Team Leadership and Self-Managed Teams Chapter 8 Team Leadership and Self-Managed Teams Copyright © 2010 by South-Western/Cengage Learning All rights reserved. PowerPoint Presentation by Rhonda S. Palladi Georgia State University

Chapter 8 Learning Outcomes Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working in teams. Briefly describe the seven characteristics of effective teams. Describe top management’s and the team leader’s roles in fostering creativity. For each, list activities they should undertake to promote creativity. Outline the three parts of conducting effective meetings. Explain the differences between conventional and self-managed teams. Describe how team member characteristics impact self-managed team effectiveness. Describe the benefits of using self-managed teams in organizations Describe the guidelines for improving self-managed team effectiveness. Describe the challenges of implementing effective self-managed teams. Define the key terms listed at the end of the chapter.

The Use of Teams in Organizations Is a way of life in postmodern organizations Offers the best opportunity for better organizational performance in the form of increased productivity and profits Leads to cooperation and synergy

The Use of Teams in Organizations (cont.) For many organizations, the use of teams has led to desirable performance improvements, such as: Improved quality Improved efficiency Improved employee satisfaction Improved customer satisfaction For some organizations, however, the use of teams has resulted in negative outcomes, such as: Increased costs Stress Lower group cohesion

Groups vs. Teams: What is the Difference? Focus on individual performance and goals Rely on individual abilities Work more independently with greater motivation to achieve personal goals Have a very hierarchical leadership style Characterized by individual self-interest TEAM Have a sense of shared mission Have collective responsibility Focus on sharing information, insights, and perspectives Make decisions that support each individual to do his or her own job better Reinforce each other’s individual performance standards Have a participative or empowerment-oriented leadership style Have performance measures that create direct accountability for the team Strive for equality between members

Advantages and Disadvantages of Teamwork Synergy Avoidance of major errors Faster, better decisions Continuous improvement Innovation Self-motivation Empowerment Greater job satisfaction Needs fulfillment DISADVANTAGES Pressure to conform to group standards of performance and conduct Resistance to the team effort from impinging on autonomy Social loafing Groupthink Intergroup conflicts High levels of pressure and stress

Social Loafing Is the conscious or unconscious tendency by some team members to shirk responsibilities by withholding effort toward group goals when they are not individually accountable for their work Is likely when individual effort is not recognized and assessed Individual-level performance appraisal helps reduce social loafing, but risks jeopardizing team interaction and synergy

Groupthink Is when members of a cohesive group tend to agree on a decision not on the basis of its merit but because they are less willing to risk rejection for questioning a majority viewpoint or presenting a dissenting opinion Unanimity is more important than objectivity Dissenting views are suppressed in favor of consensus Can be remedied by training team members to become effective participants in the decision-making process

Discussion Question #1 Teams are often credited with making better decisions than individuals, yet they are also criticized for groupthink. What are some strategies for creating effective teams that are not victims of the groupthink phenomenon?

What are some of the key indicators of team dysfunction? Discussion Question #2 What are some of the key indicators of team dysfunction?

Components of Team Effectiveness Task performance Is the degree to which the team’s output meets the needs and expectations of those who use it Group process Is the degree to which members interact or relate that allow the team to work increasingly well together over time Individual satisfaction Is the degree to which the group experience, on balance, is more satisfying than frustrating to team members

Characteristics of Effective Teams Team norms Team leadership Team cohesiveness and interdependence Team composition Team structure Organizational support Team creativity

Team Norms Are acceptable standards of behavior shared by team members Influence how members perceive and interact with one another, approach decisions, and solve problems Begin developing and being accepted at the early stages of team formation

Team Leadership Effective team leaders: Must recognize that not everyone knows how to be a team player Must display self-sacrificing behavior and self-confidence Employ multiple influencing tactics to control and direct team member action toward the achievement of organizational goals Encourage norms that positively affect the team’s goals and alter those that are negative

Team Leadership (cont.) Effective team leaders: (cont.) Observe with a keen eye what’s going on in the team Make contributions when necessary Encourage a climate of dialogue Turn obstacles into opportunities See themselves and others as part of the team’s pool of knowledge, skills, and ideas Must be adaptive, knowing when to play different roles

Team Cohesiveness and Interdependence Team cohesion is the extent to which team members band together and remain committed to achieving team goals Highly cohesive teams have high group potency (the collective belief of a group that it can be effective) and a strong self-efficacy (an internal belief held by an individual or group about how well and impending situation can be handled) The degree to which team members depend on each other for information, resources, and other inputs to complete their tasks affects the level of interdependence or mutual influences within the team

