1. Teamwork: How can teams be effective?
Fall 2012
Lecture # XX

2. A video introduction: Even Chimps Learn to Work Together!!!
Team Communication Is Important

3. Good old lessons in teamwork
from an age-old fable
The Tortoise
And
The Hare

4. Once upon a time a tortoise and a hare had an argument about who was faster.
I’m the fastest
runner.
That’s not true.
The fastest runner is
me!

5. They decided to settle the argument with a race
They decided to settle the argument with a race. They agreed on a route and started off the race.
Ok, let’s have
a race.
Fine!

6. The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time
The hare shot ahead and ran briskly for some time. Then seeing that he was far ahead of the tortoise, he thought he'd sit under a tree for some time and relax before continuing the race.
Poor guy! Even if I take a nap, he could not catch up with me.

7. He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep.

8. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ.

9. The hare woke up and realized that he'd lost the race.

10. The moral of the story is that slow and steady wins the race.
This is the version of the story that we've all grown up with.

11. The story continues …

12. The hare was disappointed at losing the race and he did some soul-searching. He realized that he'd lost the race only because he had been overconfident, careless and lax. If he had not taken things for granted, there's no way the tortoise could have beaten him.
Why did I lose the race?

13. So he challenged the tortoise to another race. The tortoise agreed.
Can we have
another race?
Ok.

14. This time, the hare went all out and ran without stopping from start to finish. He won by several miles.

15. The moral of the story?
Fast and consistent will always beat the slow and steady. If you have two people in your organization, one slow, methodical and reliable, and the other fast and still reliable at what he does, the fast and reliable chap will consistently climb the organizational ladder faster than the slow, methodical chap.
It's good to be slow and steady; but it's better to be fast and reliable.

16. But the story doesn't end here …

17. How can I win against the hare?
The tortoise did some thinking this time, and realized that there's no way he can beat the hare in a race the way it was currently formatted.
How can I win against the hare?

18. He thought for a while, and then challenged the hare to another race, but on a slightly different route.
The hare agreed.
Sure!
Can we have another race? This time we’ll go through a different route.

19. They started off. In keeping with his self-made commitment to be consistently fast, the hare took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a mile on the other side of the river.
Goal

20. The hare sat there wondering what to do
The hare sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime the tortoise trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, continued walking and finished the race.
What should I do?

21. The moral of the story?
First identify your core competency and then change the playing field to suit your core competency.
In an organization, if you are a good speaker, make sure you create opportunities to give presentations that enable the senior management to notice you.
If your strength is analysis, make sure you do some sort of research, make a report and send it upstairs.
Working to your strengths will not only get you noticed, but will also create opportunities for growth and advancement.

22. The story still hasn't ended …

23. The hare and the tortoise, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realized that the last race could have been run much better.

24. So they decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time.
Hi, buddy. How
about doing our last
race again?
Great! I think we could do it much better, if we two help each other.

25. They started off, and this time the hare carried the tortoise till the riverbank.

26. There, the tortoise took over and swam across with the hare on his back.

27. On the opposite bank, the hare again carried the tortoise and they reached the finish line together. They both felt a greater sense of satisfaction than they'd felt earlier.

28. The moral of the story?
It's good to be individually brilliant and to have strong core competencies, but unless you're able to work in a team and harness each other's core competencies, you'll always perform below par because there will always be situations at which you'll do poorly and someone else does well.
Teamwork is mainly about situational leadership, letting the person with the relevant core competency for a situation take leadership.

29. There are more lessons to be learned from this story.
Note that neither the hare nor the tortoise gave up after failures. The hare decided to work harder and put in more effort after his failure. The tortoise changed his strategy because he was already working as hard as he could.
In life, when faced with failure, sometimes it is appropriate to work harder and put in more effort. Sometimes it is appropriate to change strategy and try something different. And sometimes it is appropriate to do both.
The hare and the tortoise also learned another vital lesson. When we stop competing against a rival and instead start competing against the situation, we perform far better.

30. To sum up, the story of the hare and tortoise teaches us many things:
Never give up when faced with failure
Fast and consistent will always beat slow and steady
Work to your competencies
Compete against the situation, not against a rival.
Pooling resources and working as a team will always beat individual performers

31. What is a Team?
Two or more individuals with a high degree of interdependence geared toward the achievement of a goal or the completion of a task.
Teams make decisions, solve problems, provide support, accomplish missions, and plan their work.

