Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
1/21/2018
1
Anthony Norman ([email protected])
Fackspråk
CLS
Kandidatarbete TKAUTGroup dynamics
Agenda
• Why this approach?
• Groups: Groups, challenges, group processes
• ‘Spelregler’: Contract
• Conflict
• Psychological safety, contribution, and talking time.
• Leadership
• TIPS
1/21/2018 Chalmers 2
1/21/2018
2
The approach
• Quick ‘peaks’ at broad research
• Awareness linked to learning/change
• **Some of it might even be interesting :o!**
• Gives us an idea of ‘good’ perhaps
• Tips for possible discussions in your team
• Tips for team members
• Links to:
• Further reading
• Examples
• Tools/resources
Group dynamics supervision meeting
I will make the booking system available soon. Hopefully, by
February we can have everything in place, so you can plan ahead.
Meetings will happen between 20 March and 10 April.
Don’t hesitate to contact me! [email protected]
We will use ITP’s team health assessment. Each member needs to
complete the survey before the session.
(https://www.itpmetrics.com/assessment.info for more info)
1/21/2018
3
ILOs
• Reflektera över hur gruppen samverkat för att uppfylla
gemensamma mål
• Dokumentera projektets genomförande I projektdagboken
BUT others talk about ‘team’ too. E.g.:
• Formulera och avgränsa en problemställning …
• Planera arbete för att lösa och avrapportera problemet med givna
resurser
• Söka, inhämta värdera tillgänglig litteratur
• Integrera och utveckla kunskap
1/21/2018 Chalmers 6
Groups (Forsyth, p.3) Sampling of definitions
• “Three or more people who work together interdependently on an agreed-
upon activity or goal” (Keyton, 2002, p.5)
• “Three or more people … who (a) think of themselves as a group, (b) are
interdependent (e.g., with regard to shared goals or behaviours that affect
one another), and (c) communicate (interact) with one another (via face-to-
face or technological means)” (Frey & Konieczka, 2010, p. 317)
• “Two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a
manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person”
(Shaw, 1981, p.454)
1/21/2018
4
1/21/2018 Chalmers 7
Groups (Forsyth, p.3) Sampling of definitions
• “Three or more people who work together interdependently on an agreed-
upon activity or goal” (Keyton, 2002, p.5)
• “Three or more people … who (a) think of themselves as a group, (b) are
interdependent (e.g., with regard to shared goals or behaviours that affect
one another), and (c) communicate (interact) with one another (via face-to-
face or technological means)” (Frey & Konieczka, 2010, p. 317)
• “Two or more persons who are interacting with one another in such a
manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other
person” (Shaw, 1981, p.454)
1/21/2018 Chalmers 8
• Forsyth points to 5 characteristics of
groups:
• Interaction
• Goals
• Interdependence
• Structure
• Cohesion
Groups (Forsyth, p.3) Groups
http://infed.org/mobi/what-is-a-group/
More on groups, and a
little group dynamics history
1/21/2018
5
1/21/2018 Chalmers 9
A challenge
• Interdependence implies you all have a
shared goal, which requires each
member’s contribution to reach.
• Industry/research: Build teams.
• Students: you have a group (soon
‘team’!) and a task …
… and you need to ‘shape’ the task
(set scope, make decisions, etc.)
1/21/2018 Chalmers 10
A challenge
• Part of that challenge is coming to an
agreement about how you can most
effectively use your available resources to
achieve that shared goal … to increase
interdependence.
• What do we need to talk about [at this early
stage] as a team in order to help develop the
team? In which contexts? For how long?
”lösa och avrapportera
problemet med givna
resurser”
1/21/2018
6
Challenges (from a selection of courses)• Different opinions about the
task and/or goal.
• Unclear roles and/or expectations
• Unable to agree on decisions
• Uneven work distribution
• Personal relationships
• Personal emotions about each other (For example, I have to work with a person I don’t know/like/etc.)
