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LEARNING AIM B: INVESTIGATE TECHNIQUES AND THEORIES
USED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN EFFECTIVE BUSINESS
TEAM

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CONTENTS
• Team-building techniques
• Theories of team development
• Causes of team conflict

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 TEAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES
What is Team Building
• Activities designed to improve interpersonal relationships and increase team
cohesiveness
• It is also important to encourage open communication and team activities because
of their role in building trust and establishing good working relationships
• Team building enables a group of diverse people to work together effectively as a
unit to achieve the project’s goals

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 TEAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES
I. Team membership and roles
• A team role is different from a functional role
• Team members should have the required technical and role-based skills
• Psychometric tests and interviews can be used to determine each team member’s
personal team role profile
• For example, Adventure team-building exercises are designed to bring out the team
members’ leadership skills and team role skills
• In this phase, leadership, lines of authority, decision making and task responsibilities
are also defined

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 TEAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES
II. Purpose and goal
• The team should discuss and then write down what members agree is the team’s purpose—
its “reason for being”
• Team members then discuss and set clear and measurable goals that support the purpose of
the existence of the team
• The team members air their views, opinions and perceptions about the project’s objectives. If
these opinions are different to the other team members’ opinions then the members need to
discuss, confront and negotiate so that they can converge on an optimal and shared vision
• Research evidence shows very consistently that where people are set clear targets to aim at,
their performance is generally improved (Locke and Latham, 1990)

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 TEAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES
III.
Communication
• Open exchange of information via electronic tools as well as regular in-person meetings and other informal
means should be encouraged
• Collaboration tools and Knowledge management technology, sometimes called “groupware” can assist the
team in performing its information-sharing activities
• Vision/objectives/targets are shared
• Performance feedback is encouraged
• Openness and trust are promoted
• Good work ethics and mutual respect are established
• Members support and respect each other
• Team is led by example
• Work proceeds more smoothly and efficiently and cooperation among team members is enhanced

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 TEAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES
IV. Rewards and Feedback:
• Regular positive and supportive feedback from team members as well as customers should be a norm
• For example, in the case of IT support teams, performance feedback may look like:
o quality of technical support given in the team;
o quality of team climate and how well team members feel they have worked together;
o quality of relationships with other departments such as Sales, R&D, Finance and HR;
o financial performance and productivity;
o efficiency of the team in reducing customer waiting times;
o improvement in customer access to support and guidance.
o customer satisfaction with the quality of support given;

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 TEAM-BUILDING TECHNIQUES
• Acknowledgement and recognition of team and individual success
• Effective teams do not just simply understand when excellent performance occurs— but they
acknowledge and celebrate these instances
o Awards, team recognition events, or other acknowledgements of team performance excellence
o For example, “Caught Providing Superior Customer Service” awards, recognition for the best
and most provocative new suggestion brought up in a team idea-generating session, or pizza
luncheons for meeting a project milestone ahead of schedule
• Acts of recognition are a great way to build team morale and reinforce the affirmative
environment the group needs to maintain

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 THEORIES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT
A. Belbin’s nine team roles
• Belbin determined that there are nine specific roles or behavior types within a team which,
when combined, enable the team to perform
• When using a team role model we must be aware that there can be a tendency to
‘pigeonhole’ people into particular characteristics
• Here are Belbin’s team roles with their associated strengths and allowable weaknesses

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 BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES
Overall Belbin Roles Strengths Allowable Weaknesses

Implementer Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Can feel uncomfortable in

Practical organizer, good at turning decisions and unstable and quickly
strategies into manageable tasks/practical actions. changing environments.
Systematic and methodical worker. Well organized Somewhat inflexible, slow
and predictable. Takes basic ideas and makes to respond to new
them work in practice. possibilities.
Thinking/Problem solving

Shaper Dynamic, outgoing, challenges, pressurizes, seeks Can be prone to

ways around obstacles. Outgoing and emotional, provocation and short-
highly strung, quick to respond to a challenge. lived bursts of temper.
Good at making things happen and is driven by Dislikes vagueness and
results. Lots of energy and action, challenging muddled thinking.
others to move forwards.

