CHAPTER 11
The Team Concept
THE TEAM CONCEPT
Leadership success requires:
• Understanding of group behavior
• Ability to tap the constructive power
of teams
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CHARACTERISTICS OF EXCELLENT TEAMS
• Clear mission
• Informal atmosphere
• Lots of discussion
• Active listening
• Trust and openness
• Disagreement being OK
• Criticism being issue-oriented
• Consensus being the norm
• Effective leadership
• Clarity of assignments
• Shared values and norms of behavior
• Commitment
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POSITIVE VERSUS NEGATIVE
GROUP MEMBER ROLES
Success depends on:
• Individuals and what they choose
to do
• Example and direction of leaders
• Modeling and reinforcing positive
versus negative group member
roles
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GROUP ROLES THAT BUILD PERFORMANCE
• Encourager: Helps people make contributions to
fulfill their potential
• Clarifier: Creates order out of chaos and replaces
confusion with clarity
• Harmonizer: Brings together opposite points of view
• Idea generator: Suggests ideas that others do not
• Ignition key: Orchestrates and facilitates the group’s
work
• Standard setter: Possesses knowledge and skills
deemed important by the group
• Detail specialist: Searches for errors and omissions
and keeps the group on red alert
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GROUP MEMBER ROLES THAT
REDUCE SUCCESS
• Ego tripper: Interrupts others, launches into long monologues,
and is overly dogmatic
• Negative artist: Rejects all ideas suggested by others, takes a
negative attitude on issues, argues unnecessarily, and refuses
to cooperate
• Above-it-all person: Withdraws from the group and its activities
by being aloof, indifferent, and excessively formal
• Aggressor: Attacks and blames others and shows anger or
irritation against the group or individuals
• Jokester: Fools around most of the time and distracts the group
from its business just to get a laugh
• Avoider: Does anything to avoid controversy or confrontation
and is dedicated to personal security and self-preservation
• Power victim: Seeks negative attention and draws time and
energy from the group
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DEALING WITH PROBLEM BEHAVIOR
• Talking it over in a calm and patient way
• Reporting observations uncritically
• Pointing out that it is recognized that the person wants to be successful
but to reach that goal, he or she must take others into account
• Reporting how it made one feel and how others must feel if the
behavior is irritating
• Asking why the person behaves as he or she does
• Avoiding counterattack if the person challenges, philosophizes,
defends, or tries to debate one’s observations
• Helping the person understand that cooperating with others can be
rewarding
• Confronting the person with the facts and consequences of the
person’s negative behavior if he or she is closed-minded
• Letting the person know that his or her behavior is unacceptable and
will not be tolerated if he or she does not respond to one’s efforts
© McGraw-Hill Education
DESIGNING TEAMS FOR SUCCESS
The team approach is being used more and more in
organizational settings
• Senior leaders may sponsor five to eight individuals to
work on projects related to the company’s success
• Types of teams include production, service,
management, project, action, and advisory
Globalization of organizations and the changing
nature of work have created the need for cross-
cultural and virtual teams
Effective teams generate creative solutions to business
problems
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PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLES
Problem solving has four elements
(ERTA)
• E: Having experiences
• R: Reflecting on results
• T: Building theories
• A: Taking action
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THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE
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THE CHARLES DARWIN
PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLE
• Style: Basic researcher who
loves the discovery process
• Most problem-solving efforts:
Made between Experiences
and Results
• Strengths: Observing,
recording facts, and
identifying alternatives
• Interpreting the chart: The
longest line denotes the
problem-solving style
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THE ALBERT EINSTEIN
PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLE
• Style: Theoretical scientist
• Most problem-solving efforts:
Made between Theories and
Results
• Nature of efforts: Moving into the
world of theory while being in the
mode of reflecting
• Strengths: Abstract
conceptualization and blue-sky
thinking
• Interpreting the chart: The
longest line denotes the
problem-solving style
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THE SOCRATES
PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLE
• Style: Applied scientist
• Most problem-solving efforts:
Made between Theories and
Action
• Nature of efforts: Moving from
a reflective to an active
orientation
• Strength: Translating ideas so
they can be put into action
