Efficacy & Empowerment

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

4 Leading Teams

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

Differentiate between a group and a team. Analyze different types of teams and what it takes to lead virtual teams. Describe common challenges for and dysfunctions of a team and how to overcome them. Name three components of a high-performing team. Identify the stages of team development. Describe the leader roles in team development of communicator, trust builder, and facilitator. De�ine 10 roles necessary for effective team development and performance. Evaluate leadership styles for effectiveness for team leadership. De�ine the Big Five characteristics of teams. Discuss four types of trust in the context of team effectiveness. Describe how to to address key team behavior problems Describe the three different types of team learning and how to promote them. Explain the importance of empowering team members and of verifying that there is agreement about organization support. Assess and evaluate teams and gaps in team leadership.

Exactostock-1527/SuperStock

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

The skills necessary to lead a team involve competencies needed for self- and one-to-one leadership and also prepare leaders for the task of leading an organization.

Hero Images/Hero Images/SuperStock

Introduction

The role of leading teams builds from and capitalizes on the competencies necessary for self- and one-to-one leadership. For example, leaders need to use their metacognitive skills, such as self-monitoring and self-regulation, to ensure they effectively model behavior important to team performance. Leaders will also want to extend their one-to-one performance management skills to help their teams set goals, to provide feedback to the team as a whole, to foster team learning and development, and to recognize, reward, and evaluate team performance. Given this role's focus on collective performance, developing the competency to lead teams will also help prepare leaders for the more complex role of leading organizations, which we discuss in Chapter 5.

We begin this chapter with an overview of teams, clarifying the differences between groups and teams. We then introduce you to six different teams. These case examples, which we will refer to throughout the chapter, will help you to more clearly see and apply the various concepts and ideas we present. For the majority of the chapter, however, we describe an eight- step process for developing and leading teams (London & London, 2007). The �irst four steps are for preparation, or preparing to lead a team, signifying that the leader needs to re�lect on what the team will need to get started and perform well:

Step 1: Identifying the type of team you are leading and challenges the team may face

Step 2: Creating the key elements of a high-performing team

Step 3: Planning your team's development

Step 4: Determining and developing your style of leadership

The second four steps are implementation steps, or actually taking the lead:

Step 5: Getting off to the right start

Step 6: Working smart

Step 7: Helping your team get better through learning, empowerment, and support

Step 8: Assessing your team's progress and achievements and measuring gaps

In particular, these eight steps are for creating and leading a high-performing team (London, 2007). But what does a high-performing team look like? To begin to answer this question, we next apply the Mone-London organization model to understand the characteristics of a high-performing team (see Figure 4.1).

The Mone-London organization model applies to leading teams just as it applies to leading one's self and direct reports. In a high-performing team, leaders play a number of roles, including the overarching roles of team director, facilitator, and developer. Leaders work with team members to clarify and establish the team's purpose and goals, in line with the initial, high-level expectations the organization—usually senior leadership—has set. In a high-performing team, performance is enabled by high levels of trust, the capacity to learn, and team member empowerment and ensuring the team leader and team member roles are executed as necessary. In this chapter, these enablers will be addressed within the appropriate steps in the eight-step process.

Figure 4.1: The Mone-London organization model applied to leading teams

The Mone-London organization model can be applied to team leadership: The team leader plays a number of different roles and, inspired and directed by organizational expectations, helps to shape the team's purpose and goals. Trust, learning, empowerment, and the proper execution of leader and member roles enable performance, and the team leader produces results by effectively preparing to lead and then taking the lead. The results, in turn, in�luence team leadership. All of this takes place in the context of the environment.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Before reading further, consider watching this video of leadership consultant Ray Jorgensen describing how to recognize the resources you have in a team and tap into those resources to make the most of the team you have. Jorgensen tells a humorous story of a small team of �ire�ighters who went above and beyond the call of duty: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMBxj6N�ipE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMBxj6N�ipE) . To see another example of a team making the most of its resources, consider watching a New York City news station's coverage of yet another �ire-�ighting team that—years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001—used the lessons learned from the tragedy to be even more effective: http://pix11.com/2015/09/10/fdnys- hazmat-team-shows-us-changes-made-after-911-and-how-it-trains-for-potential-catastrophic-events/ (http://pix11.com/2015/09/10/fdnys-hazmat-team- shows-us-changes-made-after-911-and-how-it-trains-for-potential-catastrophic-events/) .

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

In Case 1, the Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team is assembled to help speed up the results received from the emergency room's lab.

Hero Images/Hero Images/SuperStock

4.1 Teams: An Overview

Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple, made the following statement during an interview on the television show 60 Minutes in 2003: "Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people" (as cited in Beahm, 2011, p. 100). Jobs then explained that he was one of four people working together in a team, and they supported each other's strengths. The whole was greater than the sum of its parts.

Groups vs. Teams

A group is two or more people working together to produce a product or deliver a service. In contrast, a team is "a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable" (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993, p. 45). Team members have distinct roles and work in tight coordination to achieve a common goal. In a group, members may have different reasons for participating. In a team, members are uni�ied by a shared goal, one that surpasses their individual goals. In a group, the leader delegates tasks to the members. In a team, the leader coaches the members individually to sharpen their motivation, abilities, and roles and, as a unit, to practice their coordinated interactions. Over time, the team becomes expert in applying these transactions and adapts as the situation changes. A high-performing team is one in which members understand their roles, have practiced their interactions, and coordinate to vary these transactions to meet changing and uncertain (sometimes unpredictable) conditions. Overall, a team, particularly a high-performing team, is more highly developed than a group, relying on tight integration and coordination among its members (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993).

Most certainly, teams possess characteristics that groups do not. When considered along a continuum of development and performance, teams are more advanced than groups. In this chapter, we will discuss teams rather than groups. Teams, however, can take on various forms. Some teams operate tightly, with all members having well-de�ined roles and working in close coordination with each other. Other teams can be a looser amalgam of members. They share a goal, but members do not even meet each other. They communicate electronically in real time (synchronous online meetings and chat rooms) or over time (asynchronous through email, blogs, listservs, and other means made possible by advanced Web technology). All teams have to work hard to be high performing.

Cases: Six Teams

The following are six examples of teams in different situations. We will refer to them throughout the chapter to demonstrate key points about team leadership. The cases are summarized in Considering Six Case Examples: A Summary at the end of this section.

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team A new emergency room physician at a local hospital is concerned that the emergency room is not as ef�icient as it should be. She feels that lab results are not being received fast enough, and, because of that, decisions about patients are being made too slowly. Her experience at her former hospital suggests that lab processing could be improved, but she doesn't know what the problem is. This hospital is larger, and the emergency room handles many more patients than her former hospital did. The ER physician asks the medical chief to form a quality improvement team to examine the issue. The chief agrees and asks the hospital's internal audit staff to appoint one of the hospital's organization development specialists to facilitate the team. The team will follow a standard approach that the hospital has used frequently. The team will outline the process, collect data on the �low of samples and results, identify barriers and bottlenecks in the process, suggest improvements, implement the best suggestions, and track improvements.

The team consists of representatives from each department that has a role in lab processing. This includes representatives from the physicians who order tests, the nursing staff and medical technicians who draw the samples, the orderlies who move patients, the information technology staff who program the medical information system, the technicians who process lab samples, and the physicians who read the tests and enter results into the medical system. The medical chief and the ER physician ask the assistant director of medical laboratories, John Pate, to lead the committee. He agrees but thinks the hospital is already very ef�icient in processing lab specimens for the emergency room and that there will be little room for improvement.

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team The owner of a chain of 35 appliance stores in three Midwestern states wants an event to celebrate the chain's 20th anniversary. The owner asks the vice president of marketing, Marisa Hernandez, to plan this event. It needs to include ads, sales, employee celebrations, bonus opportunities, and a new logo. With input from the owner, Marisa forms a team consisting of a district manager from one state, two store managers, the account manager from the chain's public relations �irm, and the chain's director of human resources. The owner then calls each team member to inform her or him of being assigned to the team. Marisa decides that the team will meet once a week, which means that the district manager and store managers need to drive 2 to 3 hours to the company's headquarters for the meetings. The store owner does not have any de�inite ideas about what the celebration should be like. He says he will leave that to Marisa and her team. He recognizes that they need a budget, and he sets aside $250,000. He tells Marisa that he expects this investment will increase sales by 10% during the celebration period, increasing the chain's pro�it to more than $1 million, more than covering the cost of the celebration.

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team The board of a small-town museum wants to raise funds to build an addition for a hands-on exhibit that will attract more patrons. The museum is run by a director, Dorothy Chen, who works 20 hours a week and receives a small salary paid for by contributions, a small admissions charge, and pro�its from the gift shop. The museum is staffed totally by volunteers. The board members, several of whom have been on the board for more than 15 years, are people who have made major contributions to the museum in the past.

The board votes to ask its fundraising committee—which includes three board members and �ive volunteers—to consider the viability of raising enough money for the expansion. Dorothy thinks this is such an important initiative that she decides to set up a special subgroup within the fundraising committee to commission a design for the expansion, determine costs, and consider whether the committee can raise the money. Because local shops and restaurants would enjoy the bene�its of increased museum traf�ic, Dorothy invites the president of the local chamber of commerce to join the team.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

In Case 5, Caitlin Smith organizes a community action team to push for a neighborhood park to be built instead of a big-box store. What challenges might she face?

Hero Images Inc./Hero Images/SuperStock

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team The editor of a regional newspaper has asked the director of information technology to update and expand the newspaper's website. The editor wants an appealing, easy-to-use, state-of the-art website that will attract new readers online and as a result bring in more ad revenue and online subscriptions. The information technology (IT) director, Frank Goral, forms a team with a representative of the ad sales department, the editorial page editor, the Sunday magazine editor, a staff writer, and a graphics designer from the IT department. The editor does not provide a timeline or budget but says that he will follow the team's progress and react to any recommendations as they arise.

Case 5: Community Action Team Caitlin Smith, mother and PTA member, has been growing increasingly concerned during the past few years about the increased congestion in her town. Two new housing developments have been built, bringing more than 300 new families to an already overcrowded school district. A new strip mall, self-storage business, and big-box appliance store opened recently, bringing increased traf�ic along with their tax dollars. The two-lane roadway through the middle of town is being widened by the state. Now, a home supply store, part of a well-known chain, is in negotiations to purchase one of the last large parcels of land on a prime corner.

Caitlin thinks this corner would be an excellent space for a town park with soccer and baseball �ields, a track, and a playground. She speaks to a few friends, and they agree with her that the last thing the town needs is another large hardware store. There are two already, less than 8 miles away. She invites some friends to a meeting in her home to discuss what they can do. This leads to a larger meeting in the high school cafeteria. To Caitlin's surprise, more than 200 people attend the meeting. They discuss the issues and what they can do to lobby the zoning board, which will hear the store's application in 6 weeks.

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team Samir Gupta, CEO of a regional commercial bank with 128 branches in three states, holds biweekly meetings with his immediate team, which consists of the vice presidents of �inance, human resources, marketing, branch management, business development, public relations, information systems, and loan management. The bank's pro�its have been on a roller coaster the past 4 years. The bank was riding high up until the crash in 2008. Samir had resisted the temptations of investing in the credit default swaps that brought down much larger institutions, but, as the economy dipped, the bank faced more bad loans as businesses struggled and more home mortgages went into default. Some tough decisions were made. The bank closed 28 branches and laid off more than 800 employees.

Currently, the bank is starting to see a positive bottom line, but employees are still worried about job security. The vice president for human resources recommends that the bank administer an engagement survey to measure employees' commitment to the bank, involvement in their jobs, and feelings of being challenged by their jobs. Also, the vice president of human resources suggests starting an employee values campaign that would occur alongside a planned advertising campaign highlighting the ethics and sound decisions of the bank.

The vice president for �inance disagrees. She sees no reason to raise employees' expectations, as there may still be cutbacks ahead. The information systems vice president offers to develop software for an online survey, but the vice president of �inance wonders if employees would doubt the survey's anonymity and see the ethics campaign as lip service and internal marketing, rather than a serious statement about how the bank does business.

Considering Six Case Examples: A Summary

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team

Team leader: John Pate, assistant director of medical laboratories Goal: Improve the speed with which lab tests are returned to the emergency room

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team

Team leader: Marisa Hernandez, vice president of marketing Goal: Plan an event to celebrate the chain's 20th anniversary

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team

Team leader: Dorothy Chen, museum director Goal: Determine the feasibility of raising money for an expansion

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team

Team leader: Frank Goral, information technology director Goal: Upgrade and expand the newspaper's website

Case 5: Community Action Team

Emergent leader: Caitlin Smith, PTA member and mother Goal: Gain support for a new town park

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team

Leader: Samir Gupta, CEO Goal: Address poor employee morale after layoffs

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

You have probably already noted that, unlike the other cases, Case 5 is an example of an initially leaderless team. Caitlin was the instigator, and she emerged as the leader as the meetings progressed. Case 6 is about an ongoing work team, while the other cases are temporary teams with speci�ic objectives. The goal of the leader in each of these teams is to create a high-performing team.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are the four steps for preparing to lead a team? 2. What are the four steps for taking the lead of a team? 3. What is the difference between a group and a team? 4. Why are these case examples considered teams instead of simply groups?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Hollenbeck, Beersma, and Schouten's three-dimensional framework can be useful for analyzing a team's dynamic.

Monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock

4.2 Step 1A: Identifying the Type of Team You Are Leading

We mentioned at the start of the chapter that we will be outlining an eight-step process for developing and leading teams. The �irst four steps detail the preparation for team leadership, while the last four steps de�ine the implementation of team leadership. In the next �ive sections (4.2–4.6), we describe each of the four steps involved in preparing to lead:

Step 1: Identifying the type of team you are leading and challenges the team may face

Step 2: Creating the key elements of a high-performing team

Step 3: Planning your team's development

Step 4: Determining and developing your style of leadership

We will �irst discuss the �irst part of Step 1, which involves identifying the type of team you are leading. We will discuss identifying the challenges your team may face in Section 4.3.

Types of Teams

There are many types of teams in organizations, each of which has its own challenges. Hollenbeck, Beersma, and Schouten (2012) created a three-dimensional framework for differentiating teams. The three dimensions are skill differentiation, authority differentiation, and temporal stability.

Team skill differentiation refers to the extent to which a team requires members with different skills to work together to accomplish a task. An example would be a surgical operating team that requires a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a nurse, and other medical technicians. These skills take considerable time to develop, and they are not easily interchangeable.

Team authority differentiation refers to the extent to which a team has a designated leader who orchestrates the team process and a clear structure that differentiates members' authority. An example would be a team with a supervisor and workers who are expected to follow the leader's direction. Other teams may have members who emerge as leaders at different times as the task requirements change because the team is making progress toward its goal.

Team temporal stability refers to the extent to which the team is ongoing and relatively stable in membership compared to a team that is temporarily set up to accomplish a speci�ic activity and then disbands (for instance, an event planning group).

These dimensions can be used to examine group process and to understand potential barriers to work effectiveness and improving team functioning. For instance, a team that is high in skill differentiation could bene�it from the members informing each other about their respective areas of expertise. A team that is low in authority differentiation might bene�it from the members voting for a leader. A team that is high in temporal stability might need some changes in members to bring in fresh ideas.

