Leadership and Teamwork

Leadership and Teamwork By Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn – licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution – Non-Commercial – Share Alike License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/

School of the Built Environment MSc Construction Management People Management in the Built Environment Presentation 3: Team Management Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn

Presentation content . . . • Presentation 3: Team Management • Team Building • Team lifecycle • Team Roles • Team Development • Problems • Team Leadership • Team Meetings

Team building . . . Team building is concerned with improving performance and results Making greater use of both individual and team strengths - not simply concentrating on weaknesses Resolving problems about which something can and must be done and which are within the responsibilities of the team involved

Team building . . . What do you think Team Building needs to consider . . . .

Team building . . . It is suggested that Team Building needs to consider . . . . • Leadership • Membership • Climate • Objective • Achievement • Work Methods • Communications • Individuals • Creativity • Interpersonal relations • Review and Control

Team building characteristics Regular working sessions Tackling own problems Tackling root causes Openness, honesty and risk taking Action-orientation-commitment to decisions Individuals put in time and effort Leader accepts feedback Development of interpersonal skills Programme unique to team Team building . . .

Team building . . . A move from a typical work team to an effective team is not difficult to build. It requires four ingredients to build a team: • Belief • Knowledge • Skill • Experience

Team building . . . Belief - That the team can work together Commitment to each other (this has to come from the team) Knowledge - About how teams work Team characteristics About team leadership Skill - From the application of knowledge Reflecting on experience Through joint decision making and problem solving Experience - Knowing the team’s strengths and weaknesses Where to develop new skills to support the team Respecting individual contributions

Team building . . . Working in teams can release creative energy Communication in effective teams is genuinely interactive with people building on one another’s suggestions and adding fresh perspectives Working in a team can mean people enjoy work more - a sense of belonging Sometimes teamworking is the ONLY way to do a job . . . . As neither the concert nor the football match can be performed without teamwork

Team Life Cycle . . . The original model published in 1965 by Dr Bruce Tuckman in the article ‘Development sequences in small groups’ (Psychological Bulletin Volume 63, Number 6) only covered the first four of these stages. He added the fifth stage in the 1970s. Stage 4: Teamworking is mature ‘Performing’ Concerned with achieving goals Stage 3: Teamworking is ‘Norming’ Group help is widespread Concern is how individuals can help the group Stage 5: Team is ending ‘Mourning’ Concerned with breaking up and moving on to new tasks Stage 2: Team is experimenting ‘Storming’ Concerned with have we work together Stage 1: Teamworking is underdeveloped ‘Forming’ Concerned with who fits where

Team Life Cycle . . . • Stage 1 signs may include: • self conscious politeness • embarrassment • enthusiasm • stilted conversation • not much progress yet • Stage 2 signs may include: • conflict • lively debate and discussion • trying out ways of working • thinks beginning to be achieved • Stage 3 signs may include: • shared leadership • preparedness to change • active participation by all • mutual problem solving • open exchange of ideas • Stage 4 signs may include: • relaxed, purposeful atmosphere • feelings of confidence • most talk being about the job • goals being achieved • Stage 5 signs may include: • tidying up loose ends • celebrating achievement • feelings of sadness • planning for new teams saying good-byes From Bruce W Tuckman and M A C Jenson ’Development sequences in small groups’, Psychological Bulletin Volume 63, Number 6, 1977. The American Psychological Association.

Team roles . . . • From Dr Meridith Belbin . . . . • Plant • Resource Investigator • Co-ordinator (Chairman) • Shaper • Monitor - Evaluator • Team worker • Implementer (Company Worker) • Completer - Finisher • Specialist • See handout on Belbin’s role and questionnaire

Team roles . . . From Dr Meridith Belbin and the questionnaire . . . . How did you score and what do you think about the results? How could you make use of this information? Normally we do not have the luxury of forming our workteams – do you think that this information is useful is forming teams?

Team roles . . .

Team problems . . . Sometimes there is a problem with Teamworking This may be because too much time and energy spent improving communication and interactive skills - works suffers as a consequence. Particular individuals are embarrassed or marginalised because they find teamworking difficult to their natural style.

Working as a team – checklist: Does your team . . . • Know where its going? – this week, this year? • And does it communicate this direction? • Communicate on a two-way basis? • Do members have opportunity to suggest alternatives? • Use emotions well? • Are people praised for good work? Is it capable of telling off poor performers? • Avoid negative use of emotions? • Do people work in a constant mood of fear and depression? • Have a clear set of standards? • Are people who fail brought back on track?