• A lot of talk in meetings, but no progress
• Not fulfilling agreed upon roles
and/or expectations
• People coming late to meetings
(or other shows of ’disrespect’)
• Someone dominates the group
• Differences relating to ambition (I
want a 3; this other person wants
a 5)
• Distribution of leadership
• Unable to agree on appropriate
behaviour (for example, keeping
time, how many meetings we
need, and other expectations
Some challenges to interdependence
1. Conformity: Group think.
http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm
2. Faultlines
3. Inefficient use of ‘airtime’. Someone dominates discussions
4. Freeriding: avoidance of responsibility. Social loafing
1/21/2018
7
Challenges
• How did you
overcome/mitigate
this challenge?
• How would you
overcome/mitigate
this challenge?
In your project groups, pick a challenge
you feel is the most likely for your group
to encounter
How do we overcome or mitigate these
challenges?Self-growth and understanding.
Focus on what I can do/contribute. How do I / How don’t I function in a team. Understand others and how they think the team should function.
Team as support.
What can the team do? Are there in-built structures in the team which can help? Do we agree on them?
Knowledge/awareness.
What support do we have from models/theories/learning?
People.
Supervisors? Teaching staff? Peers? Anthony? Friends?
Others?
1/21/2018
8
A group process
• Groups have a natural process where individuals with
different backgrounds and experience come together to figure
out how to work effectively with each other, towards shared
goals. [Many theories here to try and explain what happens]
• Much literature stresses importance of allocating time to
work on how this process will work [not just what].
Discuss rules and write a group contract.
Work on developing teamwork within your group
Think of how you as an individual can contribute to teamwork
The Integrated Model of Group
Development
Dependency
& InclusionCounter-
Dependency
& Fight
Trust &
Structure
Work &
Productivity
Stage 2Stage 1 Stage 3
Focus on relationships
and emotions
Focus on work
and productivity
80 % work-oriented,
20% relation-oriented.
Stage 4
1/21/2018
9
1/21/2018 Chalmers 17
• Research has shown that
groups sometimes tend to:
• Show too little interest in
the planning phase
• Often start on the task,
rather than consider
process-related issues
• (See, e.g. Wheelan;
Forsyth)
• Clear goals and objectives
can be powerful!
• We want to get to the point
where we can have a
shared, transparent, clear
idea not just of where we
want to go, but also how we
can work together to get
there
Stage 1: Dependency
and Inclusion
Concerns about safety and inclusion.
Members are concerned with:
• Personal safely.
• Acceptance (fear rejection)
• Communication tentative / polite
Asch conformity
experiment
1/21/2018
10
Stage 1: Dependency
and InclusionA wish for order and structure:
Goals:
• Unclear (clarification not sought)
• Members unlikely to disagree
Roles:
• Based on external status.
Structure:
• A lack of group structure and
organization is evident.
• Subgroups and coalitions are
rare at this stage.
Stage 1: Dependency
and Inclusion• Dependency on the designated leader.
• Members express a need for dependable and directive leadership.
• Leader:
• Benevolent and competent.
• Provides members with
direction and personal safety.
• Rarely challenged.
1/21/2018
11
Goal of stage 1• To create sense of belonging and the beginning of
predictable patterns of interaction.
• To develop member loyalty to group.
• To create an environment in which members feel safe
enough to contribute ideas and suggestions.
• Note: A coordinator may be a good idea even if you do
not have a designated leader.
Group Team
Members in high performing teams feel involved, engaged and appreciated
Team = effective and productive
When you have a shared, clear goal and effective methods for how to work
towards that goal, then your group starts to become a team
Group Team
1/21/2018
12
Teams
• Set boundaries
• Give security and predictability
• Clarifiy goals and ambitions (not just of what, but also how
• Help create an effective group climate
• = How the group will work together
• = What will be doneGROUP
CONTRACT
Group Contract
• Values are often in-built, personal. Norms are acceptable rules of behaviour in a
certain context. Be sensitive in discussions related to values!
• TIPS:
• Talk about norms and behaviour (the group can agree upon) which will help
drive teamwork and help progress towards goals [instead of about ’values’]
• Understanding values is important, but it’s not about what value is *right* or
*wrong*
• It’s about what WE can agree on as being acceptable attitudes and
behaviour, which WE agree supports teamwork and effective work
processes.
1/21/2018
13
Group contract: Examples
• You have the contract in the appendix of kandidatriktlinjer.