Table 4.1 describes 10 common types of teams and their membership characteristics and tasks. The teams vary in the diversity of membership, the extent to which their work is structured (following set procedures or steps designated by the leader or the nature of the work), and stability. As we will discuss in Section 4.3, leaders face dif�iculties often because of external pressures to produce, resource constraints, and disagreements or uncertainties about roles, goals, tasks, and time frames. Note that these types of teams may be at various stages of development. Some may be better called groups, in that members do not have to work closely together or produce a high level of performance. At this point, it is important to understand that teams have different purposes and challenges. Each type's speci�ic challenges will be discussed in detail in Section 4.3.

As you review Table 4.1, think about which types of teams you have participated in and which ones you have led. Then, complete Assessment 4.1 based on what you have read so far and as preparation for the remainder of this chapter.

Table 4.1: Types of teams

Type Description

1. Basic research Focus is on expanding a particular scienti�ic body of knowledge without a particular product in mind Members are scientists or engineers; possibly an interdisciplinary team

2. Research and development Focus is on developing new products and services Members are experts in various �ields of science and engineering

3. Product development teams

Focus is on taking existing technology to develop new products and services In addition to design and engineering experts, other members are likely to be in various aspects of business, such as market research, �inancing, and production

4. Task forces Focus is on accomplishing only a particular task or objective; task force exists only until goal is reached Members come from different departments and disciplines

5. Committees Focus may be on general goals or speci�ic activities (for instance, to run events or oversee production for the short or long term) Members may represent different departments or functions Leader may be appointed by an executive or be elected by the committee members

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

6. Advisory boards and advisory councils

Focus is on providing advice periodically Members have expertise and background that is meant to be helpful Members come from different organizations that have little connection to each other or the organization they are advising

7. Boards of directors Responsible to the organization's stockholders or members Members are from different organizations that have agreed to have �iduciary responsibility in guiding the organization Members may be formed into different subcommittees to accomplish speci�ic tasks (e.g., executive compensation committee)

8. Clubs and membership organizations

Focus is on furthering a common interest Members are volunteers Members elect of�icers who serve for a designated term and follow bylaws Leader's role is to assign and coordinate tasks, appoint committee chairs, and be responsible for �inances

9. Quality improvement teams

Focus is on improving the quality of products or services Members represent different parts of a work process and volunteer or are appointed Leader may be elected or appointed by a company executive The group learns and then follows a structured format to identify problems and implement improvements A facilitator trains members in the process and keeps team on track

10. Structured work teams Focus is on carrying out a speci�ic task, such as in-�light crews, surgery teams, etc. Members have speci�ic roles and responsibilities Members learn their roles and are interchangeable with others who are expert in the same roles

Assessment 4.1: What Has Been Your Experience With Teams?

Click here (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/MGT460_2e/Assessment4.1.pdf) to download this assessment.

Instructions: Think of a team you belong to now or belonged to in the past. Answer the following questions:

1. What type of team was it? 2. What was your role? 3. What challenges did you face as the leader or a member? 4. Overall, was it a positive experience or negative? 5. What was the leader like? 6. What were the members like? 7. How did the leader treat the members? 8. How did the members treat the leader? 9. Were the task and process clear? 10. In what ways did the team become a team? 11. Did the team accomplish what it was supposed to?

We suggest returning to this assessment from time to time to review your answers in the context of what you have learned about leading teams. Hopefully, your answers and analysis will be enriched by your enhanced understanding of team leadership, process development, and effectiveness. These questions will also help you think through the types of teams you are joining in the future and what you, as a leader or member, might do to increase the team's performance.

Virtual Teams

Given the increasing use of technology in the workplace, we feel a special word on virtual teams is warranted. The term virtual team refers not so much to the type of team but to how the team works. What makes a team virtual? Virtual teams communicate electronically. Members send messages by email. They have conference calls, possibly on the computer through voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) with video. They send instant messages to one another. They have websites for sharing information (blogs, discussion threads, chats). Websites and social media allow tracking progress and staying in touch. Moreover, virtual teams use technology to conduct their work. For instance, they use online surveys to collect data, online search to seek information and resources, and aggregators to draw information from different sources. As these technologies become "smarter," they are increasingly useful for speeding up communication, teamwork, and team learning. Members of virtual teams can interact synchronously (altogether at one point in time) and asynchronously (over time through messages and postings).

One challenge for leaders is that virtual teams must learn to work well electronically to be effective. Members have to learn about each other and contribute in different ways than they might if they were face to face. Nonverbal communication becomes dif�icult, and the nuance of direct interaction is diminished, taking members more time to get to know one another and to learn transactions that need to become second nature.

Another challenge is that because all members have access to the technology, they do not have to wait to be told what to do, when to get in contact, or whether an idea is good. Any member can formulate an idea and initiate action by searching for information, contacting other members, and testing solutions. Of course, this is the case with teams that meet only in person. However, electronic media now allow rapid communications. Members do not have to wait for a meeting to discuss issues within the larger team or a subgroup. In fact, Bell and Kozlowski (2002) posited that the challenge for virtual team leadership is to maintain control when members are dispersed in space and interactions are spread across time. Leaders need to realize and accept that software capabilities can be designed to substitute for their traditional leadership behaviors, such as monitoring tasks and processes, recording interactions, retaining suggestions, encouraging participation, and recognizing and acknowledging individual team members' contributions. Although virtual teams have the same goals and expected outcomes of face-to-face teams, they can be more �lexible, adaptive, and responsive than traditional teams because it is not necessary to coordinate members' presence for meetings or having them colocated for ongoing work.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Given the steady incorporation of technology into the workplace, it is important to discuss the bene�its and challenges of virtual teams.

Hero Images Inc./Hero Images/SuperStock

Karen Sobel-Lojeski and Richard Reilly (2008) coined the term virtual distance, which we introduced in Chapter 1, to refer to the psychological feeling of separation from other team members, which creates yet another challenge for team leaders. Members may feel tangentially involved, uncertain about the team's purpose, and unclear about members' perspectives. As a result, leaders of virtual teams will have to overcome the potential of psychological distance by maintaining communication, helping members to explain their backgrounds and viewpoints, and recognizing individual members' contributions to the team effort.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are the different types of teams, and what challenges do they face? 2. What are the key characteristics that make a team virtual in nature?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

4.3 Step 1B: Identifying the Challenges You May Face

Preparing to lead is about understanding the challenges you are facing as a team leader. In this section, you will learn how to evaluate the key elements of your team in terms of possible challenges and what each challenge means for your role as a leader.

Before reading further, think about a team you belong to now. Is it a committee, subcommittee, task force, club, board, or some other type of team? Now, answer these questions:

What are the key features of the team? What are the challenges for team members? What are the challenges for the leader?

Assessment 4.2 lists 10 categories of characteristic challenges for teams. Use Assessment 4.2 to identify the challenges your team faces. We will next consider what can be done to overcome these challenges.

Characteristic Challenges

Each of the 10 categories has different implications for leadership. Also, each category represents a continuum, in that there are varying degrees of each element and the situation may change over time. What is not a challenge today may become a problem tomorrow. Conversely, situations that are dif�icult today can be resolved and promote team effectiveness later. Consider each of the categories, the challenges, and how to overcome them. Also consider how these categories apply to the different teams' challenges in Table 4.1 and how each type's challenges might be addressed.

Purpose If the team's purpose is not clear, the team may wander aimlessly in its work. The leader and the members can work together to clarify the team's purpose. This might entail obtaining more information from top executives or other constituents about what they expect from the team. Recall the importance of providing direction, which we discussed in chapters 1 and 3.

Motivation If the team members are not motivated, the team will naturally make little headway on its goal. The leader must consider why the team members are not motivated. Perhaps the wrong individuals are on the team. Maybe they do not see the value of the team's work. Maybe they do not trust each other. If not, what led to this? Perhaps they just haven't had time to work together.

Size If the size of the team is large, it may become unwieldy without proper coordination. First, how many members does the team have? Maybe the real problem is that the different members do not have speci�ic roles. Sometimes, teams are formed to represent a variety of constituencies or functions. Or the goal is to have as many people involved as possible. Some boards of clubs and organizations are formed that way, with the idea that if members are on the board, they will be

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

It is important for diverse teams to understand their differences so that they can use those differences to enhance rather than weaken the team.

Caia Images/Caia Images/SuperStock

engaged in the club's activities. But do the team members have something speci�ic to do on the team? If not, size may get in the way. Even if they do have speci�ic roles, the more people involved, the more dif�icult the coordination task. This is not necessarily bad. But it does add to the leadership challenge.

Diversity If a team's members are diverse, they will have more dif�iculty understanding each other's perspectives and potential contribution to the team. Diversity may be a function of member characteristics that have little to do with the team's work—for instance, the race, gender, and age of the members. Such characteristics and stereotypes associated with them may shape the members' viewpoints and expectations, and this could in�luence the team process. Other characteristics of diversity may have more direct effects on the team's functioning, such as the professions and expertise that the different members bring to the team. The team members need to gain an appreciation of one another's differences and how these differences can enhance the team's operations. For instance, if members represent different areas of functional expertise and backgrounds, they may not recognize how the different functions can contribute to the team. Also, members may conceptualize the team's goals and tasks differently depending on their professional backgrounds. The leader can ask team members to discuss the different ways they see the team's goals. Making these differences evident early in the team's process can prevent misunderstandings later.

Members may also have different vested interests or reasons for being on the team. Sometimes these different reasons are evident (such as providing a particular type of expertise); other times, this may not be the case (e.g., a member may want to be on the team in the hopes that it will lead to a future promotion). So the reason for membership may be self-serving as much as or more than the shared purpose of the team. This is not necessarily bad unless it causes con�lict. Acknowledging these different reasons early in the team process may be a good idea.

Turnover If team members come and go—in other words, there is high turnover—it will be dif�icult for the team to work together and make progress. This may occur if members are inconsistent in their attendance, which may result in unproductive meetings. If members withdraw or resign from the team, the remaining members need to pick up the work, or if new members are recruited, they need to be oriented and integrated into the team. Welcoming and indoctrinating newcomers is challenging because they do not have the background or shared experiences of the seasoned members, who know each other well and have developed effective ways of interacting. This often happens

when members are volunteers who can come and go as they please. They may have roles and responsibilities and the team may have bylaws or agreed-upon rules, but the members do not have to be there.

Goal Clarity If goals are unclear and not shared among the members (even if they agree on the purpose), member commitment to and identi�ication with the team may become low, and the team is likely to �lounder, accomplishing little. Leaders can use the goal-setting framework presented in Chapter 3 to ensure goals are clear and motivating.

Time Frame Pressure If there is considerable time pressure to accomplish a task, the team will be stressed to work hard, fast, and smart. Team members will need to know what they aim to accomplish and how to get it done, including who does what when. Even when the tasks are clear, time pressure can introduce confusion and disorientation—the feeling that things are not going well or members doubting that the team can be successful. A leader should consider setting a realistic schedule that recognizes pressures and goals. Note that some time pressure may be good in stimulating members to devote time to the team and not procrastinate in meeting their commitments.

Process If the process is unstructured, the team may waste time, not knowing what needs to get done when. This can happen when the team is trying to solve a problem with which the members have little experience. If there is no set script and no steps to follow, the team needs to invent its own method, including the tasks that are needed and the extent to which members need to work together because the tasks are interdependent. Members also may not agree on the methods for achieving the team's goals. The leader can introduce structure or help members experiment with different work methods to see what works best. This may require a focus on the transactional aspects of leadership (that is, a focus on how to get things done), and, perhaps, an adaptive leadership style showing a willingness to try different work methods.

Leader's Role The leader's role can make the leadership experience more taxing or effective for the leader and the members. Being a transformational leader who empowers and facilitates member engagement may have long-run bene�its but may take time for team members to accept. If members expect to be directed because that's what they have experienced before, a more empowering leadership style may cause the members to be dissatis�ied. If the task is clear, the members may prefer to be assigned tasks to get the work done expeditiously without debate among the team. If the task is unclear and members have expertise and experience that can shape the team's direction, then a leader who recognizes the value the members bring to the team and allows them to use their experience will be appreciated by the members. But if the leader tries to control all elements of the task despite the members' abilities to add value, the leader will likely meet resistance. So the leader's role needs to match the needs of the team members and the task. The leader misreading or ignoring the situation can lead to unanticipated challenges.

Leader's Power If the leader's power is low, the members are unlikely to respect the leader's direction, at least initially. Power is a function of several factors—the leader's position in the organization, support from other people in powerful positions, control over resources that are needed for the team to be successful, experience, and personality (e.g., the elusive concept of charisma) (Etzioni, 1964). Recall from Chapter 1 that leaders can draw from �ive sources of power to effectively in�luence others: reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, and referent.

Table 4.2 revisits the types of teams outlined in Table 4.1 and describes possible leadership challenges and possible ways leaders can address these challenges for different types of teams. Considering Six Case Examples: Key Challenges outlines the key challenges faced by each leader in the six teams discussed earlier.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Once again, think about a team you lead or of which you are a member. Respond to the following questions to further clarify the challenges your team faces:

To what extent do you and your team members have the talent, background, and motivation to accomplish the team's goals? To what extent does your team have to do something no one on the team has done before? To what extent is the task complex? Does it have many different components, and do these components need tight coordination? Is the work ambiguous and uncertain? Do you have few, if any, models to follow, and do you have the feeling your team is paving new ground? To what extent does the team need resources—time, money, facilities, the help of people outside the team, or other? Are these resources available?

As you will see later in this chapter, having the right people on the team, knowing what needs to be done, and having the time to do it are key elements of a high- performing team.

Table 4.2: Leadership challenges for different types of teams

Type Possible leadership challenges Possible leadership interventions to address challenges

1. Basic research Goals are long range Experimental methods and results may not be clear Members may disagree on research methods or design Members may be frustrated by lack of progress and long-term nature of the research Leader is likely to be a scientist who does not have leadership training Leader will feel pressure from funding agency or organization, especially if positive results are expected Interdisciplinary team may have members from different �ields who have different research methods and variables

Have frequent, honest, and clear discussions about different perspectives, pressures, frustrations, and intermediate goals Agree on goals to achieve along the way to the team's principal goals Analyze results from the perspective of different disciplines and discuss among the team members

2. Research and development Communication may be dif�icult between experts with different discipline backgrounds Goals may be ambiguous Product or service may not be known initially or may change over time depending on trials

Ask members to describe their visions of the outcome(s) they expect, their goals, and methods of achieving them

3. Product development teams Progress may be at a fast pace with expectations to be �irst to market and beat the competition

Work with team members to set a realistic production timeline recognizing pressures as well as goal to maintain quality

4. Task forces Individual member roles may not be de�ined initially Task force may understand the goal but have to determine how to achieve it and then carry out the work Members work for different departments so they do not report directly to the task force leader outside of the temporary task force; leader has little control over members and this is a temporary, part-time portion of each member's job

Work with the team members to gain their input about the roles that are needed and how they can best contribute; jointly establish each team member's roles and responsibilities

5. Committees Committee goals may not be clear Committee may have multiple goals Members do not have speci�ic roles Members may perform different leadership functions when their particular expertise is needed (e.g., directing the group on how to address a particular issue about which they have had unique experience)

Engage all committee members in a process that clearly de�ines each goal and prioritizes the importance of those goals, which will help focus members' motivation and efforts Review the range of team roles with the committee members and develop a rationale for assigning different committee members different roles

6. Advisory boards and advisory councils

Members have no de�inite role Members may be volunteers Members may not know each other well and may have little experience working together Leader may not be sure what to ask the members because, for instance, the leader lacks expertise in the disciplines of the other board members Leader may have formed the board to show involvement from outside the organization but does not have direct responsibility other than to provide advice when asked Member commitment may be minimal Members may not know much about the organization they are advising

Ask team members to describe their reasons for volunteering to serve on the board Ask members to describe how they believe they can best contribute relative to their interests and abilities Provide the team with information and a rationale for why the team needs their input

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

7. Boards of directors Leader is likely to be president, chief executive of�icer, or chair of the board, and as such has speci�ic responsibilities Leader has to respond to multiple stakeholders including stockholders and members but also employees, employee unions, customers, the community in which the organization operates, etc.

