9 Foundations of Team Dynamics McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Teamwork In the Securities Industry Paul Tramontano (2nd from left) and other professionals in the securities industry have formed teams to better serve clients Tramontano heads a 12-person team (called the Topeka Wealth Management Group) at Citigroup’s Smith Barney McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-2 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved What are Teams? • Groups of two or more people • Exist to fulfill a purpose • Interdependent interact and influence each other • Mutually accountable for achieving common goals • Perceive themselves as a social entity McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-3 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Groups versus Teams • All teams are groups • Some groups are just people assembled together • Teams have task interdependence whereas some groups not (e.g., group of employees enjoying lunch together) McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-4 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Many Types of Teams • Departmental teams • Skunkworks • Production/service/ leadership teams • Task force (project) teams • Self-directed teams • Virtual teams • Advisory teams • Communities of practice McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-5 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Why Rely on Teams • Compared with individuals working alone, teams tend to: – Make better decisions – Make better products and services due to more knowledge and expertise – Increase employee engagement McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-6 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Why Informal Groups Exist Innate drive to bond Social identity – We define ourselves by group memberships Goal accomplishment Emotional support McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-7 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Effectiveness Defined • Fulfills objectives assigned to the team • Fulfills satisfaction and well-being of team members • Maintains team’s survival McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-8 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Effectiveness Model Organizational and Team Environment • Reward systems • Communication systems Team Design •Task characteristics •Team size •Team composition • Physical space • Organizational environment • Organizational structure • Organizational leadership McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Team Effectiveness Team Processes •Team development •Team norms •Team roles •Team cohesiveness Slide 9-9 • Achieve organizational goals • Satisfy member needs Maintain team survival â 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team’s Task and Size • Task characteristics – Better when tasks are clear, easy to implement – Share common inputs, processes, or outcomes – Task interdependence • Team size – Smaller teams are better – But large enough to accomplish task McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-10 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Composition Motivation – To perform task – To work cooperatively the team Competencies – Skills and knowledge to perform the task Gourami session in Asia Courtesy of Shell International Ltd – Ability to work effectively with each other Homogeneous or heterogeneous, depending on task requirements Gourami session in U.S.A Courtesy of Shell U.S McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-13 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Homogeneous vs Heterogeneous Teams Homogeneous Teams Heterogeneous Teams • Less conflict • More conflict • Faster team development • Longer team development • Performs better on cooperative tasks • Performs better on complex problems • Better coordination • More creative • High satisfaction of team members • Better representation outside the team McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-14 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Stages of Team Development Performing Norming Storming Forming McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Existing teams might regress back to an earlier stage of development Slide 9-15 Adjourning © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Norms • Informal rules and expectations team establishes to regulate member behaviors • Norms develop through: – Initial team experiences – Critical events in team’s history – Experience/values members bring to the team McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-16 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Changing Team Norms • Introduce norms when forming teams • Select members with preferred norms • Discuss counter-productive norms • Reward behaviors representing desired norms • Disband teams with dysfunctional norms McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-17 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Conformity to Team Norms 100 Day 12: Peer pressure begins 75 Units Pressed per Hour Day 28: Employee has doubled performance 50 25 Day 20: Employee begins working alone Day 1: Employee begins job with team 12 16 20 24 28 32 36 40 Production Days McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-18 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Roles • Role set of behaviors people are expected to perform in certain positions – Formally assigned or informally acquired based on personality preferences • Belbin’s Team Role Model – Nine team roles all needed for optimal team performance – People choose preferred role based on their personality – Some roles more important at particular stages McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-19 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Cohesiveness at Lighthouse Photo: Robert Hirtie Courtesy of Atlantic Business Magazine & Lighthouse Publishing The staff at Lighthouse Publishing is a highly cohesive group that successfully keeps its much larger competitors off-guard This cohesiveness has particularly come through when faced with new and unexpected challenges, such as new products or machine breakdowns McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-20 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Cohesiveness Defined Photo: Robert Hirtie Courtesy of Atlantic Business Magazine & Lighthouse Publishing • The degree of attraction people feel toward the team and their motivation to remain members • Calculative members believe the team will fulfill goals and needs • Emotional team is part of person’s social identity McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-21 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Influences on Team Cohesiveness Member Similarity External Challenges Team Success Increasing Team Cohesiveness Team Size Member Interaction Somewhat Difficult Entry McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-22 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Team Cohesiveness Outcomes Want to remain members Willing to share information Strong interpersonal bonds Resolve conflict effectively Better interpersonal relationships McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-23 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Cohesiveness and Performance Team Norms Support Company Goals Moderately high task performance High task performance Team Norms Oppose Company Goals Moderately low task performance Low task performance Low Team Cohesiveness High Team Cohesiveness McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-24 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved The Trouble With Teams • Individuals better/faster on some tasks • Process losses - cost of developing and maintaining teams • Companies don’t support best work environment for team dynamics • Social loafing McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-25 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved How to Minimize Social Loafing • Make individual performance more visible – Form smaller teams – Specialize tasks – Measure individual performance • Increase employee motivation – Increase job enrichment – Select motivated employees McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-26 © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved Foundations of Team Dynamics McGraw-Hill/Irwin © 2008 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc All rights reserved ... Model Organizational and Team Environment • Reward systems • Communication systems Team Design •Task characteristics •Team size •Team composition • Physical space • Organizational environment • Organizational. .. Organizational structure • Organizational leadership McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Team Effectiveness Team Processes •Team development •Team norms •Team roles •Team cohesiveness Slide 9-9 • Achieve organizational. .. reserved Why Informal Groups Exist Innate drive to bond Social identity – We define ourselves by group memberships Goal accomplishment Emotional support McShane/Von Glinow OB4e Slide 9-7 © 2008