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MSL 630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 1

 Teams in Organizations

 Performance and Productivity

 This course addresses the challenge associated

with leadership by exploring existing research and

theory concerning team development, team

leadership, workplace appreciation, workplace

communication, and team performance.

 Through theories and application, learning will be

enhanced by the use of computer simulations and

applied Christian worldview in order to develop a

greater understanding of leading teams.

Welcome to MSL 630 – Leading

Productive Teams

 Introduction

 Class Topics

 Class Objectives

 Lecture

Format for Unit Sessions

 Class lectures

 Hearing and seeing

 Textbook

 Reading

 Individual homework

 Analyzing

 Discussion forum

 Applying and

examining

 Completing all

components is

very important to

accomplish the

objectives of the

course.

Learning Tools

 Characteristics

 Online learners

must be highly

self-motivated.

 Online learners

must have high

responsibility for

assignments and

discussions.

 Facts

 Online learning is

not easier than

traditional

classroom learning.

 Learners must

meet deadlines.

 It’s easy to think

we’re anonymous

because there’s no

face time.

Online Learning

 Course Page

 Activities

 Individual homework

 Discussion forum

 Weekly discussions

 Media

 Module

 Handouts & links

 Class lectures

 Schedule

 Be attentive to

deadlines.

 The week (unit)

begins on Sunday

and ends on

Saturday.

 Observe

Sabbath

 Manage your

time

Tips for Success

 Communicate

 Ask questions

 Participate

 Be engaged in

discussion

 Seek handouts

 Contact the

professor with

questions or

problems

Tips for Success, cont.

 Upon completion of this course, students will:

 Develop an understanding of God’s values

for team leaders in organizations.

 Identify attributes of God-centered teams.

 Create ways to use appreciation in the

workplace to build motivation.

 Define and identify components for best

practices of productive teams.

Course Objectives

Course Objectives, cont.

 Evaluate and research team problems and

make recommendations for change.

 Apply methods for identifying perceptions and

emotions in the workplace.

 Articulate and evaluate effectiveness of

leadership practices in motivating others.

 Analyze internal and external dynamics of

teams.

 Practice effective team skills through use of

computer simulations.

 Writing Assignments  Writing assignments must be APA. Assignments are due no later

than 11:59 p.m. (CT) on Saturday (Day 7). Earlier submissions

are encouraged.

 Discussion Questions  Respond to the initial discussion questions no later than 11:59

p.m. (CT) every Wednesday. Responses to classmate’s

discussion questions are due Saturday at 11:59 p.m. 250 words

minimum for each initial post. 100 words minimum on peer

replies.

 Final Paper  The final paper is due Wednesday of unit eight (Day 4) by

11:59pm.

Summary of Assignments

 In Unit One, the Course Level Competencies are:

 Objective 1.1: Evaluate and research leadership skills as they

pertain to the professional area of interest.

 Objective 1.2: Articulate and evaluate effectiveness of

leadership practices in motivating others.

 Objective 2.1: Define and identify components of best practices

of productive teams.

 Objective 5.1: Demonstrate professional conduct in oral

communication, written communication, and punctuality.

 Objective 5.2: Identify Christian perspectives as they relate to

the course.

Unit 1 Objectives

 During Units Two, Four, and Eight we will be

coving some Bible Foundations as it relates to

leading teams.

 What does the Lord teach us about:

 Leading Others

 Instructing Others

 How we are to act

 Where we should be looking

 Begin looking up Hebrews 12:1

Biblical Foundation

MSL 630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 1.1

 Teams in Organizations

 Performance and Productivity

Teams in Organizations

 What is a team?

 A group of people who are interdependent with

respect to information, resources, and skills and who

seek to combine their efforts to achieve a common

goal.

Teams in Organizations, cont.

 Five key defining characteristics of a team:

 Teams exist to achieve a shared goal.

 Team members are interdependent regarding some

common goal.

