Leadership management

KEY POINTS

How a team functions is as important an indicator of its performance as the quality of what it produces.

Periodic assessments help a team identify its strengths and weakness and create plans to improve how members work together.

Methods of collecting assessment data include discussions, surveys, and personality diagnostic tests.

TERMS

performance - The act of performing; carrying into execution or action; achievement; accomplishment.

feedback - Critical assessment of information produced.

implement - To bring about; to put into practice.

Setting Goals and Providing Feedback

The way team members function as a group is as important to the team's success as the quality of what it produces. Because how they work together is so important to achieving the team's goals, members need to be attentive to how they interact and collaborate with each other.

Periodic self-assessments that consider the team's progress, how it has gotten there, and where it is headed allow the team to gauge its

Effectiveness and performance improvement are crucial for a team. To assess its performance, the team seeks feedback from group members to identify strengths and weaknesses. This feedback helps identify gaps between current performance and desired effectiveness. Once the areas for improvement are identified, the team and others, such as managers, can develop a plan to close these gaps.

A team can gather necessary data by holding a meeting where members discuss what has gone well and what they would like to change about how they work together. It can also be beneficial to have a non-team member, such as a supervisor or a member of the human resources department, solicit opinions through a brief written survey. The team can then use the results as a starting point for further discussion.

Poor communication and conflict can disrupt a team's performance, and sometimes these disruptions are caused by personality clashes between members.

Another type of team assessment involves using diagnostic tests to identify the dominant personality traits of each member. Characteristics such as being an extrovert or an introvert can shape how people prefer to work and communicate. Having an understanding of personality differences among team members can prove useful for changing how they interact with each other.

Accountability in Teams

Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, decisions, and policies.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

Illustrate the concept of accountability in a team-based work environment

KEY POINTS

• Accountability is the assignment of responsibility for outcomes to an individual or group to create an incentive for performance.
• Teams are accountable for achieving collective goals.
• Individual team members are accountable to each other for their effort and contributions to the team.
• Effective accountability for teams relies on making choices that support the team's ability

tosucceed.

TERM: accountability
The acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, and decisions.

Accountability
Accountability is the acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions, products, and decisions. In a management context, accountability explicitly identifies who is responsible for ensuring that outcomes meet goals and creates incentives for success.

For teams, in particular, accountability means that all members share responsibility for their collective output and for their success in achieving their goals. Because teamwork is organized at the collective level rather than on a per-person basis, its results are the sum of each member's efforts. Organizations often use team-based rewards to hold teams accountable for their work.

Accountability for team members also implies that individuals have a responsibility to each other to complete tasks and contribute to the group effort. One benefit of teamwork is the mutual support and assistance that

Team members can provide each other a sense of accountability to the team, creating an incentive for individuals to provide help when needed. Since team tasks are interdependent, the quality of one person's work affects that of the others. Teams use norms and other forms of social pressure to hold one another accountable.

Conditions for Effective Accountability:

• Teams need to have the resources, skills, and authority to do what they are being held responsible for.
• If leaders expect teams to accept the blame for failing to achieve an assigned goal, they should ensure that success is within the team's reach.
• The choices made about goal-setting, team composition, and process design have a direct effect on the degree of responsibility a team can assume for its performance.

Choosing Team Size and Team Members:

Team size and composition affect team processes and outcomes.

LEARNING OBJECTIVE: Justify the importance of drafting a team that reflects a

KEY POINTS

The optimal size and composition of teams will vary depending on the team's purpose and goals.

Team size should take into account the scope and complexity of the required tasks and activities.

As a whole, team members should bring all the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the team's goals.

TERM

Composition

The proportion of different parts to make a whole.

Team size and composition affect team processes and outcomes. The optimal size and composition of teams depends on the scope of the team's goals. With too few people, a team will not have the resources and skills it needs to complete its tasks. Too many members can make communication and coordination difficult and lead to poor team performance. Research shows that teams perform best with between five and nine members. Dr. Meredith Belbin did extensive research on teams prior to 1990 in the UK that suggested that the optimum team size is eight roles plus a specialist as needed.

Fewer than five members resulted in decreased perspectives and diminished creativity. Membership in excess of twelve resulted in increased conflict and greater potential of subgroups forming that can disrupt team cohesion.

The mix of knowledge and expertise on a team is also important. Individuals should be selected for teams so that as a whole the group has all the expertise needed to achieve its goals. For this reason, cross-functional teams may be larger than groups formed to work on less complex activities. Similarly, a task force charged with making recommendations in a short time frame would benefit from having fewer members.

Teams benefit from similarities in background among members, which can reduce conflict and miscommunication. Having fewer differences can also reduce the amount of time a team takes to become an effective working group since there is less need to adjust individual work styles.

On the other hand, more diversity in skills and experience brings broader perspectives.

and different approaches to the team's work. Having members with different skill sets also reduces redundancies and allows for the more efficient assignment of people to various teams.

5.5 Team Building

Team building is an approach to helping a team become an effective performing unit.

Retreat

An event during which people shift focus from their daily routines and responsibilities to personal or group development.

Team

A group of people linked in a common purpose.

Team building refers to a wide range of activities intended to help a team become an effective performing unit. To achieve this, team building aims to increase team members' awareness and understanding of their working relationships by focusing on their interactions with each other. The purpose is to create a cohesive group from a set of individuals and avoid common pitfalls that can undermine a team, such as conflict, miscommunication, and lack of trust. Team-building activities require the participation of all team members.

These often take place when a team is first created and can include activities such as the team working on a brief exercise to begin the process of collaboration or individuals simply introducing themselves. Sometimes organizations use more intensive and time-consuming activities such as off-site, day-long retreats with an agenda that can include interpersonal bonding exercises, simulations, personality and communication style assessments, and group-dynamics games. The human resources department may coordinate team building, though sometimes companies hire consultants or trainers skilled in facilitating those types of activities.

A team can also benefit from team-building after its work has begun. Sometimes teams recognize that members are missing abilities that make collaboration easier, such as problem-solving or conflict-resolution skills. Training sessions that address these deficiencies build the team's ability to work together. After people have been working together for a while,

development when the team is fully functional and able to work together efficiently and effectively. In this model, the forming stage is where the team comes together and starts to establish their goals and tasks. This is also when personal relationships begin to form within the team. The storming stage is where conflicts and disagreements may arise as the team works to clarify their goals and strategies. This is a crucial stage for the team to address any issues and find ways to work together effectively. The norming stage is when the team establishes their values and norms for how individuals will interact and collaborate. This is important for creating a positive and productive team culture. Finally, the performing stage is when the team is able to work together seamlessly and achieve their goals. This is the ideal stage for a team to be in, as they are fully functional and able to perform at their best. Overall, understanding and addressing social norms within a team is crucial for their performance and success. By creating an environment where individuals feel comfortable questioning decisions and addressing issues, teams can work together more effectively and achieve their goals.