Work Teams

MOON LANDING SURVIVAL EXERCISE THE SITUATION The year is You are a member of a space crew that was to rendezvous with the mother ship on the lighted surface of the moon. You experienced mechanical difficulties and your ship was forced to land about 200 miles from the point you were to be. During re-entry and landing, much of the equipment on your ship was damaged. Your survival depends on you reaching the mother ship. You will need to survey what is left that is useable and determine the most critical undamaged items that you will take for the 200 mile trip. Your task is to look over the useable, undamaged items left on your ship, and rank them in order of their importance for your crew and their ability to help you reach the mother ship. Rank them starting with 1 for the most important and ending with 15 for the least important.

The Need for Teams Increased amount of information and specialization More educated workforce Need for new approach to management Increased rate of change in environment and jobs

Types of Teams Larson and La Fasto (1989) Problem-solving teams Creative teams Tactical teams Ad hoc team

Challenges of Working in Groups Social Loafing Free Riding Extreme Decisions Groupthink Destructive Conflict Lack of Proximity (virtual teams)

Staffing Effective Teams Ability-based selection Gain group acceptance Increase group cohesion Be aware of the group consciousness Share the group identification Impression management Personality-based selection Extraversion (influence) Conscientiousness (performance) Agreeableness (interpersonal skills) General mental ability

Interaction of Personality, Competence, and Self-Esteem

Interaction of Neuroticism, Competence, Forming and Feedback

Managing Key Team Processes Shared Mental Models Similarity in how team members understand and try to solve problems Decision Making Team informity Staff validity Member sensitivity Interpersonal Processes Leadership

L M M M M MM M M M M M M L Formal Team Leadership A. B. David V. Day Singapore Management University

L M M M M MM M M M M M M Formal Team Leadership Informal Adaptive Team Leadership David V. Day Singapore Management University

Contextual Factors to Support Team Leadership Development: Internal (a) Psychological Safety (b) Learning Orientation (c) Low Power Distance External a) Autonomy b) Support c) Leadership Mindset M M M M M M Informal Adaptive Team Leadership David V. Day Singapore Management University

Contextual Factors to Support Team Leadership Development INTERNAL Unsafe to take risks Interpersonally safe No learning focusLearning focused Hierarchical/authoritarianEgalitarian EXTERNAL DependentAutonomous Scarce resourcesPlentiful resources Individual leaderCollective leadership David V. Day Singapore Management University

Contextual Factors to Support Team Leadership Development INTERNAL Unsafe to take risks Interpersonally safe No learning focusLearning focused Hierarchical/authoritarianEgalitarian EXTERNAL DependentAutonomous Scarce resourcesPlentiful resources Individual leaderCollective leadership David V. Day Singapore Management University

Elements of Group Structure Norms - implicit or explicit rules that regulate the behavior of group members. Prescriptive - tell members how to behave. Proscriptive - tell members how NOT to behave. Cohesiveness - “forces” that bind group members together Task Cohesion Interpersonal cohesion

Elements of Group Structure Goal - a desired state of affairs Must be SMART Must be operational Must be accepted Leadership - differentiation of function within groups. Task-oriented leadership - focus on getting the group’s job done. Relations-oriented leadership - focus on reducing interpersonal friction and maintaining good relationships within the group.

Distributed Actions Theory of Leadership Goal-oriented Actions (Task) Information and Opinion Giver Information and Opinion Seeker Direction and Role Definer Summarizer Energizer Comprehension Checker

Distributed Actions Theory of Leadership Relationship-oriented Actions (Maintenance) Participation Encourager Communication Facilitator Tension Reliever Process Observer Interpersonal Problem Solver Supporter and Praiser

Stages of Group Development Stage 1 Forming - Members focus on each other, being accepted, learning more about the group. Stage 5 Adjourning - Groups disband and focus on closure. Stage 4 Performing - Group focuses on accomplishing task Stage 3 Norming - Members develop shared expectations about group member’s behavior. Stage 2 Storming - Members struggle for leadership, confront the issue of how much individuality to relinquish to belong to group.

Characteristics of Effective Work Teams Informal, relaxed atmosphere Lot of “on-task” discussion (all members participate) Well-defined tasks or objectives Group members listen to one another There IS disagreement Criticism is frequent, frank, comfortable and constructive Ideas and feelings are freely expressed Clear assignments are made and accepted Group leadership shifts to members from time to time The group is aware of how it is operating From Douglas McGregor, The Human Side of Enterprise, pp Copyright © 1960

Guidelines for Effective Groups Establish clear, operational, relevant group goals Establish effective two-way communication Ensure that leadership and participation are distributed among all group members Ensure power is distributed and influence tactics vary to fit the situation Ensure decisions are made using the appropriate method Encourage structured controversies to facilitate creativity Ensure conflict of interests are addressed and resolved constructively Adapted from Johnson, D.W. & Johnson, F. P. (2000) Joining Together: Group Theory and Group Skills, p. 13