Team Development
Dec 14, 2015
Team Development
Objectives
To know the stages in the development of teams
To understand team roles To understand about team decisions To learn how to deal with difficult team
members To learn about effective team meetings
What is a team?
Two or more individuals who work together toward a common objective
Effective teamshave interdependent memberscan outperform even the best
individual’s performancedo not always have the same leaderhave members that care about each
othercheer & encourage each otherhave a high level of trust
In general, teams ...
generate more ideas than individuals, so decision making is more informed
improve understanding & acceptance because of participation
have higher levels of motivation & performance, due to synergy
offset personal biases & blind spots are more likely to engage in a risky shift
Phases of team development
FormingConformingStormingPerforming
FormingQuestions regarding
expectations, goals, leadership & responsibilities
Uncertainty & discomfortNeed for direction, clarity &
structure
ConformingFocus on becoming
unifiedDifferentiation of rolesCooperationRelationship building
StormingDisagreements & competitionDisagreements with the leaderTesting normsExpressions of individuality
Performing
Awareness of team’s competencePursuit of continuous
improvementMutual trustCommitment
Team roles
RecorderGatekeeperDevil’s advocateTimekeeper/TaskmasterEncourager
RecorderShould we say it this way?I think we need more detail here.Let me read this back to everyone
to make sure it’s right.
GatekeeperWe haven’t heard from you yet.Can anyone add anything else
before the recorder writes that down?
Thanks for your input. Can we get a different opinion.
Devil’s Advocate
Are you sure that this issue is important?
Are you confident that this really works?
Is that practical? How can we really do that?
Timekeeper/Taskmaster
Let’s get back to the main point.Let’s come to a decision.I think we need to pick up the pace,
we have only 5 minutes left.Let’s decide who is going to do
what.
Encourager
That’s a great answer.Let’s think hard and creatively.
I’m sure we can figure this out.We’re doing a great job here.
There are many roles .....
Task facilitatingRelationship
buildingBlocking
They can be grouped into 3 categories:
Task facilitating roles
help the team accomplish its objectives:– information giving– information seeking– reality testing– summarizing
Relationship building roles
facilitatingtension relievingharmonizing
Blocking roles
DominatingPulling rankStallingSide tracking
Types of Group Decisions
Unilateral/Authoritarian
One person makes the decision and imposes it on others.
Handclasp
Two people make the decision and impose it on the group.
Can also be a “minority” decision, with less than half of the group.
Majority
Take a vote, more than half agree.
Unanimous
Everyone agrees.
Consensus
Alternatives are discussed and refined until everyone can agree with the final decision
Groupthink
cohesiveness of team drives out good problem solving
preservation of team takes precedence over accurate decisions or high quality accomplishments
not enough conflict
Team Attributes that Contribute to Groupthink
illusion of invulnerabilityshared stereotypesrationalizationself censorship illusion of unanimity
12 Angry Men
An illustration of groupthink
Questions on 12 Angry Men
What instances of groupthink are observed in the movie?
What are examples of roles in the movie? What are examples of effective and
ineffective group dynamics in the movie? Can you think of a similar situation in a
company?
How can groupthink be avoided?
Devil’s advocateOpen discussion -- equal
participationOutside experts“Second chance” meetingSubgroups
How to have effective meetings?
PurposePlanProcess
Purpose
Why have the meeting?To share informationTo disseminate informationTo building commitmentTo make decisions
Planning
Prepare an agendaDistribute pre-meeting informationSet objectives
Conducting the meeting
Covering the agenda in the right order Set ground rules: time frame, level of
participation Reports -- on previous assignments Promote participation Summarize at end Decide on “action” items for next time