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LEARNER GUIDE

Build teams to achieve goals and objectives

Unit Standard 252037Level 5 Credits 6

Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 1

TABLE OF CONTENTSTABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................iPERSONAL INFORMATION...........................................................................1INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................2

Programme methodology......................................................................................................3What Learning Material you should have..............................................................................4Different types of activities you can expect..........................................................................5Learner Administration..........................................................................................................6Assessments.........................................................................................................................6Learner Support....................................................................................................................7Learner Expectations............................................................................................................8

UNIT STANDARD 252037............................................................................91. THEORY OF TEAMS...............................................................................12

Understanding the Theory of Teams.........................................................................12Compare the Characteristics of a Team and Team Interaction............................................12Describe the Types of Teams..............................................................................................14Motivate the Importance of Teams for Achieving Workplace Goals.....................................15Formative Assessment 1: SO1 EEK2....................................................................................17

2. APPLY THE THEORY OF TEAMS TO TEAM DYNAMICS...............................18Applying the Theory of Teams to Team Dynamics....................................................18

Explain the Dynamics of Teams..........................................................................................18Analyse the Reasons for Disagreements and Conflict in a Team.........................................23Identify Unique Challenges Presented by Different Types of Teams....................................27Formative Assessment 2: SO2 EEK1....................................................................................29

3. EXPLAIN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING TEAMS..........................................30Explaining the Process of Building Teams.................................................................30

Explain the Steps in the Process of Building Teams............................................................30Formative Assessment 3: SO3.............................................................................................32

4. ANALYSE THE ROLE OF THE TEAM LEADER IN BUILDING TEAMS...............33Analysing the Role of the Team Leader.....................................................................33

Explain the Role of the Team Leader...................................................................................33Consider the Impact of Leadership Styles...........................................................................34Behavioural Theories...........................................................................................................36

Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 i

Techniques for Managing Team Dynamics..........................................................................42Formative Assessment 4: SO4 EEK4 & 5.............................................................................50

5. EVALUATE AND IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A TEAM......................51Evaluating and Improving the Effectiveness of a Team.............................................51

Evaluate the Functioning of a Team....................................................................................51Develop an Action Plan to Improve the Effectiveness of a Team.........................................52Formative Assessment 5: SO5.............................................................................................55

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS WORKBOOK....................................................56Formative Assessment 1: SO1 EEK2....................................................................................56Formative Assessment 2: SO2 EEK1....................................................................................58Formative Assessment 3: SO3.............................................................................................60Formative Assessment 4: SO4 EEK4 & 5.............................................................................62Formative Assessment 5: SO5.............................................................................................64

References and Further Reading...............................................................................66

Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 ii

PERSONAL INFORMATIONNAME

CONTACT ADDRESS

Code

Telephone (H)

Telephone (W)

Cellular

Learner Number

Identity Number

EMPLOYER

EMPLOYER CONTACT ADDRESS

Code

Supervisor Name

Supervisor Contact Address

Code

Telephone (H)

Telephone (W)

Cellular


INTRODUCTIONWelcome to the learning programmeFollow along in the guide as the training practitioner takes you through the material. Make notes and sketches that will help you to understand and remember what you have learnt. Take notes and share information with your colleagues. Important and relevant information and skills are transferred by sharing!

This learning programme is divided into sections. Each section is preceded by a description of the required outcomes and assessment criteria as contained in the unit standards specified by the South African Qualifications Authority. These descriptions will define what you have to know and be able to do in order to be awarded the credits attached to this learning programme. These credits are regarded as building blocks towards achieving a National Qualification upon successful assessment and can never be taken away from you!


Programme methodology

The programme methodology includes facilitator presentations, readings, individual activities, group discussions and skill application exercises.Know what you want to get out of the programme from the beginning and start applying your new skills immediately. Participate as much as possible so that the learning will be interactive and stimulating.The following principles were applied in designing the course:

Because the course is designed to maximise interactive learning, you are encouraged and required to participate fully during the group exercises

As a learner you will be presented with numerous problems and will be required to fully apply your mind to finding solutions to problems before being presented with the course presenter’s solutions to the problems

Through participation and interaction the learners can learn as much from each other as they do from the course presenter

Although learners attending the course may have varied degrees of experience in the subject matter, the course is designed to ensure that all delegates complete the course with the same level of understanding

Because reflection forms an important component of adult learning, some learning resources will be followed by a self-assessment which is designed so that the learner will reflect on the material just completed.

This approach to course construction will ensure that learners first apply their minds to finding solutions to problems before the answers are provided, which will then maximise the learning process which is further strengthened by reflecting on the material covered by means of the self-assessments.

Different role players in delivery process Learner Facilitator Assessor Moderator


What Learning Material you should haveThis learning material has also been designed to provide the learner with a comprehensive reference guide.It is important that you take responsibility for your own learning process; this includes taking care of your learner material. You should at all times have the following material with you:

Learner Guide This learner guide is your valuable possession:This is your textbook and reference material, which provides you with all the information you will require to meet the exit level outcomes.During contact sessions, your facilitator will use this guide and will facilitate the learning process. During contact sessions a variety of activities will assist you to gain knowledge and skills.Follow along in the guide as the training practitioner takes you through the material. Make notes and sketches that will help you to understand and remember what you have learnt. Take and share information with your colleagues. Important and relevant information and skills are transferred by sharing!This learning programme is divided into sections. Each section is preceded by a description of the required outcomes and assessment criteria as contained in the unit standards specified by the South African Qualifications Authority. These descriptions will define what you have to know and be able to do in order to be awarded the credits attached to this learning programme. These credits are regarded as building blocks towards achieving a National Qualification upon successful assessment and can never be taken away from you!

Formative Assessment Workbook

The Formative Assessment Workbook supports the Learner Guide and assists you in applying what you have learnt.The formative assessment workbook contains classroom activities that you have to complete in the classroom, during contact sessions either in groups or individually.You are required to complete all activities in the Formative Assessment Workbook.The facilitator will assist, lead and coach you through the process.These activities ensure that you understand the content of the material and that you get an opportunity to test your understanding.


Different types of activities you can expectTo accommodate your learning preferences, a variety of different types of activities are included in the formative and summative assessments. They will assist you to achieve the outcomes (correct results) and should guide you through the learning process, making learning a positive and pleasant experience.

The table below provides you with more information related to the types of activities.

Types of Activities Description Purpose

Knowledge Activities You are required to complete these activities on your own.

These activities normally test your understanding and ability to apply the information.

Skills Application Activities

You need to complete these activities in the workplace

These activities require you to apply the knowledge and skills gained in the workplace

Natural Occurring Evidence

You need to collect information and samples of documents from the workplace.

These activities ensure you get the opportunity to learn from experts in the industry.Collecting examples demonstrates how to implement knowledge and skills in a practical way


Learner Administration

Attendance RegisterYou are required to sign the Attendance Register every day you attend training sessions facilitated by a facilitator.

