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8 Group Interventions

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Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

• Identify interventions that OD consultants use to build highly functioning groups and teams.

• Identify situations in which diversity and inclusion interventions are warranted and describe various interventions.

• Recognize when individuals or teams are in conflict and discuss different interventions for resolving the conflict.

• Explain how problem solving and decision making are handled in organizations.

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AutoMark, an automotive parts maker, needed to radically change the sound system it had produced for years. Fast-changing technology and computer advances had made even relatively new vehicular sound systems obsolete. Producing a new sound system posed a host of challenges: designing the component, ensuring compatibility with other components and systems in the vehicle, and communicating across several functional areas, including design, manufacturing, engineering, and the union. AutoMark’s general manager, David, was new and had inherited a business with a long history of botching new system launches: They were chronically late, over budget, and under quality specifications. David had recently been exposed to OD in his evening MBA courses and was anxious to see if he could change AutoMark’s track record with the new sound system rollout.

David contacted the company’s internal OD person, Anne, to see what could be done about the anticipated sound system launch. After completing the action research steps to discover the problems, they determined that the team involved had to be more cross-functional and that the team members lacked the requisite skills to pull off a successful launch. They decided to put a new team in charge of the launch.

The new team was composed of representatives from design, manufacturing, engineering, and the union. The team’s first meeting consisted of a charge to alter the way AutoMark handled new system launches. The team members established roles, ground rules, and a clear purpose statement for their work. They agreed it would be beneficial to build the team’s skills, and so, with Anne’s help, they planned a retreat to set themselves up for success.

The retreat was held the following month at an off-site location. Everyone on the team had taken a DiSC assess- ment (see Chapter 7); those results were shared with the team so individuals could begin to appreciate their differences and communicate effectively with each other. The team members engaged in activities to help build cohesion and understanding. They learned new skills for managing difficult conversations and for listening during disagreements. They also learned a new problem-solving model and reviewed quality standards to make sure these issues were consistently considered in their process. Finally, they revisited their original purpose, ground rules, and roles to see if these needed to be altered based on their work over the past month.

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On its retreat, AutoMark engaged in activities that built teamwork and communication. What activi- ties would you recommend for encouraging team cohesion?

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The retreat was a success, and the group dove into its work. The group was highly functioning, based on its up-front investment to establish a functional, collaborative team. During the first few meetings there were some moments of confusion; people were not sure of the key goal, and at times roles and responsibilities were not clear. But the group was able to resolve each of these issues. So far, the team was ahead of schedule on making decisions and getting approvals on the new sound system’s design. As the launch date got closer, the team members were under increasing stress and some began to experience conflict. Meetings were getting bogged down by disagreements; people argued over decisions, and some resorted to personal attacks. Two members in particular did not like each other and usually stirred things up for the rest of the team.

David became increasingly concerned that the disagreements were sapping too much time and energy from the team. He decided to intervene and called the two instigators into a meeting, where he could mediate the dispute. Anne facilitated the conversation, since she was a neutral party. The two team members aired their grievances and were eventually able to identify common ground and problem solve their issues.

The team went on to complete its work after the midpoint intervention. Using a deliberate team process helped the team turn the launch process around with an on-time, under-budget, and superior-quality product.

This book has focused on undertaking OD using the action research model. We have moved through the three action research phases of planning, doing, and evaluating. This chapter is devoted to profiling several interventions that might be appropriate at the group or team levels of analysis and assumes you have followed the action research process up to the point of inter- vention and carefully selected an intervention in collaboration with the client (see Table 5.1).

Interventions are generally decided during the discovery or planning that occurs in phase 1 of the action research model. They are implemented in phase 2, doing or action, and assessed in phase 3, checking or evaluating. Chapter 5 defined OD interventions as the actions taken on the problem or issue that is the focus of the OD process. Intervention is the culmination of the OD process—it is what OD intends to do from the start.

The interventions covered in this chapter are not comprehensive, but rather representative of the many options available. This book could include dozens, as the range and potential of OD interventions are nearly endless. Rather than get lost in a sea of interventions, this chapter presents some of the most common group and team interventions (see Table 7.2).

Human interactions tend to be messy and unpredictable, and groups have fascinating dynam- ics as they negotiate roles, differences, work practices, power relations, and tasks. OD con- sultants commonly address the challenges that arise in groups with interventions to improve group or team process and development, increase diversity and inclusion, manage conflict, and solve problems and make decisions. The interventions within each of these categories are summarized in Table 8.1 and are profiled in this section.

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Table 8.1: Categories of group or team OD intervention

Group or team pro- cess and development

Diversity and inclusion Conflict management

Problem solving and decision making

• Dialogue • Team life cycle • Team start-up or

transition • Team building • Team learning • Virtual teams

• Cultural awareness • Cross-cultural

development

• Conflict resolution • Confrontation

meetings • Third-party

intervention • Appreciative inquiry

• Work-Out • Total quality man-

agement (TQM) • Quality of work life

(QWL) • Problem-solving

models

8.1 Group or Team Process and Development Although the terms group and team are often used interchangeably, they have different defini- tions. Suppose a group of people gets on an elevator. A team emerges in the event the elevator gets stuck. A group usually consists of three or more people that may share common percep- tions, motivations, goals, or organization membership. In the case of the elevator, the group shares the common goal of traveling to a different floor. When the elevator becomes stuck, the group is suddenly transformed into a team. These team members not only share a common goal (getting out of the elevator) but must work together to achieve it. The difference is subtle, but important for understanding group dynamics. Table 8.2 contrasts groups and teams.

