Chapter Twelve Team Building: A Leadership Strategy

Chapter Twelve

Team Building: A Leadership Strategy

Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 12 - 2

Chapter Preview: Team Building—A Leadership Strategy

• Teamwork in an organizational setting

• Common types of work teams

• Characteristics of an effective work team

• Behavioral science principles that support team building

• Team-building skills leaders need

• Team-member skills employees need


Leadership Challenges in a Changing Workplace

• Rapid changes

• Greater employee stress and tension

• Long-term strategies versus short-term demands

• Increased diversity

• Employment stability


Team Building: An Introduction

• Leadership style that promotes team building is positively associated with – Productivity– Profitability



• Teamwork is often associated with– Reduced turnover– Cost reduction– Large production increases– Gains in quality – Improved customer service



• Teamwork – Job gets done efficiently and harmoniously– Fewer interpersonal relations problems – Positive effect on the physical and

psychological well-being of employees– Higher levels of job satisfaction and less

stress



• Synergy is another positive outcome of teamwork– The interaction of two or more parts to

produce greater results than the sum of the parts taken individually

• Especially important when organizations value creativity


Teamwork Doesn’t Come Naturally

• The concept of teamwork has been around a long time

• Many organizations work hard to get all employees to pull together as a team

• Most jobs today require ongoing interaction between coworkers and managers



• Need commitment and cooperation of every employee

• Requires meaningful employee participation in planning, solving problems, and developing ways to improve



• Barriers– Some value individualism over teamwork– Conflict can cause a breakdown in

relationships – Heavy workloads and long hours lead to

weary employees

• Teamwork flourishes under strong leadership


The Transition to Team-Based Structures

• Teams have become popular because they encourage participative management– Process of empowering employees to

assume greater control of the workplace

• There are two common types of teams– Self-managed– Cross-functional


Self-Managed Teams

• Assume responsibility for traditional management tasks as part of regular work routine


Self-Managed Teams

• Typically – 5 to15 members– cross train and rotate jobs within group

• Increases accountability

• Reduces time on dull and repetitive tasks

• Taps employees full potential


Cross-Functional Teams

• Task groups staffed with a mix of specialists focused on a common objective


Cross-Functional Teams

• Typically– Temporary units– Members from different departments

• Involve developing new work procedures or products, devising work reforms, or introducing new technology

• Often make decisions that directly influence improvements


Real Teams Are Rare

• Greater use of teams in organizations

• Most "teams" are really single-leader work groups that rely on their leaders for – Purpose– Goals– Motivation– Assignments


Real Teams Are Rare

• Using teams is not a quick fix– Can take one or two years for members to

learn all the tasks they will perform as they rotate from job to job

– Time for team to be comfortable• Making decisions, scheduling work, hiring,

training, and problem solving


Real Teams Are Rare

• A real team– Draws its motivation more from its mission

and goals than from its leader– Each member is accountable for the

group's performance and results


Basic Beliefs About Teamwork

• Approach I– Examine careers of successful leaders

who demonstrate ability to develop teamwork

• Approach II– Review the findings of scholars who have

identified the characteristics of successful leaders


McGregor’s Influence

• Emphasized “unity of purpose” as the main feature of productive work units– Common goals and common commitment– Groups accomplish more than it would

without them


McGregor’s Influence

• Suggests several characteristics of an effective work team– Informal and relaxed atmosphere– They discuss work-related issues and have

comfortable disagreements– Tasks and objectives are well understood– Members listen to each other– People freely express feelings and ideas


Total Person Insight

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.

General Colin Powell (Ret.)

United States Army


The Leadership Grid®

• The Leadership Grid® (formerly known as The Managerial Grid) is based on two leadership style dimensions: – Concern for people – Concern for productivity

• Five most important differences among managers



Impoverished management

• Might be classified as “inactive” managers

• Display little concern for people or production

• Give little of themselves



Country club management

• Shows low concern for production

• Shows high concern for people

• Steps are taken to prevent unhappiness and dissension



Authority compliance

• Task oriented, placing much attention on getting the job done

• Shows concern for production, not people, regardless of the cost



Middle-of-the-road management

• Displays a moderate concern for both people and production

• Sees a limited amount of participative management as practical



Team management

• A proactive style

• Displays high concern for people and production

• “One best style”



• Team management style is most positively associated with– Productivity and profitability– Career success and satisfaction– Physical and mental health– Shared responsibility– High participation– Commitment


Hall’s Contributions

• High-achieving managers– have deep interest in both people and

productivity– rely heavily on participative approach

• Low/moderate-achieving managers– avoid involving subordinates in planning

and decision making


Hall’s Contributions

• Participative management practices are more likely to be fostered in an organization where management projects confidence in workers’ potential


Behavioral Science Principles

1. Shared participation in problem solving is basis for growth, development, and contribution

2. Mutual trust and respect underpins productive human relationships

3. Open communication supports mutual understanding


Behavioral Science Principles

4. Conflict management by direct problem-solving confrontation promotes personal health

5. Responsibility for one’s own actions stimulates initiative



Life is good when trust is present. Life hurts when trust disappears. We understand this at a level so deep it is indistinguishable from our very being.

Michael CromVice President, Dale Carnegie & Associates,

Inc.


Team-Building Skills for Leaders

• In today’s environment, there is a high demand for individuals with strong leadership skills


Team-Building Skills for Leaders

• Successful leaders share some behavioral characteristics

• Two of the most important are– Consideration– Structure

• These dimensions are separate and independent of each other


Consideration

• Extent to which a manager’s relationships with workers are characterized by– Mutual trust– Respect for employees– Consideration of feelings– Warmth in interpersonal relationships– Good rapport– Two-way communication


Structure

• Extent to which a supervisor is likely to direct workers toward goal attainment

• Managers actively direct group activities by– Scheduling– Planning– setting goals– Communicating information– Evaluating performance


Consideration and Structure

Consideration Concern for people

Structure Concern for production

• Each is independent of the other

• Competency can be developed in both


Improving Consideration Skills

• The effective use of consideration skills creates a positive work environment

• Leaders with consideration skills follow:– Law of empathy – sensitivity and

awareness of the needs, feelings, and motivations of those they lead


Improving Consideration Skills

• Practices that can improve consideration– Recognize accomplishments– Provide for early and frequent success– Take a personal interest in each employee– Establish a climate of open communication– Discover individual employee values


Improving Structure Skills

• The supervisor who incorporates structure into his or her leadership style plays an active role in directing group activities.

• The team builder gives the group – Direction and standards– Maintains accountability



• Practices that develop structure skills– Communicate your expectations– Encourage individual and team goal setting– Provide specific feedback often– Deal with poor performance immediately



• Management by objectives (MBO)– A formal approach to goal setting– Specific targets are set for specific periods– Set and agreed on by supervisor and

employee– Individual goals should mesh with

organizations goals– Conduct review at the end of the period


Situational Leadership

• Theory that most effective leadership occurs when leader’s style matches the situation

• Emphasizes the need for flexibility

• Applying the right leadership style for each situation


Two Dimensions of Situational Leadership

• Task behavior– Extent to which the leader engages in

defining duties and responsibilities of individuals or groups

– Telling people what, how, when, where, and who’s to do task


Two Dimensions of Situational Leadership

• Relationships behavior– Extent to with the leader engages in two-

way or multi-way communication– Listening, encouraging, facilitating,

providing clarification, and giving socio-emotional support


Model Similarities

Relationship behavior

• Consideration

• Concern for people

Task Behavior

• Structure

• Concern for production


Model Differences

When attempting to influence others:

• Diagnose readiness level in the follower for specific task

• Provide appropriate leadership style for that situation


Situational Leadership

• Need to decide amount of relationship and task behaviors needed for each situation

• To become a situational leader you must first develop task (structure) and relationship (consideration) behavior skills


Additional Leadership Qualities

• Character

• Emotional intelligence

– Both can be developed– Key to growth is self-awareness


Figure 12.2AdditionalLeadershipQualities


Character

• Personal standards of behavior– Honesty– Integrity– Moral strength

• Impossible to build trusting relationships without character


Character

• Effective leadership characterized by– Honesty– Truthfulness– Straight dealing


Emotional Intelligence

• Ability to monitor your own and others’ emotions and deal with them effectively

• Leaders with emotional intelligence are– More likely to detect friction and eliminate

conflict– More flexible – Better situational leaders


Teamwork:The Employee’s Role

• Most valued employees are willing to assume leadership roles and responsibilities

• Each team member should – assume an active part in helping the work

unit achieve its mission– be a team builder


Employees as Leaders

• Effective leaders are helping work team members develop leadership skills

• The team’s success does not always ride on one person

• Merit in establishing diversity of leadership within work group


Valued Team Members

• Every employee has potential to be a leader

• Success often depends on your ability to be an effective team member


Becoming a Valued Team Member

• Avoid becoming part of a clique or subgroup within the team

• Avoid any action that might sabotage the team

• Keep in mind that effective team membership depends on honest, open communication

• Do not feel the need to submerge your own strong believes, creative solutions, and ideas



Great challenges require great teamwork, and the quality most needed among teammates amid the pressure of a difficult challenge is collaboration….Each person brings something to the table that adds value to the relationship and synergy to the team.

John C. MaxwellAuthor, The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player


Managing the Relationship with Your Boss

• Relationships usually more effective when both parties assume responsibility

• Burden for managing relationships should not fall solely on supervisor

• Supervisor will become more effective at performing his or her job


Managing the Relationship with Your Boss

• Assess your own strengths

• Develop an understanding of your boss

• Flex your communication style

• Be frank and candid


Summary

• Teamwork ensures that a job gets done and that it gets done efficiently

• Teamwork can mean the difference between a profitable and unprofitable organization

• Team-building leadership style is suited to today’s employees


Summary

• Many companies are forming specific types of teams– Self-directed– Cross-functional


Summary

• Two ways to learn about teams– Leaders who promote teamwork– Scholars who discuss it


Summary

• Effective teamwork is informal and relaxed

• People are – Involved– Interested– Eager to participate in work-related

problems

• Goals and objectives are clearly understood


Summary

• Two dimensions of supervisory leadership– Consideration– Structure

• Additional qualities of effective managers– Character– Emotional intelligence


Summary

• Consideration reflects the maintenance of employee relationships

• Structure reflects direction through planning, goal setting, communication, scheduling, and evaluating


Summary

• Effective work group members should assume leadership roles

• Each helps the group achieve its mission


Summary

• Employees are in a unique position to give guidance and support to their supervisor

• Bosses need assistance and support to achieve success


Summary

• Learn to understand your boss

• Assess your strengths

• Identify personal characteristics that might impede or facilitate a working relationship

• Be frank and candid

• Sometimes you need to disagree with your boss

Documents

Chapter Twelve Team Building: A Leadership Strategy