Leading Effective Teams Dr Catherine Hannaway Senior Fellow, Durham University

Task Team Individual Prof John Adair Effective Leadership

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Why Teams? “There is a significant and negative relationship between the percentage of staff working in teams in acute hospitals and the mortality rate in those hospitals, taking account of local health care needs and hospital size. Where more employees work in teams the death rate among patients is significantly lower.” Borrill & West, Aston University, 1999

Groups and teams: how to tell the difference Working group –strong, clearly focused leader –individual accountability –the group’s purpose is the same as the broader organisational mission –individual work-products –runs efficient meetings –measures its effectiveness indirectly by its influence on others (e.g. financial performance of the business) –discusses, decides, and delegates Team –shared leadership roles –individual and mutual accountability –specific team purpose that the team itself delivers –collective work-products –encourages open-ended discussion and active problem solving meetings –measures performance directly by assessing collective work products –discusses, decides and does real work together

Focusing on team basics Katzenbach and Smith (1993) Problem solving Technical/function Interpersonal Mutual Small number of people Individual Specific goals Common approach Meaningful purpose Skills Accountability Commitment Collective work products Personal growth Performance results

Why Teams? They bring together complementary skills and experiences that exceed those of any individual – enables a better response to multifaceted challenges In jointly developing clear goals and approaches, teams establish communications that support real-time problem solving and initiative – as a result teams can adjust their approach to new information and challenges with greater speed, accuracy and effectiveness They provide a unique social dimension that enhances the economic and administrative aspects of work – overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of collective performance Teams have more fun! – fun both sustains and is sustained by team performance

Characteristics of High Performing Teams Leadership Membership Ownership – memory of high performing teams Accountability Good philosophy Shared purpose Shared understanding Clarity of individual and team roles Shared values Trust Timeliness of actions Celebration of success – positive feedback, team feeing valued Empowered Support from within the team Laughter Desire for all to succeed Common vision Working for the greater good Everyone thinks you are a high performing team Committed to task/completion of objective Valuing of each member of the team Feeling safe to take risks External positive affirmation that you are doing a good job Successful team accepts feedback and acts on this feedback/seeks feedback Reflective Reflect on own team performance Self evaluation Trust other people to cross cover Self support themselves and the team Task significant to themselves and others Like each other Respect everybody’s strengths Build on things that work well Share goals - fun, clear Same mind set Organised - Commitment Think differently, happy with the mix Want to support each other – fair Honest about performance Not blamed – getting rid of fear Brave enough to stop things that aren’t working Finish job!! Celebrate Reflect – and be positive

The Team Performance Curve Katzenbach and Smith Working group High-performing team Real team Potential team Pseudo- team Team effectiveness Performance impact

How Work Groups Form into Effective Units or Teams (Bruce Tuckman) 1Forming 2Storming 3Norming 4Performing Important that: Group Members recognise they belong to the group Have effective working relationships based on agreed goals Understand one another and are prepared to share ideas and feelings

Key Points on Performance Curve Working Group no significant incremental performance need or opportunity to require it to become a team members interact primarily to share information, best practices, perspectives and to make decisions to help each individual perform beyond that no common purpose, performance goals, joint work- products that call for either a team approach or mutual responsibility Pseudo-team could be a significant performance need or opportunity but it has not focused on collective performance and is not really trying to achieve it weakest of all groups in terms of performance impact contribute less than working groups as interactions detract from each member’s individual performance without delivering any joint benefit sum of the whole is less than the potential of the individual parts

Key Points on Performance Curve Potential Team a significant incremental performance need and is really trying to improve its performance impact typically requires more clarity about purpose, goals or work-products and more work on a common working approach potential teams abound in organisations steepest performance gain comes between a potential team and a real team Real team a small number of people with complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable High-performance team meets all the conditions of real teams and has members who are also deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success significantly outperforms all other like teams and all reasonable expectations given its membership

Some Thoughts on Leading Teams Genuine concern for others Ability to communicate and inspire Decency Humanity Humility Sensitivity Respect for others Prof Beverley Alimo-Metcalfe summarises the 7 qualities as the leader being a servant not a hero

Belbin – Team Roles Categories Action-orientated roles shaper implementer completer/finisher People-orientated roles co-ordinator team worker resource investigator Cerebral roles plant monitor evaluator specialist Belbin (1993)

Team Leadership look to the specifics of the performance challenge – effective working group requiring good management or team approach? keep the purpose, goals and approach relevant and meaningful build commitment and confidence strengthen the mix and level of skills manage relationships with outsiders, including removing obstacles create opportunities for others do real work

Approaches to building team performance Establish urgency and direction Select members based on skills and skill potential, not personalities Pay particular attention to first meetings and actions Set some clear rules of behaviour Set and seize upon a few immediate performance- oriented tasks and goals Challenge the group regularly with fresh facts and information Spend lots of time together Exploit the power of positive feedback, recognition and reward

Further Reading Belbin, R Meredith (1998) Team Roles at Work. BH Borrill, C.A., West, M. (2000c), Team-working and Effectiveness in Health Care, Aston Centre of Health Service Organisation Research (ACHSOR), University of Aston, Birmingham Borrill, C.A., West, M. (2000a), How Good is Your Team? A Guide for Team Members, Aston Centre of Health Service Organisation Research (ACHSOR), University of Aston, Birmingham Katzenbach J.R. and Smith D.K. The Wisdom of Teams – Creating the high performance organisation – Harvard Business School Press