Table 8.2: Contrasting groups and teams

Groups Teams

1. Compete against each other 2. Seek personal agendas 3. Are staid and stodgy 4. Make decisions independently 5. Are motivated by fear 6. Fail to connect teamwork with success 7. Operate dependently or independently 8. Tolerate each other and the work 9. Accept complacency with no sense of urgency

10. Avoid risk

1. Compete outward together 2. Share a team agenda 3. Value innovation and continuous improvement 4. Make decisions participatively 5. Are motivated by opportunity 6. Link team success to organization success 7. Work Interdependently 8. Enjoy each other and the work 9. Embrace sense of urgency

10. Thrive on challenge, take risks

Because an organization’s work is largely carried out by teams whose members have to coop- erate, create, and collaborate, helping members build these interpersonal skills and the infra- structure in which they are supported can boost the organization’s ability to accomplish its mission. Building capacity in group or team process and development is important to ensure that new groups or teams start off on the right foot, as well as to strengthen established groups or teams that are embroiled in conflict, unproductive, or lacking focus. This section features some interventions that OD consultants use to build highly functioning groups and teams.

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Dialogue

Can you recall a conversation in which each person aggressively advocated a point and tried to convince everyone to agree? What was the outcome? Such win–lose conversations do not usually result in constructive outcomes or new learning for the participants, yet they are diffi- cult to avoid. Just turn on your television or radio, listen to politicians, or attend a meeting for numerous examples of such point–counterpoint discussion, which is often heated. This type of communication is a discussion, the dominant form of discourse in U.S. culture that gener- ally involves participants aggressively advocating their own point of view.

“The word discussion stems from the Latin discutere, which meant “to smash to pieces’” (Senge, Kleiner, Roberts, Ross, & Smith, 1994, p. 353). The term is also related to the words percussion and concussion, with the general meaning of heaving back and forth to beat the opponent down and prove a point in a win–lose confrontation. Discussion promotes group fragmentation and wars of advocacy between members. Linguist Deborah Tannen (1999) refers to this conversational crisis as the “Argument Culture,” in which communication is focused on confrontational discourse; it is a win–lose proposition for individuals caught in this vicious conversational cycle.

Alternatively, you can probably recall really invigo- rating, exciting conversations in which each par- ticipant built on the points being made and people were open to questioning their viewpoints, learn- ing from each other, and changing their minds. This type of inquiry-based discourse is known as dialogue. Dialogue is contrasted with discussion as its polar opposite and recommended by Tannen (1999) and others (Ellinor & Gerard, 1998; Isaacs, 1999; Senge et al., 1994) as an alternative commu- nication means that is focused on inquiry and learn- ing, rather than advocacy of a certain position.

Dialogue is rooted in the Greek words dia (meaning “through” or “with each other”) and logos (meaning “the word”) (Senge et al., 1994, p. 353). Together, dia logos means “through meaning.” It can be thought of as meaning that flows through a group of people, where new understandings and ideas emerge. Whereas discussion is advocacy-based, dialogue is inquiry based. The goal is not to find the right answer, but rather to examine multiple perspectives surrounding an issue that would not have been possible through individual reflection or discussion. Dialogue is the collective engagement in reflective practice, discussed in Chapter 1 of this

book. Effective OD consultants hone their dialogue skills and use them across all interven- tions. Dialogue is an effective team process because it requires individuals to slow down and listen to each other. The AutoMark team learned this skill, and it helped them converse about complicated issues that crossed several people’s functional territory. Being skilled at dialogue will also help individuals and teams better apply other interventions.

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You probably engage in true dialogue more often with friends than cowork- ers. Why is dialogue important in OD?

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Why Do OD Consultants Advocate Dialogue? Throughout the action research process, consultants help clients adopt new behaviors, learn new ways of listening and speaking, and cultivate new tools for bridging understanding and dealing with disagreement. Because win–lose conversation is so prevalent in U.S. culture, engaging in dialogue is a major change for most organization members. They need training in how to dialogue, ideally at the beginning of the action research process so that it can serve the team as it navigates the challenges of implementing change.

Dialogue helps consultants achieve multiple interventions such as listening, problem solv- ing, decision making, strategic planning, talent management, and more. Specific benefits of dialogue include

• conversing in ways that help clients think and reflect differently, • asking good questions that advance the conversation, • using new knowledge created from the conversation, • engaging in questioning that informs better decision making and action, • sharing broader and deeper feedback than a back-and-forth discussion would yield, • steering members away from argumentation and toward deeper inquiry that probes

and challenges ideas, • shifting away from unconditional acceptance of dominant ideas, and • creating an atmosphere that is tough on the issues and easy on the people.