• https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/Group
WorkConflict.pdf (at end of document)
• ITP metrics team agreement
Source: ITP metrics
1/21/2018
14
NOTE
The contract (from riktlinjer):
• Ett satt for handledaren att bedöma gruppens process ar att kontinuerligt
under kursen stamma av de områden som finns i gruppkontraktet (bilaga
1).
• Ytterligare frågor att utgå ifrån kan vara:
• Hur hanterar gruppen avvikelser från den planerade arbetsgången?
• Hur reflekterar studenterna kring sin samverkan i gruppen?
Tools
• Teams should have a shared understanding of externally set conditions
(e.g. deadlines, expectations) in relation to the various tools for project
management (plans, logbooks, journals, contracts, etc.)
• Consider and discuss how your team is going to use it and what internal
function it has. E.g what information do you as a team want in your
meeting minutes.
E.g. Who is the time plan for? (always good to discuss purpose )
So, meet external expectations (what are they?), but build and shape your
internal expectations
1/21/2018
15
1/21/2018 Chalmers 29
Roles and Well-Being
“Uncertainty about one’s role, including role ambiguity, role conflict, and poor
role fit, results in stress and tension, and the results are rarely positive for the
group member or for the group itself.” (Forsyth, p. 184)
1/21/2018 Chalmers 30
Roles and Well-Being
Role ambiguity: lack of clarity re. expectations about behaviour; lack of
consensus within group regarding behaviours associated with the role
Role conflict: expectations re. appropriate activities associated to roles
incompatible. E.g interrole conflict (behaviour associated with one role
incompatible with behaviour associated with another role); intrarole conflict
(contradictions within a single role);
Poor role fit: Behaviour associated with a role is a poor fit given values,
attitudes, personality, needs, or preferences of person who must fulfil the role.
1/21/2018
16
1/21/2018 Chalmers 31
Roles: a discussion?
• Individually, take a few minutes to think:
• Do you have enough clarity regarding
your own role? If not, what do you need
to clarify?
• Do you have enough clarity regarding
the other roles in your team? If not, what
do you need to clarify?
1/21/2018 Chalmers 32
Other roles?
• 4 central, common roles (often shared): https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-
for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/developing-
assignments/group-work/group-roles-maximizing-group-performance
• Further expanded:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/introductiontocommunication/chap
ter/groups-roles/
• Devil’s advocacy:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2014/04/23/3-keys-to-an-
effective-devils-advocate/#3211d89483d1
1/21/2018
17
1/21/2018 Chalmers 33
Wheelen: Perspective on conflict
S1
minimal
S2
Values
Goals
Tasks
norms
leadershipConflict resolution:
if successful, increases
trust and cohesion.
S4
Periods of
conflict are
frequent
but brief.
S3
Conflict
continues
to occur,
but is
managed
more
effectively
1/21/2018 Chalmers 34
Conflict
• “Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and
memory. It instigates to invention. It shocks us out of sheeplike
passivity, and sets us at noting and contriving. Not that it always
effects this result; but that conflict is a sine qua non of reflection
and ingenuity”
• John Dewey (1922)
1/21/2018
18
1/21/2018 Chalmers 35
Conflict
• Destructive conflict:
• Escalates conflict
• Can grow beyond initial disagreement/conflict
• No one satisfied with outcome
1/21/2018 Chalmers 36
Conflict
• Constructive conflict:
• Adapted to situation, person, issue, context, etc.
• Balances both parties’ interests.
• Maximizes opportunity for growth / mutual gain.
• Puts both own goals/interests AND other’s goals/interests in
focus
• Focuses on process, not just outcome (often the outcome that
just 1 person desires)
1/21/2018
19
1/21/2018 Chalmers 37
Differences of ideas a type of conflict?Constructive controversy
• “Constructive controversy exists when one person's ideas, information,
conclusions, theories, and opinions are incompatible with those of another,
and the two seek to reach an agreement” (Johnson et al., 2006, p. 70)
• An individual has an understanding of a problem or choice. When
confronted with other understandings/conclusions which are different, it
can lead to a kind of conceptual conflict (constructive controversy)
• Can lead to more perspective and a better thinking process
• Take in knowledge/thoughts from others and re-think
• Better results … better quality
• https://www.beyondintractability.org/artsum/johnson-
constructive#sthash.yOWg26c3.dpbs
Faultlines
• Constructive discussions, conflict, decisions and
dynamics in general can be affected by faultlines
• Faultlines are potential sub groupings based on
shared charactaristics … e.g. previous working
groups, work roles, sex, age, status, and other
categories.