• Interpreting the chart: The
longest line denotes the
problem-solving style
© McGraw-Hill Education
THE HENRY FORD
PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLE
• Style: Functional practitioner
• Most problem-solving efforts:
Made between Experiences
and Aaction
• Feature: Never-ending cycle
• Strengths: Goal orientation and
achievement
• Interpreting the chart: The
longest line denotes the
problem-solving style
© McGraw-Hill Education
A VERSATILE STYLE OF PROBLEM
SOLVING
• Individuals are equally
comfortable with each
step of the problem-solving
cycle
• Individuals do not have
structural strengths or
weaknesses resulting from
style preference
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POINTS TO REMEMBER
PROBLEM-SOLVING STYLES
• Steps in problem solving include having
experiences, reflecting on results, building
theories, and taking action
• Having a preference for more than one style of
problem solving is possible
• Tolerance of differences is required when people
with different styles of problem solving live or
work together
• Most people have difficulty changing their
problem-solving styles
• Organizations or groups need all four styles of
problem solving
© McGraw-Hill Education
LEADER AS TEAM BUILDER
• Teamwork is essential for group
success
• Leaders in every endeavor know
the power of the team concept
for achieving results
• Effective leaders value teamwork
as a virtue, and they demonstrate
this by their own efforts as team
builders and champions of the
group
© McGraw-Hill Education
HIRING AND DEVELOPING WINNERS
Leaders must:
• Recruit and develop team members who can
perform successfully
• Commit to excellence and model this ideal
personally
• Hire the best talent available and train and
develop all other personnel
• Consider the interests of all, knowing effective
performance is required
© McGraw-Hill Education
CREATING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM
• Creating a spirit of cooperation and a one-team attitude
• Showing enthusiasm for the work of the group
• Making timely decisions based on agreed-upon goals
• Promoting open-mindedness, innovation, and creativity by personal
example and a conducive work climate
• Admitting mistakes and uncertainties, modeling honesty as a virtue
• Being flexible in using a variety of tactics and strategies to achieve
success
• Having persistence and lasting power
• Giving credit to others for the team’s accomplishments, meeting people’s
needs for appreciation and recognition
• Keeping people informed about progress and problems
• Keeping promises and following through on commitments
• Training for success
• Putting others first and self last
© McGraw-Hill Education
CHARACTERISTICS OF A
SUCCESSFUL TEAM
• Clear, elevating goal
• Results-driven structure
• Competent team members
• Unified commitment
• Collaborative climate
• Standards of excellence
• External support and recognition
• Principled leadership
© McGraw-Hill Education
VIRTUAL TEAMS
Operate across space, time, and
organizational boundaries and are linked
through information technologies
Work best with structured tasks requiring only
moderate levels of task interdependence
Formation requires members who:
• Already know each other
• Are well connected to people outside the team
• Have volunteered to be part of the team
© McGraw-Hill Education
FORMING
The group is formed, but its purpose and members’
expectations are unclear
• Characterized by caution and tentative steps to test
the water
Individuals try to determine acceptable behavior
and the nature of the group’s task, as well as how
to deal with each other to get work done
Interactions are superficial and tend to be directed
toward the formal leader
Skills and knowledge as a team are undeveloped
© McGraw-Hill Education
STORMING
Individuals react to what has been done, question
authority, and feel comfortable being themselves
• Characterized by conflict and resistance to the
group’s task and structure
Members learn to deal with differences to work
together to meet the group’s goals
Groups that do not get through this stage
successfully are marked by divisiveness and low
creativity
© McGraw-Hill Education
NORMING
Norms of behavior are developed that are
considered necessary for the group to accomplish its
task
• Greater degree of order begins to prevail, and a sense
of group cohesion develops
• Members identify with the group and develop
customary ways for resolving conflict, making decisions,
and completing assignments
• Members typically enjoy meetings and freely exchange
information
Productivity continues to increase as group skills and
knowledge further develop
© McGraw-Hill Education
PERFORMING
Payoff stage in the life of a group
• People are able to focus their energies on the task,
having worked through issues of membership,
purpose, structure, and roles
• Group is focused on solving problems and completing
tasks
• Members take initiative, and their efforts emphasize
results
• As the group achieves significant milestones, morale
goes up and people have positive feelings about
each other and the accomplishments of the group
• Each member takes on leadership roles as necessary