How Do OD Consultants Help Facilitate Dialogue? Dialogue is not easy. It requires new listening and conversing, which for most people means changing lifelong bad habits. There are several ways to use dialogue. Some guidelines for achieving a dialogue that is inquiry-based include the following:

• Situate participants in a barrier-free circle (e.g., no tables). This configuration physi- cally removes obstacles and creates a more vulnerable space for the dialogue.

• Ask participants to suspend assumptions and certainties. This means that everyone willingly questions their own ideas and beliefs, as well as those of others.

• Listen. This is more important than talking. There are several ways an OD consultant can promote listening: a. Use a “talking stick.” Provide a stick, ball, or some other artifact that signals the

right to speak. Participants must have possession of the talking stick to speak. b. Blindfold participants to remove nonverbal cues that people use to dominate

conversation. c. Involve all participants in monitoring listening and confronting bad listening

behaviors such as interrupting or signaling to speak before the speaker has finished.

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FORMING • Group members get familiar with

each other

STORMING • Group experiences tension or

conflict in determining tasks and norms

NORMING • Group establishes working

agreements and builds produc- tive work relationships

PERFORMING • Group matures into effective

working relationships and task accomplishment

Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

• Focus on inquiry and reflection instead of decision and action. • Observe equality of members and give equal air time to everyone who desires to speak. • Respect differences. • Suspend role identification. This means that participants cannot invoke their roles in

the organization hierarchy to make points or dominate (“As the vice president, here is how I see it”). Nor can participants look to people who have certain roles and ask for guidance (“As our vice president, what do you think?”).

• Strive for learning over results. This means that the dialogue is a time to truly think about a problem. Once new knowledge is created and the dialogue ends, insight can be used to make decisions and act. Dialogue helps slow down and evaluate decisions that are poorly thought out.

• Allow speakers to talk without interrupting. This is probably the most challenging aspect of dialogue, because everyone wants to be heard and advocate their viewpoint.

• Assure confidentiality among the group. What is said in a dialogue stays in the dialogue.

Team Life Cycle

There has been an enduring interest in group dyn-amics since the advent of OD. Tuckman (1965) reviewed 55 articles dealing with stages of small group development and isolated com- monalties. From this research, he created a model of stages that groups experience in order to become high performing. He called this the group or team life cycle. Tuckman’s model laid the groundwork for understanding and researching groups and remains one of the best-known models of group development (see Figure 8.1). See if you can identify these stages in a group you belong to or apply them to the AutoMark vignette.

Later group development models have added a fifth stage, adjourning. In this stage the group disbands after it has moved through the first four stages and met its goals.

Although it is a widely used model of group development, Tuckman’s (1965) model is only one of several that have grown out of Kurt Lewin’s field theory. Lewin suggested that a group has its own psychological field or life space that consists of the group and all the variables in its environment and affects the group’s behavior (Lewin, 1947). Cum- mings and Worley (2009) proposed that group effectiveness could be judged based on the degree to which the task was accom- plished, the level of satisfaction experienced by the group members, and the viability of the group itself.

Figure 8.1: Tuckman’s stages of

group development

Tuckman’s model, which shows how groups become high performing, remains one of the best- known group development models.

FORMING • Group members get familiar with

each other

STORMING • Group experiences tension or

conflict in determining tasks and norms

NORMING • Group establishes working

agreements and builds produc- tive work relationships

PERFORMING • Group matures into effective

working relationships and task accomplishment

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Why Do OD Consultants Pay Attention to the Team Life Cycle? The team life cycle model serves multiple purposes. First, it helps the consultant observe where the group or team is in its development and plan interventions accordingly. If a team is just getting started, it is likely to be at the forming or storming stages. Agenda-driven inter- ventions are probably warranted, and when the group gets stuck storming, conflict resolution can also be helpful.

Helping team members understand the life cycle helps them recognize the challenges and conflicts that arise as normal developmental processes. This in turn helps depersonalize the difficulties associated with collective goal pursuit and allows members to focus on moving to the next stage.

When managers understand the team life cycle, they can help the groups and teams they manage through more effective decision making, problem solving, and conflict resolution.

How Do OD Consultants Help Clients Learn About the Team Life Cycle? An effective way to teach the team life cycle is through an experiential activity. A popular one is the Tinkertoy activity:

1. Organize the team into groups of about four to six people (depending on the size of the group).

2. Give each group a bag of Tinkertoys. They should have the same number and type of pieces in each bag, or give each group their own container.

3. Each group is given the following instructions: a. Build the tallest freestanding tower with the materials provided. b. Groups have 20 minutes to plan and 40 seconds to build. c. Pieces cannot be connected during planning (they will be removed by the

facilitator).

4. Facilitators serve as timekeepers. 5. All pieces are returned to the bag or container before building. 6. Construction must stop when the time limit is reached. 7. Once the activity ends, debrief around the stages of the team life cycle and help par-

ticipants see how they moved through the stages.

There are dozens of such activities available to help develop teams. Find some resources you are comfortable using and become familiar with them.

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Team Start-Up or Transition

Helping a team get off to a positive and productive start requires support from the beginning. It is common for organizations to set high expectations for teams without giving them the support or training needed to be high-functioning; they then wonder why a team could not produce. Effective team-based OD interventions set teams up for success, whether they are new or already exist.

Why Do OD Consultants Facilitate Team Start-Up? Giving teams a strong foundation at their formation helps them build the capacity to do what is expected of them. At a minimum, new or transitioning teams should be given a clear goal and the necessary resources to accomplish it. They also need training on the team life cycle and the tools for moving through the stages. Providing the team with training and a structure for effective meetings helps them make good use of their time together. Topics to explore to help the team get off on the right foot might include

• the team life cycle; • a change model (such as Lewin’s unfreezing, moving, and refreezing); • a problem-solving model; • meeting-effectiveness tips; and • team-building exercises.

How Do OD Consultants Do Team Start-Up? Some key steps to follow include the following:

1. Establish a clear goal or charge for the team. 2. Create roles (e.g., facilitator, note taker, process observer). 3. Rotate roles. 4. Identify members’ communication expectations and needs. 5. Develop ground rules. 6. Create agendas for meetings. 7. Use tools to enhance meeting facilitation, such as decision-making and consensus

procedures. 8. Evaluate team process on an ongoing basis.

Which of these start-up strategies were in place for the AutoMark vignette?

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Team Building

A common OD intervention is team building; that is, training and other activities that help teams perform more efficiently and effectively. This type of activity can also be used for team start-up. McGregor (1960) defined effective teams as those that

1. foster a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere, 2. clearly understand and accept their tasks, 3. are able to engage in dialogue and effective listening behaviors, 4. are tough on the issues and easy on each other, 5. use consensus decision making, and 6. complete their actions.

Why Do OD Consultants Do Team Building? Team-building OD interventions are centered on helping members move through the stages of group development (Tuckman, 1965) and on helping the team settle on task roles, goals, relationship build- ing, group process, and activities to ensure smooth functioning. Team building is often accomplished through training and ongoing process checks as the team works on its activities. Specifically, team building can facilitate

• improved morale and leadership skills among team members,

• the elimination of barriers that thwart creativity and collaboration,

• the definition of clear objectives and goals, • improved processes and procedures, • improved productivity and results, • targeting and eliminating team weak-

nesses, and • building up team strengths.

How did these strategies play out in the AutoMark vignette?

saovadee/iStock/Thinkstock

Team building strengthens the team’s relationships and members’ under- standings of roles and responsibilities.

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

How Do OD Consultants Do Team Building? A successful team is only as good as its members, so following the team start-up tips will get the team primed to build deeper relationships. Burn (2004) suggested that skilled team members

• Develop norms and roles compatible with team success. • Build a group with norms of cooperation. • Make status assignments based on specific-status characteristics. • Minimize status differences. • Engage in constructive controversy. • Use constructive confrontation when group norms are violated. • Establish a supportive communication climate. • Recognize the benefits of member diversity. • Create a superordinate (shared) group identity. • Use group goal setting. • Rely on explicit coordination and pre-planning. • Persuade members that their contributions are needed, noticed and valued. • Tie valued individual outcomes to group outcomes. • Balance task and socioemotional leadership. • Choose discussion and decision-making procedures that prevent domination by a few

members and ensure that all relevant information and perspectives are considered (p. 389).

Consultants need to monitor the team and adjust interventions according to its needs.

Team Learning

Team learning is distinct from team building in that it strives to “transform conversational and collective thinking skills, so that groups of people can reliably develop intelligence and ability greater than the sum of individual members’ talents” (Senge et al., 1994, p. 6). Team learning emerged out of the learning organization movement in the 1990s. In addition to team building, team learning engages participants in the use of dialogical communication to bring assumptions to the surface and to address issues faced by the team, with the goal of collective learning.

Why Do OD Consultants Facilitate Team Learning? Usually, team learning is sought by organizations that have made a commitment to becoming a learning organization. Team learning helps teams apply dialogue and action learning to solv- ing problems encountered in the team dynamics, work projects, or change implementations.

Whereas team building improves courtesy, communication, performance, and relationships, team learning is a process of learning collectively. Team learning challenges individuals intel- lectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. It assumes self-mastery and self-knowledge while challenging members to look outward to develop shared alignment around goals and purpose.

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

How Do OD Consultants Facilitate Team Learning? Team learning adds to the team-building efforts that have likely taken place with the team. The consultant helps the team focus on its reflection in action and reflection on action through dialogue, action learning, and deliberate efforts to identify learning as it occurs while the team goes about its work, problem solving, and decision making.

To ensure that teams are prepared for learning, they need a clear purpose or goal, effective facilitation, ground rules, and dialogue skills. Usually, teams need to be trained on how to build effective skills. A common focus is on reflective practice using action learning, assump- tion testing, and mistake sharing. Members must be willing to take risks to raise difficult issues, question structures that may inhibit group or organization functioning, and enhance the group’s knowledge base and learning as a whole.

The consultant can also help team members adopt certain behaviors that help them be more effective team learners, such as

• listening to team members; • empathizing with other team members’ viewpoints; • taking interest in teammates by making eye contact, respecting them, and learning

about them; • watching nonverbal behavior (self and others); • resisting the temptation to interrupt teammates; • listening for implicit as well as explicit meaning in the team conversation; • looking for omissions in both thought and action; • affirming the speaker versus evaluating or criticizing; • paraphrasing to check for understanding; and • listening more than talking.

