Developing High-Performance Teams

Self-Directed Teams at Chrysler Chrysler CEO Tom La Sorda is pushing the automaker into an era of “smart manufacturing” which relies more on self-directed work teams (SDWTs). This photo shows La Sorda meeting employees at the company’s plant in Saltillo, Mexico, which has already introduced SDWTs.

Self-Directed Teams Defined Formal groups that complete an entire piece of work requiring several interdependent tasks and have substantial autonomy over the execution of these tasks.

Self-Directed Work Team Attributes Complete an entire piece of work requiring interdependent tasks Clusters team members together Minimal interdependence with other teams Substantial autonomy over execution of the team’s tasks Control most work inputs, flow, and outputs Little or no supervision

Sociotechnical Systems Elements Responsible for entire work process Make entire product, component, or provide service fairly independent from other work units Sufficient autonomy freedom to divide up and coordinate work empowers team members Control key variances team controls factors affecting work quality/quantity Joint optimization balancing social and technical systems

SDWTs at Standard Motor Products Standard Motor Products successfully introduced self-directed work teams (SDWTs) at its Kansas plant, but some supervisors had difficulty changing from a command-and-control to mentor/facilitator management style. Courtesy of Standard Motor Products

Challenges to SDWTs Cross-cultural issues Management resistance Difficult in some cultures Management resistance Concerned about losing power, status, job security Shift from command/control to mentor/facilitator Employee and labor union resistance Employees uncomfortable with new roles, skills Union concerns -- more stress, lost work rules Courtesy of Standard Motor Products

PricewaterhouseCooper’s Virtual Teams Peter Nicolas (shown in photo) and many employees at PricewaterhouseCoopers spend much of their time working in virtual teams. “Virtual teaming is the norm for us,” says Nicolas, a Learning Solutions manager at the accounting firm’s offices in New Jersey. Courtesy of PricewaterhouseCoopers

Virtual Teams Defined Teams whose members operate across space, time, and organizational boundaries and are linked through information technologies to achieve organizational tasks. Courtesy of PricewaterhouseCoopers

Why Virtual Teams? Increasingly possible because of: Information technologies Knowledge-based work Increasingly necessary because of: Knowledge management Globalization

High-Performance Virtual Teams Virtual teams perform better with: Team Environment Creative combination of communication channels Team Tasks Structured tasks Moderate interdependence Team Size Smaller size than traditional team performing similar tasks more

High-Performance Virtual Teams (con’t) Virtual teams perform better with: Team Composition Good communication and cross-cultural skills in team members Team Processes Some face-to-face meetings to assist team development Team Trust Important in all teams, but especially virtual teams

Trust Defined A psychological state comprising the intention to accept vulnerability based upon positive expectations of the intent or behavior of another person

Knowledge-based Trust Three Levels of Trust High Identity-based Trust Knowledge-based Trust Calculus-based Trust Low

Three Levels of Trust (con’t) Calculus-based trust Based on deterrence Fragile, limited, dependent on punishment Knowledge-based trust Based on predictability and competence Fairly robust, develops over time Identification-based trust Based on common mental models and values Increases with person’s social identity with team

Propensity to Trust Some people are inherently more willing to trust others Propensity to trust influenced by personality, values, and socialization experiences Also varies with emotions at the moment

Swift Trust in Teams People typically join a virtual or conventional team with a moderate or high level of trust Explanations for this swift trust: people usually believe their team-mates are reasonably competent (knowledge-based trust) people tend to develop some degree of social identify with the team But swift trust is fragile

Team Decision Making Constraints Time constraints Time to organize/coordinate Production blocking Evaluation apprehension Belief that other team members are silently evaluating you Conformity to peer pressure Suppressing opinions that oppose team norms

Team Constraints: Groupthink Tendency in highly cohesive teams to value consensus at the price of decision quality More common when the: Team is highly cohesive Team is isolated from outsiders Team leader is opinionated Team faces external threats Team has recent failures Team lacks clear guidance

Team Constraints: Group Polarization Tendency for teams to make more extreme decisions than individuals alone Riskier options usually taken because of prospect theory effect fallacy -- dislike losing more than they like winning

Group Polarization Process Team discussion processes High risk Social support Persuasive arguments Shifting responsibility High risk Individual opinions after meeting Individual opinions before meeting Low risk Low risk

General Guidelines for Team Decisions Team norms should encourage critical thinking Sufficient team diversity Ensure neither leader nor any member dominates Maintain optimal team size Introduce effective team structures

NASA Encourages Constructive Conflict Courtesy of Johnson Space Center/NASA NASA replaced the assigned seating rectangular table at the Johnson Space Center with a C-shaped arrangement where people sit wherever they want (shown in photo). The table is intended to avoid hierarchy so NASA managers can have more constructive debate.

Constructive Conflict Courtesy of Johnson Space Center/NASA Occurs when team members debate their different perceptions about an issue in a way that keeps the conflict focused on the task rather than people. Problem: constructive conflict easily slides into personal attacks

Rules of Brainstorming Speak freely Don’t criticize Provide as many ideas as possible Build on others’ ideas

Evaluating Brainstorming Strengths Produces more innovative ideas Strengthens decision acceptance and team cohesiveness Sharing positive emotions encourages creativity Higher customer satisfaction if clients participate Weaknesses Production blocking still exists Evaluation apprehension exists in many groups Fewer ideas generated than when people work alone

Electronic Brainstorming Participants share ideas using software Usually in the same room, but may be dispersed Question posted, then participants submit their ideas or comments on computer Comments/ideas appear anonymously on computer screens or at front of room

Evaluating Electronic Brainstorming Strengths Less production blocking Less evaluation apprehension More creative synergy More satisfaction with process Weaknesses Too structured Technology-bound Candid feedback is threatening Not applicable to all decisions

Nominal Group Technique Individual Activity Team Activity Individual Activity Describe problem Write down possible solutions Possible solutions described to others Vote on solutions presented

Team Building Any formal intervention directed toward improving the development and functioning of a work team Accelerates team development Applied to existing teams that have regressed in team development

Types of Team Building Role definition Goal setting Problem solving Interpersonal process

Making Team Building Effective Some team building activities are successful, but just as many fail because: Team-building activities need to target specific team problems Team building is a continuous process, not a one-shot inoculation Team building needs to occur on-the-job, not just away from the workplace

Developing High-Performance Teams