Identify the leader's responsibilities and the stakeholders to which the leader needs to respond

8. Clubs and membership organizations

Leader serves club members and so needs to understand their interests Leader may have little discretion; decisions may be by vote of the board Leaders who are club founders may �ind their control usurped by newly elected leaders Club members may have different reasons for joining or have different viewpoints, causing con�licts Members' and the leader's personalities and egos may create emotional issues

Balance members' vested interests with the mission of the club or organization; be sure all members know what the mission is

9. Quality improvement teams Members represent different disciplines and have different ways of viewing a work process Facilitator may raise issues about how well the group is working together, limiting the leader's role Leader and facilitator need to develop a close working relationship and delineation of their mutual roles Progress may be slow

Establish rules by which the team will operate, explain the step-by-step process that the team will follow, and educate team members in ways to collect data, identify key barriers to more effective outcomes (that is, the reason or reasons for errors), and try ways to overcome these barriers

10. Structured work teams Leader monitors input and output; work process is supposed to be methodical and follow a structure that is similar in all teams A team member may need to be disciplined or replaced Con�lict may occur due to hierarchy of responsibility and authority based on the roles of team members

Explain the structure of the work to team members and explain why it is important Deal with con�lict openly and immediately; allow differences in viewpoint to be aired; explain why the leader may need to be arbitrator

Considering Six Case Examples: Key Challenges

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team. John Pate, the leader, does not perceive a problem and may be out to prove there is not a problem. John needs to be open to hearing others' views and to collecting relevant data.

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team. Marisa Hernandez, the team leader, is under the gun to generate a celebration campaign that will be pro�itable and involve employees, essentially rewarding employees while attracting more customers and increasing pro�its. She faces pressure to have everything planned in time for the store's 20th anniversary and to develop a campaign that "works"—it needs to grab customers' attention and pocketbooks.

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team. Dorothy Chen wants the expansion, but this is a tall order for a small museum. Will big donors come forward? How can businesses and community members become involved? Will they be as excited as she and the board are about the project?

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team. Frank Goral knows there is no magic formula for an excellent website. Also, for a newspaper, there are multiple perspectives to consider: advertising clients, readers, editors and writers, graphics, and bandwidth. Other considerations include the competition and potential links to other sites, maybe joint efforts with radio stations or community teams.

Case 5: Community Action Team. Caitlin Smith was surprised at the positive reception her initiative received from the community. The challenge is what to do about it—how to harness the early motivation of the community to effect change.

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team. Samir Gupta, CEO, needs to listen closely to his of�icers and facilitate a discussion of the issues, so they can come to an agreement about how they will proceed. He could make a decision unilaterally. For instance, he could heed the warning of the vice president of �inance that this is not the time to conduct an employee survey to measure engagement or to expect more from employees. Alternatively, he could take the advice of the vice president of human resources, conducting the survey and starting a values campaign to encourage employees to see how they are part of the new marketing focus on trust and values and the future of the bank's success. When would the right time be for such an initiative if not now? Can Samir get his team to agree on a strategy?

Other Potential Challenges

Let's continue our discussion of the possible challenges of leading teams by anticipating factors that can go awry and make the team dysfunctional.

Five Dysfunctions

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Many factors can contribute to a team's dysfunction. What do you think these factors are, and how can a leader anticipate and, ultimately, avoid them?

Nick White/Photodisc/SuperStock

Lencioni, in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (2002), identi�ied �ive common problems teams face:

1. Members may not trust each other or the leader, as described earlier in this section and in Chapter 3. They may �ind that members do not meet commitments they have made to the team; the leader may have made a promise but did not follow through.

2. The leader and members may fear con�lict and so avoid discussing issues. The team may ignore problems and let them fester. Members become dissatis�ied, stop coming to meetings, and fail to meet their commitments.

3. The leader or members may lack commitment to the team. They may have been assigned to be on the team, they do not report directly to the team leader, they do not have a strong feeling of attachment to the team, or they may be dissatis�ied with the leader, fellow members, or the team's process and goals.

4. Members avoid accountability. They blame others for failure to meet commitments or accomplish the team's objectives. This may be true of individual members. It may also be true of the leader and the team as a whole. The team members may unwittingly collude to excuse poor behavior or lack of progress by attributing problems to factors beyond their control.

5. The leader and members may not give adequate attention to accomplishing results. The methods and work process may take on a life of their own, focusing members' attention on issues about the process and not progress toward the desired goal.

According to Lencioni, one builds a high-functioning team by addressing all of these �ive dysfunctions. If just one of these problems is present, the team will be dysfunctional. So, team members might trust in each other and the leader, be accountable, and attend to results, but if they fear con�lict and are not committed, the team will be dysfunctional. Lencioni illustrated the characteristics of a high-functioning team with a pyramid, starting with a foundation of trust (see Figure 4.2). We will discuss building trust in teams later in the chapter, but we recommend watching a short video featuring Lencioni as he discusses the importance of trust: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj9hw0ngPJU (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj9hw0ngPJU) .

Figure 4.2: Lencioni's pyramid: Five dysfunctions of a team

Team leadership theorist Patrick Lencioni depicts the �ive characteristics of a high-functioning team as a pyramid, built on a foundation of trust.

Source: Republished with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc., from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni, 2002; permission conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc.

Note that Lencioni's pyramid stems from his extensive consulting experience. While it is useful in conceptualizing, avoiding, and overcoming sources of team dysfunction, more research is needed to understand just how mistrust, fear of con�lict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inadequate attention to results affect team processes and outcomes. Yet, the literature on team interaction, facilitation, and improvement is extensive and ever growing, so if you want to know more about a speci�ic issue or dysfunction, you can search your library's online system or an academic search engine such as Google Scholar. We also cite literature throughout this chapter to support our conclusions.

As you read further, think about what you would do to test the concepts we present. For example, to test Lencioni's model, you could (a) compare successful teams with those that were less successful but had similar characteristics (e.g., similar number of members, background of team members, work goals, and time frames); (b) survey members about their group and compare the results against the team's outcomes, as evaluated by stakeholders; or (c) observe and analyze team processes to identify member and team characteristics that are related to member behavior and team interactions. Of course, Lencioni's �ive dysfunctions

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

are not necessarily the only ways teams can falter. Can you name other problems teams may confront? For the remainder of this section, we discuss the potential dysfunctions of role clarity, member interdependence, and groupthink.

Role Clarity and Member Interdependence Role clarity and member interdependence can be sources of stress and frustration or of change and innovation (Thompson, 1965). Role clarity refers to the degree to which team members have and are aware of their speci�ic jobs or functions on the team. Member interdependence refers to the degree to which members rely on one another. Table 4.3 provides examples of different types of teams with different degrees of role clarity and member interdependence. Factory assembly lines are likely to have clear roles for employees who work independently, but together, they get the job done. Flight teams, surgical teams, musical groups, and sports teams also specify clear roles for members, but the members are highly interdependent. One member of the team cannot do the job alone. Members of boards of trustees and task forces are likely to have independent activities and opinions, but their individual roles may not be clear. Committees and research and development teams are also unlikely to specify clear roles for members, and members of these teams may be interdependent in that the work of each member depends on the work of the other members.

Table 4.3: Examples of role clarity and interdependence in teams

Roles Low member interdependence (independent) High member interdependence

Clear Factory assembly line Flight team, surgical team, symphony orchestra, sports team

Unclear Board of trustees, task force Committee, research and development team

Unclear roles and the need for member interdependence create stresses on a team and will be especially problematic when members need to agree and work collaboratively toward a common goal. These are indeed potential dangers in our case examples (see Considering Six Case Examples: The Possibilities of Dysfunction). Generally, the team leader's challenge is to help resolve ambiguity and develop and nurture interdependence so members understand their roles and how the roles work together for a common purpose. This may entail training, practicing, reaching consensus about work methods, trying different ways of interacting, brainstorming ideas, and, most importantly, recognizing and respecting each member's contribution to the team.

Some teams function in relatively stable environments. However, many teams function in more unstructured, dynamic, or indeed sometimes chaotic environments. Such conditions might include severe time pressure and resource constraints, no appointed or elected leader, members who have not had experience working on the task before—maybe because no one has—and strong feelings and different vested interests among members. These conditions might occur in a crisis, such as a natural disaster, bankruptcy, or pandemic illness. Lencioni's �ive potential dysfunctions of a team (lack of trust, fear of con�lict, low member commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inadequate attention to accomplishing results) become even more critical under these conditions.

Considering Six Case Examples: The Possibilities of Dysfunction

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team. Members may be skeptical of John Pate's desire to make changes.

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team. The team members may not feel as accountable or as pressured as Marisa Hernandez to make the celebration a success.

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team. Dorothy Chen is worried that the members of her team will not be as committed as she is to the expansion. They may think it is a good idea generally, but will they put up their time and money?

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team. Frank Goral needs everyone on the same page. Team members need to express their goals from their perspectives, agree on a feasible design, and work together to implement it. They may not see how they can help the process and want to leave it up to the IT and graphics experts. Then they may complain that the new site fails to meet their needs. Frank is afraid the effort is doomed before it starts.

Case 5: Community Action Team. Caitlin Smith realizes that the community could become frustrated with a lack of direction. Caitlin needs some organization and structure, as well as concrete goals and steps for achieving them.

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team. Samir Gupta needs a team of bank of�icers who are in agreement about how to encourage and engage employees. Disagreement at the top of the bank would spread quickly, leading the bank to �lounder and further weakening employees' motivation.

Groupthink Finally, another potential team dysfunction is called groupthink. This term was coined by social psychologist Irving Janis to refer to groups ignoring outside opinions, having no clear decision-making rules, and simply going along with a prevailing opinion (Janis, 1972, 1982). As a result, the group makes faulty decisions. Members may have differing individual opinions, but they fail to voice them for fear of being seen as wrong or not being a team player. Manz and Neck (1995, 2004) responded with the term teamthink to refer to ways to avoid groupthink. Teamthink includes using behavioral strategies—for example, goal setting—and reinforcing behaviors with consequences, such as rewards for positive behaviors and outcomes and penalties for dysfunctional behaviors (e.g., being asked to leave the team or remain silent for a period of time). Other teamthink ways include members learning how to regulate and monitor their own behavior during team interactions and how to assess and increase awareness of the role they play on the team—the impact they have on the team members and the team's work. Using constructive thought patterns also promotes positive teamthink. Team members learn to identify dysfunctional and irrational statements and beliefs and call attention to them as well as visualize and describe to each other what they expect constructive group interactions and outcomes to look like.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are the 10 elements of a team that can cause challenges for leaders? 2. According to Lencioni, what factors can make a team dysfunctional? 3. What is meant by groupthink? 4. What is meant by teamthink?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

High-performing teams require members with talent and motivation, clarity regarding objectives, and time to complete those objectives.

Caia Images/Caia Images/SuperStock

4.4 Step 2: Creating the Key Elements of a High-Performing Team

Katzenbach and Smith (1993) described high-performing teams as being stronger in all the basic characteristics of a team. Compared to average teams, high- performing teams have a deeper sense of purpose, more ambitious goals, better ways of working together, a greater sense of mutual accountability (responsibility to one another), and tighter linkages between complementary skills (knowledge and abilities that work together to accomplish the team's goals). In high-performing teams, members share leadership in that they take initiative from each other depending on who has the knowledge, makes the suggestions, provides information, or in other ways leads the group by taking on the role that is needed at the time.

To be the best a team can be—that is, high performing—there are essentially three key requirements (Ericksen & Dyer, 2004; London & London, 2007):

1. Have members with the right talent and motivation. 2. Be clear about the task. 3. Have time to get the work done and members who have the time to participate.

Of course, these are more easily said than done. Yet keep in mind that they are structural, not interpersonal. That is, you control these factors by virtue of the people you select, the nature of the task (how you de�ine it and outline its components), and the schedule you create for meetings and working on tasks. If you recruit people who want to be on the team and have the time, skills, and experiences you need, the team will be off to a good start. If you and the team members have a clear idea of what needs to be done and who is going to do it, you will have an easier time than if the task is ambiguous. And if you follow a tight schedule and have agendas for meetings, you will proceed expeditiously, if not unhampered.

Once again, think about a team you lead or of which you are a member. Consider the following questions:

Do team members have the skills, knowledge, and abilities needed for the work? Are the members clear about the team's goals? Were they clear about the team's goals from the inception of the team? If not, how did this clarity evolve? Or did it? Do the members feel the group's task is important? Do the members know each other well? Did they get to know each other well enough early on so that they know how each person can contribute to the group? Do the members have the time they need to work on the task? Do the members have a clear idea about their roles, that is, who does what when? Does the team meet deadlines? Does the team accomplish its goals? Are the team members proud of the team's product?

Overall, does your team have the three components needed to be a high-performing team: talent, task, and time? If your team doesn't, you now know the actions and steps the team must take. If your team does, you'll be ready to consider the next step in preparing to lead a team. We end our discussion of Step 2 with a look at each of the six cases in Considering Six Case Examples: Talent, Task, and Time. Consider the questions raised and determine the extent to which each team can be high performing and what critical changes might be necessary to make the teams so.

Considering Six Case Examples: Talent, Task, and Time

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team

Does John Pate have the right people on the team—those with expertise in different areas? Will they have the time to devote to the team? Will they understand the need to explore what is going on and consider ways to improve emergency room operations, or will they have preconceived notions about what is needed and not be open to new ideas?

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team

Did Marisa Hernandez choose team members who care about the store and are motivated to increase sales and celebrate the store's anniversary?

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team

Do some members of Dorothy Chen's team believe that they could never raise enough funds for the expansion? As a result, will they be naysayers and not be willing to discuss possibilities or envision what type of expansion may be feasible?

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team

Will the people working with Frank Goral be able to collaborate to integrate their ideas and implement a workable and dynamic web design? The expertise each person brings to the team is clear, but Frank needs to work out with them how to work collaboratively.

Case 5: Community Action Team

Does Caitlin Smith really know the background and motivation of the different community members who attended the �irst meeting? Will there be some people who have a community action background? Will some people give up easily, feeling there is no way to "�ight city hall"?

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team

Can Samir Gupta keep the lines of communication open between his top of�icers and between the of�icers and the employees, as everyone is wary about the future, fearful for their jobs, and concerned that they are not appreciated suf�iciently? Do the current vice presidents have what it takes to move the bank into sustained pro�itability? Are they willing to work together effectively? Will they open two-way channels of communication with employees?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Would the employee attitude survey accomplish this?