Team Cohesiveness and Interdependence (cont.) Team cohesion is increased when: Team members agree on common purpose and direction External parties give high praise and recognition for the team’s success The organization encourages and motivates teams to compete with each other for rewards Members find they have common ground and similar attitudes and values Members enjoy being on the team

Team Composition Focuses on the diversity in knowledge, background, and experiences of team members Teams need the right mix of complementary skills, knowledge, and ability Teams with experience in working together tend to demonstrate greater task proficiency and teamwork effectiveness

Team Composition (cont.) Team diversity reduces the likelihood of groupthink Teams that do not manage diversity well may suffer negative consequences Good working relationships require good social skills for team members Size also impacts team effectiveness Small teams of under 12 members are generally more effective

Team Structure Refers to interrelations that determine the assignment of tasks, responsibilities, and authority Team members’ degree of interdependence and autonomy have been identified as key structural components that influence team effectiveness Determines the extent to which team members directly control the actions of each other or report observations of their peers’ efforts to management Horizontal incentive system Vertical incentive system

Organizational Support Effective teams have strong support from top management Assessing team effectiveness as part of overall organizational performance is an important role of top management

Team Creativity Is the creation of a valuable, useful, and novel product, service, idea, procedure, or process carried out via discovery rather than a predetermined step-by-step procedure, by individuals working together in a complex social system Organizations that will survive and thrive are those that make the best use of the creativity of their workforce

Organizational Practices that Foster Team Creativity Use this space for overall reminders or special tips linked to the slide or occasion. Simply select this text and replace it with your own reminders. Provide adequate and quality resources Provide appropriate recognition and rewards Organizational Practices that Foster Team Creativity Summary Heading. Text. Provide supportive climate and culture Provide flexibility and a minimum amount of structure

Team Leader Practices that Foster Creativity Matching people with the right assignments Team Leader Practices that Foster Creativity Use this space for overall reminders or special tips linked to the slide or occasion. Simply select this text and replace it with your own reminders. Giving team members greater autonomy to do the job Team Leader Practices that Foster Creativity Protecting against “creativity blockers” Summary Heading. Text. Ensuring the availability of adequate time, money, and other resources

Cross-Functional Team Types of Teams Functional Team Use this space for overall reminders or special tips linked to the slide or occasion. Simply select this text and replace it with your own reminders. Cross-Functional Team Types of Teams Virtual Team Summary Heading. Text. Self-Managed Team

Functional Team Is a group of employees belonging to the same functional department, such as marketing, R&D, production, human resources, or information systems who have a common objective The structure is generally more hierarchical with the functional leader making all the decisions and expecting his or her followers to implement them

Functional Team (cont.) Team members tend to focus on their local area of specialization ignoring the overall organizational mission There is no one best leadership style to use The use of functional structure has been in decline

Cross-Functional Team Is made up of members of different functional departments of an organization who are brought together to perform unique tasks to create new and nonroutine products or services Some members may be from outside the organization Interaction, cooperation, coordination, information sharing, and cross-fertilization of ideas among people from different functional areas produces better quality products/services with shorter development cycles

Cross-Functional Team (cont.) Cross-functional teams offer many potential benefits to an organization, such as: A rich and diverse base of knowledge and creative potential that far exceeds anything a single functional team could come up with Improved coordination Avoidance of problems Multiple sources of information and perspectives Contacts outside of one’s functional specialty Speed to market Learning of new skills that members carry back to their functional unit Synergy

Virtual Team Is one whose members are geographically distributed, requiring them to work together through electronic means with minimal face-to-face interaction New and advanced technologies are providing the means for teamwork that is dispersed (carried out in different locations) and asynchronous (carried out at different times)

Virtual Team (cont.) Have significant collaboration, communication, and leadership challenges Team interaction, information sharing, and knowledge integration are all critical to success Virtual cross-functional teams are growing in companies with global operations

Self-Managed Team (SMT) Are relatively autonomous teams whose members share or rotate leadership responsibilities and hold themselves mutually responsible for a set of performance goals assigned by higher management Are usually cross-functional in membership makeup Have wide latitude in decision making Can manage themselves, plan and schedule work, and take action on problems

Leader-Centered Decision-Making Model The leader exercises his or her power to initiate, direct, drive, instruct, and control team members To be successful, the leader should: Focus on task Ignore personal feelings and relationships Seek opinions Get agreement Make final decisions Stay in control Stop disruptions Discourage members from expressing their feelings Keep it rational Guard against threats to his or her authority

Team-Centered Decision-Making Model Empowers team members to make decisions and follow through To be successful, the team leader should: Listen attentively Watch for nonverbal cues Be aware of members’: Feelings Needs Interactions Conflict Serve as a consultant, advisor, teacher, and facilitator Model appropriate leadership behaviors Establish a climate of approval for expression of feelings and ideas Relinquish control to the team Allow the team to make final decisions

