Leading Teams

Team
A unit of two or more
people who interact and
coordinate their work to
accomplish a shared
goal or purpose

Groups & Teams

Group - two or more people with common
interests, objectives, and continuing
interaction
Work Team - a group of people with
complementary skills who are
committed to a common mission,
performance goals, and approach for
which they hold themselves mutually
accountable
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Ex. 10.1 Differences Between

Groups and Teams
Group

Has a designated, strong

leader

Individual accountability

Identical purpose for group

and organization

Performance goals set by

others

Works within organizational

boundaries

Individual work products

Organized meetings;
delegation

Team

Shares or rotates leadership

roles

Mutual/ind. accountability

Specific team vision or

purpose

Performance goals set by

team

Not inhibited by organizational

boundaries

Collective work products

Mutual feedback, open-ended

discussion, active problemsolving

Ex. 10.2 Stages of Team Development

Forming:
Orientation, break the ice
Leader: Facilitate social interchanges

Storming:

Conflict, disagreement
Leader: Encourage participation,
surface differences

Norming:

Establishment of order and cohesion

Leader: help clarify team roles, norms,
values

Performing:

Cooperation, problem solving

Leader: Facilitate task accomplishment

Ex. 10.3 Evolution of Teams and Team

Leadership
Functional Team
Grouping individuals
by activity
Leader centered
Vertical or command
team

Cross-Functional
Team
Coordinates
across organization
boundaries for
change projects
Leader gives up
some power
Special purpose
team, problemsolving team

Need for traditional leadership

Self-Directed Team
Autonomous, defines
own boundaries
Member-centered
Self-managed team

Need for team leadership

6

Interdependence
Interdependence

The extent to which team members depend on

each other for information, resources, or ideas to
accomplish their tasks

Pooled Interdependence

The lowest form of team interdependence;

members are relatively independent of one
another in completing their work

Interdependence (contd.)
Sequential Interdependence

Serial form of interdependence in which the

output of one team member becomes the input
to another team member

Reciprocal Interdependence

Highest form of interdependence; members

influence and affect one another in reciprocal
fashion

Leading Effective Teams

Team effectiveness: the extent
to which a team achieves four
performance outcomes:
innovation/adaptation, efficiency,
quality, and employee
satisfaction
Team cohesiveness: the
extent to which members
stick together and remain
united in the pursuit of a
common goal
9

Cohesion

Factors influencing cohesion

Time
Size
Prestige
External pressure
Internal competition

Problems with: groupthink

10

Team Leadership Roles

Task-Specialist Role

Team leadership role associated with initiating new ideas,

evaluating the teams effectiveness, seeking to clarify
tasks and responsibilities, summarizing facts and ideas for
others, and stimulating others to action

Socio-Emotional Role

Team leadership role associated with facilitating others

participation, smoothing conflicts, showing concern for
team members needs and feelings, serving as a role
model, and reminding others of standards for team
interaction
11

Ex. 10.4 Two Types of Team

Leadership Roles
Task-Specialist Behavior

Socio-Emotional Behavior

Propose solutions and initiate new

ideas

Encourage contributions by others;

draw out others ideas by showing
warmth and acceptance

Evaluate effectiveness of task

solutions; offer feedback on others
suggestions

Smooth over conflicts between

members; reduce tension and help
resolve differences

Seek information to clarify tasks,

responsibilities, and suggestions

Be friendly and supportive of others;

show concern for members needs and
feelings

Summarize ideas and facts related to

the problem at hand

Maintain standards of behavior and

remind others of agreed-upon norms
and standards for interaction

Energize others and stimulate the

team to action

Seek to identify problems with team

interactions or dysfunctional member
behavior; ask for others perceptions
12

Virtual Team
A team made up of geographically or
organizationally dispersed members
who share a common purpose and
are linked primarily through advanced
information technologies

13

Ex. 10.5 Differences Between Conventional,

Virtual, and Global Teams
Type of
Team

Spatial
Distance

Communications

Member
Cultures

Leader
Challenge

Conventional

Colocated

Face to face

Same

High

Virtual

Scattered

Mediated

Same

Higher

Global

Widely
scattered

Mediated

Different

Very high

14

Global Teams
Teams made up of culturally diverse
members who live and work in
different countries and coordinate
some part of their activities on a global
basis

15

Ex. 10.6 A Model of Styles to Handle

Conflict
Assertive

.Competing

Assertiveness

Compromising

(Attempting to
satisfy ones own
concerns)

Unassertive

.
Collaborating

Avoiding

Accommodating

Uncooperative

Cooperative

Cooperativeness
(Attempting to satisfy
the other partys
concerns)

16

Team leadership

Effective team leaders understand 1) they do not

have all the answers, 2) they do not need to make all
key decisions, and 3) they cannot succeed without
the other team members
The essence of the team leaders job striking the
right balance between providing guidance and giving
up control, between making tough decisions and
letting others make them, and between doing difficult
things alone and letting others learn how to do them
Effective team leaders allow their people to grow
The key to the leaders role is understanding what the
team needs and does not need from the leader to
help it perform

Extra: Six things necessary for good team leadership

Maintain perspective. Keep the purpose (why we are doing

what we are doing), goals, and approach relevant and
meaningful
The team leader must do this for him/herself as well as for
the team. If the leader looses perspective, the team
members have a responsibility to keep the team on course
and to reestablish leadership perspective
Build commitment and confidence with positive and constructive
reinforcement
Strengthen the mix and level of skills of team members
Manage relationships with outsiders, including removing
obstacles
Create opportunities for others
Do real work.
Demonstrates credibility and provides a role model