Designing and Leading Teams

Designing and Leading Teams
Creating synergy

Groups versus Teams What are the features of groups versus teams?
How are they different GROUPS Have purpose, Norms, Cohesion, Status and structure, 2 or more Awareness, Interacts as a unit, Individuals are rewarded for their performance, share information, practices and decisions, interact to some degree, performance is rewarded individually, share info, Performance is the sum of group TEAMS Group attributes but with , High interaction, High interdependence, Tight knit entity People doing task and maintenance functions, Provide social benefits and physiological intimacy, some people will mediate, some people will entertain, maintaining the function of the team, There are team rewards, Joint accountability Shared leadership, 1 – 12 people, Maximum number 12

Why Teams? Outperform individuals when tasks require
Multiple skills Judgment Experience Better utilization of employee talents More flexible and responsive Facilitate employee participation Increase employee motivation Social benefits Empowerment Teams of people can divied up the work to those with the talents required - people can be put onto tasks they have experience - - they get an oprotunity to participate in the decision making process -because of the social benefits they get from the team, concerned of the wealfare of the team, feel they are part of something important, can be motivated, helped by the rest of the people - saticfies the relationship needs, tasks are integrated with each other, skills tend to be more valued by team members, create social identity - attach themselves to completed work,

Teams Are Best When: Work requires different knowledge, skills, abilities High interdependent work Sufficient time available to organize & structure team Reward structure & culture support teams Need to build commitment to course of action Issues require refinement High need for innovation & cooperation Members can be trusted Individuals desire a team experience -teams require a lot of time, there are processs losses while the teams are meeting to sort things out. -the diferent ideas from different people bring fresh outlooks -

Types of Teams Quality Teams Quality Circles
Problem Solving Work Groups Cross-Functional Self-Directed Transnational Virtual Office of the President

Basic Issues Norms of behaviour Group cohesion Social loafing
Loss of individuality Process losses -where they start to set rules of behavior within the team highly cohesive, if norm becomes dysfunctional, the team becomes dysfunctional, - goofing off, can be a problem in teams, as a team gets bigger it is harder to see a single persons contribution People feel like they are not a person, especialy to people with a high personal identity Allow paid time to get to know each other, work out issues, work out problems

Team Effectiveness Model
Task characteristics Team size Team composition Training Team structure Team Design Organizational and Team Environment Reward systems Communication systems Physical space Organizational structure Organizational leadership Common Purpose Trust Achieve organizational goals Satisfy member needs Team learning Outsider satisfaction Team Effectiveness Team development Team norms Team roles Team cohesiveness Decision making Other issues Team Processes Does the reward system fit the team (team based)

Organizational and Team Environment
Reward systems Team focused. Individual rewards may be used if team is also rewarded for individual success Individuals can be assessed on their contribution to team results, team functioning and personal effectiveness Communication systems Open, simple, encourage face-to-face, watch for information overload Careful of information overload Communication is best when face to face. Virtual teams are possible but face to face interaction must take place from time to time. Some level of personal connection must exist.

Physical Space Should facilitate communication, members perceptions of being a team, and the teams ability to complete the work Organizational structure and systems Must be supportive. Generally better with fewer management layers and teams are given autonomy and responsibility Individual and joint accountability -take a look at the physical space to make sure it is a benefit to the group sometimes the structure will change and be detrimental Individual accountability to the team the team needs to be accounatble as a whole

Organizational leadership Support from top management. Team leaders act as facilitators, coaches & enablers Common Purpose Team committed to common purpose and clearly identified goals Team leaders are no longer supervisors Without common purpose the team will fail

Trust A key ingredient in teamwork Leaders have to invest in trust Building trust Communication – open, candid, truthful Support – available and approachable Respect – delegate, actively listen Fairness – be impartial to all Predictability – be consistent, keep promises Competence – business sense, technical ability, professionalism Trust, this is why teams need to meet face to face, to build the trust. Management needs to invest in the trust first, the team will not function properly without this trust.

