Getting the best out of your team

What is a Team? "A team is a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish common goal to which they are committed and for which they hold themselves mutually accountable."(Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2016 p.728) All of these aspects need to be present which means leadership and buy in need to be established early on.

Why Team Work? Teams foster: Creativity and innovation Speed Higher productivity Enhanced motivation and satisfaction Creativity and innovation: because teams include people with diverse skills, strengths, experiences and perspectives, they contribute to a higher level of creativity and innovation. Speed of response: tightly integrated teams can create solutions far more quickly than indoviduals higher productivity: effective teams can unleash enormous energy from members. Social facilitation refers for the tendency for the presence of others to enhance one's performance. Enhanced motivation and satisfaction: working in teams can meet people's needs for belongingness and affiliation. (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2016)

Stages of Team Work Forming Storming Norming Performing Forming: ‘The stage of team development characterised by orientation and acquaintance’ (Samson et al, 2016, page 743). High uncertainty Members accept formal authority / informal authority by leaders who put themselves forward Social/personal anxiety – will I fit in; will they like me, will I like them, time for informal social discussions Storming: ‘The stage of team development in which individual personalities and roles and resulting conflicts emerge’ (Samson et al, 2016, page 743). Individual personalities emerge People become more assertive in clarifying their roles and what is expected of them Conflicts & dis-agreements can emerge Conflicts on perceptions: of team goal, of who is obvious leader Sub-groups may form/emerge Sometimes teams get stuck in this stage encourage participation from all members; clear the air; work through conflicts – identify what is at conflict, articulate aspirations Norming: ‘The stage of team development in which conflicts developed during the storming stage are resolved and team harmony and unity emerge’ (Samson et al, 2016, page 744). Conflict is resolved and team harmony and unity emerge (The use of Myers-Briggs personality-type mapping is often brought in to help team members understand who they are and how they operate) Consensus develops around issues like leadership, goal, roles A sense of cohesion develops A sense of norms around “how the team operates” emerges/ the culture of the team emphasise unity within the team; reinforce norms & values Performing: ‘The stage of team development in which members focus on problem solving and accomplishing the team’s assigned task’ (Samson et al, 2016, page 744). Major emphasis on problem-solving and accomplishing the assigned task Members committed to the team’s mission Coordination with each other Handle disagreements in a mature way (so as not to unsettle the team; accommodations/allowances made…as people know each other more). focus on high performance of the tasks

Team cohesiveness “Team Cohesiveness is defined as the extent to which members are attracted to the team and motivated to remain in it. Members of highly cohesive teams are committed to team activities, attend meetings and are happy when the team succeeds. High cohesiveness is normally considered to be a desirable feature of teams. (Samson, Catley, Cathro, & Daft, 2016 p.745)”

Determinants of team cohesiveness Team interaction Shared goals Personal attraction to the team Presence of competition Team success Team interaction: when team members have frequent contact, they get to know each other, consider themselves a unit and become more committed to the team. Shared goals: if team members agree on purpose and direction they will be more cohesive. Personal attraction to the team: if members have similar attitudes and values they will enjoy working together. Presence of competition: when a team is in competition with others, its cohesiveness increases as it strives to win. Team success: when a team succeeds in its task and others recognise the success, members feel good in their commitment to the team will be high.

Managing team conflict Task conflict Relationship conflict Lack of or struggle for leadership Communication breakdown Early intervention is key Task conflict: refers to disagreements among people about the goals to be achieved for the content of the tasks to be performed. Relationship conflict: refers to interpersonal incompatibility that creates tension and personal animosity among people Task conflict can be beneficial to teams because it leads to better decision-making and problem-solving. On the other hand, relationship conflict is typically associated with negative consequences for team effectiveness Outline your own departmental or paper specific process for dealing with team dysfunction