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are the three key ingredients to a high-performing team, and how do you de�ine them? 2. How do the three key ingredients reduce the potential for dysfunction and improve the team's chances for success?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

In order to build a high-performing team, it is imperative that time is taken to promote development.

Hero Images Inc./Hero Images/SuperStock

4.5 Step 3: Planning Your Team's Development

Teams become high performing over time. This is known as team development, during which the effectiveness of the work group is continually enhanced. True, having the talent, task structure, and time are key ingredients. However, the leader and members need to take the necessary actions at different points along the way to ensure the team is developing and becoming high performing. In this section, we take a look at stage-based models for how teams develop and consider three key roles the leader plays in developing the team over time. Then we present 10 roles, which can be held by either team leaders or team members and are important to overall team development and performance.

Stages of Team Development

Team development can be de�ined as a series of stages that occur over time. One well-known model of team development was outlined by Bruce Tuckman (1965), who described �ive stages: forming, storming, norming, performing, adjourning. The stages do not necessarily happen in a lock-step sequence, and each stage may take different lengths of time. Also, the stages may repeat depending on what is happening on the team. Each stage poses challenges for leadership.

As the team is formed and begins work, the leaders can ask team members to introduce themselves and to indicate how their background or experiences �it the needs of the team. This is called identity negotiation (Polzer, Milton, & Swann, 2002). Identity negotiation allows the team members to know each other better and, as such, know what to expect from others based on their prior experiences and major accomplishments. For instance, it would be valuable to know that a team member previously led a team or successfully accomplished a particularly dif�icult task that would apply to the team's goals. Maybe the team member's expertise is likely to be most useful later, after the team has completed its initial work. When members recognize this from the outset, they will not be frustrated by a team member who participates less during the early part of the team process.

Storming is the almost inevitable process of determining team goals and methods and aligning everyone's understanding of the team. Although the leader may have a concrete idea of the team's goals and methods, the members have differences of opinion about them and want to talk through the goals and methods and consider alternatives—maybe longer time frames to get the work done or different ways of splitting up the work. The leader may facilitate, open, and direct discussion of the issues. Or, the issues may be unstated because the leader and/or members do not recognize them or do not feel comfortable dealing with them directly for fear of hurting someone's feelings or stepping on someone's toes. The leader may also initiate structure during this stage. The structure may be accepted if the team members expect and feel the need for the structure. The structure may be met with frustration and disdain if the team members feel they know better or have a different viewpoint about how the team should proceed.

Storming gives way to norming, or establishing norms: Based on the team discussion, the leader clari�ies the team's goals, the procedures for operating (e.g., setting a regular schedule of meetings), and rules for making decisions (e.g., majority rule). The norms may also include speci�ic behaviors (e.g., electing of�icers, each with a designated role based on the constitution of the team). The leader may establish ways of handling emergencies or unforeseen circumstances (e.g., deciding to develop a website to notify members if a meeting is canceled or the time has changed).

After doing the actual work of the team, or performing, the team moves to adjourning. The leader facilitates a team discussion to assess accomplishments and identify ideas for improving the team's process, which may serve the team well if it stays intact or could be useful for other teams accomplishing similar tasks. The leader can give feedback to the team as a whole, which the team can then discuss, as well as to individual team members privately. The team should celebrate its accomplishments and receive recognition for successes. Individual members may be rewarded for their contributions.

Leaders need to recognize that team stages do not necessarily occur in a neat and clear sequence. Some teams take longer to get started than others. Some teams get started quickly, follow the leader's instructions, and then, after working for a time, begin to see reason to shift work methods or change goals. Members may suddenly disagree with the way things are being done or even about their goals. The leader may need to focus on building or rebuilding trust and commitment and storming then forming new norms, before the members can get on with the work. As a result, leaders can think of team processes as a continuous �low of movement, rather than as a set of stages: a yin and yang of events that progress, revert, jump-start, orient, and reorient team dynamics (Banet, 1976; Minahan, 2006). Nevertheless, these stages are helpful in understanding what is happening at any given time and how one stage can lead to the next.

Earlier in the chapter, we learned about virtual teams. Consider how these stages of team development might play out in a virtual team in Considering the Virtual Team World.

Considering the Virtual Team World

Today, interaction among teams may be 100% online or blended online and in person. Most teams today, even those meeting regularly in person, will communicate electronically, share information, and record results using online technology. On a virtual team, however, members will likely need to learn about one another by sharing social media sites and through online discussion boards for synchronous and asynchronous interaction. Of course, more traditional channels of electronic communication can be used as well, such as email, to promote learning. In this way, members begin to recognize each other's talents and how they can contribute to the team.

As work is accomplished, virtual team members use discussion and online bulletin boards, content and document management tools, and videoconferencing. They may create a team website or other forum for online community development. They will hold online meetings as they seek and share information, formulate ideas, implement changes, and track, report, and evaluate results. In the process, they develop norms of interaction, get work done, and learn how they can do better and ultimately improve the quality of their output. Work methods are established and the usual team interactions take place, such as welcoming new members and saying good-bye to those who are leaving the team.

Throughout the life of the team, electronic means can be used to ensure the team is developing and on track and that the team's objectives are being achieved as expected. Cloud sites (vendor-provided, browser-accessed websites) provide software for data storing, sharing, and analysis and become the repository of the team's collective knowledge. Online, realistic simulations are a way to test new work methods before they are implemented and demonstrate their effectiveness to convince or train others. New insights emerge, and members learn about the work they are doing as well as about themselves and how to interact effectively with others using the wealth of smart technology available to them. The team members develop a sense of self- ef�icacy, believing they can be effective in accomplishing more-dif�icult goals in the future, and the leader can recognize members and the team.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Virtual teams require a new and different approach to team building and teamwork.

A-R-T-U-R/iStock/Thinkstock

Our one question for you: Are you ready to lead a virtual team?

The Leader's Role in Team Development

The team leader's job is to facilitate the �low or movement between the stages of team development. Here are some ideas leaders might consider for doing so:

List expectations, at the end of the �irst meeting. Outline goals for the team. Ask each team member to list the things that need to be done to accomplish the task and to indicate how much time and effort each will take. Consider whether the team has the resources, knowledge, and skills to be a successful team. Determine the methods and measures the team needs to track the team's accomplishments. Identify factors to keep the team on track (for example, frequent communication, clear minutes, and time to review progress and make adjustments).

Speci�ically, to develop high-performing teams, leaders must take on three roles: communicator, trust builder, and team process facilitator (London & London, 2007). Let's look at each role and the associated behaviors:

1. Communicator. In this role, leaders engage in frequent two-way communication, explain the team's purpose, set goals, track progress, and discuss issues. They raise disagreements and discuss them openly. They also praise the team as a whole and individual members for their contributions.

2. Trust builder. Remember our discussion about Lencioni's (2002) �ive dysfunctions of a team? One dysfunction was a lack of trust between the leader and members and among the members. In the trust builder role, leaders ful�ill their promises to the team and give positive recognition to members who meet their commitments. They provide accurate information and are open and direct about issues. The team members learn that, when the leader says something, the leader is truthful and genuine. We will talk more about how to engender trust later in this chapter.

3. Team process facilitator. In this role, leaders suggest, review, coach, and advise team members individually and as a team.

As the leader engages in these behaviors, the team develops a culture of open communication, mutual trust, and facilitation. Members help each other out. They address issues among themselves and bring them to the larger team. They learn to trust and support each other as they set goals, determine and implement methods to accomplish them, redirect their efforts as needed, and celebrate successes. The leader empowers team members to act in line with the team's purpose, and the leader facilitates the process. Part—but not all—of facilitating is directing and monitoring. The leader is both transactional (focused on tasks that need to get done) and transformational (focused on vision and mission—the "big picture").

Key Roles in Team Development and Performance

Most of us will belong to more than one team over the course of our lives. You may be on a soccer team, a sales team at work, or a team to clean up the parks in your town. You may work on multiple teams, and teams have different needs over time. Members' roles change as needed. Members need to learn how to contribute in different ways. Some members will prefer one type of role over others depending on their personalities, capabilities, and interests.

So, for example, suppose you are a member of a quality improvement team tasked with revamping a work process in your company, perhaps on-time delivery of your company's product to clients. You may have the knowledge to mathematically model ef�icient delivery schedules. Or you may have an interest in understanding the attitudes and opinions of the people who drive your company's trucks and interact directly with clients receiving the goods. You may want to speak to the clients themselves. Or you may prefer to study the software systems for taking and conveying orders. Each of these tasks may be a needed part of dissecting the work processes involved in delivery, but your knowledge, skills, and interests may be more aligned with one task than another.

Consider the following 10 roles for members of a team (adapted from Mumford, Campion, & Morgeson, 2006, pp. 326–330; Mumford, Van Iddekinge, Morgeson, & Campion, 2008, pp. 254–255). One member may take on several roles, or only one role. Also, not all the roles are necessary at a given time. As a member of a team, you should be able to describe the role you have been assigned or the role for which you have decided to take responsibility. As you read about these roles, ask yourself: Would I enjoy this role? Do I have the skills required for this role? Download this form (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/MGT460_2e/Member_Roles_Survey.pdf) to record your answers.

1. Contractor A contractor

structures the task-oriented behaviors of other team members.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Naturally, teams are made up of members who have differing interests and skills. These areas of difference can help indicate what role a person should play on the team. Consider which of the following 10 roles would suit you best.

Plustwentyseven/DigitalVision/Thinkstock

organizes and coordinates the actions of the team by suggesting task allocations, deadlines, task sequencing, and follow-ups and by motivating members to achieve team goals. summarizes the team's task accomplishments to date. ensures that team meeting time is spent ef�iciently by focusing on task issues.

A contractor is needed when there is uncertainty about goals and work methods, the task is complex, or members have little experience on the task or working together.

2. Creator A creator changes or gives original structure to the task processes and strategies of the team by providing innovative or compelling visions of the team's objectives and methods. Behaviors may entail

"reframing" of the team's objective and the means that should be used to accomplish it. looking at the big picture. providing creative solutions to the task's problems.

A creator is needed when there is creative or strategic stagnation, when the team is new, or when the members have little experience.

3. Contributor A contributor

provides critical information or expertise. is assertive when dealing with his or her area of expertise. may involve enough self-promotion to convey his or her credentials to the team. clari�ies team member abilities, resources, and responsibilities. trains individual team members, as well as the team in general.

A contributor is needed when members differ in their expertise and the task requires resources from different types of experts at different times.

4. Completer A completer executes individual-oriented tasks within the team—work that can be completed by one person. This may involve

doing "homework" to prepare for team meetings. volunteering to take personal responsibility to complete certain tasks, assisting team members with completing their tasks. following through on commitments made within the team.

A completer is needed when team effectiveness depends on performance of behaviors by individuals working alone outside the team environment.

5. Critic A critic

goes against the "�low" of the team. subjects the ideas or decisions of the team to critical evaluation and scrutiny. questions the purpose or actions of the team or ideas proposed within the team, even if a formal leader has sponsored an idea. insists on evaluating worst-case scenarios. points out �laws or assumptions the team is making. must be willing to present negative information to the team.

A critic is needed when the team is approaching consensus on a task without adequate analysis of positive and negative contingencies or when the team is prematurely seeking concurrence and the members have a high degree of trust in each other.

6. Cooperator A cooperator

conforms to the expectations, assignments, and in�luence attempts of other team members, the team in general, or constituents of the team. takes a proactive role where there is critical inquiry into the decision and provision of input. supports the team's decision, once made, which allows the team to move forward. involves acknowledging the expertise of others and supporting their direction.

A cooperator is needed when the team has critically evaluated and clearly established the merits of a particular decision.

7. Communicator A communicator creates a social environment that is conducive to collaboration, which includes

paying attention to the feelings of team members. listening to the opinions and contributions of others. communicating effectively. injecting humor into tense situations.

A communicator does not try to directly in�luence team members, as does the calibrator. A communicator is needed when work is negotiation oriented, the task is socially complex, the context is emotionally demanding or stressful, and the team members differ in their values and attitudes.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

8. Calibrator A calibrator

observes the team social processes to make the team aware of them and to suggest changes to these processes that would bring them in line with functional social norms. creates new norms. initiates discussions about power struggles or tensions in the team, settling disputes among members, summarizing team members' feelings, and soliciting feedback.

A calibrator is needed when team processes are not functional, when patterns of social interaction have not been established or have been disrupted, when the team is new and the members have little experience working together, or when there has been a change in membership.

9. Consul A consul works outside the team to collect information and resources from relevant parties in the organization. This involves presenting the team, its goals, and its interests in a favorable light and in�luencing constituent perceptions of the likelihood of team success; it also requires a willingness to provide resources. A consul is needed when the team depends on external resources, the team does not have needed information or other resources itself, or the team is new and constituents need updates.

10. Coordinator A coordinator

interfaces with constituents outside the team. coordinates these interfaces that span team boundaries. solicits timely feedback about the team's performance.

A coordinator is needed when activities of the team must be coordinated with the activities of teams, customers, and individuals outside the team or when activities of the team are interdependent with activities of other teams.

Consider how and when these roles come about. One team member may shift between multiple roles depending on the moment, the stage of team development, and the people involved. A team member realizes what is happening and the experience (or expertise) he or she has that will help the team at the moment. The leader, of course, analyzes what is happening on the team just as members do and makes adjustments in his or her leadership style. Leaders and members can be �lexible in what they do on the team. They discuss what is happening and the different roles they might undertake to help the team.

Think about which roles are likely to be most important as the teams in our six cases get under way (see Considering Six Case Examples: 10 Key Roles). Which roles will be important for the leader, and which roles will be important for the members of the team?

Considering Six Case Examples: 10 Key Roles

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team

Leader's roles (John Pate): Contractor, calibrator (structuring the task, engaging members in measuring work processes) Members' roles: Calibrators (participating in measurement, analysis, and interpretation from different perspectives)

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team

Leader's role (Marisa Hernandez): Creator (generating ideas and formulating a plan) Members' roles: Contributors (contributing ideas)

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team

Leader's role (Dorothy Chen): Communicator (establishing and re�ining a vision, convincing the team that this vision is valuable for the museum and community and is achievable) Members' roles: Consuls, contributors (providing advice and ideas)

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team

Leader's roles (Frank Goral): Coordinator, creator (exploring design alternatives) Members' roles: Contributors, creators, critics (contributing and evaluating design ideas)

Case 5: Community Action Team

Leader's roles (Caitlin Smith): Creator, communicator (advocating for her idea and convincing others) Members' roles: Contributors, consuls (elaborating and re�ining, providing advice and support)

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team

Leader's roles (Samir Gupta): Communicator, calibrator, coordinator, creator (expressing changing conditions and encouraging team members' collaboration) Members' roles: Consuls, critics, calibrators (expressing different views, communicating with each other clearly, and working toward agreement on strategy)

You can see from the feature box that different roles are likely to be needed by different teams depending on the purpose of the team and the nature of the work. As we pointed out, the abilities and interests of the team members as well as their motivation are likely to in�luence the roles they take or that are assigned to

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

them by the leader. Think about a team you were part of and consider these questions: What roles did your leader carry out? What roles did you carry out? Was the leader effective in these roles? Were you effective in your roles? Why or why not?