 Teams are bounded and stable over time.

 Teams have the authority to manage their own work

and internal processes.

 Teams operate in a social system context.

Teams in Organizations, cont.

 Why should organizations have teams?

 Four challenges of the future that point to

the importance of teams:

 Information technology

 Competition

 Globalization and culture

 Multigenerational teams

Performance and Productivity

 What is the task focus of the team?

 Teams work on three types of tasks:

 Tactical teams

 Problem-solving teams

 Creative teams

Performance and Productivity, cont.

 Types of Team Autonomy

 How is authority distributed in an

organization?

 The following are four levels of team control:

 Manager-led teams

 Self-managing or self-regulating teams

 Self-directing or self-designing teams

 Self-governing teams

Performance and Productivity, cont.

 Observations about Teams and Teamwork

 Teams should be the

exception not the rule.

 Managers fault the

wrong causes for

team failure.

 Teams require

attention.

 Experimenting with

failures leads to better

teams.

 Conflict among team

members is not always bad.

 Strong leadership is not

always necessary for strong

teams.

 Good teams can still fail

under the wrong

circumstances.

 Team retreats will not fix

all conflicts between team

members.

Performance and Productivity, cont.

 What Leaders Tell Us About Their Teams

 Most common types of

teams:

• Management teams

• Cross-functional

project group

• Operations and service

 Team Size:

• Varies dramatically

• Average size: 11.75

people

• Model team size: 10

people

• Optimum size: 5 - 6

people

Performance and Productivity, cont.

 What Leaders Tell Us About Their Teams,

cont.

Performance and Productivity, cont.

 What Leaders Tell Us About Their Teams, cont.

 The most frustrating aspects of teamwork are:

 Developing and sustaining high motivation

 Minimizing confusion and/or coordination

problems

 Fostering creativity and innovation

Performance and Productivity, cont.

 Developing Your Own Team Building Skills:

 Skill 1: Accurate diagnosis of team problems

 Sampling of the dependent variable

 Hindsight bias

 Skill 2: Evidence-based management

 Based on scientific theory

 Skill 3: Expert Learning

 Single-loop versus double-loop learning

 Inert knowledge problem

Unit 1.1 Recap

 Ending 1.1 and getting into 1.2

 Team Design

 Focus will be on Goal Setting

 Selecting Team Members

MSL 630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 1.2

 Teams Design

 Defining Goals and Goal Setting

 Selecting Team Members

Team Design

 Team Design

 It is more important to have a well-designed

team than a team with a good leader.

 Three key aspects that form the internal

system of teamwork:

 Defining the goal

 Selecting the team

 Managing the process

Defining Goals and Goal Setting

 Define the Goal:

 Goal setting

 Teams that plan or develop performance strategies

usually perform better than teams who do not plan.

 Ends vs. Means

 Two common errors when goal setting :

 Launching into actions without a thoughtful

discussion of purpose.

 Excessive focus on how a team should function.

Defining Goals and Goal Setting, cont.

Defining Goals and Types of Goals

 Subjective goals: General statements of intent such

as having fun or doing your best

 Objective goals (scientific definition): Attaining a

specific standard of proficiency on a task, usually in a

specified time

 Outcome goals: Focus on a competitive result of an

event (e.g., beating someone)

Defining Goals and Goal Setting, cont.

Defining Goals and Types of Goals, cont.

 Performance goals: Focus on achieving standards of

performance or objectives independently of other

competitors—usually making comparisons with one’s

own previous performance

 Process goals: Focus on the actions an individual must

engage in during performance to execute or perform well

Defining Goals and Goal Setting, cont.

Why Goal Setting Works

 Indirect thought process view: Goals influence performance

indirectly by affecting psychological factors, such as anxiety,

confidence, and satisfaction.

 Direct mechanistic explanation: Goals…

 direct attention to the important elements of the skill

 mobilize performers’ efforts

 prolong performers’ persistence

 foster the development of new learning strategies.