Team Design Elements Task characteristics Team size
Better when tasks are clear, easy to implement Task interdependence Share common inputs, processes, or outcomes Team size Smaller teams are better, 12 or less But large enough to accomplish task INTERNAL With Complex tasks Teams are not always the best way, too much time debating People need to be interdependant to each other If the tasks do not share these things the team concept will not work Different levels of interdependance need to be large enough to accomplish the task People need to know what they are responsible for, the teams will argue if it is to complex Task interdependence s teams are time consuming, if you cannot get better than individual efforts teams are a waist of time, you have to have task interdependance or abandon the team, each person has a job but they depend on another person to complete their job, pooled interdependence is when people on a team work their own task and then pool the results, sequential interdependence is when each person relies on the previous person to do their job and then hand off work in order for the next person to complete their job. People are depending on people down the line to do their job before they can do theirs Reciprocal interdependence is a type of circle each person has a job and are interdependent on everyone's input to complete their task. Best to be Physically in the same place You have to have enough with enough knowledge to do the task As long as the team is committed to the goal the members will search out the information to complete the job

Team Design Elements Team composition Training
Members motivated/competent to perform task in a team environment Team diversity better for complex tasks or where multiple views are needed Training Technical ability Problem solving and decision making Interpersonal relations When you have diversity of knowledge in the team to be able to come up with better solutions, Training- you have to provide training in terms of task technical ability, problem solving because we all think we are good at dealing with people and solving problems, but we are not. You will select people with the knowledge for the task. Then teach them how to problem solve, work together, nurture the diversity of people will require the training for them to work together. Team build, a leader would emerge if you pick a leader you should make sure you tell them that their job is to facilitate only they are not the boss. If you can get the team to say where the training is required that would be the best scenario, Main reason for team failure is that the team is not trained in Technical ability Problem solving and decision making Interpersonal relations

Team Design Elements Team structure Goals & objectives
Operating guidelines Performance measures Roles Critical the goals be clear Boundaries for the goal Performance guidelines s for the teams Roles – need to outline the roles of the members

Team Processes Team development Team roles
Teams go through stages before becoming proficient Characteristics of a mature group Conflict can improve performance Team roles Two types of roles are required in successful teams – task and maintenance -team development – forming, storming, Forming- meeting, contact, getting background, of the members Storming – group argues about how to do the job, what is the best way, who does what, roles of members time of little production by the team Girsik said teams go through a process, from Task assignment, to storming for a period of time (usually half the time that is given to get the job done) then realize that the time is going by and then they start to produce, normal process i.e. if given 2 months the storming will take 1 month Norming – setting the rules of behavior, how they will behave, Performing – temporary will go after the job to Adjourning stage, permanent teams do not Adjourn * some times groups will go back and forth from forming, storming, norming and performing especially if new members are brought into the team Some groups can bypass the storming stage especially if the group has worked together before or homogeneous -characteristic, mature group already have the storming and forming already in place and are ready to work, they have a purpose, norms, status and structure they share a mission and every one understands it, have rules of behavior, group cohesion Conflict – providing the conflict is directed at the task, if it is personal there will be problems (socio-emotional) you may want to inject conflict directed at the task not personal, need to control the conflict, there needs to be someone responsible to deal with the conflict direction xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Another Group development model is Mutual Acceptance, focuses on trust, emotional comfort, power and influence, Decision Making talk about the task, authority is assigned, roles are assigned Motivation and commitment standards are set, task roles are assign, supportive roles are assigned and the group is looking for commitment and motivation to do the role Control and sanctions the team or group has reach maturity and becomes productive, using positive and negative sanctions as controlling behavior (self governing)

Team Processes (roles)
Task Functions Initiating activities Seeking/giving info Elaborating concepts Coordinating activities Summarizing ideas Testing ideas Evaluating effectiveness Diagnosing problems Maintenance Functions Supporting others Following others lead Gatekeeping communication Setting standards Expressing member feelings Testing group decisions Consensus testing Harmonizing conflict Reducing tension Task functions – the actual physical or mental work that is being done as well as the above. You should see people doing these kinds of things with your observations, Maintenance functions – keeping it on track keeping it civil dealing with conflict, need to have someone to rain in the emotions.

Team Processes Norms Informal rules that regulate behaviour
Team norms are more powerful than management requirements Managing norms Introduce functional norms on creation Select the right people Discuss counterproductive norms Create rewards that counter poor norms Disband the team They come from, what people say in the group, peoples goals, come from writen or unwriten info, body language, language phrases, can be explicitly stated, from a lot of different source and develop over time within the group More powerful in terms of with in the group, some norms are with in the groups and can be very powerful, if they adversely affect the team it can be very dangerous, informal groups will set their own norms and can work against some individuals, if you have problems with these informal groups you have to live with them, you need to set the rules up front in the beginning, this is how you will behave. Make sure you select the right people with the proper attitude you don’t need people that are very independent and cannot work within a team. If you have a bad team you need to sit down and talk it out with them as soon as possible, some people do not see their behavior as a problem. Careful not to use the appointment of leadership or groups to just the in group. Create rewards to counter poor norms Start over again, appoint different people. Norms come from perceptions, position or role, personal habits, May be explicit or implicit implied Norms of the team become extremely powerful, e.g. in groups vs. out groups in high school If you have negative or problem norms in a group you have a real problem This may occur with sanctioned non sanctioned or unofficial groups, e.g. picking on a group member until they leave by a click. Unwanted norms such as sales people having a liquid lunch must be discouraged. Goes back to the importance of training for a group and establishing clear goals at the start of the team development process. Counter productive norms may be offset by productive norms. Not a lot of good ways to deal with problem norms. Human factors training in maintenance uses the norms in the training.