Virtual Teams

Organizations and people are increasingly working across the globe. Separated by time and distance, interaction must be mediated with technology, and people often work in virtual teams. Although the art of face-to-face facilitation is well developed, the art of virtual facilita- tion is in its infancy. Technologies that facilitate virtual teamwork include multiple Internet applications, videoconferencing, teleconferencing, and webcams. Engaging with others virtu- ally, with no opportunity to meet face-to-face, requires cultural awareness and effective com- munication skills.

Why Do OD Consultants Facilitate Virtual Teams? Because of the global workplace, there is a need to develop capacity for effective virtual inter- actions, and this is accomplished in the same way as traditional team building and team learn- ing. Consultants can help virtual participants be better virtual citizens and help virtual facili- tators be effective in that context.

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

How Do OD Consultants Facilitate Virtual Teams? Consultants can coach individuals to be good virtual team members. Being a good virtual team member involves the following behaviors:

• Be timely. If team members cannot be on time for the meeting, they should let the organizer know in advance. It is just as disrespectful to be virtually late as it is to be physically late.

• All members should plan to take necessary breaks prior to the meeting. Virtual meetings tend to be efficient, so it can waste everyone’s time if members step away from the session for various reasons. When team members must step away from the meeting, they should let the attendees or organizer know, preferably via an online chat feature.

• Always be professional. Even though team members may be at home or communi- cate solely via an audio feed, they should assume the same behavior they would in a boardroom. No one wants to hear what their children, cats, or dogs are doing.

• Do not do other work during the meeting. All team members’ input is valued, and the attendees are counting on everyone’s thoughts and contributions.

• Actively participate. • If participants are presenting slides or sharing other kinds of information, they

should practice prior to the meeting. • Follow the same respectful behaviors you would in person:

1. Do not interrupt. 2. Listen intently. 3. Stay on topic.

Table 8.3 provides strategies for dealing with the challenges that arise from facilitating a vir- tual team. It is based on research by Mittleman, Briggs, and Nunamaker (2000).

Table 8.3: Challenges and strategies for facilitating virtual teams

Challenge Strategies

Following virtual meetings is difficult for partici- pants who may do unrelated tasks, arrive late, leave early, or disappear for long periods.

• Provide explicit preplanning instructions includ- ing prework, timed agendas, and the meeting’s purpose and objectives.

• Encourage interest and make it personal. Contact participants individually in advance of the meet- ing to confirm their participation and discuss their interests.

• Create a scorecard. Use an electronic meeting platform to identify where you are in the agenda and who is participating.

• Distinguish transitions from one topic to another to keep the team focused.

• Clarify the intended outcome(s) for each agenda item (discussion, decision, action, etc.).

(continued)

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Section 8.1Group or Team Process and Development

Challenge Strategies

Virtual teams receive minimal feedback on the meeting’s progress and process.

• The facilitator should periodically offer and solicit feedback.

• Engage in frequent process checks on the meet- ing (“Are we on task?” “Mark, are you still with us?” “Is there any concern about this course of action?”).

• Invite feedback via the meeting platform, e-mail, or online chat.

Participants forget who is attending the meeting. • Use names during the meeting. The facilitator can use them or ask people to clarify their name before they speak.

• Provide frequent reminders of who is in the meeting (or use a meeting platform that lists attendees).

• Distribute short biographies and photos of attendees.

Virtual team building is challenging. • Follow the best practices for team building already discussed in this chapter.

• Ensure the team has a clear goal. • Meet face-to-face when possible, especially when

the team is forming. • Create breaks, particularly for long sessions, that

promote team bonding on nonwork topics like the weather, interests, hobbies, and so forth.

Technology is great when it works, but. . . • Be patient and assume people are on a learning curve with their technology.

• Have a backup plan. • Have technical support ready to assist if needed. • Have a plan for reconnecting if the technology

must be reestablished. • Introduce new technology on an as-needed basis.

Communicate effectively, virtually. • Exchange dialogue and conversation rather than listen to lengthy one-way presentations.

• Speak clearly and into the microphone when you have the floor.

• Mute your sound when you are not speaking.

Making decisions can be more difficult virtually. • Plan decision-making procedures (consensus, vote, etc.).

• Conduct process checks to find out where people are in the process.

Table 8.3: Challenges and strategies for facilitating virtual teams (continued)

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Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

8.2 Diversity and Inclusion Interventions The U.S. workforce is diverse and changing. There are more women employed than ever before, racial and ethnic minorities will soon surpass whites in numbers, and the workforce is aging. Diversity commonly refers to a heterogeneous group—one in which members differ in gender, race, age, religion, or sexuality. A more useful definition of diversity for OD consul- tants is “those individual differences that are socially and historically sig- nificant and which have resulted in dif- ferences in power and privilege inside as well as outside of organizations; namely race, gender, and sexuality” (Thomas, 2005, p. 9).

Tim Robbins/Mint Images RF/Getty Images

Promoting diversity and inclusion helps an orga- nization build a stronger workforce that is more equipped to excel in global markets.

Take Away 8.1: Group or Team Process and Development • Using the inquiry-based discourse of dialogue (instead of discussion) promotes

learning and understanding among team members. • The team life cycle represents the various stages teams undergo as they form and

develop procedures and working relationships. The stages are forming, storming, norming, and performing (and sometimes adjourning).

• Team start-up or transition helps acclimate teams to new members or new challenges by establishing clear goals, providing training, creating support structures (e.g., facilitation guidelines, meeting structures, problem-solving procedures), and evaluating progress.

• Team building is the process of helping teams perform more effectively and efficiently via relationship-building and team-management procedures (e.g., clear roles and responsibilities).

• Team learning attempts to harness the team’s knowledge and use action learning to address challenges and problems.

• Virtual teams use technology to mediate their communication and work; they are increasingly common and important for organizations to compete and accomplish in global markets.

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Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

Thomas (2005) identifies several challenges associated with leading modern, diverse organi- zations. These include attempting to understand

• the differences between how work used to be accomplished and how it will change with an increasingly diverse environment; and

• the legal, ethical, and day-to-day issues that arise from employing a more diverse workforce comprised of immigrants, racial and ethnic minorities, women, older work- ers, sexual minorities, and the disabled.

Thomas (2005) asserts that a goal for OD is “to maximize the beneficial aspects of diversity for organizations and for individuals while minimizing and perhaps preventing any nega- tive challenges of that same diversity” (p. 3). She further emphasizes that those trained in the organizational sciences are uniquely qualified to address diversity issues by monitoring selection and placement, training and development, organization development, performance measurement, and quality of work life. OD consultants can help ensure that the dynamic com- plexity of diversity is respected in policy development and workplace practices that are fair, equitable, and sensitive.

OD consultants must be sensitive to diversity issues, regardless of whether their interventions currently address an issue related to diversity. Although this book discusses diversity inter- ventions under group-based OD, it is important to note that such interventions may occur at any level and will often be implemented across multiple levels simultaneously.

Case Study: Diversity and Inclusion

Over several decades, TechCo has built a reputation for its commitment to recruiting and developing a diverse workforce. But recently that reputation has slipped. About 5 years ago, the company underwent a top leadership transition. The new CEO dropped diversity and inclusion from its strategic goals because, in his words, “TechCo has already accomplished outstanding diversity and the infrastructure exists to sustain it.”

What the CEO did not anticipate was that TechCo’s competitors would expand their efforts to become more diverse and inclusive organizations. The top employees of TechCo are now being avidly recruited by these competitor organizations, and some begin to jump ship—particularly women and people of color—because they see more promising opportunities to work in organizations that appear to value diversity more than TechCo. Meanwhile, TechCo is falling behind in its strategy and ability to do realistic succession planning for future leadership. As management becomes less diverse, so does its recruitment pool and talent development.

Today TechCo’s top leadership is approximately 90% White and male. Competing firms have much higher percentages of female, African American, Latino, and Asian executives. Few TechCo employees participate in affinity groups (e.g., women leaders, LGBTQ support groups, African American leaders, etc.), whereas its competition has doubled these types of supports.

(continued)

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Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

TechCo needs an intervention, and fast. Its lack of diversity at the top of the organization and absence of a plan to resolve the problem could spell long-term disaster in its ability to recruit and retain the best people and remain competitive in its markets.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What immediate steps can TechCo take to address its problems with diversity and inclusion?

2. What mid- to long-term steps do you recommend TechCo take to become a more diverse and inclusive organization?

Case Study: Diversity and Inclusion (continued)

Cultural Awareness

A first step for group members to more competently deal with diversity and inclusion is to gain cultural awareness, which is becoming conscious of and appreciating the differences between the characteristics of your own and other cultures.

Why Do OD Consultants Promote Cultural Awareness? Groups with low levels of cultural awareness will likely experience more conflict and less productivity than groups that exhibit consciousness of and appreciation for other cultures. Groups with low cultural awareness may be candidates for interventions to increase their cultural learning. These include the following:

• Practicing reflection, which can help group members examine how their own culture differs from others.

• Assessing values, which allows group members to compare what they value with others and tie values to cultural differences. For example, some cultures place a high value on punctuality, whereas others do not. The punctual culture may view lateness as rudeness without considering cultural meanings of time.

• Encouraging dialogue with people from different cultures. Dialogue, as has been discussed, creates a format for communication that builds inquiry and reflection into the exchange, making it an ideal way to learn about other cultures.

• Participating on diverse teams, which creates the opportunity to focus on achieving tasks and problem solving with people from different backgrounds.

• Encouraging group members to share information about their culture with others.

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Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

How Do OD Consultants Promote Cultural Awareness? One way to measure group members’ cultural awareness is by administering a cultural intelli- gence quotient (or CQ) assessment, such as the one shown in Figure 8.2 (Earley & Ang, 2003). The assessment measures four distinct CQ capabilities:

1. CQ drive (motivation): interest in and confidence at functioning effectively in cultur- ally diverse settings;

2. CQ knowledge (cognition): knowledge of how cultures are similar and different; 3. CQ strategy (metacognition): how someone makes sense of culturally diverse experi-

ences; and 4. CQ action (behavior): capability to adapt behavior to different cultures (Livermore,

2010).

OD consultants can also roughly gauge CQ by observing people while keeping in mind these four capabilities.

There are multiple cultural interventions; consultants should build skill in this area via read- ing and additional training or bring in experts in the area.

Cross-Cultural Development

Cross-cultural competence is what defines an employee who manages international business operations. Such an employee is often referred to as a global manager, international manager, or global leader (Ramburuth & Welch, 2005). Educating people to engage cross-culturally involves cross-cultural development. Preparing teams to engage cross-culturally is cross-cultural team building. These are similar interventions; that is, the distinctions pertain more to the type of work group than the specific skills developed.

McLean (2006) lamented that much cross-cultural development is inadequate because it focuses more on the do’s and don’ts of traveling in certain places, versus building the competency to productively engage cross-culturally, appreciate difference, and resolve conflict. Cross-cultural development is often short on actual experiences that build cultural competence.

Figure 8.2: Cultural intelligence scale—self-report

While consultants can gauge CQ by observing, there are more formal methods of assessing it, such as this self-report scale.

Source: Cultural Intelligence Center.

Read each statement and select the response that best describes your capabilities. Select the answer that BEST describes you AS YOU REALLY ARE (1=strongly disagree; 7=strongly agree)

CQ Factor Questionnaire Items

Motivational CQ: (CQ Drive)

_____ MOT1 I enjoy interacting with people from different cultures. _____ MOT2 I am confident that I can socialize with locals in a culture that is unfamiliar to me. _____ MOT3 I am sure I can deal wth the stresses of adjusting to a culture that is new to me. _____ MOT4 I enjoy living in cultures that are unfamiliar to me. _____ MOT5 I am confident that I can get accustomed to the shopping conditions in a different

culture.

Cognitive CQ: (CQ Knowledge)

_____ COG1 I know the legal and economic systems of other cultures. _____ COG2 I know the rules (e.g., vocabulary, grammar) of other languages. _____ COG3 I know the cultural values and religious beliefs of other cultures. _____ COG4 I know the marriage systems of other cultures. _____ COG5 I know the arts and crafts of other cultures. _____ COG6 I know the rules for expressing nonverbal behaviors in other cultures.

Metacognitive CQ: (CQ Strategy)

_____ MC1 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural backgrounds.

_____ MC2 I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.

_____ MC3 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross-cultural interactions. _____ MC4 I check the accuracy of my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from

different cultures.

Behavioral CQ: (CQ Action)

_____ BEH1 I change my verbal behavior (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.

_____ BEH2 I use pause and silence differently to suit different cross-cultural situations. _____ BEH3 I vary the rate of my speaking when a cross-cultural situation requires it. _____ BEH4 I change my nonverbal behavior when a cross-cultural situation requires it. _____ BEH5 I alter my facial expressions when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.

Tips and Wisdom

Refer to the U.S. Department of State’s website for useful information relating to traveling and doing business globally (http://www.state.gov/misc/list/index.htm).

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http://www.state.gov/misc/list/index.htm

Read each statement and select the response that best describes your capabilities. Select the answer that BEST describes you AS YOU REALLY ARE (1=strongly disagree; 7=strongly agree)

CQ Factor Questionnaire Items

Motivational CQ: (CQ Drive)

culture.

Cognitive CQ: (CQ Knowledge)

Metacognitive CQ: (CQ Strategy)

_____ MC1 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural backgrounds.

_____ MC2 I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.

_____ MC3 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross-cultural interactions. _____ MC4 I check the accuracy of my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from

different cultures.

Behavioral CQ: (CQ Action)

_____ BEH1 I change my verbal behavior (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.

Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

1. CQ drive (motivation): interest in and confidence at functioning effectively in cultur- ally diverse settings;

2. CQ knowledge (cognition): knowledge of how cultures are similar and different; 3. CQ strategy (metacognition): how someone makes sense of culturally diverse experi-

ences; and 4. CQ action (behavior): capability to adapt behavior to different cultures (Livermore,

2010).

OD consultants can also roughly gauge CQ by observing people while keeping in mind these four capabilities.

There are multiple cultural interventions; consultants should build skill in this area via read- ing and additional training or bring in experts in the area.

Cross-Cultural Development

Figure 8.2: Cultural intelligence scale—self-report

While consultants can gauge CQ by observing, there are more formal methods of assessing it, such as this self-report scale.

Source: Cultural Intelligence Center.

Read each statement and select the response that best describes your capabilities. Select the answer that BEST describes you AS YOU REALLY ARE (1=strongly disagree; 7=strongly agree)

CQ Factor Questionnaire Items

Motivational CQ: (CQ Drive)

culture.

Cognitive CQ: (CQ Knowledge)

Metacognitive CQ: (CQ Strategy)

_____ MC1 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I use when interacting with people with different cultural backgrounds.

_____ MC2 I adjust my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from a culture that is unfamiliar to me.

_____ MC3 I am conscious of the cultural knowledge I apply to cross-cultural interactions. _____ MC4 I check the accuracy of my cultural knowledge as I interact with people from

different cultures.