Leading Teams, cont.

Why Goal Setting Works (continued)

 Goals influence psychological states:

Individuals who set performance

(rather than outcome) goals have

less anxiety and more confidence

and satisfaction.

The freedom to select team members may be constrained

in many ways from choosing who is best for their team.

Selecting Team Members

There are two key errors that leaders often make

when selecting team members:

 Make the team too big (overstaffing bias)

 Make the team homogeneous

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Optimal Team Size

Leaders consistently struggle with the question of how many

people to put on a team.

Some general rules for team size:

 Teams should be fewer than 10 members.

 Compose teams using the smallest number of people who can

do the task.

Team scaling fallacy: As a team size increases, people

increasingly underestimate the number of labor hours required to

complete a task.

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Teams that are overgrown have a number of

disadvantages:

 Less team cohesion

 Declining satisfaction with team membership

 Reduced participation in team activities

 Decreased team cooperation

 Increase in negative behavior

 Marginal productivity gains of larger groups decline as

heterogeneity increases

 Increased conformity pressure

 As the size of the teams grow, more people do less talking relative

to others

 Optimal Team Size

Advantages to smaller/understaffed teams:

 Team members work harder

 Wider variety of task engagement

 Members assume more responsibility for

team performance

 Higher team involvement

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Skills, Talents, and Abilities

The following skills are important to consider when

forming any team :

 Technical or functional expertise

 Task-management skills

 Interpersonal skills

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Roles and Responsibilities

People often assume different roles on a team:

 Organizer

 Doer

 Challenger

 Innovator

 Team builder

 Connector

 What other roles can you think of?

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Diversity

Diversity – three types:

 Social category diversity

 Value diversity

 Informational diversity

Diversity – three degrees:

 Extreme

 Moderate

 Hybrid or Faultline

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Diversity, cont.

 Objective vs. Perceived Diversity

• Objective diversity : The actual compositional

attributions of the group.

• Perceived diversity : A person’s subjective

understanding of the differences in their group.

 Diversity and Team Performance • If teams engage in reflexivity, talking about how

they work together as a team, the group can

counteract many of the negative effects of team

diversity.

Selecting Team Members, cont.

 Building a Diverse Team

• Left to their own instincts, most leaders and teams

opt for group homogeneity, not diversity.

• The optimal degree of diversity may depend on our

interpersonal congruence – the degree to which

we see ourselves as others see us.

• The fewer the number of people from a specific

social category (e.g. gender, race) on a team, the

more negative their personal experience, and the

likelihood for them to feel isolated, feel role

entrapment, and to experience performance

pressure.

Selecting Team Members, cont.

Unit 1.2 Recap

 Ending 1.2 and getting into 1.3

 Working Together

 Team Norms

 Unit Recap & Highlights

MSL630

Leading Productive Teams

Belhaven University

Unit 1.3

 Working Together

 Team Norms

 Team Coaching

 Unit Recap & Highlights

 Processes: How to Work Together

 Team Structure

• Groups with low team structure:

o Do not have set roles or routines.

o Often are allow to allocate work and

organize themselves.

• Groups with high team structure:

o Asked to assume specialized roles/distinct jobs.

o Told how to engage in the task process.

o Switching roles is usually not permitted.

Team structure refers to how the group’s processes are

articulated by team leaders and the extent to which they are

adhered to by team members.

Working Together

Attributes of team norms: • Are often informally communicated.

• Make it easier for people to respond

appropriately under new or stressful

conditions.

• Reduce team coordination problems.

 Norms are shared expectations that guide

behavior in groups.

Team Norms

• One of the best ways to counteract undesirable

norms is the early introduction of productive

norms and structures.

• When norms are left to naturally develop, the

team members who are most disruptive and

least self-conscious may set unfavorable

norms.

• The first response of a team to norm violation

is usually to attempt to correct the misbehavior

gently before moving on to more drastic

measures.