Programme Evaluation Form On completion you will be supplied with a “Learning programme Evaluation Form”. You are required to evaluate your experience in attending the programme.Please complete the form at the end of the programme, as this will assist us in improving our service and programme material. Your assistance is highly appreciated.

AssessmentsThe only way to establish whether a learner is competent and has accomplished the specific outcomes is through the assessment process. Assessment involves collecting and interpreting evidence about the learners’ ability to perform a task.To qualify and receive credits towards your qualification, a registered Assessor will conduct an evaluation and assessment of your portfolio of evidence and competency.This programme has been aligned to registered unit standards. You will be assessed against the outcomes as stipulated in the unit standard by completing assessments and by compiling a portfolio of evidence that provides proof of your ability to apply the learning to your work situation.


How will Assessments commence?

Formative Assessments The assessment process is easy to follow. You will be guided by the Facilitator. Your responsibility is to complete all the activities in the Formative Assessment Workbook and submit it to your facilitator.

Summative Assessments You will be required to complete a series of summative assessments. The Summative Assessment Guide will assist you in identifying the evidence required for final assessment purposes. You will be required to complete these activities on your own time, using real life projects in your workplace or business environment in preparing evidence for your Portfolio of Evidence. Your Facilitator will provide more details in this regard.To qualify and receive credits towards your qualification, a registered Assessor will conduct an evaluation and assessment of your portfolio of evidence and competency.

Learner SupportThe responsibility of learning rests with you, so be proactive and ask questions and seek assistance and help from your facilitator, if required.

Please remember that this Skills Programme is based on outcomes based education principles which implies the following:

You are responsible for your own learning – make sure you manage your study, research and workplace time effectively.

Learning activities are learner driven – make sure you use the Learner Guide and Formative Assessment Workbook in the manner intended, and are familiar with the workplace requirements.

The Facilitator is there to reasonably assist you during contact, practical and workplace time for this programme – make sure that you have his/her contact details.

You are responsible for the safekeeping of your completed Formative Assessment Workbook and Workplace Guide

If you need assistance please contact your facilitator who will gladly assist you. If you have any special needs please inform the facilitator


Learner Expectations Please prepare the following information. You will then be asked to introduce yourself to the instructor as well as your fellow learners

Your name:

The organisation you represent:

Your position in organisation:

What do you hope to achieve by attending this course / what are your course expectations?


UNIT STANDARD 252037Title

Build teams to achieve goals and objective

NQF Level5

Credits6

Purpose Of The Unit Standard This Unit Standard is intended for managers in all economic sectors. These managers would typically be second level managers such as heads of department, section heads or divisional heads, who may have more than one team reporting to them.The qualifying learner is capable of:

Demonstrating knowledge of and insight into the theory of teams and the importance of teams in workplace activities.

Applying the theory of teams to team dynamics. Explaining the process of building teams. Analysing the role of team leader in promoting team effectiveness. Evaluating the effectiveness of a team and propose ways to improve team

effectiveness.

Learning Assumed To Be In Place And Recognition Of Prior Learning It is assumed that learners are competent in:

Communication at NQF Level 4. Mathematical Literacy at NQF Level 4. Computer Literacy at NQF Level 4.

Unit Standard Range The learner is required to apply the learning in respect of this/her own area of

responsibility. Unit refers to the division, department or business unit in which the learner is

responsible for managing and leading staff. Entity includes, but is not limited to, a company, business unit, public institution, small

business, Non-Profit Organisation or Non-Governmental Organisation.

Specific Outcomes and Assessment Criteria: Specific Outcome 1


Demonstrate knowledge of and insight into the theory of teams and the importance of teams in workplace activities. Assessment Criteria

The characteristics of a team and team interaction are compared with those of a group. Different types of teams are described in terms of their unique roles and

characteristics. The importance of teams for achieving workplace goals and objectives is motivated with

examples of the contributions of teams.

Specific Outcome 2 Apply the theory of teams to team dynamics. Assessment Criteria

The dynamics of teams are explained in terms of practical examples. The reasons for disagreements and conflict that could disrupt the functioning of the

team are analysed with reference to interpersonal and other factors. Unique challenges presented by different types of teams are identified with specific

reference to cross-functional and virtual teams.

Specific Outcome 3 Explain the process of building teams. Assessment Criteria

The process of building a team is explained with reference to the steps in the process. Stages of team development are analysed in terms of the human behaviour that drives

the different stages.

Specific Outcome 4 Analyse the role of team leader in promoting team effectiveness. Assessment Criteria

The role of the team leader is explained in relation to improving team effectiveness. The impact of different leadership styles is considered in relation to the leader's role in

promoting team effectiveness. Techniques for the constructive management of team dynamics and conflict are

described with specific reference to promoting trust, cohesion, creativity and productivity.

Specific Outcome 5 Evaluate the effectiveness of a team and propose ways to improve team effectiveness. Assessment Criteria


The functioning of a team is evaluated against the characteristic of high performance teams.

An action plan is developed for improving the effectiveness of the team.

Unit Standard Accreditation And Moderation Options Anyone assessing a candidate against this Unit Standard must be registered as an

assessor with the relevant ETQA or an ETQA that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant ETQA.

Any institution offering learning that will enable achievement of this Unit Standard must be accredited as a provider through the relevant ETQA or an ETQA that has a Memorandum of Understanding with the relevant ETQA.

Moderation of assessment will be overseen by the relevant ETQA according to the moderation guidelines and the agreed ETQA procedures.

Unit Standard Essential Embedded Knowledge The knowledge underpinning the above specific outcomes is:

Theory of teams and team dynamics. Different types of teams. Characteristics of high performance teams. Leadership styles. Techniques for managing team dynamics.

Critical Cross-field Outcomes (CCFO): Unit Standard CCFO Identifying The learner is able to identify and solve problems in which responses show that responsible decisions using critical and creative thinking have been made in building teams to achieve goals and objectives.

Unit Standard CCFO Working The learner is able to work as a member of a team in building a team that contributes to the achievement of the unit's goals and objectives.

Unit Standard CCFO Organising The learner is able to organise and manage him/herself and his/her activities responsibly and effectively in building teams to achieve goals and objectives.

Unit Standard CCFO Collecting The learner is able to collect, organise and critically evaluate information and applying this in a way that positively contributes towards building teams to achieve goals and objectives.

Unit Standard CCFO Communicating


The learner is able to communicate effectively using visual, mathematics and language skills in the modes of oral and/or written presentations in communicating with the members of the team and others in order to build teams that achieve goals and objectives.

Unit Standard CCFO Demonstrating The learner is able to demonstrate an understanding of the world as a set of related systems by recognising that problem-solving contexts do not exist in isolation in applying knowledge of and insight into the complexity of building teams to achieve goals and objectives.