32. There are Many Types of Teams
Examples of Teams:
Athletic Team – people working together to win a game
Natural Work Group – people working together every day in same office with similar processes and equipment
Business Team – cross-functional team overseeing a specific product line or customer segment
Improvement Team – ad hoc team with responsibility for improving an existing process
Student Team – students working together on a course project

33. High-Performing Teams
Synergy
= 10
(positive synergy)
= 2
(negative synergy)

34. Attitudes for Effective Teamwork
Appreciation for value of team decisions
Respect for team members
Mutual trust
Openness to feedback
Reflection on group process and interest in improving
Shared vision

35. What are Characteristics of Effective or High Performing Teams?
Members have a clear goal
The focus is on achieving results
There is a plan for achieving the goal
Members have clear roles
Members are committed to the goal
Members are competent
They achieve decisions through consensus
There is diversity among team members
Members have effective interpersonal skills
They know each other well and have good relationships

36. More Characteristics
Each member feels empowered to act, speak up, offer ideas
Each member has a high standard of excellence
An informal climate and easiness exists among members
The team has the support of management
The team is open to new ideas
There is periodic self-assessment
There is shared leadership of the team
The team is a relatively small size
There is recognition of team member accomplishments
There are sufficient resources to support the team work

37. Effective Team-Building Takes Time
There must be frequent and prolonged contact
Team members come together around a specific goal or project
Effective teams go through four stages of team development

38. What are the Four Stages of Team Development?
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Every effective team goes through these life cycle stages

39. Forming
Team members are introduced and begin getting to know each other
Goals and tasks are established
Generally polite behavior among members
Norms are not understood

40. Storming
Members are sizing each other up and may feel more comfortable and voice their views
Members may compete for team roles
May argue about goals or how they should be accomplished
May choose sides against other members

41. Norming
Once issues are resolved, agreement occurs around team norms and expectations
Trust and common interests are developing
Roles and objectives are clarified and understood

42. Performing Members make contributions and are motivated by results
Leadership is shared according to members’ knowledge and skills
Norms and culture are well understood
Tasks get accomplished effectively and efficiently

43. INSTRUCTOR DIRECTIONS
This activity shows that groups make better decisions than individuals collectively.
Print the following Lost at Sea Worksheet but do NOT print as a single document
Print a copy of page 1 only for each person
Hand it out for the next slide
Print page 2 & 3 (can be double sided) and give out after individuals & groups have completed page 1 (see second slide)

44. In Class Project Individual vs Team Decisions
Put your name at the top
Fill out the column labeled “Individual” with no help from others
Wait for word to proceed
Form teams
Work with your team and fill out the column labeled “Group”. Everyone in group should have the SAME ranking in the group column (but will differ in the individual ranking)

45. Lost At Sea Pick up an answer sheet
Experts…not me made up answer sheet
If you were to calculate the absolute difference from the expert opinion and add all those scores for your team versus individuals, teams would perform better
Teams lead to better decisions overall!!!!

46. Teams
Different personalities bring different strengths…remember the tortoise and the hare story!!!!
What is your personality type?

47. 4 The Dimensions of Personality Style Introversion/Extraversion—
What energizes you?
Sensing/Intuiting—
What is the focus of your attention?
Thinking/Feeling—
How do you make decisions?
Judging/Perceiving—
How do you structure your behavior?

48. Introversion-Extraversion
What energizes you?
Introversion-Extraversion
Introversion
quiet concentration
like details & dislike generalizations
not remember names and faces
work one project for long periods
interest in idea behind task
think before acting
work well alone
less communicative
Extraversion
variety & action
like fast, uncomplicated procedures
good at greeting people
impatient with long slow tasks
results oriented
don’t mind interruptions
act first, think later
like people around
communicate freely

49. What is the focus of your attention?
Sensing-Intuiting
Sensing
Dislike new problems
Use established methods
Like using old skills more
Work steady and paced
Step by step conclusion
Patient with routine details
Don’t trust inspiration
Rare errors of fact
Good at precise work
Intuiting
Like new problems
Dislike repetition
Enjoy learning new skills
Bursts of energy
Reach conclusions quickly
Impatient with routine details
Patient with complexity
Follow inspirations
Errors of fact
Dislike time for precision

