Team building

Unit 2

Unit 2

Determinants of Team Performance

It can be done by observing and evaluating the following seven factors that collectively contribute to team success:

cohesion,

communication,

groupthink,

homogeny,

role identity,

stability,

and team size.

Cohesion- is how cohesive members are with one another.

Once a team is highly cohesive, a members commitment and willingness to strive for excellence thrives.

Team cohesion affects the extent to which members like one another, get along with each other, and trust and respect one anothers abilities and opinions.

Although these characteristics are difficult to observe,

Managers can also determine whether team members equally participate in group discussions and activities rather than forming cliques or subgroups of cohesive units.

2. Communication

Efficient communication mechanisms are crucial to develop effective teams.

In order to understand the scope of a goal and agree upon a path to reach that goal,

teams must develop an effective method of communication.

Indicators of effective team communication include:

mellow conversation tones,

willingness to consider all opinions,

desire to enhance communication frequency, effective conflict resolution,

and efficient decision-making processes.

Furthermore, to foster team cohesion,

employee satisfaction, and motivation,

organizations should implement a formal conflict resolution process in cases where a team cannot effectively resolve conflict internally.

3. Groupthink

Groupthink is a tendency for decision-making teams to suppress opposing viewpoints in order to preserve group harmony.

This phenomenon can occur because individual team members have an overwhelming desire to be accepted and teams want to minimize conflict.

When determining the degree to which a team is experiencing groupthink,

a manager can evaluate whether the team is exerting an excessive amount of dominating characteristics.

Other signs of groupthink include individual conformity, peer-pressure exerted by leaders within the team, and discussions that tend to be one-sided.

4. Homogeneity

Homogeneity is the extent to which members are similar or different to one another.

The difficulty for most project managers is finding the right balance between overly homogenous and overly heterogeneous.

When evaluating team homogeneity, a manager can consider similarities and differences in personal characteristics, education, skills, abilities, generational backgrounds, cultural background, and income levels.

Teams that are homogenous tend to be highly cohesive and can easily develop effective communication methods that reduce conflict.

However, too much homogeneity leads to greater instances of groupthink.

Alternatively, teams that are highly heterogeneous have an advantage because members are highlydiverse, which leads to more instances of creativity, ingenuity, and resourceful productivity. However, teams that are too diverse may limit the degree to which members can relate to one another and effectively communicate.

5. Role Identity

Role identity is the extent to which members are capable of assuming different roles throughout the team structure, thus diversifying efforts and developing subject matter experts.

The diverse skills and knowledge that members bring to a team provide a large range of capabilities necessary to achieve a goal.

Managers can observe the extent to which a team can recognize the individual potential in each member and identify the role best suited for that member.

If not, a team cannot be expected to be highly functional and perform well.

6. Stability

The sixth factor that significantly influences team performance is the degree of stability among members and project leaders.

Teams that have lower turnover rates experience higher levels of group cohesion,

better communication methods, and more effective role identity.

In addition to simply evaluating turnover rates, managers can evaluate the degree to which members are comfortably interdependent with one another, which comes with stable and trusting relationships.

7. Team Size

By evaluating a teams size, managers are able to maximize productivity to ensure high levels of team performance.

The greater number of members within a team the more resources available to achieve a goal.

However, as team size increases, so does the number of conflicts resulting in decreased levels of cohesion and inefficient productivity.

To evaluate whether a team is too large or small, managers must consider how effectively and harmoniously members work together and whether the required tasks are being efficiently accomplished by all members of the team.

Evaluating Team Performance

Whileperformancerefers to the actual behaviors enacted by a team (or a system of teams),effectiveness refers to the evaluation of the results of performance; that is, the degree to which these behaviors satisfy team, organizational, and/or other super-ordinate goals

Why evaluate team performance?

First, it provides a mechanism to guide learning through systematic, developmental feedback.

Second, team performance evaluation enables summative assessment; that is, it allows trainers and team members themselves to obtain a snapshot of a teams development at a particular time.

Third, by defining key behavioral and outcome criteria, evaluation provides a mechanism for curriculum validation


Psychometric approaches to team measurement

questionnaire and inventories popular approach.

Psychometric approach- is designed to investigate team working.

While others individual tests.

The Belbin team role self perception inventory- evaluating team role.

Used for training courses as well as team building and development.

The 16PF and OPQ- psychometric test used for job selection and career assessment.

Questionnaire- personality profile.

16PF- 16 personality factors in adult personality used in clinical and educational settings.

OPQ- measures 30 separate aspects of behaviour, interest and personality characteristics in a work context.

Used to measure individual personality and team roles.

16PF- team work

OPQ- team role


Eight element

Mission clear about the purpose and are committed

Goal and objectives- figure out action steps and timelines that support mission realization

Operating processes- how team work together to accomplish their responsibilities, problem resolution and communication process

Behaviour ground rules- resolve disagreement constructively

Clear team roles

Decision making process

Conflict resolution process

Performance measures.