1. THEORY OF TEAMS

Specific Outcome 1 Demonstrate knowledge of and insight into the theory of teams and the importance of teams in workplace activities.

Assessment Criteria The characteristics of a team and team interaction are compared with those of a group. Different types of teams are described in terms of their unique roles and

characteristics. The importance of teams for achieving workplace goals and objectives is motivated with

examples of the contributions of teams.

Understanding the Theory of Teams

The six most important words: "I admit I made a mistake."

The five most important words: "You did a good job."

The four most important words: "What is your opinion?"

The three most important words: "If you please."

The two most important words: "Thank you,"

The one most important word: "We"

The least important word: "I"- Author unknown

We all know the saying that there is no “I” in “team” and we probably all agree that there is no better description of how to get along in a team than the anonymous author’s seven wise sayings quoted above. We will see how team members thrive on praise and recognition and how a team leader needs to consult members in order to obtain their buy-in and maintain productivity. We will study team roles in order to effectively utilise the strengths of the individuals in the team, while taking cognisance of team dynamics and team development in order to adapt our own leadership styles. Finally, when studying the qualities of effective leaders, we will look at how a leader needs humility in order to be big enough to admit s/he is wrong at times, and to always treat team Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 14

members with respect and as equals with something of value to contribute to the work of the team.

Compare the Characteristics of a Team and Team Interaction

Firstly, we need to agree that teams and groups are not the same thing: A group is a collection of people who do not share a common goal and do not work

together to achieve it. For example, a number of strangers travelling in a lift are a group and not a team.

A team can be defined as “a number of people, usually in the same place at the same time, with the same general goals, who have the collective and coordinated skills necessary to carry out their purpose or goal successfully”1.

Imagine a soccer or rugby team that refuses to work as a team. Instead, each player concentrates on getting all the glory and spends more time stabbing other players in the back than doing what the team needs. What would happen? The answer’s quite obvious: the team would lose.2

Imagine, too, a baseball team that assigned players to a different position every day. Consider working in a company where one day you're an accountant, the next day a security guard, another day, you're a salesperson. Chances are, with both the baseball team and company, success would not come easy, if at all.Like players on a strong baseball team or employees in a well-run company, team members fill specific, defined roles. People fill these roles in many ways. Some might volunteer for positions, some might be elected by the group, or even appointed by a manager.Now let’s define and clarify the difference between a work group and a work team.

A work group is a group that “interacts primarily to share information and to make decisions to help each member perform within his or her area of responsibility.”3 Work groups do not engage in collective work that needs joint effort to enhance performance.

A work team, on the other hand, consists of a group whose individual efforts result in a performance that is greater than the sum of the individual inputs; a positive synergy that creates the potential for an organisation to increase outputs with no increase in inputs.

Therefore, a team can be viewed as a “socially-constructed phenomenon or linking mechanism that integrates individuals and organisations”4 .Dyer (1984) defined a team as having two or more people with a common goal, specific role assignments, and interdependence.

Guzzo and Dickson5 define a work team as:

1 www.paradoxuk.com/research.htm2 Gaenor Vaida, Sunday Times, April 18, 20043 Robbins, p 3484 (Horvath, Callahan, Croswell & Mukri, 1996).5 1996; (pp.308-309).Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 15

http://www.paradoxuk.com/research.htm

“…made up of individuals who see themselves and who are seen by others as a social entity, who are interdependent because of the tasks they perform as members of a group, who are embedded in one or more larger social systems (e.g., community, organisation), and who perform tasks that affect others (such as customers or co-workers)” .

Robbins6 warns that “merely calling a group a team doesn’t automatically increase its performance” or make it a team.

As we said in the introduction, there is "no 'I' in the word 'Team'." This is as true today as it has ever been. Businesses have found that the key to successfully completing and accomplishing projects is often through the development of teams. Whereas in the past, teamwork was used only for special projects, now it is often the norm (Castro, 1994). Teamwork has become an essential element for the success and survival of a business.

According to Ray Laferla, a consultant on business leadership, it doesn’t matter how brilliant individuals are, when they come together they always get better results. “Teamwork is better because it compensates for individual weaknesses and creates a master mind outside of the individual.”7

Describe the Types of TeamsThere are six major types of teams8:

Informal Traditional Problem solving Leadership Self-directed Virtual

Informal Teams Informal teams are generally formed for social purposes. They can help to facilitate employee pursuits of common concerns, such as improving work conditions. More frequently however, these teams form out of a set of common concerns and interests, which may or may not be the same as those of the organisation. Leaders of these teams generally emerge from the membership and are not appointed by anyone in the organisation.

Traditional Teams

Traditional teams are the organisational groups commonly thought of as departments or functional areas. Leaders or managers of these teams are appointed by the organisation and have legitimate power in the team. The team is expected to produce a product, deliver a service, or perform a function that the organisation has assigned.

Problem Solving Problem-solving teams or task forces are formed when a 6 Robbins p 3487 Quoted by Gaenor Vaida, Sunday Times, April 18, 20048 Retrieved from: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Teams-and-Teamwork.html Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 16

http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Teams-and-Teamwork.html

Teams problem arises that cannot be solved within the standard organisational structure. These teams are generally cross-functional; that is, the members come from different areas of the organisation, and are charged with finding a solution to the problem.

Leadership Teams

Leadership teams are generally composed of management brought together to span the boundaries between different functions in the organisation. In order for a product to be delivered to market, the heads of finance, production, and marketing must interact and come up with a common strategy for the product. At top management levels, teams are used in developing goals and a strategic direction for the firm as a whole.

Self-Directed Teams

Self-directed teams are given autonomy over deciding how a job will be done. These teams are provided with a goal by the organisation, and then determine how to achieve that goal. Frequently there is no assigned manager or leader and very few, if any, status differences among the team members.

These teams are commonly allowed to choose new team members, decide on work assignments, and may be given responsibility for evaluating team members. They must meet quality standards and interact with both buyers and suppliers, but otherwise have great freedom in determining what the team does. Teams form around a particular project and a leader emerges for that project. The team is responsible for carrying out the project, for recruiting team members, and for evaluating them.

Virtual Teams Technology is impacting how teams meet and function. Collaborative software and conferencing systems have improved the ability for employees to meet, conduct business, share documents, and make decisions without ever being in the same location. While the basic dynamics of other types of teams may still be relevant, the dynamics and management of virtual teams can be very different. Issues can arise with a lack of facial or auditory clues; participants must be taken at their word, even when video-conferencing tools are used.Accountability is impacted by taking a team virtual. Each member is accountable for their tasks and to the team as a whole usually with minimal supervision. Key factors in the success of a virtual team are effective formation of the team, trust and collaboration between members, and excellent communication.

