Teams and Team Building

1. Teams and Team Building Shawn Clark Assistant Professor of IST Solutions The Pennsylvania State University August 24, 2000

2. Group Exercise Objective: Build the tallest self-supporting structure you can with 25 straws Rules: • Select a group observer • 20 minutes to plan the how you are going to construct your structure • No assembly of parts during planning period (except using two practice straws) • Can lay out pieces, but no trial assembly • Construction period lasts for 90 seconds

3. Group Exercise Follow-up Questions • Did any group members bring special skills to the exercise? • What are group members doing that seems to benefit group performance? • What are group members doing that seems to hinder group performance? • What kinds of roles emerged during the exercise? • What could your group have done differently to improve its performance?

4. Presentation Objectives • Highlight the importance of social information processing • Define what a team is • Describe different types of teams • Relate my experiences working in and with teams • Define why teams are important • Describe the different types of team dysfunction • Identify the characteristics of an effective team

5. Mann Gulch Disaster • Why do teams fail? • How can teams be made more resilient / successful?

6. Mann Gulch Disaster: Lessons Learned (continued) • The stakes are high • Work is increasingly done in small temporary outfits (e.g., teams) in which the stakes are high and foul-ups can have serious consequences • Assumptions have consequences • The crew expects a 10:00 fire but grows uneasy when the fire doesn’t behave like one • People are often unclear about who is in charge • Creativity and risk taking usually don’t well under pressure • The foreman lights a fire right in the middle of the only escape route • Each individual faces the dilemma of being his or her own boss and following the team leader

7. Mann Gulch Disaster: Lessons Learned (continued) • Sticking with the team helps keep the fear under control • Sallee and Ramsey stuck together • A partner makes sense making easier • A partner enlarges the pool of accessible data • People rarely trust leaders they don’t know • Leaders can have their greatest impact on a team before people get into tight situations

8. Information processing is as much a social process as it is a technical one Social information processing involves: • Scanning for information • Gathering information • Storing information • Communicating information • Making decisions with (or without) information

9. What is a team? • Definition: • Cohesive group • Have a common purpose • Members hold themselves mutually accountable • Members define a common working approach

10. Life in organizations includes a rich landscape of teams and team involvement • Task force • Project teams • Executive boards • Steering committees • Quality review teams • Employee improvement teams Work Team Project team 2 Project team 1 Project team 3

11. My experiences working in teams • The team member nexus (living in team matrix) • Different types and sizes of teams • Functional / dysfunctional teams • Projects of various lengths • Very high stakes • $2300 / day • Million dollar client contracts • Team products and deliverables • New / improved organization structure, system, process • Meeting notes • Final reports • Functional system • Satisfied client / customer • Viable recommendations • Project plan

12. Why are teams important? • Greater sum of total knowledge and information • Greater number of approaches to problem solving • Motivating • Mechanism for retaining knowledge and wisdom • Use to develop commitment and a sense of ownership

13. Team problems are costly • Cost money • Delays and missed deadlines • Customer dissatisfaction • Deliver wrong product / service / system • Careers ruined • Emotionally toxic • People die

14. Team pitfalls and dysfunctions • Social loafing / free-rider effect • Groupthink – agreement-at-any-cost mentality • Self-appointed mind guards / individual domination • Perceived inequity • Climate of distrust • Poor communication • Winning the argument

15. Characteristics of an effective team • Shared vision and goals • Appropriate skills and abilities • Climate of trust and openness • Team organization • Tools and techniques • Team leadership

16. Elements of an effective vision • Is unique and/or creative • Fosters shared understanding • Fosters buy-in of proposed vision • Articulates clear, attainable future state • Is broken down into specific goals and objectives

17. Brainstorming Exercise • Imagine that you work for a company that manufactures wire coat hangers. The company is about to close because most people use plastic hangers • Your manager comes to you in desperate need of help. She must figure out how to use a supply of wire coat hangers that fills the warehouse • The company is part of a conglomerate, and has unlimited resources and facilities to deal with problems • During the next two minutes, your task is to list as many ideas you can for using wire coat hangers. Write your answers down on a piece of paper

18. A recent study produced these results On the coat hanger exercise, 5 year olds generated an average of 50 responses!

19. Many factors limit creativity • Habit • Fear of being wrong • Lack of self-confidence • Lack of interest • Judging ideas before writing them down

20. The “classical grouping” technique is useful in categorizing and organizing brainstormed ideas Example: What prevents the current ___________ process from achieving performance objectives? ? ? ? ? ?

21. First, ideas are quickly brainstormed onto cards • Print clearly • Use the horizontal format • Keep it brief (7 words or less) • Use at least one verb • Write only one thought per card • Generate as many as possible

22. In the second step, each card is read to the team and posted on the wall in “thematic” groups 1 2 3 4 Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement Statement

23. Team assignment: Create a team name, share contact information, and develop a team code of conduct • Example of a team code of conduct: • We will use the word “we” instead of “I” • We will be prepared for all team assignments • Everyone will participate in team discussions and activities • We will respect each other’s views and ideas • Punctuality is a must (anyone who is late to a meeting owes $1) • Each team member will notify a fellow team member when unable to attend a meeting or when expecting to arrive late Team name and code of conduct are due next class period