Tech Guide E The Technology of Teams Introduction to Business Information Systems by James Norrie, Mark Huber, Craig Piercy, and Patrick McKeown

What We Will Cover Why do organizations use teams? How People Work in Teams How Teams Develop Hallmarks of Highly Effective Teams Bringing It All Together Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Teams—Introduction You have all worked on group projects at school, and many of you have played on a sports team Throughout your career, you will work in teams; the concepts you learn here will be used throughout your IS career Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Why Do Organizations Use Teams? To be successful in a complex, varied environment, organizations hire talented knowledge-enabled professionals who work primarily as individuals Organizations tap into the collective power of their employees through teams, which offer a more diverse and complementary set of: Skills Knowledge Expertise Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Why Do Organizations Use Teams? Most organizations succeed through a combination of individual and team effort A team of the right people, working in an aligned fashion, in the right direction, will be much greater than the sum of its parts Large, complex IS projects and tasks can only be accomplished with teams, sometimes hundreds of people, scattered across the organization and around the world Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

What Is a Team? Teams have been defined as “a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.” —Jon R. Katzenbach & Douglas K. Smith, The Wisdom of Teams Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Not All Groups Are Teams: How to Tell the Difference Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Work groupTeam Strong, clearly focused leaderShared leadership roles Individual accountabilityIndividual and mutual accountability The group's purpose is the same as the broader organizational mission Specific team purpose that the team itself delivers Individual work productsCollective work products Runs efficient meetingsEncourages open-ended discussion and active problem- solving meetings Measures its effectiveness indirectly by its influence on others (e.g., financial performance of the business) Measures performance directly by assessing collective work products Discusses, decides, and delegatesDiscusses, decides, and does real work together

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-Functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Everyone does the same task Work from one team member has little or no direct impact on other team members

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Report to the same manager or work in the same area to contribute to group goals

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Team comes together for a specific project or assignment and disbands when the project or assignment is completed

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Team is composed of members from the same department or function, such as the Student Career Centre or Registrar’s Office

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Members of the team are from varying disciplines, such as sales, parts, customer service, etc. Responsible for supporting a unit or position

Types of Teams Independent Natural work group Project Functional Cross-functional Virtual Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Team members work from various facilities or locations, coming together virtually using technology

Team Skills Technical skills Expertise, functional knowledge Problem-solving skills Investigate, analyse, make decisions, implement them Need to identify problems, evaluate options, make decisions, move forward Interpersonal skills Ability to compromise and build consensus Listening and supporting are essential skills Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Team Skills People are hired for technical skills (hard skills) Interpersonal (soft) skills are the “make-or-break” capabilities that allow teams to succeed Technical and problem-solving skills can be learned; interpersonal skills and attitudes are difficult to learn The best teams have complementary skills Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Team Roles Dr. Meredith Belbin developed three categories of team roles: Action-oriented roles: Get things done! People-oriented roles: Take care of us all C erebral roles: The Thinkers Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Team Roles Action-oriented roles Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Shaper challenging, dynamic, driven, has courage to overcome obstacles Implementer disciplined, reliable, conservative, efficient, makes ideas actionable Finisher conscientious, anxious, delivers on time So what would be the challenges working on a team full of action-oriented people?

Team Roles People-oriented roles Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Coordinator mature, confident, good chairperson, clarifies goals, delegates Teamworker co-operative, mild, perceptive, diplomatic, listens, builds alliances, averts friction So what would be the challenges working on a team full of people-oriented team members? Resource extroverted, communicative, explores opportunities Investigator

Team Roles Cerebral Roles Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Plant creative, imaginative, solves difficult problems Monitor sober, strategic, discerning, sees options, judges accurately Specialist single-minded, dedicated, provides skills in rare supply So what would be the challenges working on a team full of cerebral people?

It’s All about Balance What each person brings to the team combined with how each person executes their role, gives effective, balanced team performance Successful teams achieve results with a sense of collective pride in the process, in the team, and with themselves Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

How Teams Develop o Teams develop in stages o The most widely accepted model of team development is Tuckman’s Stage Model, which contains five parts: 1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing 5.Adjourning Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Source: B.W. Tuckman, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological Bulletin, 1965

How Teams Develop 1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing 5.Adjourning Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Conflict emerges Ideas are criticized Competition ensues Resentment, hostility, withdrawal can take place Which Stage? Source: B.W. Tuckman, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological Bulletin, 1965.

How Teams Develop 1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing 5.Adjourning Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Source: B.W. Tuckman, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological Bulletin, Members work toward achieving goals Trust, interdependence develops Decisions are made Problems are solved Which Stage?

How Teams Develop 1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing 5.Adjourning Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Source: B.W. Tuckman, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological Bulletin, 1965 Politeness Attempt to define goals Leadership emerges Feelings of anxiety and excitement Which Stage?

How Teams Develop 1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing 5.Adjourning Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Source: B.W. Tuckman, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological Bulletin, Termination of duties Completion of tasks Increased emotions, farewell parties Which Stage?

How Teams Develop 1.Forming 2.Storming 3.Norming 4.Performing 5.Adjourning Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. Source: B.W. Tuckman, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups”, Psychological Bulletin, Agreement on rules Compromise, collaboration, cooperation Information sharing Acceptance of differences A “we” feeling Which Stage?

Highly Effective Teams Highly effective teams have the following: Committed individuals A clear sense of purpose Effective communicators A commitment to ensuring everyone is involved in decisions A process that is followed for planning, deciding, and quality delivery Trust in one another Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

A Code of Conduct for an Effective Team Define clear roles and goals Create and follow an agenda for meetings Keep a positive attitude Agree on who will do what by when Focus on one issue at a time Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. DO What else?

A Code of Conduct for an Effective Team Assume things about others’ motives Criticize others’ ideas Come unprepared to meetings Withhold important or relevant information from the team Fail to alert the team about the risk of a missed deadline Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd. DON’T What else?

Collaborative Technologies Calendar Systems, , specially designed parts of a corporate intranet Communication tools such as BlackBerry, Web conferencing MSN Messenger ProjectSpaces and SharePoint Share documents, discussion boards, chat, calendars, task lists Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Let’s Discuss What is your absolute worst team experience? Describe it to the person next to you Be prepared to replay what you’ve heard from the person next to you How could this bad experience be avoided in your next team experience? Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.

Copyright Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted by Access Copyright (The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency) is unlawful. Requests for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his or her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The author and the publisher assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these programs or from the use of the information contained herein. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd.