SPC 3425- Evaluation

Welcome to Chapter 8 of In Mixed Company! This chapter discusses developing effective teams. You have already worked on a team and will in the future so it’s important to understand team dynamics.

We’ll begin by discussing the differences between groups and teams. Keep in mind that all teams are groups but not all groups are teams. The text defines a team “as a small number of people with complementary skills who act as an interdependent unit, are equally committed to a common mission, subscribe to a cooperative approach to accomplish that mission, and hold themselves accountable for team performance.” There are a few concepts in this definition to break down.

Teams require more cooperation than some groups. Think about any sports team. Without cooperation, the team is less likely to win the game. Teams also have collaborative interdependence, which means that team members use their strengths and work together to achieve a common goal (i.e. win the game). Next, teams typically have members with unique and diverse skill sets. Think of the many positions on a football team. You need people to fill each position and those who fill one position may not do well in another. In this way teams need complementary skills. You don’t want all members of a team to be good in only one area. The team won’t win that way. We often see that team members have a stronger team identity than groups. Think about a team you’ve been on versus the group you’re in for this course. You may feel more of sense of belonging than to your group. My hope is that as you work together in your group, you begin to feel some of these characteristics present in teams!

Now that we’ve defined teams, let’s take a look at team members and their characteristics. Effective team members have a good attitude about working as a team. Team members with cynical attitudes can detail a team and keep it from reaching its goals. Some other qualities than can keep teams from reaching their potential are an egocentric attitude (i.e. me, me, me) and using verbally abusive language (i.e. why are you so awful). Think back to our discussion on group climate…the bad behaviors here lead to a defensive climate instead of a supportive one! Sometimes you have to remove toxic team members if they cannot exhibit positive behaviors.

So what types of members should teams look for? There are a few qualities that are beneficial to teams. Keep in mind that teams are created differently than groups in that teams may have some sort of gatekeeping process that lets only certain people in. Think about joining a sports team. You likely have to try out. This is very different than a work group where your boss creates a small group to complete a project. Desirable qualities for team members include experience (both doing the task and working in teams), problem-solving capabilities, knowledge, and communication competence.

Now that you’ve got your team members, how do you build teamwork? First, develop team goals that are clear, cooperative, challenging, and require commitment. Make sure the goals are clear and that everyone sees the goals the same way. It’s important to make sure everyone is on the same page because not everyone interprets information the same way. If team members start their journey with seemingly different goals, the team will have some issues down the road. Goals should also be cooperative, meaning team members must work together to achieve them. A superordinate goal, which supersedes individual differences, encourages team members to work together. Next, goals should be challenging. Teams can achieve great things when they work toward a goal that demands their best. Last, set goals that require commitment. When team members are committed to reaching a goal, they will likely put their best work into it.

As I mentioned earlier, teams can have a stronger identity than groups. Teams work to build a strong identity by sharing fantasy themes, using solidarity symbols, and implementing team talk. Fantasy themes are stories that team members share with common themes that build and reinforce a team identify. A solidarity symbol is a verbal or nonverbal symbol that represents a team, like a team name, logo, color, etc. Any sports team is an example of a solidarity symbol. Team talk occurs when team members engage in “we” talk instead of talk that is geared toward the individual. For example, what can WE achieve? How can WE be the best?

Something groups and teams have in common is member roles. We discussed previously that group roles are not always explicitly doled out. For example, you may not have given each group member for this course a specific role to play. In teams, roles are more often clear and explicit. They need to be this way because the team will not function at its highest unless they are. Going back to the sports teams examples I’ve mentioned in this summary, members of a football team aren’t likely to work well together if nobody knows who the quarterback is or what play they intend to make. It is often up the team leader (in this case, the coach), to designate and clarify roles.

Another way to build teamwork is to empower the team. Empowerment has four dimensions: potency, meaningfulness, autonomy, and impact. Potency refers to the belief that team members can achieve great goals by working together. This belief can really motivate the group. Meaningfulness is the belief that the team goals are worthwhile. Autonomy is the idea that team members are free to work toward their goals without being micromanaged. Last, impact is the far-reaching effect of the team work and the belief that their work has meaning beyond just the team.

Empowerment is threatened by a traditional organizational hierarchy, where a lot of decisions come from the top down. A few attempts have been made to work around organizational hierarchies. The first was quality circles, which were composed of employees who volunteered to work on specific projects. They were not found to be successful because those at the top of the hierarchy still made the final decision based on the team’s work. Next came self-managing teams, which were given more autonomy and decision-making power. They are a good way to work around organizational hierarchies.

There are some barriers to empowering teams. First, organizations sometimes lack support needed for teams and sabotage them. For example, if an organization creates a team but doesn’t give it sufficient autonomy, it’s not enabling the team to be successful. Second, not all people prefer empowerment. Some like to be “cogs in the wheel” and be handed their tasks. Next, a team is less likely to feel empowered if they feel their decision making isn’t taken seriously by those at the top of the organization. For example, if a CEO has already made a decision and will pursue that decision even if a team advocates for a different position, the team members may feel less empowered. Last when individual effort is rewarded over team progress, team members will not feel empowered.

We’ve talked a lot about teams and working together but individual accountability is an important part of successful teamwork. Individuals have to buy into what the team is doing in order to fully contribute and they need to “carry their weight.” Teams have a minimum standard of performance in order to encourage individual accountability. The minimum standard looks different in different teams. For example, one standard for a sports team might be to arrive at practice on time and there may be consequences for arriving late.

The last set of concepts I’ll cover relate to team leadership. We talked about perspectives on leadership last chapter so I’ll approach team leadership from a broader point of view. All teams have to have a leader in order to be successful. Participative leadership works well in teams. Remember that all team members bring a unique skill set to the table and the leader can capitalize on these to lead the team to success. Team leaders have the job of developing supportive rules with team members (i.e. the rules you listed in your group contract) and implementing systematic procedures for the team (i.e. this is how we solve problem and make decisions). An egocentric leader who puts their goals before the goals of the team will drive a team into the ground and should be avoided.

That wraps up Chapter 8! Make sure to read the chapter and take notes on important information, review this week’s module, and complete the assignment/s. Thanks for reading!

Dr. Reed