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are the three major roles of a team leader? 2. What team roles (contractor, contributor, creator, completer, critic, cooperator, communicator, calibrator, consul, coordinator) are likely to be

important at each stage of team development? Complete the following chart and indicate why you chose the roles you did. Click here (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/MGT460_2e/Key_Roles_Survey.pdf) to download this form.

Stages of team development Team leader and member roles Why are these roles likely to be important?

Forming

Storming

Norming

Performing

Adjourning

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

It is important for team leaders to �ind balance in their chosen leadership style.

sayhmog/iStock/Thinkstock

4.6 Step 4: Determining and Developing Your Style of Leadership

Another step toward preparing to lead a high-performing team is to determine and develop the appropriate leadership style or strategic approach to leadership. As you will recall, we described a range of leadership styles and strategic approaches in Chapter 1. While one style or another may prove useful in different circumstances, we focus here on a team leader who achieves balance—for instance, the balance between the goals of the team and the needs of its members—and the difference between transactional and transformational styles of leadership when leading teams.

Balanced Leadership

Recall from Chapter 1 that, when exercising balanced leadership, leaders need to try to achieve balance in four dimensions. When it comes to teams, leaders need to balance

1. individual members' strong interests with the team's common vision and shared set of goals.

2. controlling the team with encouraging members to participate in the team process. 3. the need for exploration and sense making with the need to analyze and

conceptualize what was learned. 4. the need for re�lection with the demands for taking action and meeting deadlines.

To balance individual team members' vested interests with members' shared goals, leaders should do the following:

Give members time to express their individual concerns (vested interests). Talk about the common goal(s).

To balance the desire to control the team process with the desire to give members a chance to participate and feel empowered (Quinn, 1988), leaders can do the following:

Formulate an agenda for each meeting. Ask members for agenda items beforehand and if they have any additions prior to starting the meeting. Establish a means of calling on members during a meeting by, for instance, asking them to raise hands when they want to be heard, jotting down their names, and calling on people in order. Other processes can be used for speci�ic purposes. For example, to generate ideas, use brainstorming techniques. Encourage all members to participate equally. Do not let just a few people occupy the meeting time. Stick to the topic. If someone raises an ancillary issue, write it on a �lip chart that is kept aside for issues to which the team will return later.

To balance exploration with consolidating, summarizing, and conceptualizing ideas, leaders can do the following:

Assign members to research information and return to the next meeting with their results. Designate a trial period for new ideas and then hold a session to assess outcomes and identify areas for improvement. Then decide if the team will proceed with the idea or move on to something new. For example, a team might hold a new event and determine attendance and participant reactions. Review and integrate data. Ask each member to write his or her perceptions of an event or an issue and then share them with the team. Identify common themes to make sense of differing perceptions.

To balance the team's desire to take action with the desire to take time for re�lection about how well everyone is working together, leaders can do the following:

Set aside time to talk about team processes and relationships within the team. When unexpected events occur, take action to respond as needed. Start with a review of the events. Take action. Then, assess outcomes. Re�lect on how well the meeting went and ideas for improvement. This might become an agenda item at the end of each meeting. This is a chance for members to recognize if they took too much time on a topic, for instance, and remember that they need to avoid this in the future. Ask for feedback about their leadership. Ed Koch, former mayor of New York City, was known for asking his constituents, "How am I doing?" Team members can do the same. This could be in the form of an upward feedback survey. (See the discussion in Chapter 2 of upward feedback and 360-degree feedback.) Or feedback can be informal—talking to individual members after a team meeting, or addressing feedback in the team meeting by asking how the team process can be improved. Listen closely to hear when members are suggesting ways that they may want you to change your leadership style.

Transactional and Transformational Leadership

In Chapter 1, we noted that leaders often engage in full range leadership, using both transactional and transformational behaviors as needed. In the context of leading teams, transactional leadership involves structuring the team's tasks by planning, organizing, delegating, monitoring, and evaluating. The transactional leader makes decisions and �ixes problems, usually without asking the members for help. Now, recall the four key dimensions, or behaviors, of transformational leadership (Bass, 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1990):

1. Charisma (also called idealized in�luence): The extent to which followers hold the leader in high regard, identify with the leader, and emulate the leader 2. Inspirational motivation: The extent to which the leader motivates and inspires followers by articulating a strong vision for the future 3. Intellectual stimulation: The leader's ability to expand the followers' use of their potential and abilities 4. Individualized consideration: The extent to which the leader is attentive to the followers' needs for achievement, growth, and support

Transformational team leaders envision goals and outcomes and communicate them to the team members in ways that engage members' imaginations. Transformational leaders foster open discussions among team members, involve them in problem solving and decision making, and empower them to �ind solutions to problems.

In chapters 1 and 2, we suggested that, to some extent, leadership style is a personal preference and capability. Nevertheless, leaders can learn ways of behaving that are not a part of their natural predilections. The type of leadership required should depend in large part on what is needed at the particular time. If team members have the capabilities to do the task, need to be committed to the work, are highly motivated, and are willing to take responsibility for the �inal product, then you are likely to adopt a transformational, participative approach. If team members do not quite have the capabilities needed to get the work done, do not

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

What can you do to develop your team leadership skills?

Blend Images/Blend Images/SuperStock

seem to be committed to the work or highly motivated, and are not willing to take responsibility for their results, then you are likely to adopt a more transactional, autocratic approach that directs, controls, and monitors their work step by step.

Leaders need to decide on the style of leadership that will work best for the team, and this depends on a number of factors, some of which we discussed earlier. However, choosing the most effective leadership style also depends heavily on how the team members perceive the leader. Leaders who have a higher status are likely to be perceived more positively and able to use their personal power to in�luence the team members and manage the team effectively. Leaders who have a lower status are likely to be perceived more negatively and will need to be more directive to gain the attention of the team members (Sauer, 2011). If the team leader has a high status (for instance, has a record of success or has a positive reputation in the organization), the team members may be more inclined to respond positively to a participative style of leadership (Amabile, Schatzel, Moneta, & Kramer, 2004). If the team leader has a low status (for instance, little experience or a lack of—or a poor—reputation in the organization), team members may require a more directive style.

How Can Leaders Develop Their Team Leadership Skills?

Here are a number of ways in which you can start to develop your team leadership skills:

List your overall strengths and weaknesses. Ask one or more colleagues (preferably people with whom you have worked before) to describe your strengths and weaknesses. Think about what your team wants or needs from you. What are the key characteristics of your team that pose challenges for you as a leader? Keep a journal of your behaviors and actions in each team session. Include the following: – New ideas you introduced – Whether you talked more or listened more – Whether you were able to keep ideas �lowing – Whether there were times when you felt the discussion was going nowhere Record your team meetings (with the prior permission of your team members) and listen to parts of the recording after the meeting. Review how you interacted with team members and see if there are ways you can improve. Do some members of your team have more power than you do in other settings? Work on building an enabling team culture that meets the following conditions: – All team members feel they own the team's problems. – You demonstrate your trust for team members by giving them assignments and holding them accountable for accomplishing them on time. – Members do not hide problems from you or each other. – You and your team members solve problems by breaking them into smaller, more manageable pieces. – You foster a constant drive to improve teamwork. – You make decisions by consensus. – You demonstrate respect for your team members and others outside the team. – You highlight the members' shared purpose, drive, and dedication.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are two ways leaders can achieve balance? 2. What are the four dimensions of transformational leadership? 3. What are at least three ways you can develop your team leadership skills?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

In going through the stages of team development, a well- functioning team can develop a shared mental model, which fosters trust between them and helps them decide what their goals are.

Monkeybusinessimages/iStock/Thinkstock

4.7 Step 5 and Step 6: Getting Off to the Right Start and Working Smart

After you have followed London and London's (2007) four steps for preparing to lead, four more steps are necessary for developing and maintaining a high- performing team. These steps include the following:

Step 5: Getting off to the right start

Step 6: Working smart

Step 7: Helping your team get better through learning, empowerment, and support

Step 8: Assessing your team's progress and achievements and measuring gaps

In this section, we provide some practical advice about what you can do at the �irst team meeting to set the stage for the team and the importance of deciding on your leadership style given your organization status. Then, we present advice for how to work smart, effectively leading the team through its life cycle and addressing problem behaviors.

Step 5: Getting Off to the Right Start

At the �irst team meeting, what often works well is for leaders to do the following:

Distribute a written agenda at the start of the meeting. Review the purpose, intended product, and importance of the task. Give all members a chance to introduce themselves. Start with an icebreaker or a fun game, or ask members to interview each other and then introduce the person they interviewed. Decide how to decide. Have a discussion about alternative decision-making strategies.

Step 6: Working Smart

A survey of the research on teamwork reveals that team effectiveness can be distilled into �ive core components, dubbed the "Big Five" characteristics of effective teams (Salas, Sims, & Burke, 2005):

1. Leadership. This includes such leadership behaviors as supporting team members, coordinating tasks, and ensuring all members share the team's overarching goals.

2. Mutual performance monitoring. This is the extent to which members look out for each other, track progress toward the goal, and give each other feedback.

3. Backup behavior. This happens when members support one another and know each other's roles and commitments so that if one member falters or if unanticipated tasks need to be done, one or more members can help to get the work done.

4. Adaptability. Adaptable teams can change direction and members can change activities to accommodate changing situations, such as demands on the team or changes in members' abilities to meet their commitments.

5. Team orientation. When team orientation is high, members support one another and value their membership on the team. Also, high team orientation occurs when team goals are as important to members as their personal goals. Another term for this is collective orientation—the feeling that your teammates' input is valuable (Driskell & Salas, 1992).

The Big Five components of a team are likely to be present when the team members have developed shared mental models of how to operate and the goals they need to achieve. When members share a mental model, they agree about the team's goals and the way the team should operate, they communicate on an ongoing basis, and they trust one another. They have a common way of thinking, also referred to as team cognition (Hutchins, 1996; Gutwin & Greenberg, 2004). Teams use cues in their environment to establish a common way of understanding and thinking about what they see. They monitor what is going on within and around the team, noticing what others say and how they say it. For instance, they may know that when the leader stops taking notes and looks up from her computer that it's time to listen to what she has to say. Or when data need to be analyzed, the members turn to the team member they know is most adept at data analytics and statistical analyses and that team member readily volunteers for the task. Members learn to communicate with each other nonverbally, having to say little in order to make their views known. This happens as members get to know each other well and their work is tightly interdependent.

Note that fault lines can emerge within a team. Team fault lines refer to divisions within a diverse group. These fault lines might be strong or weak and can emerge due to demographic differences (race, gender, and so on). However, subgroups can splinter off because the members have similar attitudes or ways of doing things that are different from those of the rest of the team. For instance, members who are analytically inclined may start side conversations about technical analyses that they know others do not understand. This can be off-putting to the other members, and the leader may need to ask members to continue their discussion outside of the team meeting and to bring their analysis back to the team when it is

ready with interpretations that everyone can understand and use.

Before we discuss strategies for working smarter as a team, let's return to our cases in Considering Six Case Examples: Leaders and the Big Five and examine how each leader is involved in facilitating and supporting the Big Five team components (leadership, mutual performance monitoring, backup behavior, adaptability, and team orientation). What do you see?

Considering Six Case Examples: Leaders and the Big Five

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team. John Pate, working with the QIT facilitator, needs to clarify the goals of the team. He does not need to prove a foregone conclusion, but he does need to investigate what is actually happening and accept and review all ideas for change. Members need to recognize how their individual knowledge and experience is valuable to the team.

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team. Marisa Hernandez needs to engage the members in coming up with a plan that the team can get behind enthusiastically. This is a temporary team of members who are likely to work together again in the future. So this will give them a shared experience that will have a lasting effect on the company culture.

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team. Dorothy Chen needs to energize her planning team members. They need to feel that the museum expansion is important to the community as well as to the museum.

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team. Frank Goral is also leading a temporary team. But the members need to be in sync on the design and how they contribute to it. They may need to adapt from what they think is best, taking advantage of the latest technology and developing a site that can be updated as the technology changes. The site needs to look cohesive to users even though it has different purposes (advertising, news, community interest, links to businesses and community events, etc.).

Case 5: Community Action Team. Caitlin Smith has to recruit members and build a sense of team. The people who get involved need to learn to trust each other as they develop a shared mental model of what they are trying to accomplish and how they will go about it.

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team. Samir Gupta needs his vice presidents to communicate well with each other and with their employees. Together, they need to form a clear model of how they will improve the banks' operations as they adapt to the new economic climate and the newly downsized bank structure.

Create Psychological Safety You can be effective and work smart throughout the life of the team and through all phases of the team's process in a number of ways. One of the primary ways is to create psychological safety. This is a team environment in which members respect each other's abilities, are interested in each other as people, are not rejected for being themselves and stating what they think, and believe that other members have positive intentions (Edmondson, 1999).

An important factor in creating psychological safety is engendering trust. When building trust within a team, leaders need to consider that there are four types of trust in an effective team and what they can do to foster each type (Rashid & Edmondson, 2011). The four types are rational trust, relational/social trust, common-cognitive model of trust, and risky trust.

Rational trust occurs when team members make a calculated choice to trust each other. They do so in a way that minimizes expected losses and maximizes bene�its. They make assumptions about what they can lose if they trust each other. For example, a leader who does not trust a member to complete an important task will not assign the task to that member. To build rational trust, ask the member to work on a task. If you have some doubt as to whether the team member can and will accomplish the task, form a contingency plan to get the work done if the member does not complete it properly or on time. Other ways to build rational trust include the following:

De�ine success (create a compelling vision). Articulate important goals. Insist on clear, important, and consistent goals from team members. Meet commitments; do what you say you're going to do. Be decisive.

Relational/social trust is developed through interpersonal friendships and caring among team members, perhaps as a result of working together in the past. To build relational trust, respect members and expect them to take the interests of the team to heart and meet their commitments. Other ways to build relational trust include the following:

Respect the opinions of others. Spend time with team members outside of work.

In a common-cognitive model of trust, we share expectations about the way interpersonal interactions should be—the common social order. Societal norms suggest that we follow certain rules and expect others to do so. For instance, we obey traf�ic lights, give up our seat on a train to the elderly, or change a $20 bill for a stranger. So in a team, we expect members to behave civilly and respond appropriately to team rules, particularly after members have discussed and agreed to them.

To build trust based on this common-cognitive model, be fair, not harassing. Follow legal strictures that apply to the team. Share as much information as possible and be sure members understand common practices and the norms of the team (procedures all members agree to when the team begins)—for example, treating information within the team as proprietary. Other ways to build common trust include the following:

Follow procedures, such as formulating and distributing an agenda before the meeting and following the agenda. Determine and arrive at a method for voting or reaching consensus and follow it. Summarize decisions and distribute minutes of the meeting.

Risky trust is the trust that exists between people or teams that are vulnerable to high economic, legal, or reputational risk (Rashid & Edmondson, 2011). Team members know what is at stake and the work processes they are expected to follow. Additionally, they know that some parties will go beyond limits (legal or �inancial) to take risks when there is a lot to gain. Yet they also know that the parties involved may have a lot to lose. They trust each other because that is all they can do if they want to get the job done. They have contracts in place indicating the scope of work, timeline, costs, and so forth. But such contracts cannot cover all contingencies, especially in terms of day-to-day transactions involving scarce and rich resources, including large monetary transactions.