Completer/ Painstaking, conscientious, anxious. Searches out Can be over-anxious and

Finisher errors and omissions. Attention to detail, makes appear fussy. Can lose
sure nothing is overlooked. Maintains a sense of sight of the overall
urgency, good at time keeping. A capacity for objective. Reluctant to
fulfilling their promises and working to the highest delegate. A tendency to
standards. Reliably sees things through to the end, worry about small things,
ironing out the wrinkles and ensuring everything a reluctance to ‘let go’
works well. and trust others. 13
 BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES
Overall Belbin Roles Strengths
Plant Highly creative, imaginative and unorthodox.
Full of original ideas and can adopt a radical
minded approach. Solves difficult problems
with original and creative ideas.
Monitor/ Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees the big
Evaluator picture and all options. Judges accurately. A
critical and analytical thinker. Good at
People/feelings
assimilating and interpreting lots of complex
data and analyzing problems. Thinks
carefully and accurately about things.
Specialist Single-minded, self-starting, dedicated.
Brings a high level of technical knowledge to
the team. Can combine creativity and
pragmatism. Has expert knowledge/ skills in
key areas and will solve many problems here.
Allowable Weaknesses
Can appear to be ‘up in the
clouds’ and inclined to
disregard practical details and
protocol. Weak in
communicating with and
managing ordinary people.
Can appear to be over critical
and a little detached from the
team. Lacks drive and ability
to inspire others
Tendency to focus on
technical solutions rather
than take a holistic view.
Contributes only on a narrow
front. Can be disinterested in
all other areas.
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 BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES
Overall Belbin Roles Strengths Allowable Weaknesses

Coordinator Mature, confident and trusting. A good May not be the most clever
chairman. Clarifies goals, promotes decision or creative person in the
making. Calm, confident and self-controlled. A team.
capacity for involving everyone and ensuring Can be seen as excessively
the team meets its objectives. Respected controlling.
leader who helps everyone focus on their task.

Team Worker Social, mild, perceptive, accommodating. Does not like personal
The ‘social oil’ of the team. Concerned with confrontation and can be
people’s welfare and good at promoting team indecisive in moments of
Doing / acting

spirit. Averts friction. Cares for individuals and crisis.

the team. Good listener and works to resolve
social problems.

Resource Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Can lose interest once the

Investigator Explores opportunities. Develops contacts. initial fascination of a new
Good at exploring anything new. Enjoys new project has passed. Can be
and challenging situations. Relaxed and easy too optimistic.
going. Explores new ideas and possibilities
with energy and with others. Good networker.
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 BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES
• To achieve the best balance in the team, there should be:
o One Coordinator or Shaper (not both) for leader.
o A Plant to stimulate ideas.
o A Monitor Evaluator to maintain honesty and clarity.
o One or more each of: Implementer, Team Worker, Resource Investigator or Completer Finisher to make things happen.

• The benefits of having a well-constructed team include:

o Fewer clashes between individuals competing for the same team role
o More mutual appreciation and recognition between team members
o A greater contribution to the whole team from each team member
o Avoidance of mistakes when one team member undertakes an activity that demands multiple team roles

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 BELBIN’S TEAM ROLES
• The Belbin team role profile is established through a Self-Perception Questionnaire. This can lead to
misleading results, so it is better to get external people to help with the identification of the individual
team characteristics.
• Also, team role characteristics are relevant in specific team situations. For example, someone who in
their day job might exhibit strong Specialist and Completer/Finisher characteristics as a Quality Inspector
in an engineering company, might in their spare time run a social club that requires Coordinator and
Shaper styles.
• Team role characteristics can also change over time. Therefore, we need to be careful about any
assumptions that we make about our own and other people’s team role characteristics at any point in
time.

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 THEORIES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT
B. Tuckman’s four stages of team development
• Team development is a dynamic process where the relationships between the team
members pass through a number of phases as they get to know each other
• It is important for project managers, as team leaders, to be aware of these development
phases so they can guide the team members through the stages
• Most of us have watched one of those reality television programs where a number of
‘ordinary people’ come together to compete in some way, usually in an alien environment
• Whether it is Survivor, Big Brother, Iron Age Man or The Apprentice, the typical format is to
bring a number of individuals together who have never met before and present them with a
number of demanding tasks, and at the end of each program the ‘weakest link’ is voted off

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 THEORIES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT
• A common thread running through all these programs; as the team members get to know
each other and interact, they pass through a number of distinct team development phases
• The purpose of this topic is to outline the team dynamics within these phases
• The classic model for team development, developed by Bruce Tuckman, is the forming,
storming, norming and performing model

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 TEAM DEVELOPMENT PHASES
Phases Description

Forming The team members come together to form a team. The individuals are getting
to know each other and finding out where they fit within the team.
Storming As the team members begin to work together they start to express their
opinions and perceptions about how the team should work together and how
the project should be made. If these opinions are different, it will certainly lead
to a healthy debate, but could also lead to arguments and interpersonal
conflict.
Norming There is consolidation within the team and acceptance of differences and an
agreement to work together as a team. The team establishes order and
cohesion. The team develops a team charter to clarify team roles, norms and
values.
Performing The team members are now working effectively together as a team. There is
cooperation and role flexibility between the team members and effective
problem solving and decision making. The team members are now totally
focused on the project.

