Leading Effective Teams & working in Groups

Module : V

Fundamental Group Dynamics

What Is a Group? Two or more freely interacting individuals who share a common identity and purpose. Types of Groups Informal groups: a collection of people seeking friendship and acceptance that satisfies esteem needs.

Formal groups: a collection of people created to do something productive that contributes to the success of the larger organization.

What Does It Take to Make a Group?

Fundamental Group Dynamics

(contd)

Attraction to Groups
Attractiveness of the group Cohesiveness of the group

Roles

Socially determined ways of behaving in a specific position.

A set of expectations concerning what a person must, must not, or may do in a position. The actual behavior of a person who occupies the position.

Fundamental Group Dynamics

(contd)

Norms

The standards (degrees of acceptability and unacceptability) for conduct that help individuals judge what is right or good or bad in a given social setting.
Are culturally derived and vary from one culture to another. Are usually unwritten, yet have a strong influence on individual behavior. May go above and beyond formal rules and written policies.

Fundamental Group Dynamics

(contd)

Reasons that groups enforce norms

To facilitate the survival of the group. To simplify or clarify role expectations. To help group members avoid embarrassing situations. To express key group values and enhance the groups unique identity.

Ostracism

Rejection by the group for violation of its norms.

Group Dynamics
Effective group dynamics requires

Respect for one another Clearly articulated shared goals Frequent interaction Shared decision-making power (with or without a formally designated leader) Equitably divided tasks Shared responsibility for mistakes and successes Free expression of opinions, perspectives, & constructive criticism

Respect

Without respect, you do not have a team, but simply a collection of individuals working on individual tasks. You express respect by Listening carefully to others Recognizing the strengths and limitations of others Acknowledging accomplishments of others Honest communication

A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day.
Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes

Group Development

Characteristics of a Mature Group Members are aware of each others assets and liabilities. Individual differences are accepted. The groups authority and interpersonal relationships are recognized. Group decisions are made through rational discussion. Conflict is over group issues, not emotional issues. Members are aware of the groups processes and their own roles in them.

Six Stages of Group Development

Stage 1: Orientation

Uncertainty about most everything is high.

Subgroups struggle for control; roles are undefined. Consensus on leadership, structure, and procedures is reached. Members misperceive that the group has reached maturity.

Stage 2: Conflict and change

Stage 3: Cohesion

Stage 4: Delusion

Six Stages of Group Development

(contd)

Stage 5: Disillusion

Subgroups form; disenchantment, diminished cohesiveness and commitment to the group.

Stage 6: Acceptance
A trusted and influential group member steps forward and moves the group from conflict to cohesion so that it becomes highly effective and efficient. Member expectations are more realistic.

Five Types of Teams

Work Team A group of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose. Problem-Solving Team A temporary combination of workers who gather to solve a specific problem and then disband.

Self-Managed Team A work team empowered with the authority to decide how its members complete their daily tasks.
Cross-Functional Team A team made up of members from different functions, such as production, marketing, and finance.

Virtual Team Group of geographically or organizationally dispersed coworkers who use a combination of telecommunications and information technologies to accomplish an organizational task.

TEAM CHARACTERISTICS
Team Size
Can range widely, but most have fewer than 12 members. Research says ideal size is often 6 or 7 members.

Team Level and Team Diversity

Team Level Average level of ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team. Team Diversity Variances or differences in ability, experience, personality, or any other factor on a team.

Stages of Team Development

Stage 1. Forming (Orientation) Major Processes Exchange of information Increased interdependency Task exploration Identification of commonalities Disagreement over procedures Expression of dissatisfaction Emotional responses Resistance Growth of cohesiveness & unity Establishment of roles, standards, & relationships Goal achievement High task orientation Emphasis on performance & production Termination of roles Completion of tasks Reduction of dependency Characteristics Tentative interactions Polite discourse Ambiguity Self-discourse Criticism of ideas Poor attendance Hostility Polarization & coalition forming Agreement on procedures Reduction in role ambiguity Increased we-feeling Decision making Problem solving Mutual cooperation Disintegration & withdrawal Increasing independence Regret

2. Storming (Conflict)

3. Norming (Cohesion)

4. Performing (Performance)

5. Adjourning (Dissolution)

Team Cohesiveness and Norms

Team Cohesiveness Extent to which team members feel attracted to the team and motivated to remain part of it. Typically increases when members interact frequently, share common attitudes and goals, and enjoy being together. Cohesive teams quickly achieve high levels of performance and consistently perform better. Team Norm Informal standard of conduct shared by team members that guides their behavior. Can be positive or negative.

Team Conflict
Conflict - Antagonistic interaction in which one party attempts to thwart the intentions or goals of another. Cognitive conflict focuses on problem-related differences of opinion Reconciling these differences strongly improves team performance. Affective conflict refers to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional. Strongly decreases team performance.

Obstacles for Team Performance

Your Leader Is the Weak Link. Personal Conflicts Are Taking Over. Only a Few Carry the Team's Load. Self-Interest Is the Name of the Game. Team Composition. Team Size

Advice for Managers

Setting Group Goals Professional goals Design on-time and within budget, effective documentation, satisfied customers, etc. Personal goals Develop leadership skills, improve public speaking skills, learn new technical skills, etc. Social goals Betterment of society, assistive devices for the disabled, create employment, etc.

Competition

Definition: The act of seeking, or endeavoring to gain, what another is endeavoring to gain at the same time; common strife for the same objects; strife for superiority; emulous contest; rivalry, as for approbation, for a prize, or as where two or more persons are engaged in the same business and each seeking patronage; followed by for before the object sought, and with before the person or thing competed with.

If you're not making mistakes, you're not taking risks, and that means you're not going anywhere. The key is to make mistakes faster than the competition, so you have more changes to learn and win. John W. Holt, Jr. quotes

Competition between Groups

Competition has both harmful and useful effects on groups. The most harmful effects are that groups develop competing or conflicting goals, and lose their ability to communicate and cooperate with one another. The most useful effects are that groups develop strong ties and loyalty (cohesiveness0 among members, and there is a high regard for the task. In order to obtain the most benefit from inter-group competition, organizations need to reward groups on the basis of their contribution to the common good, encourage inter-group communication and collaboration, and avoid win-lose issues between groups.

Dysfunctional Competition

It seeks to benefit an individual/group/organism by damaging and/or eliminating competing individuals, groups and/or organisms; It opposes the desire for mutual survival. It is winner takes all, the rationale being that the challenge is a zerosum game the success of one group is dependent on the failure of the other competing groups. D. competition tends to promote fear, a "strike-first" mentality and embraces certain forms of trespass.

Functional Competition

It is based upon promoting mutual survival everyone wins. Adam Smiths invisible hand is a process where individuals compete to improve their level of happiness but compete in a cooperative manner through peaceful exchange and without violating other people. F. competition focuses individuals/groups/organisms against the environment.

Cooperation

Cooperation is the process of working or acting together, which can be accomplished by both intentional and non-intentional agents. In its simplest form it involves things working in harmony, side by side, while in its more complicated forms, it can involve something as complex as the inner workings of a human being or even the social patterns of a nation.

Cooperation in Organization

There are four main conditions that tend to be necessary for cooperative behavior to develop between two individuals: An overlap in desires A chance of future encounters with the same individual Memory of past encounters with that individual A value associated with future outcomes