• There can be underlying bias and resistance e.g. to
ideas across these faultlines
•Early focus on ‘team’ in relation to task and goal
•Shared goals. Look for connections. Monitor and support each other.
1/21/2018
20
Note
• Groups often don’t take into account the diversity of perspectives and
competencies in the group, which means that the group as a whole is
less than the sum of the parts (not good use of resources!)
• There’s a tendency to discuss readily available information, rather than
seek expert information. (availability heuristic)
Try to establish procedures to leverage your team’s competencies.
Reflect on your decisions and work.
Tips: constructive controversy
• Don’t forget to talk about ”how you want to talk about ideas”
• E.g. how long should you pursue one discussion, in favour of another?
• Test a ’process’.
• E.g every member gets x minutes to offer their perspective on y.
Other members only ask clarifying questions. Look for connections
between the perspectives. Use some agreed upon process for
deciding which option to go for.
• There are many models for these kinds of conversations.
• An example is the ITP SUIT model (see resources)
1/21/2018
21
Tips: constructive controversy
• Suggested rules for tough discussions:
• Aim criticism at ideas, NOT people
• Aim isn’t to win, rather to reach best outcome for team (best
judgement)
• I encourage participation. I encourage diverging viewpoints.
• I use questions or restate ideas to try to understand all sides.
• First ideas. Then think across/integrate.
• I am flexible. I can be changed by evidence.
1/21/2018 Chalmers 42
Communication
• Active listening:
• Let people finish trains of thought
• Notice when your own attention is on ‘the next thing you want to say’, rather than
the current, active discussion.
• Try to understand. Question what is unclear. Check to see you have
interpreted in a meaningful way
• Respect (both the person AND the idea)
1/21/2018
22
1/21/2018 Chalmers 43
Conflict
• Task conflict: (sometimes called cognitive conflict): disagreement
about decisions (e.g. roles, tasks, etc.) due to differences in ideas,
opinions, perspectives, etc. See e.g. Jehn (e.g. 1995)
• Process conflict: disagreement about the way in which things are
done.
• Relationship conflict: Interpersonal differences / incompatibility.
Leads to animosity, tension, annoyance, frustration, etc. amoung
members.
(Much research agrees upon this; some central research has offered
diverging/contradicting viewpoints.
1/21/2018 Chalmers 44
Task conflict vs. relationship conflict
• Task conflict can lead to:
• Better decisions Increased satisfaction with group decisions
• Increased feelings of membership towards group
• Sometimes associated with positive outcomes. Can lead to negative
outcomes
• Task conflict increased performance in non-routine tasks. Can have
negative impact in routine tasks.
1/21/2018
23
1/21/2018 Chalmers 45
Task conflict vs. relationship conflict
• Relationship conflict can lead to:
• Spend time/energy focusing on each other rather than issue
• Limits cognition (due to increased anxiety, stress,…)
• Can encourage aggressive, antagonistic, hostile behaviours
• Potential to lead to ‘self fulfilling prophecy’. E.g. mutual hostility and
escalation of the conflict.
1/21/2018 Chalmers 46
Task conflict vs. relationship conflict
• Not as simple as just focus on task, rather than personal
conflict.
• Research points to correlation between the two.
• Task conflict can become relationship conflict through process
of misattribution. Be aware!
• E.g. Group members attempt to analyze behaviour; e.g. ‘sinister’,
‘lazy’, etc. Negative impact on trust
1/21/2018
24
1/21/2018 Chalmers 47
Task, process, relationship
• Research has started to look at conflict profiles in teams• http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0149206315581662
• A summary of above article: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/minds-
business/amazons-mistake-mixing-conflict-with-animosity.html
• In general, teams with a conflict profile high on task conflict, but low
on process and relationship conflict tend to perform best.
1/21/2018 Chalmers 48
Wheelen’s advice on conflict
• Aim of problem-solving / conflict resolution: Describe the source of
conflict and try to find a solution which works for everyone involved.