Team Processes Team cohesiveness Influencing team cohesiveness
The desire to remain on the team Functional norms & high cohesiveness equals high performance Influencing team cohesiveness Member similarity Teams size Member interaction Somewhat difficult entry Team success External competition & challenges -influencing team to increase cohesiveness Same types of people, gender, attitudes, to break up a non productive group introduce people with different values. {norms and cohesiveness are distinct separate things} Cohesiveness is good with funtional norms not with disfunctional norms Team success brings teams together External challenges brings teams together increases cohesiveness Worst possible production from low functional norms and high cohesiveness Functional norms and high cohesive group highest producing group Mixed groups such as people with dissimilarities such as age, gender, will decrease cohesiveness when establishing groups Team success directly related to cohesiveness

Team Processes Decision making Rational model
Problems with the rational model Implicit favourite model Political model Garbage can model Satisficing Groupthink Group polarization Escalation of commitment Variety of models Rational model-identify problem, develop alternatives, evaluate alternatives, choose alternative, implement and then evaluate results/ people do not use this often there are limits to decision making, assumes we can identify all the alternatives but this is not so. Problems and solutions will sometimes become intermixed, people tend to have trouble identifying the problem. Problems are distorted with the way we see things our perceptions you can pull in other people ideas to look at if from another angle. Information is selectable, alternatives are prematurely selected with out thinking, prior decision could influence alternatives, common goals are difficult to agree on makes it difficult to see the problem and come to the right alternative -Time and cost are constraints, most managers have conservative points of view, some organizations do not go through changes until a crisis arrives -Implicit favorite = we make the criteria, and accept or claim to have gone through the procedure to make a rational choice after we have crafted the look of the problem to suit our wanted solution. -Political model – based on application of power, goals are hard to figure out, different groups see world differently, different recourses, so the most powerful group makes the decision. Politics plays a role in decision making and in some cases this is good -Garbage can – management has a solution and are looking for a problem to apply it to. Weather it fits or not. The image is that there is a solution in the can and management without thinking it through will apply it. -Satisfying – we pick the first solution that appears to solve the problem and then move on, because we see that the solution is satisfactory and we do not have time to go through all the alternatives. -Groupthink – a decision making problem in groups, a fellow by the name of Janis – why do groups make bone head decisions – groups are highly cohesive and tend to see themselves a special above criticism, isolate themselves, suppress dissention, people tend to want to stay in the group so the will go with the majority even if they know it is the wrong direction. -Group polarization – if we take a group and measure peoples positions on solutions, from risky to conservative measure by level of risk of the solution to the problem. the group will choose solution more risky than the riskiest persons solution or the most conservative depending on the strongest member of the group the group polarizes around one end of the spectrum or the other -escalation - where people through good money after bad, as much an individual thing as a group thing, even if the problem is getting worse they will continue forward, the more the people are identified with the solution the worse it is because they do not want to loose face. Society tends to make heroes of people who are persistent, stay the course, buck the odds, people cannot accept the failure. People will say we cannot stop now we have gone too far..need to set milestones and accept the fact that it needs to be changed.

Team Processes Other Issues Communication Influence Conflict
Atmosphere Emotional issues People don’t always communicat People are influenced from one another Conflicts in the team, Atmosphere, this is crummy, there is no solution, People may feel they are not being taken seriously, anger Watch for the problems and nip them in the butt These are other problems that can be part of team processes Look out for these issues and their impact on the team outcomes.

