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							LTL Lecture Series 2006/07

TEAMWORK


       Sophia Kao
       12/04/2006
Contents
   Definition of “team”
   The power of teams
   Characteristics of a good team
   What makes a good team?
   What makes a good team player?
   What makes a good team leader?
   Team building
   Conflict management
   The laws of teamwork
What is TEAM?
 A team is a group of people who are
 mutually dependent on one another to
 achieve a common goal.
 (Elaine Biech, 2001)
 A „team‟ emphasis is on sharing
 information, gathering ideas, and coming to
 agreement on the best ways to get jobs
 done.
 (Anne O’Brien Carelli 2004)
The Power of Teams
   Teams involve more people, thus affording more resources, ideas,
    and energy than would an individual.
   Teams maximize a leader’s potential and minimize her weaknesses.
    Strengths and weaknesses are more exposed in individuals.
   Teams provide multiple perspectives on how to meet a need or reach
    a goal, thus devising several alternatives for each situation. Individual
    insight is seldom as broad and deep as a group‟s when it takes on a
    problem.
   Teams share the credit for victories and the blame for losses. This
    fosters genuine humility and authentic community. Individuals take
    credit and blame alone. This fosters pride and sometimes a sense of
    failure.
   Teams keep leaders accountable for the goal. Individuals connected
    to no one can change the goal without accountability.
   Teams can simply do more than an individual.
    (John C Maxwell 2001)
Characteristics of a Good Team
   A good team has a high success rate, i.e. more often than
    not they achieve what they set out to
   A good team agrees clear, challenging objectives, i.e.
    everyone in the team contributes to, shares understanding
    of , and is committed to the objectives
   A good team has a leader (it may not always be the same
    person) who adjusts the leadership style along a
    spectrum from participative to autocratic in the light of
    circumstances
   A good team has a mix of people who contribute in
    different but complementary ways thus achieving
    synergy, i.e., the team produces more than the sum of its
    individual parts
Characteristics of a Good Team
(cont’d)
   A good team operates in such a way that a balance is
    struck between concern for the task (the „what‟) and
    concern for the process (the „how‟)
   A good team creates a supportive atmosphere where
    people are happy to go at risk, say what they really think,
    develop one another‟s ideas, and commit to an agreed
    course of action even though there may have been
    differences of opinion
   A good team learns from experience about successes
    and failure, by reviewing its processes and thus constantly
    improving its own performance
   A good team works hard and plays hard, i.e. members not
    only achieve challenging objectives but enjoy themselves
    as they do so
    (Roger Steward 1999)
The Effective Team Model
 Appropriate leadership
 Clear goals and objectives
 Enthusiasm and member commitment
 Role clarity and inter-role knowledge
 Effective problem solving and decision making
 techniques
 Good interactive behavioral skills
 Cooperative relationships
 A creative atmosphere
 Appropriate mix of relevant skills
The Effective Team Model
(cont’d)
  Total information sharing within the team and, where
  appropriate, with other groups or teams
  Open and clear communication
  An atmosphere that encourages and supports risk taking
  and flexibility
  Valued diversity and inclusion
  Total involvement and participation
  Opportunities for knowledge transfer and skills
  development
  Optimum and relevant membership
  An environment in which, although the emphasis is on
  task and team development, the process is enjoyable and
  fun (Roger Steward 1999)
A Good Team Player
   Share what you know
   Listen to learn
   Apply your expertise and build the skills of team
    members
   Tap the talents of coworkers
   Communicate on a regular basis, even if it means
    critiquing the way things are done
   Gather different ideas so that problems can be solved
    more effectively
   Ask tough questions for the purpose of arriving at
    good decisions
A Good Team Player
(Cont’d)
   Resolve conflicts to save time and money, and to improve
    safety, productivity and relationships
   Maintain a sense of humor about disagreements
   „Pull your weight‟, taking your fair share of the workload
   Make decisions about daily work, rather than rely on
    supervisor direction and approval
   Recognize fellow team members for their
    accomplishments
   Are accountable for decisions, recognizing the importance
    of shared decision-making
    (Anne O‟Brien Carelli 2004)
A Good Team Leader
   Guiding vision-You have a clear idea of what you want to do-
    professionally and personally-and the strength to persist in the
    face of setbacks, even failures.
   Passion-You have an underlying passion for the promises of
    life, combined with a very particular passion for a vocation, a
    profession, a course of action. You love what you do.
   Integrity- You demonstrate integrity in your behavior. You
    know your strengths and weaknesses, are true to your
    principles, and have learned from experience how to learn from
    and work with others. You never lose sight of your goals or
    compromise your principles. You are simultaneously principled
    and pragmatic.
   Trust-You have earned people‟s trust. You reflect the values
    and aspirations of your followers. You accept leadership as a
    responsibility, not a privilege. You serve.
A Good Team Leader
(Cont’d)
   Daring-You are willing to take risks, experiment, and try new
    things.
   Listening-You listen to the people you serve, but you are not a
    prisoner of public opinion. You encourage dissenting opinions
    among your advisors. You test ideas, explore all sides of issues,
    and air the full range of opinion.
   Respect for followers- You are a leader of leaders. You are
    pragmatic to your core but believe passionately in what you say
    and do.
   Vulnerability-You trust in the abilities of other people. You
    allow people who follow you to do their best.
   Discernment-You exhibit keen insight, wisdom, and judgment.
