1. DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE TEAMS Chapter Six

2. How Teams Differ From Groups
Note: All teams are groups but not all groups are teams. There are four principle characteristics that distinguish small groups from teams:
Cooperation
Diversity of Skills
Group Identity
Time and Resources

3. LEVEL OF COOPERATION: THE WORKING TOGETHER IMPERATIVE
Teams typically manifest a higher level of cooperation than standard groups.
The essence of all teams is collaborative interdependence.
When members work mostly for themselves, attempting to advance individual agendas, the essence of a team is missing.

4. DIVERSITY OF SKILLS: LOOKING FOR COMPLEMENTARITY
Teams usually consist of members with more diverse skills than those found in standard groups.
A team requires complementary, not identical, skills.

5. GROUP IDENTITY: OPERATING AS A UNIT
Teams typically have a stronger group identity than standard groups.
Team names are important and often the subject of intense debate when the team first forms.

6. TIME AND RESOURCES: COMMITMENT TO THE TEAM
Teams, however, often require substantial resources and long-term time commitments.
Team members may devote huge time allotments to perfecting skills to help the team succeed.

7. DEFINITION OF A TEAM
A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who act as an interdependent unit, are equally committed to a common mission, and hold themselves accountable for team performance.
Not all groups can become teams. Board of Directors, class discussion groups, task forces and standing committees are not usually teams.

8. TEAM MEMBERS
Team members are the raw materials of any successful team.
Assembling the optimum combination of individuals is the starting point for team building.
Among the top predictors of a team’s effectiveness are:
Qualities of individuals who make up the team
Skills and competencies
Attitudes and behaviors displayed

9. TEAM SLAYERS: MEMBERS’ BAD ATTITUDES
For teams to be effective, attitude is at least as important as aptitude.
Good attitudes do not guarantee a team’s success, but bad attitudes guarantee its failure.
Egocentrism reveals the “me-first” attitude that promotes team friction and weakens team cohesiveness.

10. CYNICISM: CAN’T- DO ATTITUDE
Teams are systems, so even a single member can demoralize an entire team.
The attitude that most destroys teamwork and team effectiveness is cynicism.
Cynics focus on the negative, predicting failure and looking for someone or something to criticize, sapping the energy from the team with their negativity.
The attitude and the behavior associated with it are contagious.

11. TEAM MEMBER REMOVAL: PURGING THE ROTTEN EGG
Removal should be a last resort after efforts to correct problem behavior have been undertaken.
The principal candidates for expulsion from a team should be those who persistently display incompetent communication, especially if they show no interest in improving, and those with egocentric and cynical attitudes that disrupt team relationships.

12. TEAM BUILDERS: CHOOSING AND DEVELOPING TEAM MEMBERS
NOTE: Who should become a team member depends on what each potential member has to offer the team.
Experience and problem-solving abilities
Cultural diversity offers different perspectives
Communication training to develop competence

13. GUIDELINES FOR MANAGING MEMBERSHIP DIVERSITY
There are several guidelines to managing membership diversity in teams:
Accept diversity as an advantage for the team.
Choose team members for their complementary skills and knowledge as well as their attitude.
Choose a transcending goal to bridge differences.
Be respectful of all team members and avoid cultural bias.
Keep communication open.

14. BUILDING TEAMWORK
Building teamwork is a complicated process that unfolds over time.
Developing Team Goals: The Four C’s
Clear
Cooperative
Challenging
Committed

15. TEAM ACCOUNTABILITY What does team accountability mean?
The team, rather than individual members, assumes responsibility for success and failure.
Team failure is our failure.
Team success is also a matter of collective responsibility, and team talk should reflect this.

16. STRUCTURING TEAM EMPOWERMENT: ENHANCING MEMBERS’ CAPABILITIES
What is the definition of “Empowerment”?
The concept of empowerment is the process of enhancing the capabilities and influence of individuals and groups.
There are four dimensions of empowerment: potency, meaningfulness, autonomy, and impact.

17. TRADITIONAL HIERACHY ORGANIZATIONS
Board
President
Vice Presidents
Area Deans
Middle Managers
Program Directors
Faculty
Support Staff

18. IMPEDIMENTS TO TEAM EMPOWERMENT
There are four primary impediments to team empowerment:
Organizations can sabotage their own teams
Not everyone embraces empowered teams
No decision-making participation
If rewards are distributed for individual effort, not team success

19. TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EMPOWERED TEAMS
Teams set their own goals and rules.
Team members often set their own work schedules.
Teams usually design their own work space.
Work space is divided relatively equally among members.
Members devise and embrace rules for appropriate member behavior.

20. TYPICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF EMPOWERED TEAMS
Teams as a whole are accountable for team performance.
Teams determine their membership and remove members who are deemed ineffective or disruptive.
Team members are trained to operate collaboratively and supportively.
Decision making is typically democratic, and leadership is participative.
Team members don’t ask for permission from the team leader to take risks or make changes, but negotiate with the team and strive for consensus.

21. FOSTER PARTICIPATIVE LEADERSHIP: NURTURING EMPOWERMENT
Team leaders don’t act like bosses or supervisors if they hope to be effective. They are teachers and facilitators or skill builders.
A situation such as military combat may require directive leadership, but the general leadership pattern for most teams should participative.

22. INSIST ON A COOPERATIVE CLIMATE: JERKS NEED NOT APPLY
An effective team leader is a competent communicator capable of using supportive communication and avoiding defensive communication patterns with team members.
Effective team leaders also suppress their egos to encourage a cooperative climate.
Effective team leaders work with team members to develop supportive rules.

23. “The War Room” VIDEO CASE STUDY

24. “Gung Ho” VIDEO CASE STUDY

25. “Gung Ho” VIDEO CASE STUDY

26. “Gung Ho” VIDEO CASE STUDY