Team Roles and Skills

Belbin 1981 proposed 8 significant roles .
Team rolesCharacteristic Activities ChairpersonCalm, trusting, impartial, self-disciplined, positive thinker, self-confident, average intellectClarifies goals and objects help allocate roles, responsibilities and duties, articulates group conclusionsShaperHigh achiever, impatient, outgoing, argumentative and provocative, dynamicSeeks patterns n group discussions, pushes group towards agreement and decision makingPlantIndividualistic, serious-minded and knowledgeable intellectual, unorthodoxAdvances proposals and offers new ideas, give new insights on courses of actionsMonitor/ evaluatorClever, unemotional, not easily aroused, soberAnalyses problems and complex issues assesses the contributions of others

Company workersThough-minded, practical tolerant, conscientiousTransforms talk and ideas into practical activitiesTeam workerSensitive (aware), team oriented, gregarious (sociable), indecisive(uncertain)Gives personal support and help to othersResource investigatorCurious, sociable, innovative, communicative, versatile Introduces external information, negotiates with outsidersCompleterPerfectionist, conscientious attention to detail, anxious perseverance (determination)Emphasizes the need for meeting schedules and targets and completing task

Building a Collaborative Team

1. Have a Common Purpose and Goal

A team is defined as a group of people working together toward a common goal. Without a goal, there is no team. Ideas for creating a common goal include:

Create and/or review the team's charter.

Discuss why the team exists.

Allow each team member to express commitment.

Create mottoes, symbols, awards, or posters that portray the team as one unit.

Use the common purpose to prioritize team actions.

2. Trust Each Other

Team members must trust each other if they are to work together successfully. Ideas for creating trust among team members include:

Be honest.

Work to eliminate conflicts of interests.

Avoid talking behind each other's back.

Trust teammates (you must trust them before they will trust you).

Give team members the benefit of the doubt.


3. Clarify Roles

Knowing everyone's role and being familiar with the responsibility of those roles create efficiency and flexibility. Ideas for clarifying roles on the team include:

Review team members' roles frequently.

Relate team member expectations to the team's overall purpose.

Clarify responsibilities when action planning.

Learn what others do on the team.

Figure out ways to help each other.

4. Communicate Openly and Effectively

Miscommunication can create hard feelings and undermine the success of the team. Ideas for improving communication include:

Err on the side of over communicating.

Seek to understand all angles.

Take responsibility for being heard and understood.

Work to clear up misunderstandings quickly and accurately.

Reinforce and recognize team member efforts.


5. Appreciate Diversity

Team members come from all walks of life, with different backgrounds and perspectives. Ideas for taking advantage of team diversity include:

Remember that reasonable people can and do differ with each other.

Try to learn as much as you can from others.

Evaluate a new idea based on its merits.

Avoid remarks that draw negative attention to a person's unique characteristics.

Don't ignore the differences among team members.

6. Balance the Team's Focus

Finally, team members need to recognize that they should measure and monitor the products and services the team provides as well as the team's internal group dynamics and relationships. (Sometimes team members get so involved in the process of becoming a team they forget the reason they were made a team in the first place, or vice versa.) Ideas for creating that balance include:

Regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of team meetings.

Hold team celebrations for achieving results.

Praise individual effort.

Design individual performance goals that emphasize both results and teamwork.

Assign certain team members to monitor task needs and others to monitor relationship needs.

Innovative teams at work

West and Wallace 1991 studied 8 primary health care teams doctors, nurses and health visitors.

5 of them were judged to be innovative

3 were traditional.

The research investigated variable- characteristics and individual factors.

3 set of variable team to be innovative and dynamic

Climate of the team tolerated, encouraged new ideas, supported a controlled level of experimentation.

The degree of commitment-

Whether people felt they wanted to remain in the team

Whether they shared the value and goals of the team and

Whether they will willing to put the effort into the team project.

Feeling of belong

3. Collaboration

whether the team had open communication and people shared information willingly

whether there was a mutual trust between the members

Whether they tended to sort out conflicts by discussing them openly and reaching a consensus.

Team factors contributing to organization

Andenson, Hardy and West (1990) explored the characteristics of innovative team at work and identified 4 important factors which allow a team to be a positive, dynamic force for change within an organization.

Vision, participative safety, climate for excellence and support for innovation

Factors in innovative team:

Vision clearly articulated vision, mission or set of objectives.

Clearly stated

Vision attainable

2. Participative safety member share information fully with each other.

Participate in decision making

Ready to propose new ideas

Discuss each others work related anxieties and successes.

3. Climate for excellence team performance of central importance

Procedures and standards of work- monitor

Working atmosphere clearly focused on dong their jobs

Openness of ideas for improvement, constants vigilance (care) about maintaining high standards and

Willing to think constructively about criticism without becoming defensive.

4. Support for innovation- how the team and group tackle new ideas and alternative approaches to what they are doing.

Encourage and support new ideas

Offering practical help, listening and taking ideas seriously and co-operating with new procedures

Characteristics of innovative teams

Clear vision- what it s trying to achieve

Communication vision put across to other people clearly and articulately.

Flexibility flexible enough to be able to respond the concerns and suggestions of other people.

Persistence (determination)- giving same message over and over again

Participation- proposed change and involve other people in that change . Contribute ideas.

Resistance to team working

Lack of belief n team working

Personal threat and anxiety time to build trust

Organizational resistance

Potential communication challenges for virtual teams

Technophobia ( fear of working with technology)

Lack of technical skills

Incompatibility of software or hardware or both and team members

Lack of technical support

Uncertainty among team players about when to use the various communication channels

Information overload

Nature disasters on account of inability to access technology due to multiple reasons.

Strategies for Virtual Teams

Holding an initial face-to-face introductory meeting

Arranging periodic face-to face meetings, especially to resolve conflict and maintain and enhance team cohesiveness

Establishing a transparent code of conduct or set of norms and protocols for behaviour of members within in group and with others

Recognizing and rewarding performance

Using audio-visual presentation, to the extent possible, to avoid communication distortion

Recognizing the most communications will be non-verbal- use caution in tone, intonation(accent) and language.

Seeking confirmation, in case of verbal communication, through paraphrasing.

Documents

Team building