Quality Circles Voluntary small (natural work) groups of employees, not directed by management, who meet regularly on organization time to identify, investigate and make recommendations to management on improving quality and related issues. Quality circles are a quality control technique and not intended to improve other work aspects Estimates are that quality circles have failed in 60% of the organizations that have tried them Quality circles tend to be appended to the hierarchy Perfected in Japan and brought to the west, in a process where people naturally work together is a natural work group Small group not directed by management, meet regularly make recommendations to management on issues, intended to be mainly focused on quality Estimates- failed within 2 years in north America, management has a hard time giving over the control, focus of American companies are in some instances are production not quality, training in the 80s manufacturing was taking a beating by the Japanese firms, society states if you are a good manager this is what you do. Management takes this pressure and institute it without training or direction, management sees info as a source of power so they do not want to give this to the employees. In Japan this infor is shared with the employees to for a more cohesive group with focus of the organization, successful groups have clear expectations and demands of what is required of them. Reasons for failure in North America Became the flavour of the month in the 1980 as a reaction to the success of the Japanese model and the poor performance in N/A and was implemented without a clear understanding of the concept. Lack of training, direction, lack of information for employees. Employees were not clear what the objectives and expectations or of their role in the process. For success information and training are essential along with management understanding and commitment.

Implementing Quality Circles
Get management commitment Assess organization readiness Select program objectives Prepare & train middle managers and supervisors Select and train facilitators Inform employees and ask for volunteers Train circle leaders Train participants Set goals and boundaries Give circles time to establish roles Recognize and implement recommendations Evaluate the program -management has to be on board, they need to supply the resources and patients The employees and mangers need to be ready Clear understanding of objectives Do not assume they now how to do this Inform ee that this will happen get the ee to volunteer Leaders are facilitators not direct it Tell them what the limits are for what the group will be doing Make sure all the resources are available to do this effectively i.e. information Get management commitment by educating leaders BUY IN Assess organization readiness Select program objectives Prepare & train middle managers and supervisors Select and train facilitators Inform employees and ask for volunteers Train circle leaders Train participants Set goals and boundaries Give circles time to establish roles Recognize and implement recommendations Evaluate the program Make sure the team has all the tools necessary to accomplish especially the information. Used to improve quality of the product or service

Problem Solving Work Groups
Mandatory groups of employees, directed by line management, operating as an integral part of running the organization, involving all employees in problem solving activities, that provides for the creation of short-term task forces to address cross-functional issues All employees are in teams The team leader is the supervisor All employees receive problem solving and interpersonal skills training Team leaders receive team building and leadership training It was an appendage to the hierarchy, expected to do this work as well as their job. Problem solving work groups should be a part of the daily regular work. You cannot do this if you do not spend the money Team meetings will take place during work days, Similar to Quality circles but different due to the fact that they are management directed. Everybody is part of a team, this a normal part of the work day team meetings take part and are integral to their work. Teams are assigned a problem such as how do we improve the communication with another team or work group, they then use the resources of the group to solve the problem. Intended to focus on short term problems. Focus on continuous improvement of quality, production, ect. Problems identified by management.

Objectives of Team Meetings To share information and ideas To monitor performance and provide feedback To recognize and reinforce good performance To get everyone’s input and ideas for improving performance To establish accountability for action What is the problem? Procution, interpersonal, supply, any kind of problem. Team would go through the normal proceedures teams Encourage each other to do their part to find the answers Problems are identified by management, directed by management

Managerial & supervisor roles Set goals, provide structure & information, facilitate meetings, teach, coach, and guide Employees’ roles Inquire, learn, participate in problem solving and decision making Team roles Responsible for performance Responsible for their own behaviour Identify, analysis and develop action plans to solve problems, and monitor results -they are there to facilitate provide information, ensure roles are properly assigned They are expected to participate They are in control of what is going on management states, the goals, and facilitate

Virtual Teams Need several communication channels
Operate better with structured tasks Need to be smaller than conventional teams Members must be skilled in communication through information technology Members may need cross-cultural awareness and knowledge Face-to-face interaction needed for development and cohesiveness -operate across time and space, members located in different places, have temp or permanent tasks -cannot just use , use cell phones, video conferencing -can be difficult to know what to do with complicated tasks - 6 or less the problem is the communication levels - Even if the team is in Canada there are different cultures here as well and may need training Virtual teams you may need to bring them together to meet face to face and go through the forming, norming storming performing stages. Face to face will build trust. It should be happening routinely depending on the length of the task. Operate across time and space Need a variety of ways to communicate + cell + Video conferencing Smaller groups due to challenges about communications between group members Need to go thru the normal processes of storming, forming ect. Only way to develop cohesiveness is thru face to face interaction

Self-Directed/Managed Teams
Based on socio-technical systems theory Primary work Unit Collective self-regulation Control key variables Joint optimization socio-technical systems theory says If teams are self regulating and you optimize social and work systems you achieve better results. Studies were done to se why production did not improve at a coal mine after improvements were made to the technical aspects of the job by introduction of new machines. It was found that the social system that had existed prior to the changes was damaged thus causing an impact on production. -primary - Collective -control Joint Work is as much a social system as it is a technical system, must recognize work fulfills social needs of people, technology may sometimes break up natural teams and the teams will have to be reconstructed around the technical side, you will not be optimizing the technical system alone but optimize them both together. This was the start of self managed teams, (coal mining example)

