Chapter 13

Slide 13-1

Groups, Teams, and Their

Leadership

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Chapter Goals
Slide 13-2

 The goal of this chapter is to explore

the differences between group and
individual phenomena and then move
from group work to team work and
how that can be most effective.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Defining Groups
Slide 13-3

 A group can be defined as “two or

more persons who are interacting with
one another in such a manner that each
person influences and is influenced by
each other person.”

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Three Key Points For the
“Group” Definition
Slide 13-4

 The definition incorporates the concept of reciprocal

influence between leaders and followers, an idea
considerably different from the one-way nature of
influence implicit in the dictionary’s definition of
followers.
 Group members interact and influence each other.
 The definition does not constrain individuals to only one
group.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 The Impact of Group Size
Slide 13-5

 The greater number of people in a large versus a small group

will affect the probability that any individual is likely to
emerge as leader.
 As groups become larger, cliques are more likely to develop.
 Leaders with a large span of control tend to be more directive,
spend less time with individual subordinates, and use more-
impersonal approaches when influencing others.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Developmental Stages of Groups
Slide 13-6

 Forming Stage
 Storming Stage
 Norming Stage
 Performing Stage

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Task Roles in Groups
Slide 13-7

 Initiating
 Information Seeking
 Information Sharing
 Summarizing
 Evaluating
 Guiding

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Relationship Roles in Groups
Slide 13-8

 Harmonizing
 Encouraging
 Gatekeeping

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Dysfunctional Roles in
Groups
Slide 13-9

 Dominating
 Blocking
 Attacking
 Distracting

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Symptoms of Groupthink
Slide 13-10

 Illusion of invulnerability
 Unquestioned assumption of the
group’s morality
 Collective rationalization

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Symptoms of Groupthink
Slide 13-11
Cont.
 Self-censorship
 Illusion of unanimity
 Direct pressure on dissenting members
 Mindguards

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Differentiating Between
Groups and Teams
Slide 13-12

 Team members usually have a stronger

sense of identification among themselves
than group members do.
 Teams have common goals or tasks.
 Task interdependence typically is greater
with teams than with groups.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Characteristics of Effective
Teams
Slide 13-13

 A clear mission and high performance standards

 Leaders of effective teams spent a considerable
amount of time assessing the technical skills of the
team members.
 After taking stock of available resources and skills,
good leaders would work to secure those resources
and equipment necessary for team effectiveness.

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Characteristics of Effective
Teams
Slide 13-14
Cont.
 Leaders of effective teams would spend a
considerable amount of time planning and
organizing in order to make optimal use of available
resources, to select new members with needed
technical skills, or to improve needed technical
skills of existing members.
 High levels of communication
 Minimize interpersonal conflicts

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999

 Three Critical Functions for
Team Leadership
Slide 13-15

 Direction
 Design
 Development

Irwin/McGraw-Hill The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. © 1999