To build risky trust, describe the trust that exists. Point out to members that you value their individual expertise and that members should recognize and value each other's expertise. Acknowledge each member's contributions, meet commitments, take swift corrective action when errors occur, and adapt to solve any problems that arise. Other ways to build risky trust include the following:

Empower team members to act (when they make a suggestion for action, say, "Go ahead," and if the outcome is positive, reward them). Stretch team members beyond their current skills. Make the task fun, actionable, and visible.

Deal With Problem Behaviors

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Problem behaviors can cause teams to become dysfunctional. Leaders may need to employ a gavel or implement certain rules to make sure meetings go smoothly.

Gustav Dejert/Ikon Images/SuperStock

RealChange CEO Sadhana Smiles discusses the importance of examining one's role as a manager to diagnose and address problem behaviors within a team.

Reconsidering Your Management Style

Reconsidering Your Management Style From Title: The Problem of Nightmare Staff

(https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=100753&xtid=93385)

  0:00 / 1:06 1x

Critical Thinking Questions

1. In what ways does a team leader create or shape team culture?

2. What could a manager do to identify potential problems before they arise?

Team meetings will not always run smoothly, and teamwork will not always meet or exceed your expectations. Earlier, we discussed possible dysfunctions that can emerge during a team process. Unfortunately, team members do not always work in the interests of the team or its members. Some team members interfere with the work of their teammates, get into arguments, treat others with disrespect, and gossip about others behind their backs (Cohen- Charash & Mueller, 2007). This degrades teammates' attitudes, performance, and mental and physical health and has a negative effect on the team's performance (Lam, Van der Vegt, Walter, & Huang, 2011). Why would a team member behave in such a way? Well, human nature produces envy, dislike, and other negative characteristics. Sometimes leaders can demonstrate these characteristics, perhaps unwittingly.

Now, consider some of the problems that you might observe when leading a team and ways of dealing with them:

Making argumentative statements. Ask members to hold their evaluations or opinions and then give each member equal time to express her or his views. Continually disagreeing, naysaying, being stubborn. Explain that the team needs to understand all viewpoints. Make a list of pros and cons about an issue and give each member a chance to record his or her perspective. Talking loudly. Establish procedures at the outset for proper decorum. Use a gavel to quiet the group. Stop a meeting that is dysfunctional (e.g., when everyone is talking at once) and ask the team to step back, observe what is happening, and refocus (Manz & Neck, 2004). Being interpersonally insensitive—talking over others, insulting others. Again, use a gavel to quiet members. Take the unruly member aside after the meeting or during a break to discuss how his or her behavior is affecting the team. If you feel that the team member simply cannot contribute effectively, ask the individual to leave. Trying to get attention. Give people equal opportunity to speak; ask others who haven't had a chance to get a word in edgewise to express their opinions. Banding together to disagree with a team initiative. Establish a team norm early in the team process that details how the team will review alternatives and make decisions (see the next section, on establishing decision-making rules). For instance, the team can agree to make decisions by majority vote after discussion, and that when some members disagree with the outcome, they will still support the team's decision. Excluding others by creating cliques. You may not be able to avoid this happening; however, have a clear and fair process for expressing opinions, stating alternatives, and making decisions (e.g., following parliamentary procedure with motions, time for discussion, and majority rule votes).

Establish Decision-Making Rules As we suggested, team leaders should work with the team to establish decision-making rules. The leader may do this by �iat—that is, by specifying how the team will work (e.g., "We will vote on all major decisions and majority rules").

Consider different types of consensus decision making (Hartnett, 2011; also see Hartnett's website http://www.consensusdecisionmaking.org (http://www.consensusdecisionmaking.org) ):

Inclusive. The team seeks input from all team members and other stakeholders who may be affected by the decision. Participatory. Every team member is allowed a chance to contribute to the discussion. Collaborative. The leader encourages team members to submit proposals for the team to consider. Agreement seeking. The leader tries to garner as much agreement among team members as possible, even if a majority vote will do. Cooperative. The leader asks the team members to keep the good of the whole team in mind. Team members can express their individual preferences so that they can be duly considered; however, individuals' vested interests should not obstruct the team's process.

When brainstorming, list ideas without evaluating them. Then, multi-vote to prioritize ideas or suggestions for goals, priorities, or work processes. For example, provide each member with three or four stickers. Ask each member to distribute them among each of the suggestions, which have been posted. Members can put all their stickers on one suggestion or distribute them any way they like. The suggestions with the most stickers are the top priorities of the team (Osborn, 1963).

When �inalizing a decision, a team can use several methods. The team can try to achieve unanimous agreement or unanimity minus one or two votes. A simple majority is another, easier approach. Yet another approach is to require a supermajority—two thirds of the team, for example—for a decision to pass. Still another possibility is to select a subset of team members to be an executive committee. In a club or corporation, this might be a committee of the top of�icers. The team leader can also reserve the right to decide, especially if there is considerable disagreement. However, by invoking the privilege of position, the leader risks creating distrust if the team agreed to achieve consensus or discuss the issue and hear all voices �irst.

Build a Positive Team Climate As you can see, a transformational leader who builds a culture of psychological safety, engenders trust among team members, empowers them to act, and sets clear procedures will go a long way toward preventing or minimizing the occurrence of problem behaviors. Problems can also be avoided or mitigated when the three elements of a high-performing team are in place: having the proper talent, clear tasks, and adequate time (if necessary, review Step 2 in Section 4.4).

However, leaders may also be the source of some problem behaviors. For instance, leaders may compare teammates with each other, intending to motivate performance. But from the team member's perspective, being compared with a higher-performing team member can be demoralizing. The result is less cooperation among team members and ultimately lower team performance, even though the leader's intention was to increase performance.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Through their leader's facilitation and support, team members learn to trust each member, create shared goals, and work together in the different roles each individual ful�ills.

Cathy Yeulet/iStock/Thinkstock

The leader can curtail the negative implications associated with such comparisons by convincing the lower-performing team members that they have the ability to match the higher-performing team member's performance (Lam et al., 2011). The leader can further strengthen the lower-performing team member's expected future performance by offering additional support, such as training, more resources, and coaching. Promoting goals of cooperation within the team is another strategy, which allows all members to have a sense of shared purpose and a common identity while simultaneously diverting attention away from performance differences toward ways of overcoming these differences.

Team leaders can also work smart to improve team performance by knowing what mechanisms trigger process gains. These include social support from team members, emphasizing how important members are for achieving the team goals, developing team members as experts, drawing on multiple perspectives, and helping the team members to re�lect on what they have learned (Hertel, 2011). Social support also includes social recognition (members saying how much they appreciate other members' efforts) and social encouragement (appeals of trust, sympathy, reassurance, and cheering), which increase motivation. Leaders can express their appreciation by, for example, thanking team members for their suggestions and views.

Members and the leader can also promote more effective team processes by helping members understand and carry out task requirements. This includes information-related task support (providing information or advice) and behavioral task support (giving time or skill assistance)

(Hüffmeier & Hertel, 2011). It might also include asking for volunteers and delegating work to team members.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. Describe the Big Five core components of teams. 2. What are the four types of trust important to teams? 3. What are shared mental models, and why are they important to high-performing teams? 4. What are at least three actions a leader can take at the team's �irst meeting? 5. What are at least two ways leaders can work smart with their teams? 6. What are at least three problem behaviors team leaders can encounter, and how can leaders address these behaviors?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

What can be done to contribute to team learning?

Ozalp/iStock/Thinkstock

4.8 Step 7A: Helping Your Team to Get Better Through Learning

In the next two sections, we address several key areas for helping team members work together and for improving performance. First, we address team learning and describe its various forms. In Section 4.9, we stress the importance of empowerment and a shared perception of organizational support.

Team learning is the set of behaviors (patterns of interaction) that team members acquire as the team proceeds to do its work. Team learning happens when members share their own knowledge and expertise, generate new knowledge, and evaluate and combine this knowledge.

Team learning can be de�ined more formally in a number of ways:

"The acquisition of knowledge, skills, and performance capabilities of an interdependent set of individuals through interaction and experience" (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006, p. 86) "Activities through which individuals acquire, share, and combine knowledge through experience with one another. Evidence that team learning has occurred includes changes in knowledge, either implicit or explicit, that occur as a result of such collaboration" (Argote, Gruengeld, & Naquin, 2001, p. 370). Members share knowledge, develop mental models of the way things should be, and form memories of transactions that were effective and that can be repeated (Kozlowski & Bell, 2007; Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006; London, 2014). "An informal process by which team members attempt to create effective social structures and work processes on their own" (Kozlowski & Ilgen, 2006, p. 105) When members learn to adjust to each other and to changes in membership as team members come and go (Chen & Klimoski, 2003)

Team learning is important to embrace. Things may be going well, but the leader wants to maintain momentum and be able to apply the team's prior successes to future goals. Learning should be explicit, meaning that the team members should recognize that they have learned how to work well together and be able to repeat or improve on processes that worked best in the past.

There are three types of team learning: adaptive, generative, and transformative (London & Sessa, 2007a). We will de�ine and discuss each in this section. In the meantime, use Assessment 4.3 to help you better understand team learning and the obstacles to it. In terms of stimulation and support for team learning, consider the following set of actions leaders can take:

1. Create learning triggers (pressures and opportunities). Team members are more motivated to learn team processes when they feel the team is under pressure to produce and be successful. The leader (like a football team coach) energizes the team by explaining the bene�its of success and emphasizing that others are depending on them and want them to be successful.

2. Increase readiness to learn (e.g., openness to new ideas). Team members who enjoy learning and trying new things are ready to learn. A leader can increase team members' readiness to learn by teaching them new work methods and letting the team see how these methods made them more successful. This will lead the team to be even more willing to learn new methods in the future.

3. Support the ways people learn. This means recognizing that people learn by making small changes in the way they behave and work with others (adaptive learning), discovering new ideas and work methods for themselves (generative learning), and adopting new goals, strategies, and procedures that are radically different from anything they have done before (transformative learning). Leaders can reinforce these different ways of learning when they occur, facilitate them (e.g., coach and encourage team members when they try a new way of doing a task), and give team members freedom to experiment with new ways of working together, even if the initial result fails or costs time and money that could have been saved.

Assessment 4.3: What Has Been Your Team's Experience With Learning?

Click here (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/MGT460_2e/Assessment4.3.pdf) to download this assessment.

Instructions Part I: To understand team learning, think about a team you know or are on. Now answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose for the team? 2. Where is the team in accomplishing its goal—just getting started, midway, almost through? 3. What forces trigger change (pressures and/or opportunities from outside or within the team)? 4. Is the team open to new ideas? Give an example. 5. Is the team content with its progress? Are the team members satis�ied with being part of the team? 6. This team could be (could have been) more successful if ________.

Instructions Part II: Now consider the stimuli and barriers to change and learning in the team. Answer the following:

1. What did the team learn? 2. What stimulated this learning? 3. Were there factors (barriers) that made team learning dif�icult? 4. What facilitated team learning? 5. Did learning capacity change over time for members, the team, or the organization? Are they better learners as a result of the team experience?

In fact, teams learn continuously, but some more rapidly than others. Members may resist learning and change because they are not ready for it. However, external forces may prod learning. These are learning triggers. They may be changes in goals, obstacles to achieving goals, or new opportunities. So, for example, in Case 1 (the Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team), in which a new physician saw that test processing times were hurting patient outcomes,

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

the quality improvement process might act as a learning trigger. The collection of data and the analysis of work processes could overcome John's skepticism and open his and his team members' eyes to ways the team could in fact introduce changes that would improve ef�iciency.

Consider the conditions in Table 4.4. Think of a team as a system of inputs, processes, and outputs. The system is in�luenced by its components (members) and by the external environment. When there is little or no pressure in the environment for change and the leader or members are not ready to change (Box A), nothing much will happen. The team will continue with the status quo. If the leader or members are anxious to bring about change but the environment doesn't require or support it (Box B), the team may still succeed with enough persistence. But the team may also become frustrated trying to initiate change when others do not expect or want it. If the pressures or opportunities in the environment are strong but the team is not ready to change (or not enough people on the team are ready for change) (Box C), the team risks failure from not responding to the environmental pressures. It must learn to adapt to survive. However, if the environmental pressure is high and the team leader and members are ready for change (Box D), the team is ready for generative learning and possible radical change—that is, transformative change.

Table 4.4: Readiness for team learning

Environment's need for learning and change System readiness to learn

Not ready Ready

Low A Status quo, stagnation

B Potential for generative learning, requires persistence, could be frustrating

High C Learn to adapt or risk failure

D Potential for transformative and generative continuous learning

Adaptive Learning and Ways to Promote It

Adaptive learning is making small responses to pressures and changes in the environment. Think of adaptive learning in terms of team processes and outcomes. Leaders and their teams are willing to adjust the way they interact. They shift their mode of operating or making decisions. For example, a team member may complain that the leader is making decisions unilaterally without consulting team members. So the leader may discuss decision making with the team and agree to abide by a majority rule on issues that involve allocation of resources. As another example, say a top executive changes the team's goals, perhaps requiring that the team achieve a certain objective earlier than the leader and members anticipated. So the team needs to work longer hours to accomplish the objective within the new time frame. As yet another example, consider a team that was successful in planning an event or improving a work process at one time; team members can follow similar procedures to plan another event or improve another work process. They have learned team procedures that they can adapt and how to adapt the procedures to be more effective and ef�icient in similar situations in the future. The work process comes to have standard elements that the team applies in different situations, changing the elements slightly as conditions (e.g., resources and constraints) change.

Teams that are adaptive learners may do the following:

Respond automatically—that is, without much thought Make small changes or incremental improvements to work routines, interactions, protocols, or procedures Build from current capabilities, skills, and knowledge Acquire and apply new bits of information Make changes by trial and error (make a small change and see if it works; if not, adjust or try something else)

Teams need to be adaptive because organizational requirements and environmental conditions change rapidly, indeed sometimes dramatically. Being adaptive means recognizing critical changes that the team needs to address, understanding what the team can do about these changes, adjusting priorities, and adapting team strategies. Teams that do this well are said to have "adaptive capacity" (Kozlowski, Gully, Nason, & Smith, 1999; Kozlowski, Watola, Jensen, Kim, & Botero, 2009; Randall, Resick, & DeChurch, 2011).

Leaders help teams be adaptive by helping members make sense of their environment. They motivate team members to �ind information, discuss and organize knowledge, and form a similar and accurate understanding of what is happening. Leaders provide direction, foster integration of the information, and shape the team members' understanding of the changes and what they can do about them. They explain the rationale that underlies various events, the logic for various strategies that other teams have implemented, and what might work under present conditions. For instance, if a sales team has a dif�icult sales goal and is using cold phone calls to gain new customers, and the CEO of the company wants to sell a newly developed product and use mass mailing, the leader of the sales team will not only describe the new product and new sales strategy but also explain the reasons that underlie the CEO's thinking. Team leaders who explain the rationale for such changes clearly prompt the team to discuss the issue, see things similarly, and take appropriate action in light of the new situation (Randall et al., 2011).