Remember: “The name of the group or team type is less important than the purpose for which it exists. These names simply give us a common language to help us define team types”.9

9 Quoted from: http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020a.htm Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 17

http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020a.htm

Motivate the Importance of Teams for Achieving Workplace Goals

The major impetus for organisations to embrace the team concept is the effort to improve productivity and quality. Teams are a key component of many total quality management programs. “In addition to improved productivity and quality, some of an organisation's major benefits from the use of teams are improved quality of work life for employees, reduced absenteeism and turnover, increased innovation, and improved organisational adaptability and flexibility. Effective implementation of teams can also improve office politics by improving the communication and trust between the team members”.10

Improved quality of work life

Effective teams frequently improve the quality of work life for the employees. An effective team is generally one in which members are empowered to make decisions about how to get work done. Giving team members authority and control over the work processes reduces the amount of external control and increases the sense of ownership and accountability for the work being done. This helps to create a satisfying and rewarding work environment.

Lower absenteeism and staff turnover

A satisfying and rewarding work environment helps to lower absenteeism and turnover. Teams are particularly effective in this area. Membership in a work team gives an employee a sense of belonging, interaction with others on a regular basis, and recognition of achievements. All of these help to eliminate a sense of isolation within the organisation. Team members identify with and feel pride in the work they are doing and come to rely on one another being there. At some companies, employees are evaluated based on their contribution to their team's efforts.

10 Retrieved from: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Teams-and-Teamwork.html Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 18


Increased innovation If teams are allowed t experiment and come up with solutions, they bounce ideas off one another and come up with more creative solutions than if the manager had been trying to problem-solve all on his/her ownCase study:W.L. Gore & Associates is an excellent example of a firm that utilises the team concept and has a strong record of innovation. Gore is a multinational company structured around the concept of small plants (no more than 250 employees) where everyone works in teams. Everyone is allowed to experiment with the products and develop new uses. The result is that Gore has a continuous stream of patent applications and has been successful in developing new products in areas as diverse as clothing, surgical supplies, and coatings for industrial use.

Organisational adaptability and flexibility

Case study:During the 1980s Ford was able to reduce its automobile design cycle by implementing Team Taurus. Through the early involvement of employees from planning, designing, engineering, and manufacturing, the company was able to eliminate some of the bottlenecks that had delayed the design process. The involvement of suppliers and assembly workers helped to decrease the number of parts involved and lower costs. Reducing the time from design to manufacture helped Ford to be more responsive to market changes and increase its market share in the 1980s and '90s.

Teams are not appropriate for all organisations or in all types of businesses. Behavioural scientists are still working to determine exactly when teams will be most effective, what motivates team members, what types of business can best benefit from the implementation of teams, and so on. The study of the philosophy and psychology of teamwork is still in its infancy. While effective teams can produce extraordinary results, studies have found that an estimated 50 percent of self-directed work teams culminate in failure. The introduction of effective and stable new technologies has greatly affected teams and teamwork. Collaborative software and other multimedia options are providing businesses with tools to conduct teamwork regardless of location or time. New issues of accountability, team structure, and team selection are arising for management to deal with and coordinate within the businesses overall goals and objectives. But as more and more businesses introduce the team concept, the wrinkles in the process are being ironed out and team popularity is growing. An increasing number of organisations are using teams to improve productivity and quality, and to solve a range of managerial problems. Improved quality of work life and a reduction in absenteeism and turnover all contribute to a positive impact on the bottom line. Involving employees in teams helps the organisation remain open to change and new ideas. As long as teams are seen as a means of improving the organisation's ability to meet competitive challenges, teams will be part of the business world.


Formative Assessment 1: SO1 EEK2


2. APPLY THE THEORY OF TEAMS TO TEAM DYNAMICS

Specific Outcome 2 Apply the theory of teams to team dynamics.

Assessment Criteria The dynamics of teams are explained in terms of practical examples. The reasons for disagreements and conflict that could disrupt the functioning of the

team are analysed with reference to interpersonal and other factors. Unique challenges presented by different types of teams are identified with specific

reference to cross-functional and virtual teams.

Applying the Theory of Teams to Team Dynamics

Teams (groups of individuals brought together with a specific purpose in mind) have been around since time immemorial, yet it is only within the last quarter century or so that the importance of teams has been recognised as an important aspect of business. During this recent time much has been written about the need to understand the processes involved in teambuilding and working. Teams are not created overnight, they have to develop, mature and sometimes eventually to end.

Explain the Dynamics of TeamsWriting in the mid-sixties, Bruce Tuckman suggested that it is possible to identify four distinct stages of development through which teams pass:

Forming Storming Norming Performing

Stage 1: Forming


Getting to know you…Can you recall your first day at school as a child, or perhaps your first day on a new job? Everyone is polite, overly cautious, and generally doesn't know what to expect. This is the first stage of group development, namely Forming. Initially the members meet and begin to learn about each other. The team is simply a collection of individuals who are finding out about one another and about the task, even though at this stage the task may not be clear. In the Forming stage, team members are getting to know one another and getting comfortable with one another. Members will naturally try to understand their own roles, the roles of the other team members and their purpose in the group. This is entirely natural and to be expected. People are unsure, suspicious and nervous.

Characteristics of Forming Look for the following behaviours in the Forming stage: Members trying to define the task Idealistic, conceptual discussions as people try to express who they are Discussions about what information needs to be gathered

How to address the Forming stageHelp team members get to know one another. Make sure the purpose and task are clearly defined and share management expectations of the group. Give the team time to get comfortable with one another, but move the team along as well.

Stage 2: StormingThe second stage is called ‘storming’ because there is conflict. Once the team has worked together for a while, they will leave the Forming stage and enter Storming. Politeness begins to wear off and dissension occurs over basic mission and operating procedures. Control often becomes the primary issue. Who is going to decide what? Disagreements can be either very obvious or subtle. The ideas, attitudes and behaviour which team members have brought with them are challenged and sometimes dismissed. Competition between team members is typical at this time, but if the members come through this stage, then a strong team will ensue. Storming is the most difficult stage for a team to weather, but it is necessary for healthy team development. When team members begin to trust one another enough to air differences, this signals readiness to work things out.

Characteristics of Storming Look for the following behaviours in the storming stage: Members begin to show their true styles. A growing impatience will surface over lack of progress. Members will get into one another's territory, causing irritation. General disagreement over process, task and overall purpose of the team.

How to address the Storming stage Don't ignore the Storming stage. Acknowledge it with the team as a natural developmental step. The leader should bring the conflicts out into the open and address


them. This is a good time to review ground rules, revisit the purpose and related administrative matters of the team

Stage 3: NormingWhen teams recognise their differences and have dealt with them, they move to Norming, the stage when they ask, "How are we going to accomplish our work?" Beyond the politeness and nervousness of Forming and past the issues and concerns of Storming, teams will want to review how they are functioning. As team members learn to work out their differences and emotional conflicts are reduced, they will have more time and energy to focus on their purpose. The team is settling down and establishing the norms under which it will operate. Experiments with ideas establish the norms. It is at this stage that the team establishes patterns of behaviour, levels of trust and decision methods.

