E2 Building, leading and managing teams

A formal group.

geared towards a final result
reason for working together
need each others talent and skills

Reference - others are going to be aspiring to join
Informal - voluntary membership
Formal - team set up by an organisation
Self directed - Work without supervision

People from across departments or functions, pooling the skills of specialists

Team contains people who have more than one skill

* Increased productivity - appropriate skills for the job, tasks can be linked
* Synergy - Outputs of the group better than individuals 2+2 = 5
* Improved problem solving and creativity - diversity, better decision making
* Increased satisfaction & motivation - sense of belonging, collective responsibility
* Improved information flows - more effective communication through participation in group discussions

* Conformity - individuals may feel pressure to agree when they know a decision is wrong
* The Abilene paradox - Group will go along with outcomes that none of the individuals wanted
* Risky shift - Riskier decisions can be taken by the team than they would otherwise make on an individual basis
* Group think - the group will try to minimise conflict by reaching a concensus rather than challenge

* Forming - gain awareness of each other - clear direction is needed
* Storming - can be constructive, can generate ideas, but if not resolved will not be constructive in the long term
* Norming - Cooperation, agree on worksharing, leadership style needs to be less autocratic & allow team members to be involved in decision making
* Performing - productivity at peak, cohesive team, operating to full potential, progress towards organisational goals

Belbin believed that if you have all 9 of the following roles then the team ISPERFECT

Company worker, disciplined, reliable, turns ideas into practical action

Define the tasks, challenging, dynamic, thrive on pressure, drive & courage to overcome obstacles, can provoke others

Generate ideas, creative, imaginative, solve difficult problems, not good communicators

Evaluating ideas, sees all the options, judges accurately, criticises others & brings team back down to earth

Seeking out resources, extrovert, explore opportunities, develop contacts outside work

Ensures deadlines are met, painstakingly conscientious, search out errors & omissions, delivers on time, anxious, introverts

Technical, single minded, specialist knowledge or skills, may overlook the bigger picture

Setting agenda, mature, confident, clarify goals, promote decision making

Maintaining group cohesion, diplomatic, diffuse conflict

Valli said that high performing teams may be defined as human systems that are doing dramatically better than other systems

* Homogeneity - of status both internally or externally leads to a more cohesive group
* Alternatives - if the member has alternatives then dependance on the group is reduced, also high turnover of group members will mean the group lacks cohesion
* Size of the group - as the size of the group goes up productivity of individual members goes down, less opportunity to contribute, cliques can form, less work is done
* membership in other groups - this may detract from the cohesion and effectiveness of the original group

* Task - the nature of the task and its organisation must be compatible
* isolation of the group - external threats and incentives are lower the omre isolated the group is
* the climate of management and leadership - the leadership style adopted shoul dbe appropriate to the task.

* Groups are continually changing - not just in membership but also understading of the task and each other
* Success and failure - there can be a tendancy for a groups to persist in failure

* Small - gives everyone an ability to contribute
* Limited duration - only there to acheive a particular task
* Voluntary - should choose to be a member
* Communication informal and unstructured - no status barriers
* Action oriented - the team should create a plan for action not just a form of words

Also known as shared, or collective leadership and involves the sharing of the power base between a number of individuals