Surviving the Desert

Spring 2011MGMT E-4000, M. S. White, Ph.D., J.D. Team Decision-Making

Interpersonal n Listen to your team members n Support your team members –Seriously consider the ideas of others –Nonjudgmental listening (not looking for what’s wrong) n Avoid “Group Think” n Aim for full participation

Cognitive n Analyze the facts –Don’t jump to conclusions –Critically test your assumptions n Set Objectives –Actions should serve objectives –How does an action serve your objective? –Avoid the action trap.

Cognitive Consider alternative courses of action. –Generate as many alternatives as possible. –Evaluate each alternative. Discuss adverse consequences. –What might go wrong? –How likely is it to happen?

Effective Team Performance n Need : Comprehensive Decision Making + Good Interpersonal Process + Great Execution

How Effective Was Your Team? n Individual Score –Measure of individual expertise. –The lower the score, the more the individual was in agreement with the expert. n Average Individual Score –Measure of team’s level of expertise. –The lower the score, the higher the team’s level of individual expertise.

How Effective Was Your Team? n Team Score –Indicates the quality of team decisions. –A lower score shows greater agreement with the experts. n Team Score v. Average Individual Score –A higher team score suggests a break-down in interpersonal processing. –Did knowledgeable members participate fully?

How Effective Was Your Team? n Team Gain/Loss Score –A high gain indicates that the team’s score was superior to the average individual score. –Suggests that the team was effective. n Percent Change –Adjusts the team scores to reflect initial differences in expertise. Shows the percent of gain or loss.

How Effective Was Your Team? n Best Individual Score v. Team Score –Lowest individual score –Shows amount of improvement over the best individual. n Highest Individual Score v. Team Score –Shows how effective the team was in influencing a member with low expertise.

How Effective Was Your Team? n Number of Individuals with Scores Lower than the Team Score –May not have used team members’ expertise effectively.

Summary n Great teams master the interpersonal, cognitive and execution. n Effective teams: –Listen to and analyze all perspectives. –Remove cognitive blinders < Use all available information < Seek additional information < Share information < Find contradictory information

Summary n Effective teams: –Avoid “Group Think.” –Critically evaluate alternatives. < Consider the risks as well as the upside –Have clear objectives which dictate actions.

What type of team were you? n Constructive: Tapped full potential of members and put task above members personal needs. n Passive/Defensive: Fulfill the personal security needs of members (Groupthink) n Aggressive/Defensive: Solutions are limited to the expertise of those who gain control of the group (Captainitus)