50. How do you make decisions?
Thinking-Feeling
Thinking
Not show or uncomfortable with emotions
Hurt feelings without knowing
Analysis & logical order
Conflict is OK
Decide impersonally
Fairness & justice important
Can reprimand & discipline
Responds to ideas
Firm-minded
Feeling
Aware of people & feelings
Pleasing people
Like harmony; dislike conflict
Decisions influence by likes & wishes
Need occasional praise
Dislike discipline and control
Respond to values & feelings
Sympathetic

51. How do you structure your behavior?
Judging (structure)-Perceiving (change)
Judging
Make plans and follow them
Things settled and finished
Decide too quickly
Dislike changing priorities
Not notice new things
Just the essentials
Satisfied with decision
Perceiving
Adapt to changing situations
Leave things open
Open-ended decisions
Too many unfinished projects
Postpone unpleasant jobs
Want to know everything
Curious and open to ideas

52. TeamWork Necessity for your career Student career at UTD
Professional career after UTD

54. Credits
University of Florida

55. Like Henry Ford said, " Coming together is a beginning
Like Henry Ford said, " Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success. What are we waiting for, " Let's come together, keep together and work together to be successful in personal and professional life.

56. “None of us is as smart as all of us.”
–- Ken Blanchard

57. Teamwork: Simply stated,
it is less me and more we.

58. TEAM = Together Everyone Achieves More

59. Coming together,
sharing together,
working together,
succeeding together.

60. “ The era of the rugged individual is giving way to the era of the team player. Everyone is needed, but no one is necessary.” - Bruce Coslet, Coach, Bengals

61. “ Effective teamwork will not take the place of knowing how to do the job or how to manage the work. Poor teamwork, however,
can prevent effective final performance. And it can also prevent team members from gaining satisfaction in being a member of a team and the organization.”
- Robert F. Bales

62. “Teamwork represents a set of values that encourage behaviors such as listening and constructively responding to points of view expressed by others, giving others the benefit of the doubt, providing support to those who need it, and recognizing the interests and achievements of others.”
- Katzenbach & Smith

63. Getting good players is easy
Getting good players is easy. Getting them to play together is the hard part.
Casey Stengel

64. Wearing the same shirts doesn't make you a team
- Buchholz and Roth

65. When we have a sense of community and focus, we create trust and can help each other to achieve our goals.

66. A goal is a dream with a deadline. - Napoleon Hill

67. “ Individual commitment to a group effort — that is what makes a team work a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
- Vince Lombardi ( ), football coach for the NFL

68. If we had as much sense as geese we would stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.

69. A team is more than a collection of people
A team is more than a collection of people. It is a process of give and take.
- Barbara Glacel & Emile Robert Jr.

70. A group becomes a team when each member is sure enough of himself and his contribution to praise the skills of the others.

71. No problem is insurmountable.
With a little courage, teamwork
and determination a person can overcome anything.
B. Dodge

72. “ The strength of the team is each individual member
“ The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.”
- Coach Phil Jackson Chicago Bulls

73. “Conflict is inevitable in a team
“Conflict is inevitable in a team ... in fact, to achieve synergistic solutions, a variety of ideas and approaches are needed. These are the ingredients for conflict.”
- Susan Gerke, IBM, Leadership Development

74. Thomas Edison, when asked why he had a team of twenty-one assistants, “If I could solve all the problems myself, I would.”

75. The way to get good ideas is to get lots of ideas, and throw the bad ones away. 
~Linus Pauling

76. Teamwork divides the task and doubles the success.

77. Synergy is the highest activity of life;
it creates new untapped alternatives;
it values and exploits the mental,
emotional, and psychological differences between people.
- Stephen Covey

78. The key elements in the art of working together are how to deal with change, how to deal with conflict, and how to reach our potential...the needs of the team are best met when we meet the needs of individuals persons.
Max DePree

79. When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes
a reality.
- Joe Paterno

80. Synergy — the bonus that is achieved when things work together harmoniously.
- Mark Twain

81. It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn't matter who gets the credit.