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 TEAM DEVELOPMENT PHASES
Phases Description

Maturing As the team matures it begins to lose its competitive edge. The team members
are more interested in maintaining the status quo than actively looking for new
ideas and growing the business.
Declining The lack of investment and resistance to change finally catches up with the
team and its performance declines. The cash cow eventually dries up.

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TEAM DEVELOPMENT PHASES

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 TEAM DEVELOPMENT PHASES AND TEAM/TASK FOCUS
• As the team develops, the focus naturally changes from the individual to the team and to the task

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 TEAM DEVELOPMENT PHASES AND TEAM PERFORMANCE
• This section uses a line graph to show the relative performance of the team over the development
phases

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 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP
Stage Individual Considerations
Forming • Why have we been brought
together?
• What goals and objectives do we
have to achieve?
• What is my individual role in the
team?
Storming • Members become more assertive as
they try to clarify their roles and to
clarify what is expected of them.
• Team members express their
personal opinions about how things
should be done.
• At this stage the team members
start revealing their personal
agendas.
• Members spend more time listening
to other team members than they
did during the forming stage.
Leadership Considerations
• At the outset the project manager should
consider making most of the decisions just to
make things happen; trying to please
everyone is unlikely to be successful.
• However, if a firm leadership style is adopted
(and everyone knows what to do), the project
manager will get the team moving in the right
direction.
• And, assuming the team initially accepts a
dictatorial leadership style, the team can be
successful.
• During the storming phase the project
manager should encourage the team
members to air their views and opinions. It is
better to discuss these matters immediately
rather than bottle them up, only to explode
later.
• The project manager should use team-
building techniques to encourage the team
members to work together, so the team can
quickly pass through the storming phase.
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 INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE AND LEADERSHIP
Stage Individual Considerations
Norming • There is a willingness from all the
team members to want to work
together to complete the project.
• The team members discuss how to
confront and solve interpersonal
conflict.
• The team members discuss how
they can meet the project’s goals
and the team’s goals, while still
satisfying individuals' needs.
Performing • Each individual will consider better
ways of supporting the team.
• Personal goals tend to become one
and the same as team goals which,
in turn, become one and the same
as project goals.
• Interpersonal disagreements and
conflicts are handled in a mature
way, quickly and effectively.
Leadership Considerations
• The project manager needs to chair a team
discussion to clarify all the team roles,
including that of the project manager as
leader.
• The project manager should encourage the
team to discuss working arrangements,
working procedures and values. Norms
should be established as the collective will of
the members, rather than seen as dictation
by the Project Manager.
• Performance norms to be set that guide the
level of output.
• As the team development moves into the
performing phase the team will increasingly
become self-directed.
• In this situation, the project manager should
take a low-key approach and manage from a
distance.
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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
I. Importance of group/team dynamics
• A source of conflict emerges from intergroup dynamics
• There is a tendency for members of teams and organizations to have conceptions
of “us” and “them,” which can be based on various
• social categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity, college major, etc.),
• organizational departments (e.g., sales, administration, accounting, etc.),
• and/or cross-functional team roles (e.g., researchers, designers, engineers,
artists, writers, etc.).
• We view members of our own category (us) as “ingroup” members and those
who are not in our category (them) as “outgroup” members, which contributes
to intergroup bias

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
• One consequence of intergroup bias is in-group favoritism, whereby people
assign more trust, cooperation, resources, positive evaluations, and empathy to
ingroup members compared to outgroup members.
• By contrast, outgroup derogation can result in discrimination, poor evaluations,
and negative attitudes toward outgroup members.
• In teams, these tendencies can marginalize some members while privileging
others, causing intergroup conflict.
• A team with poor dynamics disrupts work flow and results in wrong choices, poor
decision-making or no decision-making at all.