Working as a team – checklist: Does the whole team . . . • Accept its standards as being not too high or too low? • Have an effective hierarchy and an effective distribution of work? • Freely discuss individual strengths and weaknesses without fear or recrimination? • Know each other better than superficially? • Plan successfully? • Feel in control of its destiny? .

Working as a team – checklist: Does the whole team . . . • Make the best use of resources – people, equipment, and budget? • Have an identity? • Complain and moan too much? • Have a method for resolving disagreements? • Put emphasis on results? • Enjoy itself?

Team Leadership . . . A Working Definition Of Leadership • Leadership is the knowledge of and the ability to respond to group needs, task needs and individual needs. • Leadership is influencing people to practice and work more efficiently in groups and one-to-one situations

Team Leadership . . . A good Team Leader is . . . • Responsible for organizing the team to meet its goals • Responsible for the quality of the team’s output • Responsible for developing the team • Responsible for the interface between the team and the organization

Team Leadership . . . The leadership task is to effectively undertake three inter-related activities, in John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership model this is represented by three circles representing Adair's identified three core management responsibilities: • achieving the task; • building and managing the team or group • and finally, • managing the work and development of individuals. Individual Team Task Maximizing the overlap between these increases leadership efficiency and performance.

Team Leadership . . . In order to be clear about the three sets of questions below need to be addressed: • Task • What steps need to be taken to achieve the task? • What processes might you need to follow to achieve the task? • What does the task need from the individual and the team? • Individual • In order to participate fully, what do you need for yourself? • What could further your development within the task and the team? • What does the individual need from the task and the team? • Team • What processes help the team development? • What culture would most benefit the team? • What does the team need from the individual and the task?

Team Leadership . . . John Adair’s Action Centred Leadership model, here the elements are shown with respect to the demands on the Team Leader • Team Leadership skills are . . . • Communication • Planning • Organizing • Coaching • Persuading • Negotiating Developing the Individual Building and maintaining the Team Achieving the Task

Team Leadership . . . In addition it is possible to link John Adair’s Action Centred Leadership model with Bruce Tuckman’s team development stages as seen on the next slide. Developing the Individual Building and maintaining the Team Achieving the Task

Relationship Team Performing Task Forming Norming Mourning Individual Storming Time Team Leadership . . .

Team Leadership . . .

Team Leadership style . . . Research into teams shows that there are a number of broad leadership styles. BUT . . .

Team Leadership style . . . The ideal Leadership style is whatever works best for your team

Team Leadership style . . . HIGH Coaching Supporting SUPPORTIVE BEHAVIOUR Directing Delegating LOW LOW DIRECTIVE BEHAVIOUR HIGH Hersey and Blanchard model on Teamwork and Leadership, from 1969

Team Leadership style . . . Directive Style • Team leader has high level of interaction with the team • Most communication from the team leader is giving information and directions • Team leader chairs meetings, allocates work, is the main source of feedback for the team • Team members respect and rely on leader

Team Leadership style . . . Delegating Style • Team leader has low level of interaction with the team • Most communication from the team leader is responding to proposals and suggestions from the team • Team members chair meetings, allocates work, give one another feedback and seek feedback directly from outside the team • Team members feel respected by leader

Team Leadership style . . . Supportive Style • Team leader has high level of interaction with the team • Most communication from the team leader is positive feedback and emotional support, leader will protect them from attach and any criticism of the teams performance • Team members chair meetings, although leader may take over on these functions if others are too busy or pressured • Team members trust the leader

Team Leadership style . . . Coaching Style • Leader takes a high level of interest in the development needs of the team and its members, identifying opportunities to help members realise their own ambitions • Communication from the team leader is often to the individual, with support for new learning opportunities and experiences. The leader will protect the individuals from attach and any criticism of the their performance • The Team leader will encourage members to participate in meetings.

Team Meetings . . . Meetings can be a major cost to the organisation and a major context for decision making, interpersonal influencing and team collaboration. Regular team meetings have particular purposes, over and above problem-solving and decision making on any particular work. related issue – • They provide an opportunity to review team performance • They reinforce the teams sense of itself as a team • They allow for goal reinforcement, progress feedback and information sharing • They allow for all-member involvement and development in team decision making • They allow for informal communication

Team Meetings . . . The Five P’s . . . • Purpose • Participants • Planning • Process • Perspective

School of the Built Environment MSc Construction Management People Management in the Built Environment Presentation 3: Team Management Professor Simon Burtonshaw-Gunn

Leadership and Teamwork