Characteristics of NormingLook for the following behaviours in the norming stage: Ground rules and formal procedures that may have been overlooked in the beginning

are now taken more seriously. The team will want to discuss items more; less time will be spent on idea generation,

and more on decision making. Members will want to limit agenda items to focus on specific topics. Subgroups may be formed to move along faster. Conflicts are addressed and resolved.

How to address the Norming stageAt this stage, the team has process down fairly well. Task will take on new significance as the team will want to accomplish its purpose. Leaders should keep this in mind and remind the team of the task.

Stage 4: PerformingFinally, the team is complete, working together and capable of performing to its full capability. Conflicts, roles and problems of adjustment have been resolved, the team has entered the ‘performing’ stage.Performing teams are just that, a highly effective, problem-solving unit that can reach solutions quickly and can even head off issues before they become problems.

Characteristics of Performing A team in the performing stage will: Be productive. Tasks will be accomplished, and the team will look for more to do. Be pro-active, and not necessarily wait for direction from management. Demonstrate loyalty to the group, and respect individual dissension and

disagreement. How to address the Performing stage

Teams at the performing level are generally self-regulating. Processes, decision making and other matters of team management will be handled independently by the team.


Remember: Teams do not develop as neatly and sequentially as these stages imply. Teams can cycle from one stage to another relatively easily or get stuck in one stage. Some people may even have the unpleasant experience of being on a team that disbanded because the team never progressed past the Storming stage. On the other hand, a high Performing team can get thrown back into the Storming phase. For example, a new member joining the team can bring a new dynamic to the team or new management directives can surely impact how a team will achieve its goals. In addition, more recent writers on team dynamics have noted a fifth stage, that of ‘dorming.’ This is a dangerous stage, since the team has become complacent and lost interest, its sole concern is self-preservation. As the leader, you have to be aware of what stage of development your team is in, in order to

effectively lead and motivate them to become the high-performing team described by Tuckman, or to intervene when you see that they are becoming self-satisfied and stagnating,

as described by the later writers.Dr. R. Meredith Belbin developed the theory of team roles, which has become one of the most accessible and widely used tools to support teambuilding, in 1981, following nine years of study. These types (or 'roles') were defined after studying teams at Henley Management College.The team roles were designed to define and predict the potential success of management teams, recognising that the strongest teams have a diversity of characters and personality types. The theory has been criticised due to its potential oversimplification and 'pigeon-holing' of individuals. However, when used wisely to gain insight about the working of the team and identify the team strengths and weaknesses, it can be extremely useful.People often confuse Tuckman’s classification of teams with those of Belbin:

Tuckman deals with the process of team formation, while Belbin describes the roles undertaken once the team has formed and is working.

When building teams, every member must have clarity about his or her roles and responsibilities in order to pull his or her own weight. The clarification of roles allows each team member to focus.Belbin describes a team role as "a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way." The team roles describe a pattern of behaviour that characterises one person's behaviour in relationship to another in facilitating the progress of a team. This approach enables an individual or team to benefit from self-knowledge and adjust behaviour according to the demands being made by the external situation.

Overall Belbin Role

Leading Coordinator:Likes experimenting with new ideas.Good at evaluating different options.Good at organising new activities.


Overall Belbin Role

Shaper:Likes 'making things happen'Ready to add energy and turn an idea into an actionMay be impatient

Doing

Implementer:Likes working with detailed information.Good with facts and figures

Completer/finisher:Likes completing things on time, on budget and to specification.Likes using well-developed skills.Good at methodical, careful work.

Thinking:

Monitor/Evaluator:Likes to help others.Gathers information and makes it understandable.Listens patiently before deciding.Prefers to be slow and fully right rather than quick and mostly right.

Plant:Likes independence to think and innovate.Not afraid to challenge norms.Good at starting new things

Specialist:Expert, holder of scarce or rare information or skillsCould build kingdoms or defend territories

Socialising

Resource/investigator:Likes to connect with people outside the group as well as inside.Good at seeing the big picture.Good at creating enthusiasm for new ideas.


Overall Belbin Role

Team Worker:Looks after the physical and social elements of the team.A great source of emotional strength for others on the team.May have strong views on how the team should be run.

Teams work best when there is a balance of primary roles and when team members know their roles, work to their strengths and actively manage weaknesses.To achieve the best balance, there should be:

One Co-ordinator or Shaper (not both) for leader A Plant to stimulate ideas A Monitor/evaluator to maintain honesty and clarity One or more Implementer, Team worker, Resource investigator or Completer/ Finisher

to make things happen Identify types when starting up teams and ensure you have a good balance (or handle the difference). The message for the leader is clear: Understand the preferred roles of people on the team. Play to people's strengths. Get a good balance of people on a team, not just one type.

Analyse the Reasons for Disagreements and Conflict in a Team

According to Pat Lencioni of the Table Group11 all teams are potentially dysfunctional:“This is inevitable because they are made up of fallible, imperfect human beings. From the basketball court to the executive suite, politics and confusion are more the rule than the exception, which is a shame because the power of teamwork is substantial.”To better understand the level of dysfunction you and your team may be facing, ask yourself these simple questions:

Do team members openly and readily disclose their opinions? Are team meetings compelling and productive? Does the team come to decisions quickly and avoid getting bogged down by consensus? Do team members confront one another about their shortcomings? Do team members sacrifice their own interests for the good of the team?

Although no team is perfect and even the best teams sometimes struggle with one or more of these issues, the finest organisations constantly work to ensure that their answers are “yes.” If you answered “no” to many of these questions, your team may need some work. 11 Quoted on www.sterlinghoffman.comSakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 26

Ray Laferla identifies five dysfunctions that can destroy a team. They work as a hierarchy and, therefore, the presence of any one can cause the downfall of teamwork:

Lack of TrustAt the base of the hierarchy is trust. When team members are mistrustful of one another, and/ or the team leader, they focus on backstabbing, internal politics and serving their own interests. Essentially, trust within a team is the confidence among team members that their peers’ intentions are good. Without a certain comfort level among team members, a foundation of trust is next to impossible. An absence of trust occurs when team members are reluctant to be vulnerable with one another and are unwilling to admit their mistakes, weaknesses or need for help. Achieving vulnerability-based trust can be difficult because in the course of career advancement and educational pursuits, many successful individuals sometimes become competitive with their peers and protective of their reputations. Often it is a challenge for executives to turn off those competitive instincts that run counter to building a cohesive team. Creating trust is a process that takes time. In working to overcome a lack of trust, team members should get to know each other’s working styles and personalities.