Generative Learning and Ways to Promote It

Generative learning is the process of being purposefully proactive. Generative teams go beyond adaptation to make marked changes in the way members interact and in the goals they try to achieve. Initiatives come from an organic need within the team, and members learn how to be proactive to �ind new resources (money, technology, information, ideas) and experiment by applying these resources in new ways to do their work. There are no standard procedures to follow and no right way to do things. In the process, the members learn how to work with each other to be generative in the future—that is, to address problems that do not have clear paths to obvious solutions but rather impose uncertain conditions, potentially con�licting goals, and complex interactions. The team members learn to accept this ambiguity, remain open to new concepts, and be willing to discuss, conceptualize, and experiment and in the process reach unexpected conclusions and new directions for action. This is the process of invention and entrepreneurship.

The generative learning process might include observing competitors and trying out new skills, knowledge, and behaviors on the team. Other generative learning experiences might include identifying best practices and then modifying and adopting them as needed. Initiatives might involve exploring alternative methods when current approaches to the team's goals are not effective. Generative learning means that team members try new behaviors and interaction patterns and evaluate the effects of these changes. Some of the new behaviors and patterns become common practice; others are held in reserve until needed.

Generative learning can occur at the individual, group, and organization levels. For instance, in considering new technology, individual team members can learn and use a new technology, maybe a new software system to track work. The team can learn and put the technology into use so that the team can be more effective. The organization can adopt the technology for other teams and integrate it with existing technologies (for example, combining the tracking system with a product delivery system).

Leaders can encourage and support generative learning in a variety of ways. For example, they can hold team strategy sessions to generate ideas for new work strategies. They can identify and share ways other teams have achieved successful outcomes. They can share new means of operating. They can change

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

In transformative learning, teams must be ready to discover and create new pathways toward their goals. As a leader, how would you promote transformative learning?

Caia Images/Caia Images/SuperStock

members' roles to give them fresh perspectives. Such leadership interventions can produce generative outcomes. As members learn more about each other, particularly how they can contribute to new and unanticipated situations, the members will be more open to new ideas and con�ident in their ability to face an uncertain or ambiguous future. They will be willing to seek and implement new ways of operating in the future. In short, they develop what we would call an "entrepreneurial orientation."

Transformative Learning and Ways to Promote It

Transformative learning is redirecting the team's purpose and goals. Transformative teams create radically new ways of doing their work or adopt new missions and objectives. For example, a team not only may be facing a dif�icult problem for which there is no clear path forward, but also may need to totally redirect its efforts to design new ways of working together. It becomes a different team altogether, as when a social club decides to open a business, when members of a local sports team raise money to support a cause in the community, or when a manufacturing and distribution company becomes a systems service and consulting company (IBM is a principal example). Team members (or company executives and managers) need to change their focus, goals, and ways of working with one another. They may need new work structures (positions, roles, responsibilities) and methods of interaction (working from remote locations instead of a single headquarters) as well as different expertise.

Leaders of transformative teams are adept change agents who guide their team members to commit to new reasons for being. Members learn to be transformative, changing their own behavior or being ready to move from one team to another when their talents can best be utilized by other teams or organizations. The team is proactive in giving up old behaviors and interaction patterns. Members experiment with new work methods. They choose new modes of operation based on results. They go beyond generative learning by creating and implementing major (frame-breaking) changes in purpose and expected outcomes. The team will establish very new and different outcomes (for example, new products or services, new markets for these products or services, and new alliances with other teams and organizations). The team may form new team structures (e.g., a new organization chart for the team, new roles for team members, and new expectations of the leader). The team learns the value of creative ideas (accepting ideas without being critical) and the value of re�lecting on the team's process, not just constantly working to produce outcomes but thinking about how things are working and how they can improve. The team generates a sense of excitement (or nervousness) in the discovery process. Team members gain comfort in dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity. They are able to welcome and integrate newcomers onto the team. They feel ready for changes in the future, and they welcome and demonstrate �lexibility. They are capable of doing more and accomplishing different goals in different ways. In addition, they are able to change in the face of emergencies and unexpected demands.

Leaders promote transformative learning in a variety of ways. They bring in new members, teach members new work routines, formulate and share a new vision for their teams, and

discuss with members their discomfort with uncertainty and change. Leaders may point out other teams that have made radical shifts in their mission, work methods, or outcomes and help team members learn from these examples. The leaders may point out failures and successes and help their teams analyze and learn from the experiences of others. Leaders may use role-playing exercises, business games, or challenging outdoor experiences to help members break their old and shared frames of reference and consider new ideas from different points of view.

Leaders help their teams learn to be adaptive, generative, and transformative depending on what is needed (the pressures and opportunities that trigger learning) and the members' capability and openness to change. Some teams need only to make adaptive changes in operations and goals. Others bene�it by being more generative—proactive in making more major changes in operations and outcomes. Still other teams need to transform the purpose, goals, and modes of operating. Adaptive learning is slow. Generative learning is likely to be faster. Transformative learning is likely to be sudden.

So far, we have described what leaders do to bring about adaptive, generative, and transformative team learning. Table 4.5 suggests how these learning patterns emerge depending on triggers in the environment, the team's readiness to learn, the team's goals, and what the leader does to promote learning. Before continuing, consider what you as a leader can do to bring about change and learning on your team. Then, in Considering Six Case Examples: Adaptive, Generative, and Transformative Team Learning, explore which type of learning might be evident in our six cases.

Table 4.5: Emergence of learning patterns

Learning trigger Readiness for learning Team goal Leader's interventions

Learning pattern

Triggers create mild pressure.

Low Maintain level of performance

Helps the team members recognize pressures they are under Asks members for input about how to deal with these pressures

Adaptive

Triggers are viewed as learning opportunities.

High Increase mastery Gives team members a chance to voice their ideas Involves the team in planning and organizing work processes

Generative

Triggers are strong. High Renew identity States opportunities that are available to the team—opportunities for training, new work methods, or more ambitious goals Discusses with team members differing viewpoints and identi�ies ways to integrate them when possible

Transformative

Source: From "The Development of Group Interaction Patterns: How Groups Become Adaptive, Generative, and Transformational Learners," by M. London and V. I. Sessa, 2007b, Human Resource Development Review, 6, p. 369. Copyright 2007 by Sage Publications. Reprinted with permission.

Considering Six Case Examples: Adaptive, Generative, and Transformative Team Learning

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team. This is an adaptive process to �ind incremental ways to improve as team members learn to engage in quality improvement. This could result in some generative, and possibly transformational, changes.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team. The team learns to be adaptive as members work with the team leader in a collaborative way.

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team. This is an adaptive process. This could result in a creative (generative) landmark design and substantial fundraiser if members become suf�iciently engaged and committed to the project. There may not be suf�icient pressure or readiness to learn to make this happen.

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team. This could be a generative process. Members are versed in high tech and like to make frame-breaking changes. They are open to new ideas if they do not get stuck in their individual areas of expertise.

Case 5: Community Action Team. This could be a transformative process for the community and the leader. The impetus for the change is there: Avoid further congestion and erosion of the community way of life. Caitlin will realize she has leadership potential that she never knew she possessed. The townspeople who come to support the idea and become engaged learn the power they have and their ability to in�luence change in their community. This could lead to more community activist efforts.

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team. This is likely an adaptive process as the bank hobbles forward slowly in a dif�icult economy. It could be generative if the bank opens new avenues for business and develops strong commitments from remaining employees.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What are the differences between adaptive, generative, and transformative team learning? 2. What are three ways leaders can support and stimulate team learning? 3. What are some ways, in speci�ic, that leaders can promote adaptive, generative, and transformative team learning?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Leaders who micromanage closely monitor behavior and discourage team members' autonomy; this works against creating an empowering environment.

OJO Images/SuperStock

4.9 Step 7B: Helping Your Team to Get Better Through Empowerment and Support

In addition to learning, another way to help team members work together and improve performance is to ensure that team members are empowered and that there is agreement about the degree of organizational support for the team.

Empowering Team Members

Chapter 3 examined how leaders empower direct reports. Leaders also empower team members by increasing their autonomy, control, self-management, and con�idence (Chen, Sharma, Edinger, Shapiro, & Farh, 2011). More speci�ically, empowering leaders delegate authority to team members, hold them accountable for achieving their goals, involve the team in making important decisions, encourage the team members to manage their own work, and express con�idence in the team as a whole and in the individual members. As a result, members feel they have autonomy and the competence to perform meaningful and impactful tasks. Also, members feel a sense of emotional attachment to, and identi�ication with, the team (Chen et al., 2011). So, for example, the empowering team leader will state explicitly to the team members that they are able, have the knowledge they need, and can do what they think is necessary to achieve their goals.

In contrast, leaders who are not empowering their team members are leaders who micromanage the team's activities, monitor behavior, discourage members from acting on their own, and convey having little faith in the team's ability to accomplish the challenging tasks ahead. Such a team leader will express doubt about the team's ability, actually stop the team members from making important decisions without her input, monitor all work closely as it happens, and let the team know that the organization will likely rely on her recommended decisions, declining to ask or care about the ideas and recommendations of the team members. As a result, members feel they have little autonomy and low con�idence. They will not be motivated to act on their own. This will be especially detrimental because it makes any con�lict within the team worse and generally demotivates members from using their skills and knowledge to their best advantage.

In addition to empowering individual team members, leaders can give the team as a whole a sense of empowerment. This is the notion that the team members understand that the team has the authority to make decisions and create change, not only within the team, but also in relation to the team's objectives and the team's contribution to the organization. For instance, the C-level team in Case 6 is empowered to make decisions that will create new business opportunities. A C-level team is empowered by virtue of its organizational level. The emergency room quality improvement team in Case 1 is empowered by the nature of the task. The team can implement and test new procedures. Others may protest, but unless initiatives are stopped by top executives, the team is empowered to act.

Team leaders can give a team a greater sense of empowerment, even if authority is not embedded in the team's purpose. The leader can encourage team members to express their ideas and develop work methods on their own. By doing so, team members will recognize that they can make a signi�icant contribution to the team and their organization and that their participation on the team is worth their time. For instance, a team member who is able to come up with an idea from an Internet search and then allowed to develop the idea into an innovative team process or output will likely feel a greater sense of empowerment.

Agreeing About Organization Support

Organizations provide a range of support to help work teams. This includes forming teams with talented people, particularly the talent needed for the work at hand; providing information and training; measuring performance and giving feedback; and implementing a system of rewards (Kennedy, Loughry, Klammer, & Beyerlein, 2009). If both the team leader and the team members perceive high support from the organization, the team members are likely to feel con�ident that the organization cares about them, and their mutual recognition of this support reinforces their positive feelings about the team and the organization and increases their effort and performance.

If the team leader feels there is considerable support but the members believe that support is lacking, team members will feel negatively about the team and the organization, and their performance will suffer (Chen et al., 2011). This can happen if a leader fails to listen to team members' needs for support—for instance, for training, information, data, or rewards for performance. The leader may think everything is �ine, yet the team members may have a different view. This will erode team members' motivation over time, as team members increasingly believe that the leader, like the organization, doesn't care about them. A leader who listens to the needs of the team members, anticipates these needs, and works with the departments in the organization to secure resources will be more closely aligned with the team and help team members accomplish their goals. If, however, the leader has blinders on and becomes increasingly removed from understanding the team members' needs, team performance will diminish.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What can leaders do to empower their team members? 2. Why is it important for the leader and team members to agree about the level of support they receive from their organization?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Assessment is important to the development and achievement of a team. How can team assessments also bene�it individual team members' professional development?

Imtmphoto/iStock/Thinkstock

HR consultant Peter Wallbridge discusses the uses of performance appraisals for individuals and for teams.

Individual and Team Assessment

Individual and Team Appraisal From Title: Performance Appraisals

(https://fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=100753&xtid=93370)

  0:00 / 1:56 1x

Critical Thinking Questions

1. How might individual assessment contribute to assessing the team as a whole?

2. How often should managers perform team assessments, and why?

4.10 Step 8: Assessing Progress and Achievements

Assessment is critical for self-analysis, one-to-one leadership, and team leadership. The goal of team assessment is to gather information about the team's processes and performance, determine the team's progress and level of achievement, and discuss it with members of the team, presumably together.

Reilly and McGourty (1998) suggested that a team leader appraise the team's performance by

1. identifying and de�ining behaviors that are important to the organization and that are known to relate to effective team performance.

2. measuring each team member's competencies and collecting team members' perceptions of each other's contributions and of the overall team functioning and performance.

3. being clear about the purpose(s) of the assessment. 4. using the assessment for team and individual development only, at least initially, for

describing desired team behaviors and ensuring rater con�identiality.

Team assessment can be conducted at various points in the team's history, and so the assessment should take into account the stage of the team's development (Wageman, Hackman, & Lehman, 2005). During the initial stages, the assessment should examine the team members' capabilities and motivation to determine if the right people were selected and if more people should be added or some asked to leave the team. As the work of the team gets under way, interactions among team members can be assessed to determine if team members are working collaboratively or if some interventions may be needed to resolve con�licts or promote better coordination. As the team completes its work, the assessment can focus on outcomes achieved and expressing what the team has learned.

Over time, the team will learn to conduct its own assessment as the leader and members re�lect on their process and look for ways to improve (London, 2007). As such, team assessment becomes part of the team's culture—the way the team works and learns.

One set of survey measures to assess team development is called the Team Diagnostic Survey, developed at Harvard by Wageman et al. (2005). The survey addresses issues of whether the team is stable, has a compelling direction, has a structure and membership that enable work to get done, has organizational support, has expert coaches (including the leader), and has effective processes—for instance, for generating innovative work methods and outcomes.

The following are examples of the survey items that an observer, the leader, or members can check off or rate to indicate the extent to which they apply. (Note that the survey is actually more extensive and can be viewed in Wageman et al., 2005, pp. 382–389.)

Team stability:

Team membership is quite clear—everybody knows exactly who is and isn't on this team. The team is quite stable, with few changes in membership. Members of this team have to depend heavily on one another to get the team's work done.

Compelling direction:

The team's purposes are speci�ied so clearly that its members should know exactly what the team exists to accomplish. The team's purposes are so challenging that members have to stretch to accomplish them.

Enabling structure:

This team is just the right size to accomplish its purposes. This team has a nearly ideal mix of members. Everyone on this team has the special skills that are needed for the team's work. The team's work is inherently meaningful. Members of this team agree about how members are expected to behave.

Supportive organizational context:

Excellent team performance pays off in this organization. Teams in this organization can get whatever information they need to plan their work.

Available expert coaching:

Teams in this organization have access to "coaches" who can help them learn from their successes and mistakes. The team leader helps the team build a high shared commitment to its purpose. The team leader helps the team sustain the motivation of all members. The team leader provides positive feedback when the team behaves or performs well. Regular team members tell other members what to do and how they should do it.

Process criteria of team effectiveness:

Our team often comes up with innovative ways of proceeding with the work that turn out to be just what is needed.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

A. Team members' con�idence in their capacity to perform well 1. To what extent do you believe that this team can be (was) very productive? 2. Are you con�ident that this team can (did) accomplish its goals? 3. Would you say that no task is (was) too tough for this team? 4. Is (was) this a high-performing team?

B. Team unity and trust 5. Does (did) this team have a strong sense of togetherness? 6. Do (did) the team members trust one another? 7. Is (was) there a sense of team spirit? 8. Do (did) the team members agree on goals?

C. Team pro�iciency 9. Is (was) the team accomplishing its goals? 10. Does (did) the team meet deadlines? 11. Does (did) the team produce high-quality work? 12. Does (did) the team solve con�licts and other problems?

