential conflicts may arise in the team? Among team members?
How will conflicts be resolved by the group?
Increasing Socio-emotional
Cohesiveness
Keep the group relatively small.
Strive for a favourable public image to increase the status and prestige of belonging.
Encourage interaction and cooperation.
Emphasize members’ common characteristics and interests.
Point out environmental threats (e.g., competitors’ achievements) to rally the group.
Increasing Instrumental Cohesiveness
Regularly update and clarify the group’s goal(s).
Give every group member a vital “piece of the action.”
Channel each group member’s special talents toward the common
goal(s).
Recognize and equitably reinforce every member’s contributions.
Frequently remind group members they need each other to get the job
done.
Exhibit 5-7 Relationship Between Group Cohesiveness, Performance
Norms,
and Productivity

Cohesiveness
High Low
Performance Norms

High Moderate
High
productivity productivity

Low Moderate to
Low
productivity low productivity
Virtual Teams
Virtual Teams
◦ Use computer technology to tie together physically dispersed members in order to achieve a common
goal.
Managing Virtual Teams
Establish regular times for group interaction.
Set up firm rules for communication.
Use visual forms of communication where possible.
Copy the good points of on-site teams. For example, allow time for informal chitchat and
socializing, and celebrate achievements.
Give and receive feedback and offer assistance on a regular basis. Be persistent with people
who are not communicating with you or each other.
Agree on standard technology so all team members can work together easily.
Managing Virtual Teams
Consider using 360-degree feedback to better understand and evaluate team members.
This type of feedback comes from the full circle of daily contacts that an employee might
have, including supervisors, peers, subordinates, and clients.
Provide a virtual workspace via an intranet, website, or bulletin board.
Note which employees effectively use email to build team rapport.
Smooth the way for the next assignment if membership on the team, or the team itself, is
not permanent.
Be available to employees, but don’t wait for them to seek you out.
Encourage informal, off-line conversation between team members.
An Illustration of Virtual Workspace

Source: Reprinted by permission of Shell Chemical LP.

Summary and Implications
What are teams and groups?
◦ Groups are simply the sum of individual efforts. Teams generate
positive synergy through coordinated efforts.
Does everyone use teams?
◦ Teams have become an essential part of the way business is
being done, with a large majority of companies now using them.
Do groups and teams go through stages while they work?
◦ Two different models were presented:
◦ The five stage model: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning
◦ The punctuated-equilibrium model: describes the pattern of development of
specific to temporary groups with deadlines
 THANK YOU
From us
Tshobeka & Hlalele