Executive Summary
A team in an organization is established to achieve given tasks and can be used as a strategic method to enhance the productivity of the organization. Enhancing teamwork has become a top priority for many modern business managers. This can be attributed to immense benefits that can be achieved through successful team performance. “These benefits include improved productivity, enhanced customer service, staff empowerment, and extra flexible organization” (Hewage, et.al 680).
It is important to regularly make the employees feel like they form a part of an efficient team. A manager should be careful during team or group meetings and conversations to get and pay heed to the requirements and professional target of every team player.
To come up with a productive team it is important for the team leader to grant every member a chance to resourcefully articulate issues, fears, or comments in gatherings, and note down on the members’ response (Hewage, et.al 682). Where there is a need to realize a project or assignment mutually, the team leader can call for a brainstorming meeting where each member tenders contribution and thoughts.
Most teams emanate from a group; however, there is a difference between a group and a team in an organization. A team comprises of members from different departments and appointed for a permanent duration. A group is temporary and includes members of the same department.
Whether a group or a team one of the most important aspect is determined by the group norms (Hollenbeck, et.al 85). In addition, teams demonstrate a higher degree of harmonized interaction, individual liability for group results and personal identification with the team. In addition, a team has a higher degree of commonality and increased interdependence and cooperation.
A team carries various features depending on the project or task and supervision. For instance in the case of a command supervisory group, there is a supervisor in charge of several subordinates, pretty permanent and membership does not change quite often. These are teams like clerical units, industrial assembly units or sales executives reporting to area sales administrator (Hollenbeck, et.al 85).
Another type of a team is a taskforce or a project team that is mainly characterized by a particular restricted function and temporary nature, which is well known to the members. These teams could include a project team by university students, product proposal teams, teams to build up executive information systems and advanced computers. There are also informal groups whose membership are voluntary and could take the form of a lunch between members.
Various factors lead to successful team formation and team performance
Team size
The size of a team has a lot to do with ease of formation and the team’s success. Team size affects social loafing, which is the concept of lessened work-burden per employee in large teams (Hollenbeck, et.al 85). The larger the team the higher the process costs due to extra costs of coordination of the large membership and therefore more resources should be availed to attain the set goals. Proper evaluation of the team size enables the team leaders or managers to capitalize on efficiency to guarantee advanced levels of team performance.
Additionally, an increase in the team size also implies increased conflicts within the team as a result of reduced cohesion levels and reduced efficiency. To weigh up if a team is outsized or small, managers ought to reflect on how efficiently and amicably team members come together as well as whether the requisite responsibilities are being professionally consummated by every team member (Hollenbeck, et.al 85).
Homogeneity
A team could be composed of homogeneous or heterogeneous (diverse) members. Homogeneity refers to the degree to which team members are comparable or dissimilar to one another. It is always difficult for a lot of managers or team leaders to strike an optimal balance amid excessively homogenous and excessively heterogeneous.
In analyzing a team in form of homogeneity, it is important to look into similarities and disparities in individual character, education, talent, skills, generational conditions, cultural setting, and levels of income (Martin and Eisenhardt 270).
Homogeneous teams have a tendency of being very cohesive as well as the ability to effortlessly grow successful communication techniques that lessen conflict. On the other hand, excessive homogeneity paves way for bigger occurrences of groupthink.
Then again, extremely heterogeneous team members are beneficial since its members are very diverse, which directs to additional cases of creativity, originality, imaginative and productivity. “Nonetheless, excessively diverse teams might limit the extent to which team members can communicate to each other and efficiently communicate” (Martin and Eisenhardt 270).
Cohesiveness
It is very crucial to examine the extent of cohesiveness between members. This is the extent to which teammates are endeared to stay put in the team. Cohesion is enhanced through increased interpersonal pull amongst team members and spawning a documentation of best performance and precedent achievements of the team in addition to nurturing competition with other teams. A highly cohesive team stimulates dedication and enthusiasm to endeavor for distinction blossoms amongst members (Mitsuhashi and Greve 980).
Team cohesion affects chemistry between members, how they get by, as well as trust and esteem each other’s capabilities and views. Though these characters are hard to detect, managers can hunt for signs that members are well acquainted beyond apparent meet-and-greet issues.
They can also establish if members uniformly play a part in team deliberations and actions instead of shaping cliques or subgroups of interrelated component. Cohesiveness also increases the magnitude and number of group interactions and serves to reinforce commitment to the team norms.