D. Teamwork 13. Are (were) team members committed to helping each other? 14. Do (did) the team members participate actively during team meetings? 15. How well do (did) the team members communicate? 16. Does (did) the team seem to waste time? 17. Do (did) team members value each other's expertise?

The questions in Assessment 4.4 combine to form an assessment a team leader can use to evaluate his or her team as its leader; team members can complete it as well. The answers to the questions, whether from the leader or from the team members, can provide a leader with feedback as well as a basis for discussion about how the team can do better in the future (if it is going to continue) or how the members can improve their contributions to other teams they are on now or will be on in the future. We suggest trying out these questions to assess and evaluate a current or recent team experience you have had. The questions deal with team members' con�idence, unity and trust, pro�iciency, and teamwork.

Assessment 4.4: How Does Your Team Measure Up?

Click here (https://ne.edgecastcdn.net/0004BA/constellation/PDFs/MGT460_2e/Assessment4.4.pdf) to download this assessment.

Instructions: Ask the members of the team to think about the questions, and then talk about your viewpoints.

Source: From First-Time Leaders of Small Groups: How to Create High Performing Committees, Task Forces, Clubs, and Boards (p. 227), by M. London and M. M. London, 2007, San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass. Adapted from "Teams' Female Representation and Perceived Potency as Inputs to Team Outcomes in a Predominantly Male Field Setting," by R. R. Hirsch�ield, M. H. Jordan, H. S. Field, and A. A. Armenakis, 2005, Personnel Psychology, 58, 893–824.

When can this assessment be used? This assessment was designed to be used most any time during the team's life. The leader or facilitator can ask members for their responses and then review them with the team. Or each area can be a topic for discussion as the leader directs the team members to take a break from work to re�lect on how they are working together. For example, consider the following.

A discussion about team members' con�idence can reveal doubts, misunderstandings, or ideas to make the team more productive. If the members feel that the team is at risk in not accomplishing its goals, the members should discuss this, discover why, and �ind ways to do better. Perhaps the goals or timeline are too ambitious. Perhaps some members have misgivings that are unfounded—for instance, because they haven't had the experience that other members have had in working on similar tasks.

A discussion and assessment of team unity and mutual trust between members and the leader and members can help to determine team dysfunction. The leader can guide the team through a discussion about the extent to which members feel camaraderie and team spirit as well as shared goals. Note that this can be relevant to teams that work virtually as well as teams working in person, as virtual teams develop a sense of identity and strong relationships even when members don't meet in person.

Issues of team pro�iciency and teamwork are the other topics for discussion based on this assessment. Evaluation of these topics focuses on objective information about whether deadlines are met and expected goals are reached. Some topics, such as quality of work, are a matter of opinion. Members can collect information from those outside the team who use their work (the stakeholders who commissioned the team, or the customers who use the team's output). The members can also re�lect on their interactions—for instance, how well they resolved con�licts and what they would do differently the next time con�licts arise. Topics such as members helping each other, their participation during meetings, and their mutual respect can also be discussed openly to reveal problems that may fester and cause dysfunction if not addressed.

Now, consider what you should do as the team reaches its end point, or stage of adjournment. Here are some possibilities (London & London, 2007, p. 225):

Make a checklist of all �inal arrangements, with dates and who is responsible. Call or get a report from each team member. Remind members of the importance of the goal, its visibility, what the organization has to gain, and what they each have to gain. Seek feedback from and give feedback to the team as a whole. Thank each person. Remind each one how much the team and the organization is depending on her or him. Remember that burnout is likely; you probably will feel it yourself. Maintain accountability.

We would like to highlight that this team assessment can be used to measure gaps in team leadership in the organization, much as we discussed other instruments and approaches for measuring leadership gaps in the earlier chapters.

Considering Six Case Examples: Approaches to Steps in Team Leadership

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

The team leader needs to get the team off to the right start, work smart, help the team learn and improve, and assess the team's progress and achievements. The following summarizes how the leaders of the six cases we described throughout this chapter could approach each of these steps. Read through each case and consider what you would do if you were the leader of each team. Can you think of some other leadership strategies given the teams' challenges and opportunities, their membership and goals, and how they can bene�it from learning together?

Case 1: Emergency Room Lab Test Quality Improvement Team

Get off to the right start Work smart Help the team learn Assess the team's progress and achievements

Explain opportunities for improvement and the value it will provide.

Establish procedures for the quality improvement process, such as reviewing work �low, identifying frequency of different problems, identifying reasons for most frequent problems, brainstorming ideas for improvement, testing improvements, implementing changes, and monitoring to hold the gains.

Members may not be open to new ideas because they are steeped in their technical knowledge and expertise. Show some examples of how emergency rooms at other hospitals have improved.

Review with the team how well people are working together, evaluating outcomes and identifying changes members would like to make in the team process.

Case 2: Appliance Store Chain Anniversary Celebration Planning Team

Get off to the right start Work smart Help the team learn Assess the team's progress and achievements

Discuss possible initiatives, agree on what will be done, assign roles and responsibilities, and monitor implementation and outcomes.

Maintain structure and assignments; hold members accountable for meeting their commitments.

Learn to work together to accomplish a special initiative, and support a positive, collaborative work climate among employees.

Review outcomes. Discuss with the team members what worked well, what didn't, and what they will do differently for the next campaign.

Case 3: Museum Expansion Feasibility Analysis and Planning Team

Get off to the right start Work smart Help the team learn Assess the team's progress and achievements

Discuss design possibilities, giving everyone chances to voice their opinions.

Set a regular schedule of meetings to be sure all members will be available and have the time to participate; recognize that all members have a stake and an ego invested in their contributions to the museum; focus on the value of the planned expansion to the community, thereby taking into account a range of stakeholders.

Learn how other museums with tight budgets raised money for an expansion and developed an attractive, useful, and costeffective design.

Use this initiative to generate board and community commitment to the museum as a valued quality-of-life asset. Members who feel this is a signi�icant, long-lasting initiative will feel more engaged and be ready to contribute their time and money to future endeavors in support of the museum.

Case 4: Newspaper Website Redesign Team

Get off to the right start Work smart Help the team learn Assess the team's progress and achievements

Develop a structure that includes arriving at a concept, structuring a design and implementation plan, and collecting feedback on prototypes from online readers.

Be sure assignments are clear and that everyone has a chance to contribute their expertise. Hold a team-building session early on during which members share their prior experiences so that everyone on the team will see each other similarly and know how they can all contribute to the new website.

Identify other newspapers with a strong online presence and other types of websites that harness the power of the Web to deliver information and build loyalty. Suggest that members of the team take each other's roles in a short role-playing exercise, especially if they are out of their area of expertise, so they will understand the pressures and perspectives of other members.

Hold periodic review meetings to examine progress, determine whether team members have met their commitments midway into the design phase, and discuss any barriers that occurred that hindered collaboration.

Case 5: Community Action Team

Get off to the right start Work smart Help the team learn Assess the team's progress and achievements

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Discuss alternatives for the site and the options for a park to determine uses and alternative costs depending on the design. Arrive at a tentative design that will be the banner that the community action group will wave as an alternative to more commercial or residential development.

Collect and analyze data on traf�ic patterns and the degree to which a community park would hinder further congestion. Ask members who have strong communication skills to develop a campaign, thereby using the expertise of community members to best advantage. Determine the town's decisionmaking process and who has the most in�luence, and brainstorm ways to in�luence decisions. Match expertise to roles.

Learn from other community action teams. Invite a community activist to address a future meeting of the group. Listen to everyone's ideas about goals and process and have patience with people who care about their community but have little experience with being a community advocate.

Survey community members about their attitudes; have a campaign with visible signs of support (e.g., yellow ribbons on trees), and count those signs. Examine member roles and whether they are meeting commitments. If they are not, change assignments, giving people roles for which they are better suited.

Case 6: Regional Bank C-Level Team

Get off to the right start Work smart Help the team learn Assess the team's progress and achievements

Hold open discussions at regular (weekly) meetings of the C-level team.

Suggest trying different strategies for collecting information from employees and communicating to employees about plans and the honest prognosis of the bank's prospects. The CEO can create and describe a realistic yet optimistic vision for the future and the stability of employment.

Hire a team facilitator or coach to work with the vice presidents, perhaps collecting 360-degree feedback data on them so they can better understand how they are perceived by their employees, peers, internal and external customers, and the CEO.

Hold a retreat for the vice presidents and their immediate subordinates semiannually to discuss pro�itability, initiatives, and collaboration.

Leadership in Review

Re�lect on your learning by answering the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of a team assessment? 2. When can leaders conduct team assessments? 3. What are four possible areas of team assessment?

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

Summary and Resources

Chapter Summary

We began this chapter by considering the difference between groups and teams. Teams are groups of individuals who are working in sync to accomplish a shared goal. As such, we focused this entire chapter on team leadership challenges and ways leaders overcome them. Team leaders are directors and facilitators. They prepare to lead by recruiting talented members (those with the knowledge, skills, and experience to accomplish the team's goals). They structure the task while empowering members, involving them in setting goals and making decisions in light of both external and internal constraints, such as limited resources or tight timelines (external) or member differences in professional background (internal). Given advances in communication technologies and cross-organizational and cross-cultural teams, leaders and members need to learn to be effective in virtual (online) as well as in-person environments.

We outlined steps for preparing to lead (identifying challenges; ensuring talent, time, and task structure; planning the team's development; and determining your style of leadership). We also outlined steps for taking the lead (getting off to the right start, working smart, helping the team get better, and assessing the team's progress). We described each of these steps throughout the chapter, giving examples from six sample teams. Leaders should anticipate possible team dysfunctions and consider how to overcome them, such as by building trust and resolving con�licts. The leader and the members support each other by taking on different roles, such as contractor, contributor, creator, completer, critic, cooperator, communicator, calibrator, consul, and/or coordinator. Teams develop through stages of forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning (re�lecting on accomplishments and ways of improving team processes). Team leaders engage in a balancing act, balancing members' vested interests with working toward a common vision and shared goals, balancing controlling the team with empowering members to act on their own, balancing exploration with reaching conclusions, and balancing taking action with taking time for re�lection. At different times, leaders need to pay attention to transactions (the logistics of getting things done) and transformation (communicating and engendering members' commitment to a single vision for the team).

Leaders help the team learn to be adaptive (making incremental changes), generative (being proactive in creating new ways of doing things), and in some cases transformative (making radical changes in purpose and methods). Teams are likely to be more generative and trans-formative when the team needs to respond to pressures and opportunities that trigger learning and when the members are open to new ideas and value learning for its own sake. Finally, leaders need to assess the team's progress and provide feedback to individual members and the team as a whole as a basis for understanding how well the team did, why, and what the team can do in the future to improve.

Leadership Exercise

Instructions: Select a team that you want to analyze. This can be a team you are a part of now or a team you were involved with in the past as a team leader or a team member. Or this could be a team you have observed. Think about the team you belonged to or observed. Then, address the following questions about team leadership:

1. What were the greatest challenges faced by the leader? 2. Did this team have the components for a high-performing team? 3. Were there signs of dysfunction at different times? What were these, why did they occur, and how were they (could they be) overcome? 4. Did the members trust the leader? Did the members trust each other? Why or why not? 5. What roles did the leader play, and how were these roles related to what was happening on the team at the time? 6. Did the members and the leader share a common vision? 7. Did the leader balance members' vested interests with establishing a common goal? 8. Did the leader empower members to participate while structuring the task suf�iciently to get the work done? 9. Did the leader provide time for the team to re�lect on how well it was doing and what could be done to improve team performance? 10. What did the team members learn about being on a team? 11. What outcomes did the team produce? Were they adaptive, generative, and/or transformative?

Web Resources

Listen to education consultant Rick DuFour talk about the difference between teams and groups, using Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods to emphasize the importance of team member interdependence: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hV65KIItlE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hV65KIItlE) In a series of talks, NASA engineer Adam Steltzner describes the skills he needed to lead a high-performance team—one that would land a rover on Mars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1rTY5KlF0E (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1rTY5KlF0E) Check out this simple, animated example of a team practicing consensus decision making when it comes to picking an ice cream �lavor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SjUjXkyWBw (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SjUjXkyWBw) Educator Shirley J. Caruso outlines steps and tips for reaching consensus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRAkBXdNHng (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRAkBXdNHng) Leadership development consultant Paul Mitchell outlines a step-by-step approach to translating values to action when leading teams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5yshOu5SN4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5yshOu5SN4) This Microsoft blog post features business professor and anthropologist Linda Hill and her thoughts on developing a team of innovators: http://blogs.microsoft.com/work/2015/06/25/how-to-lead-a-team-of-innovators-set-the-stage-for- genius/#sm.00018tib5q43fdn3sn21k5gri65lq (http://blogs.microsoft.com/work/2015/06/25/how-to-lead-a-team-of-innovators-set-the-stage-for- genius/#sm.00018tib5q43fdn3sn21k5gri65lq) Watch this inspirational video about the power of teamwork and shared values, inspired by the U.S. Navy's �light demonstration squad, the Blue Angels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhnylkfKUH4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhnylkfKUH4)

Key Terms to Remember

Click on each key term to see the de�inition.

adaptive learning (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

Making small responses to pressures and changes in the environment.

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

collective orientation (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A tendency for team members to support one another and value their membership on the team.

fault lines (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

Divisions within a diverse group.

generative learning (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The process of being purposely proactive to make marked changes.

group (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

Two or more people working together to deliver, for example, a product or service.

groupthink (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

Group behavior characterized by ignoring outside opinions, having no clear decision-making rules, and simply going along with a prevailing opinion.

high-performing team (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A team in which members understand their roles, have practiced their interactions, and coordinate to vary these transactions to meet changing and uncertain (sometimes unpredictable) situational conditions.

identity negotiation (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A process that involves team members introducing themselves and indicating how their background or experiences �it the needs of the team.

member interdependence (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The extent to which each team member's work depends on that of other members of the team.

psychological safety (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A condition or state in which team members can be characterized as respecting each other's abilities, being interested in each other as people, not being rejected for being themselves and stating what they think, and believing that other members have positive intentions.

role clarity (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The extent to which members of a team know what they are expected to do.

shared mental model (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A mutual understanding and vision of how things operate or work, such as how a team will solve problems or set goals.

team (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A group in which members have distinct roles and work in tight coordination to achieve a common goal.

team authority differentiation (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The extent to which a team has a designated leader who orchestrates the team process and a structure that differentiates members' authority.

team cognition (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

A common way of thinking; part of the development of a shared mental model.

team learning (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The process of team members sharing their own knowledge and expertise, generating new knowledge, and evaluating and combining this knowledge.

team skill differentiation (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The extent to which a team requires members with different skills having to work together to accomplish a task.

team temporal stability (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

The extent to which a team is ongoing and relatively stable in membership.

teamthink (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

Any way or strategy used to overcome groupthink, such as using constructive thought patterns.

transformative learning (http://content.thuzelearning.com/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London.2728.16.1/sections/cover/books/London

4/3/2018 Print

https://content.ashford.edu/print/London.2728.16.1?sections=ch04,ch04introduction,sec4.1,sec4.2,sec4.3,sec4.4,sec4.5,sec4.6,sec4.7,sec4.8,sec4.9,sec4.10,ch04su

The process of making fundamental change in purpose, goals, or structure.

Making small responses to pressures and changes in the environment

Choose a Study ModeView this study set