Behavioral CQ: (CQ Action)

_____ BEH1 I change my verbal behavior (e.g., accent, tone) when a cross-cultural interaction requires it.

Tips and Wisdom

Refer to the U.S. Department of State’s website for useful information relating to traveling and doing business globally (http://www.state.gov/misc/list/index.htm).

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http://www.state.gov/misc/list/index.htm

Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

Why Do Consultants Promote Cross-Cultural Development? Cross-cultural development is important for a workforce that is more culturally diverse and mobile than ever before. Organizations benefit in myriad ways from hiring diverse, culturally savvy personnel who can relate to diverse work groups, customers, and suppliers. Unfortu- nately, few companies mange cross-cultural training well.

Organizations that send employees abroad to work take significant risks. First, it costs about 3 times an employee’s annual salary to send her or him abroad. Given that 30% to 40% of international assignments end prematurely, often because the cultural adjustment fails, it is worthwhile to help employees engage new cultures. Further, more than half of expatri- ated executives do not remain with their companies after an overseas assignment. In addi- tion, international joint ventures have poor success rates, making it even more important to develop cultural understanding.

In spite of the high failure rate of cultural ventures, fewer than half of expatriated employees are given formalized cross-cultural training. Not surprisingly, fewer than half are also unable to manage cultural differences when they are sent abroad. The employee’s family typically receives even less assistance.

How Do OD Consultants Facilitate Cross-Cultural Development? Cross-cultural development should emp-hasize key competencies needed by global leaders and teams. These include skills, traits, and knowledge across four dimensions (Ramburuth & Welch, 2005):

1. Cultural sensitivity and awareness; this involves awareness of how your own culture affects your behavior and shapes your beliefs (Lane, Maznevski, Dietz, & DiStefano, 2012).

2. Knowledge of other cultures and countries, including their norms, behaviors, cul- tural symbols, rituals, and belief systems (Hofstede, 2001).

3. Concrete business skills that help manage cultural differences, including cross-cultural negotiating, cross-cultural conflict resolution, and cross-cultural teamwork (Laughton & Ottewill, 2000).

4. Personal characteristics that support productive cross-cultural interactions such as emotional intelligence, psychological maturity, and the ability to manage cognitive complexity (Saghafi, 2001).

Tips and Wisdom

Cross-cultural training resources from the U.S. Department of State: a compilation of cultural training program providers from around the globe. This list is useful whether you are seeking a consultant or seeking to find employers of consultants (http://www.state.gov/m /fsi/tc/79756.htm).

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Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

Other traits important to cross-cultural competence include tolerance, persistence, flexibility, self-esteem, self-questioning, and openness to learning and growth (Cui & Awa, 1992; Rhine- smith, 1996).

Tips and Wisdom

Games and simulations are a fun and effective way to introduce issues of cultural awareness and intercultural communications. The games and simulations on this site were compiled by the Intercultural Studies Project: http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/resources/exercises.html.

Assessment: The Twenty Statements Test

The Twenty Statements Test (TST) (Kuhn & McPartland, 1954) is a long-standing psychological and social psychological assessment that asks participants to reflect on their sense of self by providing answers to 20 questions that ask the participant, “Who am I?”

Effective cross-cultural development involves creating experiences ahead of time in which participants can experience some of the challenges and emotions that may arise in an unfa- miliar culture. Simply creating opportunities for the employee to interact with people from different cultures can also help. OD interventions that can provide such experiences will promote more cross-cultural exchange. Examples of effective cross-cultural development include the following:

• Engage in self-awareness reflective activities such as the Twenty Statements Test (see the assessment box below).

• Create simulations that “plunge students into a state of uncertainty and confronta- tion, yet discovery and excitement that evokes the sensation of culture shock” (Ram- buruth & Welch, 2005, p. 11). A popular cultural simulation is the game Bafa Bafa.

• Engage in multicultural teamwork. • Perform case studies. • Engage in immersion experiences or exchange programs.

(continued)

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http://www.carla.umn.edu/culture/resources/exercises.html

There are 20 numbered blanks on the page below. Write 20 different answers to the question “Who am I?” in these blanks. Answer as if you were talking to yourself, not another person. There are no right or wrong answers. Simply write things down in the order that they occur to you.

WHO AM I?

1 . ______________________________________________________________________

2 . ______________________________________________________________________

3 . ______________________________________________________________________

4 . ______________________________________________________________________

5 . ______________________________________________________________________

6 . ______________________________________________________________________

7 . ______________________________________________________________________

8 . ______________________________________________________________________

9 . ______________________________________________________________________

10 . ______________________________________________________________________

11 . ______________________________________________________________________

12 . ______________________________________________________________________

13 . ______________________________________________________________________

14 . ______________________________________________________________________

15 . ______________________________________________________________________

16 . ______________________________________________________________________

17 . ______________________________________________________________________

18 . ______________________________________________________________________

19 . ______________________________________________________________________

20 . ______________________________________________________________________

Section 8.2Diversity and Inclusion Interventions

Answers usually reflect the various roles participants play and give clues to their culture. The assessment is simple to administer; an example is provided for you to try (see Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3: Twenty Statements Test