Cohesion helps the members enhance their efficiency in attaining the set group goals while increasing personal fulfillment with team membership. However, too much cohesiveness may undermine important or creative ideas especially if they do not conform to the team’s conventional values and norms (Mitsuhashi and Greve 980).
There is also a heightened development of groupthink that may undermine individual initiative and creativity. Additionally, with time this inter-group cooperation may fall with a threat of emphasis on counterproductive norms. Therefore, the manager should be careful to establish realistic degrees of cohesiveness.
Norms, values and groupthink
For a team to perform efficiently and achieve set goals it must have established group norms. “Norms are shared standards that govern the behavior of individual members” (Moschieri 370). Norms are established to address crucial issues affecting the group. Some norms affect a section of the team members depending on their status and roles such as a leader.
They vary in terms of acceptance by members and extend of deviation allowed in adhering to the norms. Norms can be triggered by a number of factors such as early behaviors, borrowed behavior, or other critical events. One of the notable effects of group norms is the conformity of individual and increased commitment.
Formation of group norms universally involves a process, where members meet and examine the behaviors of other members to resolve the proper action. They therefore consider past occurrences and whether they can contribute valuable behaviors. Members then can agree or disagree on the behavior. If the members agree, a norm is established. If they do not agree with the behavior, the proposed norms are accepted despite the disagreement, nonconforming members can pull out or very new norms are suggested (Moschieri 371).
Groupthink is an inclination for decision-making group to restrain conflicting standpoints so as to maintain team harmony. This occurs when individual members comprise an irresistible craving to be acknowledged and teams desire to curtail conflict. “Groupthink is indicated by exertion of extreme amount of controlling characteristics, personal conformity, indifference toward group goals and results, peer-pressure applied by team leaders, and one-sided discussions” (Moschieri 374).
Professional development and realistic goals
To obtain success in team performance and the workplace, knowledge of the employees should be facilitated. Team members should acquire knowledge by attending seminars, conferences, and workshops. Team education opportunities can reinforce the group as well as perk up better working relations. Providing group members the prospect to pilot occupational development training, conferences, or workshops could also facilitate development of team relationships (Gratton and Tamara 105).
All teams want smart and practical goals, as put across by Dynamic Teamwork. Unworkable goals can engulf team members, diminishing the likelihood of accomplishing the most wanted outcome. A team should be keen to devise an action plan to arrive at goals.
It is essential to place deadlines along with assignment of duties to all team members to fashion responsibility for all workers. The leader should be certain that that each member comprehends the game plan, and what every definite goal involves (Gratton and Tamara 105).
Role identity
This refers to the degree to which team members assume diverse tasks all through the team arrangement, therefore expanding efforts and mounting theme experts. The assorted skills and acquaintance that members carry to a group offer a huge variety of potentials essential to realize a goal.
Managers can scrutinize the level to which a team can identify personal prospective in all members and recognize the responsibility preeminently suited for the particular member. Otherwise, a team may not be highly purposeful and do well (Martin, et.al 290).
Lack of clearly defined role identity for each member could lead to role ambiguity. When role ambiguity takes place in a team, a scenario emerges where the expected behavior of each work team member is not succinctly stated out and this fuels conflict in the group due to overlaps (Martin, et.al 290).
Role conflict on the other hand will fuel a scenario where a team member is expected to perform two sets or faces of contrasting roles. This can hinder achievement of team goals and also distort relationships between team members.
Communication
Professional communication systems are critical to grow successful teams. For a proper understanding of the span of an objective and agreement leading a course to attain that goal, teams should build up an efficient system of communication.
There are a number of effective communications that include smooth conversation tones, readiness to reflect on every opinion, aspiration to improve communication regularity, successful conflict resolution, moreover resourceful decision-making procedures (Cao and Swierczek 572). Additionally, to cultivate team cohesion, employee incentive, and satisfaction, businesses must employ a prescribed conflict resolution method in incidences where a team is incapable of successfully resolving conflict.
For any work team to realize its full potential, it is imperative that the members are allowed to air their views, ask for assistance, share innovative or ostracized ideas, and risk going wrong. This can simply take place in an environment where members demonstrate concern, trust each other, as well as center on answers and not problems.
A friendly, open, and a positive communication process are very important in constructing team cohesion (Cao and Swierczek 574). Friendly communications are made possible by team members who are familiar and respectable to their colleagues. For instance, members can ask colleagues about their lives outside the workplace to show they care, by appreciating individual differences, teasing and largely making all members feel welcome.
