Reflective essay

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Leading Teams

WEEK 7

Dr Edward Kachab

Sept 12th

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Leading Teams

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Learning Objectives

Turn a group of individuals into a collaborative team that achieves high performance through a shared mission and collective responsibility

Identify challenges associated with teamwork, and explain why people sometimes have negative feelings about working in a team

Lead a team to high performance by providing a compelling purpose and clear objectives, clarifying roles and responsibilities, designing the team in terms of size and diversity, giving team members decision authority, and providing support and coaching

Leading Teams

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Learning Objectives

Understand and handle the stages of team development, and know how to promote cohesiveness and shape productive team norms

Understand the challenges and benefits of virtual teams and the team leader behaviors that contribute to virtual team effectiveness

Handle conflicts that inevitably arise among members of a team

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What is a team?

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What is the value of teams?

Valuable in organizations where work is interdependent

For interdependent tasks, a team ensures:

• Coordination

• Information sharing

• Exchange of materials

Leading Teams

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What is the value of teams?

Valuable in organizations where work is interdependent

For interdependent tasks, a team ensures:

• Coordination

• Information sharing

• Exchange of materials

Leading Teams

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What are the benefits of teams?

Higher productivity

Quality improvements

Greater flexibility and speed

Flatter management structure

Increased employee involvement and satisfaction

Lower turnover

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Exhibit 10.1 – Evolution of Teams and Team Leadership

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Paired Discussion

What is the difference between a “team” and a “group”? Discuss your personal experience with each.

Discuss

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Dilemma for Team Members

Have to give up their independence

Have to put up with free riders

• Free rider: A team member who attains benefits from team membership but does not actively participate in and contribute to the team’s work; referred to as social loafing

Teams are sometimes dysfunctional

Leading Teams

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Exhibit 10.2 – Five Common Dysfunctions of Teams

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Elements to Lead a Team to High Performance

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Exhibit 10.3 – Five Stages of Team Development

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Paired Discussion

Describe the stages of team development. How would you facilitate a team’s development through each stage?

Discuss

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What is Team Cohesiveness?

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Determinants of Cohesiveness

Team interaction

Shared goals

Personal attraction to the team

Presence of competition

Team success

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Consequences of Cohesiveness

Morale:

• Higher morale

• Increased communication among members

• Friendly team climate

• Maintenance of membership

• Loyalty

• Member participation in team decisions and activities

Leading Teams

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Consequences of Cohesiveness

Performance:

• Greater productivity

• Better member satisfaction

• Greater employee energy and creativity

• Can decrease performance

Disadvantage:

• Groupthink: The tendency of people in cohesive groups to suppress contrary opinions

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What is Team Norm?

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Exhibit 10.4 – Two Ways Team Norms Develop

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Paired Discussion

Discuss the relationship between team cohesiveness and performance. As a leader, can you think of specific ways you would encourage norms of cohesiveness and collaboration?

Discuss

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Team Competencies

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Team Member Roles

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Paired Discussion

Think of a team that you have participated in to do a class project or a sports team on which you participated. Can you identify members who played a task specialist role and those who played a socioemotional role? What behaviours were associated with each?

Discuss

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Virtual Teams and Global Teams

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Exhibit 10.5 – Differences between Conventional, Virtual, and Global Teams

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Skills of a Successful Virtual Team Leader

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Conflict

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Types of Conflict

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Exhibit 10.6 – Balance Conflict with Cooperation

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Causes of Conflict

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Competition for resources

Different goals

Lack of clear roles and responsibilities

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Exhibit 10.7 – A Model of Styles to Handle Conflict

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Paired Discussion

What style of handling conflict do you typically use? Can you think of instances where a different style might have been more productive?

Discuss

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Negotiation

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Ways to negotiate

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Rules for Reaching a Win–Win Solution

Separate the people from the problem

Focus on underlying interests, not current demands

• Demands create yes-or-no obstacles to effective negotiation

• Underlying interests present problems that can be solved creatively

Listen and ask questions

Insist that results be based on objective standards

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Paired Discussion

If you were the leader of a team developing a new computer game, how might you apply negotiation to resolve a conflict between two strong- willed members related to which features to include in the game?

Discuss

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Case Study

Decision time

Page 319

Case posted on LEO

In your groups answer all

questions!

Leading Teams