Self-Directed Work Teams
Natural or cross functional work groups organized around work processes, that complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks, and that have substantial autonomy over the execution of those tasks Attributes Complete entire piece of work Assign tasks to members Control work inputs, flow and output Are responsible for correcting problems Receive team feedback and rewards - Team assigns tasks to members Team is looked upon as a single unit and dealt with as such Teams lead themselves, they do not have a specified leader although a team leader will emerge. Management sets the goals , expectations and parameters that the team will operate within. The work unit or team is self organizing it relies on both production output and social networking to achieve higher results.

Self-Directed Work Team Issues
Boundaries Specify area, identify personnel and tasks, establish limits Autonomy For work decisions and personnel Training Task, problem solving, and interpersonal Pay systems Team-based performance systems, salary and bonus or pay-for-skill Boundaries specifying the control the group has, extreme the group is responsible for everything, one could start a team and then give more responsibilities over time. People may not be trained to make all the decisions or may not have the best commitment for the organization this could lead to real problems Implementation plans including training, timelines, goal, and boundaries must be well thought out prior to implementation Autonomy so they have the right to disipline their own members, this is not a requirement but over time you may want to give them this control For work decisions and personnel, is the team responsible for hiring and firing of its members Training Task, problem solving, and interpersonal Do you need all the members to be cross trained? If at what cost to increased remuneration. Pay systems very careful if the salary and bonus is done fairly, pay for skill could be used based on the number of skills (the problem here is everyone may want to cross train in order to get the max pay)

Self-Directed Work Team Issues
Physical facilities Layout and work flow, meeting space In existing facilities Some managers, supervisors and employees don’t fit In new facilities Finding the right employees Union Unions are not an impediment if the relationship is good and they are involved Three common problems Resistance from lower and middle management Lack of training Lack of top management support -Physical meeting place need to be accessible especially if something goes wrong and they need to meet right away -in existing facilities managers have worked hard to get where they are and now are being asked to manage self directed teams that takes away their control and power, be prepared for significant fall out (negative). Some managers, supervisors and employees don’t fit some managers feel threatened thru giving up of control. Union and management relations? Does management have the ability to change? Do employees have the ability to change? -In new facilities problem is finding the right people, need to find people that will work to the same goal -Union most unions worry about this they feel it is a way of intensifying work load, the employees supervise each other (against the union) -Common problems fail ruetinly because of these things Resistance from lower and middle management Lack of training Lack of top management support

Problems With Teams Teams are not always the answer
Teams take time to develop and maintain Teams require the right environment to flourish People may exert less effort in teams Can be countered by: Smaller teams Specialized tasks Measure individual performance Increase job enrichment Select motivated employees Loss of Individuality Mantra is this is the way to go but it is not always true, take time to develop and maintain Teams are not productive all the time and defiantly in the beginning, if you cannot gain more from the team than the cost to maintain it don’t do it, not just financial but environmentally giving a better work place, look at the cost benefit If the systems and procedures and attitude is not there problems will happen. Make sure each person has a particular task, if there are blended tasks people will goof off, who will measure the performance the team can do it themselves, people could enjoy it select motivated people Have trouble understanding what their worth is and will not receive independent recognition Teams are not always the answer, Depends on your organizational model and structure. Is it going to result in improved bottom line. Teams take time to develop and maintain Teams require the right environment to flourish, attitudes and procedures, People may exert less effort in teams Can be countered by: Smaller teams Specialized tasks make sure each person has a definable task that is visible to the other members Measure individual performance Increase job enrichment Select motivated employees Loss of Individuality people feel submerged in the team some people value their individuality more than others.

Team Building Role definition Interpersonal processes
Members describe their role perceptions and expectations of other members Members work to a common model of roles Interpersonal processes Building openness, trust and common understandings through dialogue Wilderness challenges and the like are used by many organizations for this Role – talk about what each person is going to do until they come to a common understanding of what their jobs are may take some time Interpersonal – drink after work or at project completion,

Team Building Goal setting Problem solving
Establishing team goals and feedback mechanisms Problem solving Examines task related decision making and ways to make it more effective Goal work with the team Problem work with the team involve them in the task decision making

Readings Factors affecting successful implementation of high performance teams New rules for team building Strategic guide for building effective teams Virtual teams Top ten reasons teams become dysfunctional Why do employees resist teams?

Designing and Leading Teams

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