Conflict AvoidanceIf team members do not trust one another, they will avoid conflict and choose simply to agree to any suggestion, particularly if it comes from management.Teams that are lacking in trust are incapable of engaging in constructive debate about key issues, causing situations where team conflict can easily turn into veiled discussions and back-biting comments. In a work setting, if team members do not openly air their opinions, inferior decisions can be the result. Unfortunately, conflict is considered taboo in many situations, especially at work. And, the higher up you go along the management chain, the more you witness individuals spending inordinate amounts of time and energy trying to avoid the kind of passionate debates that are essential to any successful team. The first step to conquering this dysfunction is to acknowledge that conflict can be productive.

Case study: Unresolved Disagreement


Florence and Shirley were team members in the bakery department. Both had the responsibility to clean the display unit, but Florence felt that she was doing it much more often than Shirley. She mentioned this to Shirley, but Shirley felt that they were cleaning the unit on a fairly equal basis. There was a difference in perception that was unresolved.To keep peace in the team, Florence didn't press the issue. As time went on, however, she began to resent the fact that Shirley still didn't do her share. Finally one day, while cleaning out the display, she stopped what she was doing and stormed into the other room to confront Shirley. This time she was very angry and emotional, which then caused Shirley to react the same way. Each took a position and locked into it. The argument continued until the team leader stopped it and moved them to another room. After talking through the situation, it was finally resolved.The seeds of this conflict were planted when the issue was originally discussed but left unresolved...at least to Florence. Florence stuffed the emotions into her belly and didn't really deal with them. Eventually, her feelings grew in intensity and finally "blew" all at once.

From: from: http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/031b2e.htm

Lack of CommitmentJust as team members need to trust one another to work well together, they also need to be committed to the team.Without conflict, it is difficult for team members to commit to decisions, creating an environment where ambiguity prevails. Lack of direction and commitment can make employees unhappy and unsettled.A lack of commitment is often caused by the desire for consensus and the need for clarity. It is important for teams to be able to find ways to achieve buy-in, even when complete agreement is not possible. Great teams make sure all opinions are heard and then reach a decision based on the best solution. Uncertainty can impact commitment when teams are constantly searching for more information to make the “right” decision, and can ultimately paralyse a team.

Avoiding AccountabilityThe fourth dysfunction- avoiding accountability- builds on the previous three: Team members who are mistrustful, who avoid conflict and lack commitment will avoid being accountable for their actions, because they are unsure of what is required of them. Such team members shift the blame when things go wrong and are often allowed to get away with substandard performance.When teams don’t commit to a clear plan of action, even the most focused and driven individuals hesitate to call their peers to account on actions and behaviours that may seem counterproductive to the overall good of the team.


http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/031b2e.htm

Team members who are close may hesitate holding one another accountable for fear it could jeopardise their relationships. Ironically, this only causes the relationships to deteriorate as team members begin to resent one another for not living up to expectations. Members of great teams improve their relationships by holding one another accountable, thus demonstrating that they respect one another and have high expectations for one another’s performance. Peer pressure helps to maintain high standards as do published goals and regular progress reviews.

Inattention to ResultsIf team members do not know what is expected of them and subsequently avoid responsibility, they will not pay any attention to results. “A team that is not focused, is bound to stagnate, will not be competitive, loses quality staff and is easily distracted,” says Laferla.Team members tend to put their own needs (ego, career development, recognition, etc.) ahead of the collective goals of the team when individuals aren’t held accountable. If a team has lost sight of the need for achievement, the team, department and business ultimately suffer. The only way to conquer this dysfunction is to make desired results clear and reward those behaviours and actions that contribute to those results.

Personality clashesIn addition to the above-mentioned dysfunctions, we also have to take personality clashes into account. We are all different. Experts say that our personalities are genetically determined resulting in different sets of preferred behaviours.

Some people are: While others are:Outgoing, spontaneous, and talkative Introspective, serious, and quiet

Intuitive...shoot from the hip Detailed...evaluate, ponder, and consider

Feeling and emotional Logical and analyticalFeeling and emotional Logical and analyticalStructured, ordered, planned Flexible, go with the flow, unplanned

These natural sets of differences are some of our greatest strengths as individuals and teams; however, they are also sources of conflict. If I, for example, prefer to look at only the "big picture," then I may become frustrated by your attempts to discuss details. You, on the other hand, may see me as irresponsible for not doing the analysis. Result: potential conflict.


Case study: personality clashesFred is intuitive and relishes group brainstorming sessions. He just loves proposing new ideas. Sue, on the other hand, is good with detail and analysis, but not as strong in idea-generating. During one of their team meetings, Fred proposed several new ideas to the team. Sue's detail orientation was easily able to pick apart some flaws in Fred's ideas, before they even had a chance to be discussed adequately. Actually, without saying it, Sue thought Fred's ideas were ridiculous and that he was irresponsible for proposing them before thinking them through.Each time his new ideas were attacked by Sue, Fred became more agitated. Finally, after proposing his last idea toward the end of the meeting, Fred turned to Sue and, red-faced and angry, said "OK, now tell me what's wrong with this idea!" Feeling attacked in front of the team, Sue responded defensively. Back and forth they went until open conflict erupted, and the meeting ended on a sour note.This is the classic rift between those who are good at initiating ideas, looking into the future, and those who are more prone to doing the analysis, appreciating detail and steps, and more rooted in the here and now. The idea person thinks the other is a "stick in the mud" while the detail person thinks the idea person to be irresponsible and prone to flights of fancy. In fact, both are needed for team performance. There is a time for idea generation and a time for doing the final analysis to make the idea come alive.Team members that understand personality tend to appreciate each others' differences rather than lament them. They know how to use those differences to the team's advantage. For example, if Fred would have sought out Sue prior to the above meeting and bounced his ideas against her ability to find the fatal flaws, the two of them could have presented ideas that would have been better received by the entire team.

From: http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/031b4e.htm

Differences in acquired valuesFrom the moment we are born, we begin acquiring our value system. Our values are the beliefs we hold that help us to make decisions about what is right or wrong, good or bad, and normal or not normal. Our values come from parents, siblings, friends, mentors, coaches, teachers, books, churches, movies, television, and music, in fact life in general. No two people ever have the same life experience, so we ultimately have different sets of values and beliefs that guide our decisions and behaviour.People struggle over religion, politics, race, humanitarian issues, ethics and morals, abortion, sex, and more. In extreme cases, some people will, literally, die for their beliefs. So value systems are a strong driver of behaviour and a frequent source of conflict in our lives and in our teams.