• Communicate how you understand the issue. Clear, open
communication implies being specific / avoiding generalizations
• Demonstrate your willingness to cooperate / collaborate with everyone
(including ‘combatants’)
• If others respond aggressively or competitively, argue for your own point
of view logically and rationally, rather than reciprocate the behaviour.
• Important to negotiate
• Attempt to break down the problem into more manageable parts
1/21/2018
25
1/21/2018 Chalmers 49
Wheelen’s advice on conflict
• When you arrive at a problem:
- Give each member time to express their view on the problem and
potential solutions
- Actively listen. Ask questions if you need clarification.
- Work with the conflict when the group agrees to work on the conflict. If
one person keeps focusing on the conflict, and directing energy there,
maybe that particular moment in time isn’t a good one to work on conflict
resolution.
- Re-focus work on tasks/goals?
- Don’t just ignore it (avoid). Schedule a meeting/part of a
meeting to talk about that issue at a more appropriate time?
Conflict resolution approaches
• Page 2 has a fairly standard (and effective) approach to resolution:
https://www.ryerson.ca/content/dam/lt/resources/handouts/GroupWorkC
onflict.pdf
• What can I do to prepare for an awkward conversation?
• http://www.sos.umn.edu/sites/g/files/pua2426/f/media/preparing_for_a_difficu
lt_conversation.pdf
• http://www.cios.org/encyclopedia/conflict/Cnature2_characteristic
s.htm
1/21/2018 Chalmers 50
1/21/2018
26
Psychological Safety
• TED talk (Amy Edmondson):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8
• Google’s story:
https://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/understanding-team-
effectiveness/steps/introduction/
• https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-
google-team/
• See e.g. here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/magazine/what-google-
learned-from-its-quest-to-build-the-perfect-team.html?smid=pl-
share
Psychological Safety
• Psychological safety: “describes an interpersonal climate where people
feel able to express ideas, ask questions, quickly acknowledge
mistakes, and raise concerns about the project early and often. They
feel responsible for doing so. It’s not that it’s easy for them to take these
interpersonal risks; rather, they understand it’s expected of them. It is
part of collaboration. They recognize too that teaming up is as
interpersonally challenging as it is rewarding.” P. 64
• Edmondson, A. (2013) Teaming to innovate.
1/21/2018
27
Psychological Safety
• Leadership perspective. Leadership behaviour that builds psychological
safety:
• Be accessible
• Acknowledge limits
• Display fallibility
• Invite participation
• Frame failures as learning opportunities
• Use direct language
• Set boundaries
List taken from table 2 in Edmondson (2013) Teaming to innovate
Google’s research
• Psychological safety:
• Equal talking time (what communication researchers would refer to
as equally distributed conversational turn taking)
• Social sensitivity
• Cues like non-verbal communication … expressions, tone of voice,
demeanor
• Sensitive to moods
• Empathy
• Share stories
1/21/2018
28
Individual responsibility
Regardless of how you organize your group and allocate roles/functions:
- Team members need to take shared responsibility for goals, issues, tasks, problems.
- Team members also need to take shared responsibility for group development. How do I contribute to a psychologically safe environment? How do I encourage myself / others to share? What attitudes/behaviours supports the team? What behaviours help build trust? (or hinder trust-building?)
Forming effective teams
Tips for individuals
• Show up
• -It’s important you contribute to those critical, early
disussions where you set up norms, routines, structures
for working.
• If you can’t physically be there for x (e.g. a meeting), find
other ways of contributing to x
• Manage expectations (both your own, and others)
• Be patient
• Attitude is important!
• Expect uncertainty and lack of clarity early on
• Others are likely feeling uncertainty and lack of clarity
themselves
• Work on clarifying goals and tasks
1/21/2018
29
Tips for individuals
• Think of conflict as being a positive opportunity for making
progress.
• Conflict here is quite broad.
• Look for compromises which de-escalate conflict
• Support each other
• Encourage your team to regularly assess how things are going.
• Stick to expectations and agreements (e.g. complete tasks by
deadlines)
• Requires that you have talked about expectations and
have agreement!
• Take responsibility for the group
• Expect sub-groups (and don’t react negatively if sub-groups
form)
• Clarify roles
• Find ways of generating and supporting an open
communication structure where everyone has the
possibility of taking part, contributing, and providing
feedback
• Work towards a suitable distribution of work and roles,
which support an open communication system
Forming effective teams
1/21/2018
30
• Clarify roles
• Find ways of generating and supporting an open
communication structure where everyone has the
possibility of taking part, contributing, and providing
feedback
• Work towards a suitable distribution of work and roles,
which support an open communication system
Forming effective teams
Communication• Listen actively
• Be clear and transparent
Feedback• How do i give and receive
feedback?
• Why? In what way does it help
use reach a goal?
• Don’t put the blame on others for group problems
• All members are responsible for the group’s success and
failures
• There is always a danger of misinterpreting and/or
reading too much into behaviour
• Try to find factors which are blocking group processes
and actively discuss and work towards a solution
• Give people the benefit of the doubt.
Forming effective teams
1/21/2018
31
Leadership
Leadership Management
• Tactical
• Practical
• Here and Now
• Internal focus
• Strategic
• Visionary
• Future-oriented
• External focus
Formal
leadership
Informal
leadership
Leadership
What expectations do you, and your team have, on these roles? Which leadership functions are assigned to specific roles/people, and which are shared (and how?)
1/21/2018
32
Effective
leadership
Good team climate
Good results
Tasks or people? Leader
responsibility?
Shared?
Importance of
iteration and
talking about
how things are
going!
An interesting read (on teamwork and leadership):
https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_business-communication-for-success/s23-05-
teamwork-and-leadership.html
Groups who talk about their psychological processes tend to perform
better, and have better conditions for working
• Short discussions where members can express their feelings/thoughts
about how you’re group work is going;
• Quick checks on how things are going in terms of goal progression (Are
we still on the same page?)
• Regular is good. Short/effective is good. Talk about how discussions of
went, and how they could be made more effective (less/more often?
Shorter/longer? Which aspects are more relevant? When? Where?
• 5/10/x minute ‘retrospectives’ (reflections) at end of meetings/activities
could be interesting to try out.
• Your time is valuable! Talk about how you’re allocating it (in relation to
how you’re working as well; not just in relation to concrete tasks)
1/21/2018
33
Groups who talk about their psychological processes tend to perform
better, and have better conditions for working
• Short discussions where members can express their feelings/thoughts
about how you’re group work is going;
• Quick checks on how things are going in terms of goal progression (Are
we still on the same page?)
• Regular is good. Short/effective is good. Talk about how discussions of
went, and how they could be made more effective (less/more often?
Shorter/longer? Which aspects are more relevant? When? Where?
• 5/10/x minute ‘retrospectives’ (reflections) at end of meetings/activities
could be interesting to try out.
• Your time is valuable! Talk about how you’re allocating it (in relation to
how you’re working as well; not just in relation to concrete tasks)
Whose responsibility is all
of this?
Hur reflekterar studenterna kring sin samverkan i gruppen?
Consensus and decision-making
• Consensus is certainly important, especially in the beginning
• However, consensus often not the reality in newly formed groups...
• Decision-making tends to be more and more participatory as the
cycle moves along.
• Conversational turn-taking is key, always, and that's a part of building
trust by being polite and welcoming.
1/21/2018
34
Consensus and decision-making
Talk about decision-making. Discuss leadership in connection to
decision-making. Think and talk about:
§ Consensus is important for deciding on your decision-making
strategy.
§ That decision-making strategy needs to be interpreted as fair by
all, and as agreed upon by all.
§ Having a decision-making strategy is important (regardless of
which way you choose)
Consensus and decision-making
Talk about decision-making. Discuss leadership in connection to
decision-making. Think and talk about:
§ Consensus is important for deciding on your decision-making
strategy.
§ That decision-making strategy needs to be interpreted as fair by
all, and as agreed upon by all.
§ Having a decision-making strategy is important (regardless of
which way you choose)
Whose responsibility is all
of this?