“The importance of open communication is just as essential to a team’s success” (Gratton and Tamara 103). To evaluate job performance, team members must give candid and truthful feedback, acknowledge beneficial criticism, and deal with concerns head-on. For this to be achieved there is a need for increased trust level enhanced by straight, sincere communication. Positive communication similarly largely affects the vigor of team members.
When colleagues in a team speak on the subject of what they like, want, or wish for, it is pretty dissimilar from bawling about what infuriates or discourages them. The previous attributes rejuvenates; the latter disheartens. To augment group communication, team leaders can endow the group with skill guidance in listening, taking action, and language use over and above in convening management, response, and building harmony (Souitaris and Maestro 649).
Conflict management
When people come together with each one of them having their own opinion there are bound to be challenges. It is unavoidable that a team of brilliant, varied thinkers will face conflict occasionally. “The main problem is not the existence of differences; however, it is the method of managing these differences” (Gratton and Tamara 104). It is dangerous for a tem leader or team members to hide in the guise of a “perfect team” and try to bury head in the sand whenever conflict arises (Souitaris and Maestro 649).
This pretence cannot succeed in covering up all the misperceptions, hard feelings, old wounds, and misinterpretations for a long time. Soon the diversity will resurface and in a rather explosive way. They resurface in the form of anxiety, secret agendas, and stubborn standpoints.
Alternatively, if team leaders facilitate task or project teams to deal with conflict efficiently, members will know how to build and uphold trust and capture the combined power of the group. “Team members handle conflict better when the group is trained to shift their mindsets and paradigms as regards conflict generally, concerning other stakeholders involved, as well as concerning their individual capacity to handle conflict” (Souitaris and Maestro 650).
There are three systems that can be applied to assist team members to shift hampering paradigms that include reframing, affirmation and shifting shoes (Souitaris and Maestro 649). Reframing is a technique that uses optimism to handle conflicts. It therefore calls for seeing the glass as half-full and not as half-empty. For example, they should consider whether confronting a conflict would slow a meeting but also consider that negotiating out the dissimilarities will increase the flow of creativity and trust (Moschieri 393).
Shifting shoes technique on the other hand applies the use of empathy by emotional or psychologically “walking in the shoes” of the other team member. This will force the team member to respond to questions like “How would I feel if I were that person being criticized in front of the group?” as well as “What would motivate me to say what that person just said?” (Moschieri 393).
“The use of affirmations involves using positive statements in regard to something that one desires to be true” (Moschieri 393). For instance, if one is going for a conflict resolution or negotiation meeting they might be saying “I know I’m going to blow up,” (Moschieri 393) it is however more fruitful to force themselves to say, “I am calm, comfortable, and prepared” (Moschieri 394).
When work team members are trained to shift every unconstructive rational tape to other constructive ones, they will have the capacity to shift hampering paradigms as well as handle conflict more efficiently.
Cooperation
In the modern business, it is not enough to have good individual performance of the employees. In more and more multifaceted organizations, success is determined by the measure of interdependence documented in the team. Team leaders can smooth the progress of cooperation by stressing on the impact of individual team members on team efficiency and illuminating esteemed member behaviors.
To this effect F.A.C.T.S model can be applied to ensure productivity and desirable group member behavior. It stands for: follow-through, accuracy, timeliness, creativity, and spirit as a channel for aiding teams recognize behaviors that maintain synergy within the team (Wong, et.al 1211).
Follow-through is a common phrase applied in many work teams and members tend to put it as “You can count on it.” There is a general belief that if a team mate or a coworker concurs to return a phone call, go through a report, speak to a client, be present at a meeting, or transform a behavior, the work will be completed (Wong, et.al 1212). In this case, there is a follow-through. Team members are enthusiastically conscious that being a team member, all that they carry out or rather does not carry out have a great impact on somebody else.
Accuracy is inseparable with successful work teams as members agree “We do it right the first time”(Wong, et.al 1215). “Accuracy, is undoubtedly an indication of individual pride, in addition exhibits a pledge to maintain the values and norms of the team, therefore generating team pride” (Wong, et.al 1215).
Creativity is encouraged when innovation burgeons on a team as members feel propped up by group mates. Even though setting a trend in a new array of things may be dangerous venture, such risk is significantly condensed in a cooperative atmosphere where team members absolve mistakes, revere personal differences, and change their thoughts and judgments from a standpoint to a viewing point.