   Awareness of the human spirit-You understand the cares,
    yearning, and struggle of the human spirit.
A Good Team Leader
(Cont’d)
   Courage in relationships-You face up to tough decisions.
    You act with ruthless honesty.
   Sense of humor- You have a broad perspective on the
    human condition that accounts for many points of view.
    You have a compassionate sense of humor.
   Intellectual energy and curiosity-You accept
    responsibility for learning frantically.
   Respect for the future, regard for the present,
    understanding of the past-You are able to move
    constantly back and forth between the present and the future.
    You build upon the work of your elders.
   Predictability-You do not follow whims.
A Good Team Leader
(Cont’d)
   Breadth-Your vision of what the organization
    can accomplish has room for contributions from
    all quarters. Your vision is “large enough to
    contain multitudes.”
   Comfort with ambiguity- You make sense out
    of chaos.
   Presence-You stop to ask and answer questions.
    You are patient. You listen to problems. You seek
    to understand nuances. You follow up on leads.
    (Max Depree 1993/ Warren Bennis 1994/James O‟Toole 1996)
Team Building
 Team is built to achieve success
 Shareholder for all
 Shared ownership
 Shared mission, values, motto
 Build leaders, not followers
 Build esteem
 Engagement
 Grow the team
Examples of Core Values
   Support
   Unity
   Care
   Understanding (Inclusion)
   Sharing (Communication)
   Respect
Conflict Management
   Conflicts are natural and inevitable facts of organizational
    life.
   Conflict may be beneficial, making groups effective,
    energetic, creative, release tensions, leading to change;
    but it can also be disruptive.
   Conflict management is the long-term management, an
    on-going process, of intractable conflicts. It may not lead
    to a resolution.
   Conflict resolution refers to resolving the dispute to the
    approval of one or both parties.
   It is estimated that 30% of a manager‟s time is spent
    dealing with conflict.
    (Ho Kit Wan 2006)
Sources of Conflict
    Interpersonal sources
    Group dynamic sources
   Organizational sources
Interpersonal Sources of Conflict
   Faulty attributions
   Assumptions and beliefs
   Poor communication
   Personality clashes
   Gender, age and cultural differences
   Distrust
   Grudge
Group Dynamic Sources of Conflict
   Formation of cliques
   Power tactics and manipulation
   Relationship rules (social and task-related
    rules)
Organizational Sources of Conflict
   Struggle for resources
   Ambiguity over responsibility and jurisdiction
   Inequity of reward
   Differentiation leading to self-interest
   Differentiation leading to divergent values and
    vision
   Power differentials
   Blockage of communication
Styles of conflict management
   Five styles, along two dimensions, concern for self and concern
    for others
   Integrating: high concern for self and for others, collaboration
    to reach a solution acceptable for both parties
   Obliging: low concern for self and high concern for others,
    play down differences and emphasize commonalities to satisfy
    the concern of the other
   Dominating: high concern for self and low concern for others,
    a forcing behavior to win one‟s position
   Compromising: moderate concern for self and others, both
    parties give up something to make a mutually acceptable
    solution
   Avoiding: low concern for self and for others, withdrawal,
    passing the buck, sidestepping
    (Rahim 1983)
Tactics of Conflict Resolution
   Prompt response/action
   Finding neutral turf
   Define clearly the issue
   Acknowledge the grievances
   Grasp your own standpoint (what can be changed and
    what cannot be changed), and what is the baseline. Has a
    tentative solution to offer when necessary.
   Handle the most critical issue first, and let the other party
    know your baseline, your difficulties, the consequence of
    not doing so, and what cannot be changed.
   Narrow the scope of issue
Tactics of Conflict Resolution
(Cont’d)
   Emphasize super-goal, show problem solving attitude
   Recall successful cooperative experiences
   Offer feedback/observation
   Stick to the fact, focus on interest, not position nor
    opinion
   Show sincere, considerate, empathetic and committed
    attitude
   Two-way communications
   Maintain trust, keep promise
   Sharing, clarification, expression, not teaching, blaming,
    or even scolding
The Laws of Teamwork
   The Law of Significance-
    One is too small a number to achieve greatness
   The Law of the Big Picture-
    The goal is more important than the role
   The Law of the Niche-
    All players have a place where they add the most value
   The Law of Mount Everest-
    As the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork
    elevates
   The Law of the Chain-
    The strength of the team is impacted by its weakest link
The Laws of Teamwork
(Cont’d)
   The Law of the Compass-
    Vision gives team members direction and confidence
   The Law of the Bad Apple-
    Rotten attitudes ruin a team
   The Law of Countability-
    Teammates must be able to count on each other when it
    counts
   The Law of the Price Tag-
    The team fails to reach its potential when it fails to pay
    the price
   The Law of the Catalyst-
    Winning teams have players who make things happen
The Laws of Teamwork
(Cont’d)
   The Law of Identity-
    Shared values define the team
   The Law of Communication-
    Interaction fuels action
   The Law of the Edge-
    The difference between two equally talented teams is
    leadership
   The Law of High Morale-
    When you‟re winning, nothing hurts
   The Law of Dividends-
    Investing in the team compounds over time
    (John C. Maxwell)
TEAM
 T – Trust / Talk
 E – Engagement / Empowerment
 A – Alignment / Accountability
 M – Mutual support / Multiple
     perspectives