Case study: Differences in Values and BeliefsOne day in 1983, a young worker and an older worker were discussing the state of the country's economy over lunch. The subject turned to automobile production, and the young worker stated that he had just bought an automobile manufactured in Japan. He said that the quality of Japanese cars was far higher than that of American cars, and proceeded to quote



some data to prove it.The older worker was visibly angered by this and began to defend American cars and the need to "Buy American." He argued that to buy foreign cars was anti-American, and, "besides, Americans always made good products." They continued arguing until the older worker couldn't take the discussion any longer. His hand was shaking as he said "Look, I lived through World War II, and I would never buy anything made in Japan!"The young worker, however, didn't pick up on the signal and continued citing facts that supported his argument. The discussion led to some hard feelings between the two, and it was some time before they could resume their relationship.What the young worker failed to recognise was that there were significant events (perhaps the bombing of Pearl Harbour) that had shaped the older worker's values and beliefs. The older worker wasn't hearing the young worker's argument because he was filtering the entire conversation through his "anti-Japanese" filter. Finally, this deeply held belief erupted in an emotional outburst and the beginning of a conflict.

From: http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/031b5e.htm

Identify Unique Challenges Presented by Different Types of Teams

There are many different and unique challenges presented by different types of teams. We will explore cross-functional and virtual teams:

Challenges faced by Cross-Functional TeamsTo face today's complex challenges you need to incorporate a wide range of styles, skills, and perspectives. Cross-functional teams12 are regarded as a means to manage social collaboration and concept creation.A cross-functional team consists of employees from various functional areas of the organisation – research, engineering, marketing, finance, human resources, and operations, for example – who are all focused on a specific objective and are responsible to work as a team to improve coordination and innovation across divisions and resolve mutual problems.Almost all organisations are divided into departments, divisions, and branches. That was traditionally a logical way to divide labour. With the growth of the large organisation it made sense to put the accountants together to crunch numbers, marketing types together to work their sales magic, and all other like-minded people together to carry out their specific functions. This worked pretty well and things got done. But then, life changed. Customers began demanding higher quality and quicker response time. Organisations found that they could capture market advantage if they could define an opportunity and get a new product to market quickly, but the old vertical silos worked too slowly.Staff tended to blame the slow response on other departments, and, over time, animosity often developed between departments. It was "those fools" over in Department X that kept holding things up. They rarely identified problems within their own departments. After all, they understood one another –spoke the same language, did similar jobs and even dressed pretty much the same.12 Retrieved from: http://www.beyondresistance.com/htm/2article/cross_fun.htmlSakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 31

http://www.beyondresistance.com/htm/2article/cross_fun.html


Myths developed about those strange people over there in that department. New employees learned these folk tales without ever even having met any of those “monsters” up on the tenth floor.Then came the age of the flatter organisation, where partnership is now the buzzword of the day and although we sit at the same table and all speak the language of cooperation, these historical feuds, perceptions, and war stories keep us from engaging honestly with our counterparts in other departments and this is the greatest challenge cross-functional teams face: lack of communication and mistrust.Unfortunately, almost all large organisations are hard wired to support the effective workings of discrete departments. Management structures, communications systems, performance reviews, sometimes even compensation systems are designed to facilitate work within departments.We lack systems to link the boxes on the organisational chart. Working between departments is akin to entering a world where there are no rules. When we attempt to link up with our colleagues in another department nothing in the organisational structure supports these meetings.When you tamper with ingrained management practices, communication patterns, rewards, and so forth people are threatened. It disrupts their familiar world. It is difficult to know the rules. So, well-meaning people (usually senior mangers) resist.Since few can argue with the logic of cooperation across the organisation on pressing issues, it is easy to nod assent when we really want to say no. We have seen eager young teams take their task seriously, only to learn later that their bosses didn't support the new team = half-hearted endorsement. Every idea, every request was met with silence. Not only do these teams lose hope, but their failure to produce results sends the message through the organisation that nothing ever changes. People are reluctant to volunteer again.

Challenges faced by Virtual TeamsThe concept of a virtual team13 is relatively new; it is a by-product of the Information Age, and didn't exist to a large scale prior to the 1990s. The key factor which separates the virtual team from the physical one is that within the virtual team, the members are separated from each other not only by space, but by time as well. What this means is that the challenges that a virtual team may face will be vastly different from the challenges encountered by a more traditional team.The discipline which is required to succeed with a virtual team is equal to that of the physical one; for example, both team types need clear decision making systems, meetings which are planned, and the ability to solve problems and designate roles and responsibilities.The dividing line between the two is the complexity which is involved in the implementation of discipline within the virtual team. The truth of the matter is that at the most basic level, virtual teams are harder to create when compared to traditional teams, and they also more challenging to maintain. Another challenge that virtual teams face is communication which is inconsistent. Some studies have indicated that as much as 80% of the communication that occurs among humans are things other than the actual words that are used. People often say more with their bodies and facial expressions than they ever say with words. Some of these things include body language, voice tone, and the speed at which a person speaks.

13 Retrieved from: http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/virtual-team/virtual-team-challenges.htmlSakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 32

http://www.exforsys.com/career-center/virtual-team/virtual-team-challenges.html

The biggest problem with the Internet is that non-verbal communication is essentially non-existent. Whether you're communicating by email, through a chat room, or via a message board, the reality is that it is challenging for you to cue in on how a person really feels about a project, or whether or not they're serious.In business, effective communication is absolutely critical, and if team members are not able to properly communicate with each other, there is a good chance that the project will end in disaster. The second challenge which is prevalent among virtual teams is a reduced ability to construct relationships. With virtual teams, there is very little casual communication that exists among the members of the team.The biggest thing which separates members of a virtual team from traditional team members is that with virtual teams, there isn't a lot of time to get to know the other members on a personal basis. Unlike physical teams, things tend to be highly perfunctory. There may be cases where teammates work together on multiple projects without ever getting a chance to know more about the people they work with.While some may argue that the knowledge of these personal details is irrelevant, the facts actually show that team members that do know more personal information about each other tend to be more cohesive and effective. While building relationship in a virtual team is possible, it takes a lot more work.

Formative Assessment 2: SO2 EEK1


3. EXPLAIN THE PROCESS OF BUILDING TEAMS

Specific Outcome 3 Explain the process of building teams.

Assessment Criteria The process of building a team is explained with reference to the steps in the process. Stages of team development are analysed in terms of the human behaviour that drives

the different stages.

Explaining the Process of Building TeamsIt is the manager's job to build and maintain an effective team. Successful managers realise that all groups go through development phases, but the most productive teams go through the phases quickly to reach the peak performance. Managers, as team leaders, share information, trust others, surrender authority, and understand when to intervene. They participate in setting objectives, defining roles, and managing processes, such as time, disagreements, and change.