© McGraw-Hill Education
ADJOURNING
In todays’ world teams often
disband and new teams are formed
• Provides closure
• Provides opportunity for
celebrating/rewarding
• Provides opportunity for
advancement
© McGraw-Hill Education
AVOIDING GROUPTHINK
According to psychologist Irving Janis, groupthink:
• Refers to a mode of thinking that people engage in when
they are deeply involved in a cohesive group
• Occurs when members’ striving for unanimity overrides
their motivation to realistically appraise alternative
courses of action
Additional factors that when combined with cohesiveness can
foster groupthink
• Highly insulated group with restricted access to external
information
• Stressful decision-making context
As a result of the trilogy of group cohesiveness, isolation, and
stress, a group can arrive at decisions that are unsuccessful and
possibly even catastrophic
© McGraw-Hill Education
SYMPTOMS OF GROUPTHINK
• Illusion of invulnerability
• Belief in the inherent morality of the
group
• Rationalization
• Stereotypes of out-groups
• Self-censorship
• Direct pressure
• Mind-guards
• Illusion of unanimity
© McGraw-Hill Education
TECHNIQUES TO AVOID GROUPTHINK
• Assigning the role of critical evaluator to each
member “Devils Advocate”
• Adopting an impartial stance to encourage open
discussion and impartial probing of a wide range of
policy and problem-solving alternatives
• Setting up outside evaluators to work on the same
policy question
• Having one member play devil’s advocate when
the agenda calls for evaluation of decision or
policy alternatives
• Holding a second-chance meeting to rethink the
issue after reaching a preliminary consensus about
what seems to be the best policy or decision
© McGraw-Hill Education
TEAM-BUILDING INTERVENTIONS AND
TECHNIQUES
Team building can be enhanced by experiential
strategies and activities
• Educational workshops in retreat settings are
increasingly popular
• Adventure and challenge experiences can be
effective
Developing and sustaining team effectiveness
require meeting in a conducive environment, free
of interruptions, and discussing important issues
© McGraw-Hill Education
TEAM-BUILDING INTERVENTIONS AND
TECHNIQUES
Questions that can be asked when discussing
important issues:
• Where have we been?
• Where are we now?
• What is our purpose or mission?
• What should be our goals?
• What are our values?
• Who are our stakeholders?
• What should be our strategy?
• What are the critical factors that define success?
• How should we work together to fulfill our potential?
© McGraw-Hill Education
APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY
A positive and popular approach to team building
Typically uses a Four-D Model or process
• Discovery
• Positive experiences, success stories, and best
practices are shared
• Dreaming
• Open discussion and nonjudgmental listening are
important
• Designing
• Collective dialogue and agreement on a direction
and course of action are included
• Delivering
• Action steps to achieve specific objectives are
included
© McGraw-Hill Education
THE ROLE OF THE LEADER IN THE TEAM
CONCEPT
Team processes that enhance success
• Buy-in
• How the work of the team is legitimized and
goals are set
• Accountability
• How individual and team performance is
managed and rewarded
• Learning
• How performance is improved and skills
developed
© McGraw-Hill Education
THE ROLE OF THE LEADER IN THE TEAM
CONCEPT
• Infrastructure
• How the work of the team is systemized and resources
accessed
• Partnering
• How people interact and work together to achieve
success on the team and across organizational units
Leadership is a key factor in all five team processes
• Teams perform most successfully when their leader
facilitates the work of the group
• The most effective team leaders are caring individuals
who have a passion for the work and a concern for
people
© McGraw-Hill Education
THE ROLE OF THE LEADER IN THE TEAM
CONCEPT
For optimum results, leaders should:
• Coordinate the group
• Advocate for the team across the
organization
• Access needed resources and processes
• Ensure that results are supported by, and
meaningful to, the organization
© McGraw-Hill Education
TEAM DYNAMICS
Team dynamics impact the success of all groups
Highly effective teams include members who:
• Trust one another
• Engage in unfiltered conflict around ideas
• Commit to decisions and plans of actions
• Hold one another accountable
• Focus on the achievement of collective results
Dysfunctions that are lethal for team success
• Absence of trust
• Fear of conflict
• Lack of commitment
• Avoidance of accountability
• Inattention to results
© McGraw-Hill Education
THE HUMAN SIDE OF TEAM
EFFECTIVENESS
Research continues on the subject of team
effectiveness
In 2012, Google launched a study, code name
Project Aristotle, to learn why some teams stumbled
and others soared
• Psychological safety, more than anything else, is
critical to team success
• On good teams, people feel free to speak in roughly
the same proportion, a phenomenon referred to as
equality in the distribution of conversational turn-taking
• Good teams have high average social sensitivity
© McGraw-Hill Education