Timeliness involves doing and accomplishing tasks and projects within the set time. When there is real cooperation between team members, they value others time by changing team priorities to individual priorities, getting to meetings punctually, giving out information on time, gathering queries for people, succinct communication, and asking queries, and keenly observing timing before setting off interactions (Wong, et.al 1217). Spirit involves viewing a work team as a family.
In this case is not possible to always have your opinions reign and also to contribute positively one is obliged to grow a generous spirit. Team leaders can greatly assist team members to achieve these rules of enhancing team spirit: respect the personality; build up team trust; open communication; handle differences; take part in successes and welcome fresh team members (Wong, et.al 1217).
Contribution
The influence of a successful work team is in direct relation to the talents possessed by team members and the inventiveness members pay out. Work and project teams require members who have outstanding technological and interpersonal abilities moreover are enthusiastic to be trained. “Teams as well require self-leaders who take the rap for having things accomplished” (Gratton and Tamara 101). However if some team members take on the majority of the workload, the team gets into the danger of member exhaustion, or even worse, member turn-off.
For an evenhanded involvement of team members, team leaders should reflect on three key issues that influence the intensity of personal input: inclusion, confidence, as well as empowerment. “The further individuals appear and feel as part of a group, the further they contribute; moreover the greater the contributions of the members, the better the feeling of being a part of a team” (Gratton and Tamara 101).
To develop thoughts of inclusion, team leaders have to keep team members knowledgeable, importune their contribution, and maintain an environment of collegiality (Gratton and Tamara 101). If human resources are not giving proposals at conferences and meetings, team leaders should encourage them to do so. “If group members overlook meetings, it is important to let them feel that they were missed” (Gratton and Tamara 101).
When ideas, even very natural ideas are presented, a leader should be keen to demonstrate approval for the initiative. Self-confidence and team confidence shapes the total liveliness a group member devotes in a venture. If potentiality is apparently pegged on investment of great efforts is expected to finish in accomplishment, team members are more prone to throw in.
If, in contrast, success looks improbable, investment of vigor and efforts will fade (Gratton and Tamara 101). To cultivate self-assurance on a team, leaders should know how to emphasize the talent, skill, and achievements corresponded to on the work team, and keep past team members’ successes in evidence.
The confidence of a work team can be reinforced by giving feedback, training, appraisal, and career development prospects. In a different way, a team leader can stabilize contribution of team members to a project is to boost staff empowerment. Employees’ involvement in decision-making, offering the right training, and respecting them on the basis of their experience empowers and encourages them to invest more.
Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing
This is a theory meant to help teams perform effectively and quickly. It was developed by a psychologist known as Bruce Tuckman in 1965 (Mitsuhashi and Greve 983) when he developed the famous phrase forming, storming, Norming and performing. He later added the final and fifth stage, adjourning which a lot of people refer to as “mourning.”
The forming stage comprises of polite and positive members. Some members are anxious, as they do not know what the task and the team will involve. Others are just excited about the work that lies ahead and at this point, the only clear responsibility is that of the leader and has an important role to play.
The stage is short as it may take just a sitting as members are introduced to one another. There are only brief discussions on the workings of the team and no task is carried out. The leader should guide the team moreover institute goals clearly. At this point, a team charter can be negotiated (Mitsuhashi and Greve 984).
The storming stage follows and various roles for different members are outlined. Therefore, it is upon the leader to ensure the needs of members who feel overwhelmed by work burden or discontent with the criteria for allocating tasks are catered for. At this stage, the leader should clarify the importance and relevance of the team in order to minimize resistance from employees.
This is a critical stage, as many teams fail at this stage and therefore right relations among colleagues should be well rolled out to help the members accomplish their tasks. The leader should institute procedure and arrangement, along with efforts to resolve conflict and fabricate fine relationships between members. It is also important to teach boldness and conflict resolution at this point when required (Mitsuhashi and Greve 986).
Slowly, the team evolves to the Norming stage where a hierarchy or leadership is well established. The leader is well respected by the members in specific areas. “Similarly, the team members know each other quite well and can ask for assistance and provide positive criticism” (Gratton and Tamara 101). The team builds up a stronger dedication to the group targets, and the leader records good development towards the team.