Team Norms, cont.

• Norms are often maintained over several

“generations” of team members.

• Once established, norms are not easily changed.

• Teams’ efforts to transmit their norms are particularly

strong when newcomers are involved as the members

are motivated to provide newcomers with the knowledge

they will need to be a full member of the team.

Team Norms, cont.

Team coaching – there are three distinct features

involved in coaching:

• The functions that coaching serves for a

team.

• The specific times in the task performance

process when coaching is most likely to have the

intended effects.

• The conditions under which coaching is likely to

facilitate performance.

Team Coaching

 Types of Coaching:

• Educational – focuses on ability,

knowledge, and skill.

• Motivational – focuses on how to

enhance involvement.

• Consultative – focuses on how to

best integrate members’ strengths

and abilities.

Team Coaching, cont.

For coaching to be effective, four conditions must be met:

• Team performance processes that are essential for success

must be relatively unconstrained (i.e. expertise,

engagement, execution).

• Team must be well designed and the organizational

context supportive.

• Coaching behaviors should focus on salient task

performance processes.

• Coaching interventions should be introduced when team is

ready and able to incorporate changes.

Team Coaching, cont.

 Team members cannot achieve their goals single-

handedly.

 With regard to the defining characteristics of a team, team

members do not have the authority to manage their own

work and internal processes.

 In manager-led teams, the team members: execute a

task.

 The most common type of team is a middle-management

team.

 One of the biggest threats to creative teams is the uneven

participation of members.

 Clearly defined goals are the essence of great teamwork.

Goals should be simple and specify ends, but not means.

Unit Recap: Hitting the Highlights

 A situational example of team coaching is a: product

team holds a meeting to discuss product messaging and

brand before a new product is announced in the press.

 Two key types of chronic goals are promotion goals, in

which a person attempts to achieve desired positive

outcomes and prevention goals, in which a person

attempts to avoid negative outcomes.

 Leaders consistently struggle with the question of how

many people to put on a team. As team size increases,

people increasingly underestimate the number of labor

hours required to complete projects.

Unit Recap: Hitting the Highlights, cont.

 As group size increases, conformity also

increases in a negatively accelerating

fashion, such that each additional person

who agrees with the majority has less overall

influence.

 An example of teams: A cardiac surgery

team is an example of a tactical team; the

Sandia Nuclear Weapons laboratory team is

an example of a problem-solving team.

Unit Recap: Hitting the Highlights, cont.

 Complete reading assignments

 Complete a spiritual gifts test. Use the following website to

complete this assignment. Be sure to email yourself the

results at the end as they will be used in this unit’s

assignment.

 https://spiritualgiftstest.com/my-account/

 Make sure you create an account to gain access to the test.

The test consists of over 100 questions. It is advised that you

answer the questions from your “gut” and not to spend too

much time on any one question.

 Complete writing assignments

 Describe your organization.

 Answer discussion questions

 Complete unit quiz

What’s Next?

https://spiritualgiftstest.com/my-account/

Thompson, L. L. (2016). Making the team: A guide for

managers (5th ed.). NY, NY: Pearson.

Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2012 Foundations of sport

and exercise psychology (5th ed.). Champaign, IL:

Human Kinetics.

References

Image References

[Digital image]. Retrieved from https://giphy.com/gifs/keyboard-typing-jim-

carey-3o8doZFy4iPd8VBL8I

Cats [Digital image]. Retrieved from

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cquM7S8a4n4E1LiJZseWqBK

yV__TG4NMtv6mw3ThOmF2Jyl1Zx5AFU3djoce8bxyXblj=s151

Garrett, E. [Digital images].

Thompson, L. L. (2016). Making the team: A guide for managers (5th

ed.). NY, NY: Pearson.

Weinberg, R. S., & Gould, D. (2012 Foundations of sport and exercise

psychology (5th ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.