Team-Centered Decision- Making Model (cont.) Advantages Can improve decision quality Shifts much of the decision making away from the leader Allows the leader to think more strategically Allows responsibility to be diffused among several people Results in higher commitment by team members to implement decisions as compared to decisions made alone by a leader

Team-Centered Decision- Making Model (cont.) Disadvantages Can take longer than decisions made alone by a manager Can be self-serving and contrary to the best interests of the organization, if team members have objectives and/or priorities different from those of the leader Can end up being a poor compromise rather than an optimal solution

Normative Leadership Model Originally discussed in Chapter 5 The normative model applies to group decision making, because the model is used to determine the level of participation to use in a given situation The decision styles are: Decide Consult individually Consult group Facilitate Delegate

Leadership Skills for Effective Team Meetings Planning meetings Objectives Selecting participants and making assignments The agenda The time and place for the meeting Leadership Conducting meetings Each meeting should cover the following: Identifying objectives Covering agenda items Summarizing and reviewing assignments

Leadership Skills for Effective Team Meetings (cont.) Handling problem members Silent Talkers Wanderers Bored Arguers

The Nature of Self-Managed Teams To understand the nature of SMTs, two key questions need to be posed and addressed: What makes them different from conventional teams? How widespread is their use in organizations?

Differences Between Conventional and Self-Managed Teams Characteristics Self-Managed Teams Conventional Teams Leadership Within the team Outside the team Team member role Interchangeable Fixed Accountability Team Individual Work effort Cohesive Divided Task design Flexible Skills Multiskilled Specialized

The Benefits of Self-Managed Teams Greater improvements in quality, speed, process, and innovation A sense of belonging and ownership in one’s work Greater employee motivation Accelerated new product development Greater employee participation Reduced operational costs because of reductions in managerial ranks and greater efficiencies Greater employee job satisfaction, commitment, and productivity, and lower turnover and absenteeism rates

Guidelines for Improving Self-Managed Team Effectiveness Ensure that the whole organization has changed its culture, structure, and climate to support SMTs Have a champion to support and defend the SMT from opponents who are threatened by the new concept and what it represents The self-managed team champion is an advocate of the self-managed team concept whose responsibility is to help the team obtain necessary resources, gain political support from top management and other stakeholders of the organization, and defend it from enemy attacks Have a well-thought-out vision of the way in which SMTs will fit into the scheme of the entire organization Allow time for team members to bond with one another and form team skills

Guidelines for Improving Self-Managed Team Effectiveness (cont.) Provide adequate training so team member skills and experiences match task requirements Provide objective goals, incentives, and appropriate infrastructure Ensure that the organization has the necessary resources to commit to this kind of change in time, money, and people Create a sense of empowerment so SMTs take ownership of what they are doing and how they are going to do it Pay close attention to team design decisions Develop team-based measurements and corresponding feedback methods that address team performance Recruit and train managers to act as facilitators or coaches Avoid overreacting at the first sign of crisis

The Changing Role of Leadership in Self-Managed Teams The concept of a self-managed team does not mean “without management” Rather, it implies self-responsibility and self-accountability The self-managed team must still receive direction and instruction from higher authority Many managers find themselves in a conflicting position when called upon to function as external leaders for self-managed teams Most receive conflicting signals on how to go about it

The Changing Role of Leadership in Self-Managed Teams (cont.) Distributed leadership Multiple leaders take complementary leadership roles in rotation within the same SMT, according to their area of expertise or interest Self-managed team facilitator Is the external leader of a self-managed team, whose job is to create optimal working conditions so team members take on responsibilities to work productively and solve complex problems on their own Must be good at coaching, influencing, and empowering the team

SMT Facilitator Team-Building Activities Opening forums to resolve interpersonal conflicts Creating opportunities for social interaction Increasing mutual acceptance and respect among diverse team members Maintaining an open communication policy Highlighting mutual interest, not differences, of team members Increasing team identification through the use of ceremonies, rituals, and symbols Using team-oriented incentives to foster teamwork

The Challenges of Implementing Self-Managed Teams Many of the drawbacks associated with SMTs stem from the difficulties of transitioning from a traditional command-and-control work environment to self-managed teams Managers may resist or undermine the transition of power Team members may experience anxiety about learning new behaviors

The Challenges of Implementing Self-Managed Teams (cont.) Some of the disadvantages of working in teams in general—such as social loafing and groupthink—are also likely to occur in self-managed teams The decision to use self-managed teams is not a guaranteed success, and requires a great deal of commitment, effort, and support from all members of the organization