Groups, Teams, and Their Leadership Pertemuan 19 & 20 Matakuliah: L0244 – Psikologi Kepemimpinan Tahun: 2010

Introduction Groups and teams are different than solely the skills, abilities, values, and motives of those who comprise them. Groups are essential if leaders are to impact anything beyond their own behavior. Group perspective looks at how different group characteristics can affect relationships both with the leader and among the followers. Bina Nusantara University 3

Individuals Versus Groups Versus Teams Team members usually have a stronger sense of identification among themselves than group members do. Teams have common goals or tasks. Task independence typically is greater with teams than with groups. Team members often have more differentiated and specialized roles than group members. Teams can be considered as highly specialized groups. Bina Nusantara University 4

The Nature of Groups Group: Two or more persons interacting with one another in a manner that each person influences and is influenced by each other person. –This definition incorporates the concept of reciprocal influence between leaders and followers. –Group members interact and influence each other. –The definition does not constrain individuals to only one group. Bina Nusantara University 5

Group Size Leader emergence is partly a function of group size. As groups become larger, cliques are more likely to develop. Group size can affect a leader’s behavioral style. Span of control Group size affects group effectiveness. Bina Nusantara University 6

Group Size (continued) Additive task: A task where the group’s output simply involves the combination of individual outputs. Process losses: Inefficiencies created by more and more people working together. Social loafing: Phenomenon of reduced effort by people when they are not individually accountable for their work. Social facilitation: People increasing their level of work due to the presence of others. Bina Nusantara University 7

Developmental Stages of Groups Stages of groups development: –Forming –Storming –Norming –Performing These stages are important because: –People are in many more leaderless groups than they may realize. –The potential relationships between leadership behaviors and group cohesiveness and productivity. Punctuated equilibrium: Related to project teams. Bina Nusantara University 8

Group Roles Group roles: Sets of expected behaviors associated with particular jobs or positions. –Task role –Relationship role Types of role problems: –Dysfunctional roles –Role conflict –Intrasender role conflict –Intersender role conflict –Interrole conflict –Person-role conflict –Role ambiguity Bina Nusantara University 9

Group Norms Norms: Informal rules groups adopt to regulate and regularize group members’ behavior. Norms are more likely to be seen as important and apt to be enforced if they: –Facilitate group survival. –Simplify, or make more predictable, what behavior is expected of group members. –Help the group to avoid embarrassing interpersonal problems. –Express the central values of the group and clarify what is distinctive about the group’s identity. Bina Nusantara University 10

Group Cohesion Group cohesion: The glue that keeps a group together. Highly cohesive groups interact with and influence each other more than do less cohesive groups. –Greater cohesiveness does not always lead to higher performance. –Highly cohesive groups may have lower absenteeism and lower turnover. –Highly cohesive groups may sometimes develop goals contrary to the larger organization’s goals. Bina Nusantara University 11

Group Cohesion (continued) Overbounding: Tendency of highly cohesive groups to erect what amount to fences or boundaries between themselves and others. Groupthink: People in highly cohesive groups often become more concerned with striving for unanimity than in objectively appraising different courses of action. Ollieism: When illegal actions are taken by overly zealous and loyal subordinates who believe that what they are doing will please their leaders. Bina Nusantara University 12

Effective Team Characteristics and Team Building Key characteristics for effective team performance: –Effective teams have a clear mission and high performance standards. –Leaders of effective teams spend a considerable amount of time assessing the technical skills of the team members. –Good leaders work to secure resources and equipment necessary for team effectiveness. –Effective leaders spend considerable time planning and organizing in order to make optimal use of available resources. –High levels of communication helped minimize interpersonal conflicts. Bina Nusantara University 13

Effective Team Characteristics and Team Building (continued ) Four variables that need to be in place for a team to work effectively: –Task structure –Group boundaries –Norms –Authority Bina Nusantara University 14

Organizational Shells Bina Nusantara University 15

Ginnett’s Team Effectiveness Leadership Model Stages of the Team Effectiveness Leadership Model (TLM): –Input –Process Process measures Group dynamics –Output This model is a mechanism to: –Identify what a team needs to be effective, –Point the leader either toward roadblocks or toward ways to make the team even more effective than it already is. Bina Nusantara University 16

Systems Theory Applied to Teams Bina Nusantara University 17

Basic TLM Outputs: Outcomes of High Performance Teams Bina Nusantara University 18

TLM Diagnosis Process: Diagnose Using the Process Variables Bina Nusantara University 19

Leadership Prescriptions of the Model A team should be built like a house or automobile: –Start with a concept –Create a design –Engineer it to do what you want it to do –Manufacture it to meet those specifications The three critical functions for team leadership: –Dream –Design –Development Bina Nusantara University 20

Three Functions of Leadership 21

Diagnosis and Leverage Points Process block of the TLM: –Individual factors –Organizational level –Team design Concluding thoughts about Ginnett’s Team Effectiveness Leadership model: –Leaders can influence team effectiveness by: Ensuring the team has a clear sense of purpose and performance expectations. Designing or redesigning input stage variables at the individual, organizational, and team design levels. Improving team performance through ongoing coaching. Bina Nusantara University 22

Team Leadership Model, Robert C. Ginnett, Ph.D.: The Four Faces of the “Engine” of the Team Leadership Model 23

Factors from the Normative Model of Group Effectiveness and the Interactional Framework 24

Virtual Teams (Geographically Dispersed Teams – GDTs) Five major areas that need to change for global teams to work: –Senior management leadership –Innovative use of communication technology –Adoption of an organization design that enhances global operations –The ability to capture the strengths of diverse cultures, languages, and people. Bina Nusantara University 25

Virtual Teams (Geographically Dispersed Teams – GDTs) Conclusions that leaders of virtual teams need to bear in mind: –Distance between members is multidimensional. –Impact of such distances on performance is not directly proportional to objective measures of distance. –Differences in the effects that distance seems to have is due at least partially to two intervening variables: Integrating practices within a virtual team, Integrating practices between a virtual team and its larger host organization. Bina Nusantara University 26

Summary Group perspective: Showed that followers’ behaviors can be the result of factors somewhat independent of their individual characteristics. Leaders should use a team perspective for understanding follower behavior and group performance. Team Leadership Model: Team effectiveness can be best understood in terms of inputs, processes, and outcomes. –By identifying certain process problems in teams, leaders can use the model to diagnose appropriate leverage points for action. Bina Nusantara University 27

Reference Hughes., Ginnett., & Curpy. (2009). Leadership: Enhancing The Lesson of Experience. 6 eds. McGraw-Hill. Boston. Bina Nusantara University 28