1/21/2018
35
Leadership (A good leader …)
• puts the team ahead of themselves
• aims for inclusiveness (no members disadvantaged or ‘out’ of group)
• has an overview of the project and the team work
• doesn’t make all decisions, but can help steer the decision-making
process
• In exceptional cases, a leader can make a final decision, but only if other
methods haven’t worked. Even better: the group has already talked
about this situation and decided how to approach it!
• A good leader contributes to team formation and a psychologially safe
environment (positive, creative, safe, equal)
Leadership strategies
• Manage air time
• Help to model processes; e.g. ask questions / repeat / paraphrase ideas
and suggestions, in order to help ’team’ understanding.
• Identify and monitor potential areas needing more attention
• Ask open questions (not yes/no, e.g.) and clarifying questions.
• Encourage and seek differing opinions and suggestions
• Set aside time for discussions and decision-making in order to highlight
areas needing attention, and to address unanswered questions /
uncertainty
1/21/2018
36
Thinking as a team
• Change:
• negative to positive: “How do we want it to be”, rather than “that’s
wrong”
• Individual to shared: “Our problem” not “your/my problem”
• Accusatory to helpful (in tone, in conversation)
• Past to future. “Ok, so what can we do about it as a team”
1/21/2018 Chalmers 72
Teams: A checklist
(Wheelen, Chapter 4, p. 36 – 37)
Wheelen offers a checklist of characteristics associated with productivity and
high-performing teams. (Next 3 slides)
Take this as an example of what research generally agrees are associated with
high-performance. [and ‘end goal’ for your team, as it were]
1/21/2018
37
1/21/2018 Chalmers 73
Teams: A checklist
(Wheelen, Chapter 4, p. 36 – 37)
• Members are clear about and agree with the team’s goals
• Tasks are appropriate to team rather than individual solutions
• Members are clear about and accept their roles
• Role assignments match members’ abilities
• The leadership style matches the team’s development level
• An open communication structure allows all members to participate
• The team gets, gives, and uses feedback about its effectiveness and
productivity
1/21/2018 Chalmers 74
Teams: A checklist
• The team spends time defining and discussing problems it must solve or
decisions it must make
• Members also spend time planning how they will solve problems and make
decisions
• The team uses effective decision-making strategies
• The team implements and evaluates its solutions and decisions
• Task-related deviance is tolerated
1/21/2018
38
1/21/2018 Chalmers 75
Teams: A checklist
• Team norms encourage high performance, quality, success, and innovation.
• Subgroups are integrated into the team as a whole
• The team contains the smallest number of members necessary to
accomplish its goals
• Team members have sufficient time together to develop a mature working
unit and to accomplish the team’s goals
• The team is highly cohesive and cooperative
• Periods of conflict are frequent but brief, and the group has effective conflict
management strategies.
1/21/2018 Chalmers 76
Wheelen’s advice on trust
• Keep commitments (or open, honest communication about issues in keeping
commitments)
• Work towards establishing a coherent group culture and structure
• Talk about group problems/issues, not team member problems/issues
• Develop ways/language for seeking and offering help, for talking about issues/conflict,
by talking about own fears (“when x happened, I felt y”, rather than “you did x. that’s
bad. You’re bad” type language) (sometimes it can be hard to recognize that kind of
language – and to understand how others interpret that kind of language)
• Often groups spend too long on tasks, and not enough on supporting each other.
• Talk about whether you’re spending too much or too little energy / time building
relationships to the detriment of working on group processes and tasks
1/21/2018
39
Discussion in your teams
• Share with your team your experiences of previous group work
and group formation.
• What worked/didn’t? What would you change? Why?
• What helped push team development forward? (or hindered?)
1/21/2018 Chalmers 78
References• Edmondson, A (2013) Teaming to innovate. Jossey-Bass, San
Franscisco
• Forsyth, D. R. (2014) Group dynamics. Wadsworth: Cengage.
• Johnson, D.W., Johnson, R.T. and Tjosvold, D. (2006),
“Constructive controversy”, in Deutsch, M., Coleman, P.T. and
Marcus, E.C. (Eds), The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory
and Practice, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, CA, pp. 69-91.
• Wheelan, Susan A (2013): Att skapa effektiva team: en
handledning för ledare och medlemmar. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
• Schein, E. (2011) Helping. How to offer, give and receive help.
Berrett-Koehler Publishers
