Lesson 1 Unit 15

Unit 15: Developing Successful Business Teams

Aims
1 Understand the features of successful business teams

Objective
1.1 describe the characteristics of successful business teams 1.2 assess the importance of team roles in successful business teams 1.3 analyse the value of using theoretical models when building successful business teams

Why Teams?
1) Teams can enable the integration of diverse perspectives, skills, and knowledge

The knowledge and information necessary for innovation and successful and fast decision making requires a group of people with specialized information and expertise.

Why teams, cont.

2) Teams can increase success
Research shows that working in teams

improves the quality of outcomes when the job is complex, requires multiple skills, knowledge integration, and judgment.

Why All Teams Dont Work Well

Successful teams require more than members with common sense Most people dont change their behavior in teams because they think they already have excellent teamwork skills. Managers frequently fail to recognize their team-building responsibilities

But, Strong leadership is not always necessary for strong teams

What Matters Most in Teams

Goals and Planning

External Alliances

Culture

(What We Do & Why)

Outcome: Unified Commitment to Team Goals

Processes and Procedures

(How We Execute)
Outcome: Efficient Work Teams

Roles and Responsibilities

(Who Does What)

LEADERSHIP

Outcome: Accountability

Relationships
Outcome: Highly Productive Work Environment

(How We Work Together)

Functional Groups

Other Stakeholders

Influence of and on The External Environment

The Basic Building Blocks of a Team

GOALS ROLES PROCEDURES RELATIONSHIPS
Limited set of goals understood and shared by every team member Creates focus/clarity about why Make roles & responsibilities explicit Creates clarity about who does what?

Clear agreements on way of working together, follow-up, reporting, Creates clarity about how to do task
Respect and individual understanding & open discussions about any of the 4 building blocks Creates clarity about how we work together
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Team Approach: Outward-InwardForward

Managing the basic team process
Looking Outward: Influence of the external environment GOALS ROLES PROCEDURES RELATIONSHIPS LEADERSHIP ENVIRONMENT Looking Inward: Looking Forward: Influence on the external environment

Team Process = Goals* Roles*Procedures*Relations

Leadership

Different Types of Teams Have Different Goals

Task Force Execute work to be done; focus on planning, organization, providing feedback, problem solving, and working together to deliver the expected results

the expected results; Align and integrate the different parties and partners in order to maximize the use of available resources group strategy - create an appropriate Visioning, Developthat creates horizontal synergy amongst portfolio strategy various Strategic organization units, taking into account environmental needs Team Anticipate where the organization is heading - assess new internal or external players, explore where innovation might occur, network in order to maximize success of the core goals

Coordinating Create cross-functional processes - integrate all functions in order to get the work done; Develop new capabilities - make Team sure all the functional expertise is available to be able to deliver

Different Types of Teams Require Different Roles

Team leader Task Force Team members
Following up on the tasks of Bringing in and sharing team members and unique knowldge and skills coaching on the task Participating in the coordination process. Delivering or carrying out team decisions

Coordinating Coordinating the process and content between Team

different units

Visioning, Strategic Team

Creating a common goal between the different stakeholders

Sharing stakeholder ideas. Managing the interface

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Different Types of Teams Require Different Procedures

Task Force
Visualize the roles and tasks and define personal contributions. Define how to work together (task oriented how). Attend to the way people deal with each other operationally: Do we use each others skills appropriately? Visualise the work flow and the different interdependencies. Build up a risk chart with regard to the interdependencies and communication. Clearly define common goal and different contributions of the sub-teams. Attend to structuring and visualising the interdependency of the different groups. Define the common ground for the team. Build up a stakeholder analysis,defining the different forces on the team. Make the differences in stakes explicit. Manage the short term tensions vs the long term common benefits. Support the interaction process continuously!!!

Coordinating Team

Envisioning, Strategic Team

Additional Critical Success Factors for Teams

Clear, engaging direction!!! The task requires team work Individual rewards for team success Adequate material resources Authority to manage the work

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Does the task require teamwork?

Pooled interdependence
Group Members

Product

Sequential interdependence

P1

P2

P3

Product

Reciprocal interdependence
P1 P2 P3

Team Communication Dilemmas

Biases and points of possible error

Message tuning/Message distortion Biased interpretation Perspective-taking failures Transparency illusion Indirect speech I wish someone would Uneven communication problem

More Team Participation/Communication Dilemmas

Each person has incentive to free ride Strategies to enhance cooperation and participation and minimize competition

Build team identity Make pledges (team ground-rules)

The information dependence problem

The group can only work with information that is

shared & discussed Not all information gets shared or discussed

The Common Knowledge Effect

3 Initial-Distribution Conditions
A,D B,E A,C,B,E A,C,B,D A,B,C,D,E,F A,B,C,D,E,F

C,F

A,C,D,F

A,B,C,D,E,F

No overlap of information A,C: Common to all 3 people B,D: Shared by 2 people between 3 people

E,F: Unique to 1 person

All information fully-shared by all 3 people.

Hidden Profiles

A,B,C

A,B,F,H

A,B,C,D,E

C,D,E

A,B,F,G

A,B,C,D,E

F,G,H

A,B,G,H

A,B,C,D,E

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# of independent pieces of positive information

Alva Jane Bill

5 5

Information Dependence Problem: Things That Dont Work

Increasing the amount of discussion Separating review and decisions Increasing team size Increasing information load Accountability Pre-discussion polling

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Team Leader as Communication/ Information Manager

Redirects and maintains focus of discussion to unshared (unique) information Labels task as problem to be solved, not a judgment to be made Ranks rather than chooses Considers decision alternatives one at a time Heightens team members awareness of types of information likely to be possessed by different individuals Suspends initial judgment Builds trust and familiarity among team members Minimizes status differences

Making Change: Through Product, Process or People

Product
Mission/vision/strategy Reason of Existence/Core Task Product/services to deliver Customer & stakeholder expectations

Change aspects of the basic building blocks: Goals, roles, Procedures, relationships

RESULTS Process People

Change team members or leader Training for team members or leader

Team Development: Step-By-Step

STEP 1: LOOKING OUTWARD

ANALYSIS OF THE CONTEXT Influences of the environment (stakeholders, customers, strategic

imperatives, challenges in the organization, processes).

STEP 2: LOOKING INWARD

ASSESSMENT - AWARENESS ADOPTION Assessment of the As Is: where are we now? How is the team

doing today? Define the gaps with regard to where we are now and where we want to be Awareness: proof of the need, create the learning tension Adoption: mobilize the energy; we feel the sense of urgency, we understand, believe in and own the team development.

STEP 3: LOOKING FORWARD

ACTION Internal: How will we function differently as a team? External: How will we impact on the environment differently?