Organizational Behavior & Choosing your Team

1. Organizational Behavior & Choosing your Team Vicky Parker, Ed.M.,D.B.A. Associate Professor Health Policy & Management Mark Prashker, MD, MPH Associate Dean School of Public Health

2. Agenda • What are organizations? • Levels of organizational analysis • A brief organizational experience • Teams/a brief team simulation • Implications for action

3. What is an organization? Group of people Intentionally together To achieve a goal (or goals)

5. Difficulties • How do we organize to optimize communication and efficiency? • Can we agree on goals? Methods? • What do we need from other organizations?

6. Simulation set-up • Locations • Groups • Each group will get the rules; the rules must be followed • Communication between groups is only in writing, via the courier (me) • You must give the courier the physical location of the group you are writing to • When time is called, return to large group

7. Simulation debrief • What was the purpose of the activity? • What did you notice about your group? • Your communication with other groups? • The organization’s ability to succeed? • Other observations?

8. Navigating an Organization in the “Real World” • “What got you here won’t get you there” • Intelligence and skill don’t differentiate why some people do well in organizations and others plateau • Ability? • Experience? • Training? • No—it’s your Behavior

9. 7 Bad Habits of Highly Successful People • Being the smartest person in the room • Tinkering with already good ideas • Passing judgment • Withholding information • Failing to give proper recognition/Claiming credit you don’t deserve • Playing favorites • Not listening

10. Focus on teams • Teams are widely used when • No single person has all necessary expertise • Acceptance of and commitment to outcome are essential • The task crosses the boundaries of existing organizational units

12. What are effective team behaviors in reaching a group decision?

13. Cascade survival • Have you done this before? • Step one: develop your individual rankings, using pen to mark them • Use #1 to indicate which item on the list is most important to surviving this situation • Use #2 to indicate the second most important, etc. • This part is based solely on your own opinions

15. Team discussion/deliberation • use consensus to arrive at a team ranking • do not use voting or averaging; discuss until you reach agreement • do not go back and change your individual rankings

16. Team process • how did your team work? • did your team use the effective behaviors that the group brainstormed?

17. Expert ratings (Developed by survival experts based on real experiences)

18. Group scoring and discussion • lower team score, less “waste” of collective knowledge • average individual score a measure of the team’s knowledge base • focus on difference between individual and team scores, NOT on comparison with other teams’ scores

19. Organizing groups and teams • multiple options for structure • roles & relationships fundamental variables • what is a team? • small # with complementary skills • common purpose/approach • goals with accountability • structure needs to relate to task demands

20. “Real World” Dysfunctions • Lack of trust • Fear of confrontation/conflict • Absence of commitment • Absence of accountability • Failure to focus on goals

21. Lack of Trust • Lack of trust prevents open, honest communication • Unwilling to take responsibility for fear of making mistakes • Trust is: • Willingness to admit weakness and mistakes • Give the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a conclusion

22. Confrontation/Conflict • Lack of trust leads to reluctance to confront • Decisions get muted • Ideas don’t get worked through • Progress stalls • Conflict can be healthy and is often necessary to help solve a problem

23. Absence of Commitment • Lack of commitment is contagious • Team members go through the motions • Don’t seize opportunities—miss opportunities • Progress stalls • Clarity and buy in are two functions that should happen every time

24. Lack of Accountability • If you don’t trust, won’t discuss honestly, and aren’t committed, then: • No accountability • Effort lacks focus • Everything falls apart • Peer Pressure—willingness to call their peers on performance or behavior that might hurt the team

25. Failure to focus on Team Goals • Dysfunctional teams pursue all agendas but the team’s agenda • Insidious undermining • It is not the individual, the department, but rather the team

26. Wageman – key points • Team design more influential than coaching • Leader role evolves as team does • Critical design elements: • direction • real team task • team rewards • resources • authority over work • team performance goals • team norms about strategic thinking

27. Next steps • Observe managers who lead or facilitate teams that perform well • Observe your own managerial practice & learn from mistakes • Seek & use feedback