Leadership and Change Management

Chapter 7 : Developing Performing Teams

Moving from command and control to teamwork Understanding teams and teamwork

Principles of great teams

Shared dream Mission is bigger than ego Protection from leaders Fostering enmity Dare to be different
Pain & suffering Strong leaders Meticulous recruiting
Young and energetic
Great teams deliver

Team Size & Skills

Composition of teams

Leadership approaches that foster performance

Recruit for skill & skill potential
Be concerned about first impressions
Spend time together Frame necessary guidelines to govern team behavior
Promote a culture of urgency and high standards
Value contribution and positive feedback
Identify tasks that can be accomplished immediately
Let the team define purpose and goals

Team Learning

Conflicts
Defensive routines Overcoming defensive routines

Chapter Summary

As organizations are increasingly moving from the command and control style towards a team-based approach, managers find themselves playing the role of facilitators more often. They are now expected to teach their team members, and let them take decisions for the team. A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, a common set of performance goals, and a common approach to which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

The essence of a team is common commitment. When it exists a team becomes a powerful unit of strong performance. Building this common commitment needs a common purpose in which the team fervently believes. Working groups are different from teams, and are common and more useful in large organizations where individual accountability is important.

They are formed to share information, insights, and perspectives. The members of work groups discuss or debate to make decisions that help each person in the group do his job better. The meetings of these groups also reinforce individual performance standards. Great teams follow some principles such as: They have a shared dream, have respect for mission, have protection from organizational politics, are characterizes by fostered enmity.

Teams are often formed based on personal compatibility or formal position. Very rarely are they formed based on functional expertise of their members. It is important for teams to have problem-solving skills to identify problems and opportunities, evaluate options available to them and decide which option would be better. Generally the number of people in a team ranges from 2 to 25.

When a team has 50 or more members the team will invariably break off into sub teams and will rarely function as a single and cohesive unit. A team with around 10 members can be far more effective than a group that has more than 50 people. Though there are no guaranteed approaches to improve organizational performance, yet some approaches help in ensuring higher performance levels.

Teams are supposed to operate at a higher level of intelligence than the intelligence level of their members. However, often they operate at a far lower level of intelligence than that of individual members. Even more worrying is the fact that these teams organize and run themselves in such a way that they avoid learning. The cost of this neglected learning can be high. To avoid high costs and to operate at their true potential, teams have to continually learn.

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