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
II. Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict
A. Conflicting resources
• Whenever workers compete for scarce resources, recognition, and power in the company's pecking order, conflict can
occur.
• Because everyone requires a share of the resources (office space, supplies, the boss’s time, or funding) to complete their
jobs, it is not surprising for a less satisfied employee to submit a complaint.
• A manager’s job may then be to decide who has the rightful access to the resource and how it will be distributed in the
future.

B. Conflicting work styles

• Individuals differ in the way they approach people and problems.
• People need to understand their own style and learn how to accept conflicting styles.
• In team tasks this can become problematic, as some individuals will have to compromise on how the work is done.
• A manager can avoid conflict occurring here by selecting teams based on their similarities and strengths.

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
II. Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict
C. Conflicting perceptions
• People working in a team may see and perceive same things very differently
• Bell (2002) gives an example of what might happen if a new administrative assistant were
hired in the organization.
• One associate might see the new hire as an advantage (one more set of hands to get the job
done), while another associate might see the same new hire as an insult (a clear message
that the current associates are not performing adequately).
• Conflicting perceptions can come into play regarding client demands/feedback, team
performance review and so on

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
II. Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict
D. Conflicting goals
• Consider the scenario of a patient being admitted to a hospital. The
business office is responsible for documenting financial information and
pursuing payment, whereas the nursing staff is responsible for the patient’s
physical assessment and immediate admission. Both objectives are
important and necessary, but may cause conflict (Bell 2002).

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
• Hart (2009) offers another example. Imagine a bank teller’s dilemma in a
situation where he is being given conflicting responsibilities by two of his
managers.
• The head teller has instructed the staff that rapid service is the top priority,
whereas the community relations director has instructed the staff that
quality customer service is the top priority. One can imagine how quickly
problems could arise between the teller and the head teller if speed is
sacrificed for quality time with the customer.

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
II. Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict
E. Conflicting pressures
• In many cases we will depend on the work of other people to carry out our work
• A manager might need a colleague to give a report by noon to carry out his own
work, however, the colleague is busy making report for another
manager/associate under the same deadline
• If a manager/employee suspects there are conflicts due to short-term shock
objectives, he may reschedule the tasks and deadlines to relieve the pressure
• The extent to which we depend on each other to complete our work can
contribute greatly to conflict (Hart 2009)

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
II. Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict
F. Conflicting roles
• Sometimes employees are given tasks or assignments which are outside the realm of their normal
role but within the realm of someone else’s role.
• When this occurs, it is often perceived as “invading territory,” which can cause a power struggle
and conflict between the individuals involved.
• For example, an employer decides to give an assignment related to creating a commercial slogan to
someone in the sales department, instead of someone in the marketing department who is
ordinarily given this task. The person in the marketing department may feel that the person in the
sales department has invaded their territory, or their role, and they may feel as if their position is
being threatened.
• Whilst this can be avoided by delegating the same tasks to the same individuals, differentiating
your team members’ roles can be a good opportunity for learning and development.

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
II. Bell and Hart’s eight causes of conflict
G. Different personal values
• What would happen if your boss asks you to do something that conflicts with your ethical standards?
• When our work goes against our values, conflict can arise quickly.
• To avoid this, you must practice ethical leadership: try not to ask your team for things that clash with their values.
H. Unpredictable policies
• The absence of clear policies or policies that are constantly changing can create an environment of uncertainty
and conflict (Hart 2009)
• If policies are not enforced consistently in the workplace—for example, if one employee is not reprimanded for
doing the same thing that another employee was reprimanded for—this can cause conflicts due to the perception
of unfairness and unpredictability.
• Employers should ensure fair and consistent rules, regulations and policies in the workplace as well as their
effective communication throughout the organization to prevent conflicts.

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
III. Non-compliance with rules and policies:
• Non-compliance or disregard for company rules and policies can be a major
source of conflict among team members
• For example, discriminatory behaviour, unacceptable language, poor attendance
and timekeeping

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 CAUSES OF TEAM CONFLICT
IV. Misunderstandings and Competition/rivalry
• Poor communication and lack of open discussions leading to misunderstandings
• Faulty communication, such as inappropriate criticism or distrust
• Misinterpretations about another person’s behavior
• Competition instead of collaboration and anti-productive behaviour as a result of
grudges stemming from past losses

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CLASS ACTIVITY
• TED Talk on ‘Build a tower,
build a team’
• http://www.ted.com/talks/
tom_wujec_build_a_tower
?language=en

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THANKS!
Any questions?
You can find me at:
kashaf.hnd@westminster.edu.pk

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