There is regularly a protracted overlap connecting storming and Norming actions. As fresh responsibilities crop up, the team could slip back into characteristic storming stage conduct, except this ultimately dies out. At this stage, the leader can step back and assist the members take liability for advancement towards the team targets. It is the opportune time to put together a communal or a team-building experience (Mitsuhashi and Greve 987).
At the performing stage, the amount of hard work put in the tasks is proportional to development towards the collective vision of their targets, propped up by the arrangements and procedures that have been established. A leader should be capable of delegating a lot of the work and therefore can focus on nurturing team members. Delegation also helps the leader to begin working on other projects and fields of work (Mitsuhashi and Greve 987).
After accomplishment of duties, the project is disbanded or resolved through restructuring of the organization and a leader has to deal with the team goals and its members. Disbanding or dissolving the team can be nerve-racking and therefore the need for adjourning or mourning arises to cater for both team goals and members.
The termination affects the staff that had developed close relationships or attracted to routine especially if there security of their jobs seems threatened. It is good for the team leader to take time to celebrate the achievements of the team. This is particularly important in case you may want to work with all or some people from the group again because those pat experiences will influence the new team positively (Mitsuhashi and Greve 988).
For this tool to be effective, the team leader should be able to recognize the stage at which the team development is at according to the theory. Time should also be created to coach the members about the stages. The aim should always be to get to the performing stage successfully by understanding the role of each stage as per the theory. Finally, it is imperative to schedule reviews as regards to where the teams is compared to where it is supposed to be.
A leader is also required to amend behavior and headship approach to go well with the phase reached by the team. Communicating steps forward against suitable targets is essential for the team’s members to have a sense that the process they are undertaking is meaningful. If situations do not possibly the model it is impractical to use or force things (Mitsuhashi and Greve 990).
Team evaluations
It is not enough to burn a lot of efforts to make teamwork to achieve its objectives, the progress and activities of the team should be monitored. Team evaluations do not mean spying on employees or negative remarks, it is just meant to check on the scope, cost, time, and performance of the project handed to the team (Cao and Swierczek 583). “In the case of a team, the evaluation can be done by the team members on themselves and one another or the members evaluate one another and the team leader or leaders evaluate the individual members” (Cao and Swierczek 583).
It is also important to allow each member to evaluate himself or herself. In evaluation, it is important to turn all the negative aspects of the team to positive ones and that evaluation is for the whole team, however the individuality of each member is very important significant.
Guidelines for team evaluation
A team leader should analyze evaluations, which involves how individual members evaluated one another to understand the general feelings of the team. After that, the leader scrutinizes the difficulties of the team projects and whether the tasks are familiar or new. The leader should examine the capability of the team to rise to the occasion and if not try to establish the reasons behind it.
The reasons could be limitation of skills but it is more useful to talk about a project that was performed better in the past and try to bring out the difference between those occasions (Cao and Swierczek 584). The next analysis should be on performance where the leader should check how well they did. It is important to separate potential and performance and abide by the real outcome of team members. Then achievements of the team project targets are analyzed and the leader indicates team contributions and outcome.
“In monitoring the scope of the project, it is important to evaluate how the team has performed within the project’s life cycle” (Cao and Swierczek 583). This will help recognize the overruns and the implications of a longer life cycle (Cao and Swierczek 586). As a team leader, judging individuality of each member is imperative by looking at each individual and his or her contribution in isolation.
This will help recognize how well each member performed and in what areas since different people excel in different fields. It also helps to know whether the contribution was for the good of the team and identify the problem. It also gives the leader an opportunity to identify the member who persistently presents poor performance and speak to the member privately. During discussions with team members on the results of team evaluations the leader should point out the weak areas and what should be done to enhance the performance.
If the team gives good impressions most of the time, this should not be used as a guide for evaluation because thee is always a room for improvement since not all projects are effectively done. This could be challenging for the team leader but it is advisable to start with those successful projects and then discuss the negatives and how they can be acted upon for improvement (Gratton and Tamara 108).
Conclusion
The best way to get a project done is to form a taskforce or a team to deliberate on it. However, not all teams end up achieving those set goals within the set time if they manage to finish at all. Other teams end up in more frustrations and conflicts between the employees. It is therefore very important to understand the dynamics of forming a performing team.
This involves simple but rather intricate aspects such as group norms, communication, cohesion, conflict management, group size among other key factors. It is also very important to carry out team evaluation to ensure that targets are achieved within set time, scope, costs and performance as well as ensuring resources and members are empowered to do so.
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