Explain the Steps in the Process of Building TeamsAs we saw earlier, there is no “I” in TEAM. Teams are made up of people with complementary skills, committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. They may be established ad hoc as project teams or as more permanent work groups.Although most teams can outperform individual people, it’s the ‘people issues’ that cause most of the problems. So when you want to put together a high performance team in your workplace consider the following:Establish clear achievable goals: In Why teams don’t work, Harvey Robbins and Michael Finlay identified that one of the main reasons for the failure of teams is that they don’t know where they are going and why they are being put together. A team works best when members clearly understand its purpose and its goal.Set a clear plan: Having established a team for a specific purpose and made that purpose clear, the next step in the process is to ensure that the team is not left to their own devices. Help the team determine what advice, assistance, training, materials and other resources it may need. Develop a flowchart setting out the required steps of a project and the required resources, including a training budget.Define roles clearly: Effective teams empower their members and demand their contributions, so performance expectations are essentials. Focus attention on ‘who’ is to do ‘what’. Shared roles too, need to be clearly stated. An added advantage of ensuring clearly defined roles is that it limits the possibility of the same people getting stuck with the same tedious tasks.


Insist on clear communication: An effective team is interdependent: each member makes significant contributions, and each depends on the other. In the team context, good discussions depend on how well information is passed between and among team embers. Insist that members’ communications are clear, that they listen actively, explore opportunities rather than debate them and share information.Encourage team behaviours: TEAM means ‘Together Everyone Achieves More’, so make sure the climate of your workplace encourages all members to use their skills to make work an even better place to be. Behaviours will include initiating, seeking information, suggesting procedures, clarifying, elaborating and recognising the contribution of others. Collaboration replaces competition as the team’s way of operating, with clear boundaries set so that teams are aware of any limits to their autonomy.Agree on decision-making procedures: Ultimately, a team will have to make a decision, and the way it goes about that will be an indicator of its effectiveness. (Group decision-making procedures were covered in the previous module). Be prepared to intervene in any group process by providing the required leadership.Increase awareness of group processes: If individuals are to become fully functional members of a tram, they must be aware of group processes – how the team is put together. You need to demonstrate the important role played by group dynamics, draw attention to non-verbal messages, and be aware of changes in the group’s behaviour.Expect participation: Most people are goal-directed, social beings and teams provide ideal opportunities for more people to be involved in decisions, especially decisions whose outcomes are likely to affect them. So all members should participate in discussions and decisions, share commitment to the project’s success, and contribute their talents. Understandably, that participation will be balanced according to factors like knowledge and the topic under discussion, investment in the outcome, and the level of commitment the person is prepared to make. People who are not prepared to participate should not be considered for a team project or work team.Establish ground rules: Have the team set rules or norms for what will, and will not, be tolerated in the group. It’s too late to consider ground rules after the team has been operating for some time.

Analyse the Stages of Team DevelopmentChris Argyris describes an effective team in his book, Organization and Innovation. Contributions made within the group are additive. The group moves forward as a unit; there is a sense of team spirit, high involvement. Decisions are made by consensus. Commitment to decisions by most members is strong. The group continually evaluates itself. The group is clear about its goals. Conflict is brought out into the open and dealt with. Alternative ways of thinking about solutions are generated. Leadership tends to go to the individual best qualified. Feelings are dealt with openly.


A group can achieve synergy (results greater than the sum of its parts) if its members become a team. A team begins as nothing more than a collection of individuals who have been brought together in a work situation. We saw earlier that the process of uniting the group to form an effective team involves successfully completing four phases of development identified by B.W. Tuckman (1965, Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384-399): forming, storming, norming, and performing.


Let’s analyse each of these stages:Phase one is an orientation, the forming of the team. Each person, in the process of getting acquainted with the other members, seeks his or her place in the group. The members must reach a common understanding of their objective, as well as agreement on basic operational ground rules, such as when to meet, attendance requirements, how decisions will be made, and so on. In this stage you should be asking:Do members understand the team's objectives? Have member's individual objectives been incorporated into the team's objectives? Do members feel the team's objectives are achievable and reflect their own personal objectives?Phase two is characterised by interpersonal conflict, the storming of the team. Individuals begin to compete for attention and influence. Divergent interests surface as members begin asserting their ideas and viewpoints of the task, and their feelings about other members. The group must settle issues of how power and authority will be divided among members. During this stage you should be asking the following questions:What do members see as their responsibilities? What do members expect from other members? How is leadership being handled? Does duplication of effort exist?In phase three, the group is becoming cohesive, the norming of the team. A sense of identity or "team spirit" is beginning to develop. Individuals become more sensitive to each other's needs, and are more willing to share ideas, information, and opinions. Task considerations start to override personal goals and concerns. During this stage you should be asking questions such as:What is the action plan for achieving the objectives? · How are decisions made? · How are problems solved? · How are conflicts resolved?Phase four is the interdependence of the group, the performing team. The group emerges as a team. Members now work well together and have a high degree of productive problem solving, since structural and interpersonal issues have been resolved. High creativity and intense loyalty of members to each other characterise a group at this stage.How do the members treat each other? · Do members trust, support, and feel comfortable with each other? · Do members look for ways to help each other?

Formative Assessment 3: SO3


4. ANALYSE THE ROLE OF THE TEAM LEADER IN BUILDING TEAMS

Specific Outcome 4 Analyse the role of team leader in promoting team effectiveness. Assessment Criteria

The role of the team leader is explained in relation to improving team effectiveness. The impact of different leadership styles is considered in relation to the leader's role in

promoting team effectiveness. Techniques for the constructive management of team dynamics and conflict are

described with specific reference to promoting trust, cohesion, creativity and productivity.

Analysing the Role of the Team LeaderThe way a team is led will have a major impact upon the success or otherwise of the team.

Explain the Role of the Team LeaderWhen asked what they want from a team leader, team members will often identify several qualities they would want a leader to have:

Commitment to people as well as task is the first key element Desire to support and serve the team as well as lead from the front Enthusiasm, energy, inspiration and sufficient expertise Willingness to shoulder responsibility rather than pass the buck Ability to make the team come together to achieve more than a group of individuals.

A team needs a leader who will take ownership for decisions management has made and wants to implement.As a member of management, you are responsible for managing your team and implementing team projects, as well as passing messages down to the team from management and up to management from the team.As a leader, you have to ensure that everyone buys into the organisation’s core values, mission and vision. You have to tell each team member what is required of him/her and give members both the responsibility and authority to achieve set outcomes.Just as a team leader needs to ensure that team members know what is required of them, so team members need to know what their goals are.


You also need to involve team members in setting up the team’s strategic decisions.On an interpersonal level, you are the figurehead of the team, their representative. You are their leader and relationship builder. Therefore, you need to be able to communicate well, understand people’s behaviour and be able to motivate others.You are a disseminator of information: you are the spokesperson of both your team and management. You need the ability to analyse information and view the operation and its parts holistically. You are a decision-maker: you are an entrepreneur in the sense that you have to introduce new products or ideas to the team, or sometimes restructure the team to achieve set goals. You are a problem-solver, in that you have to attend to strikes, shortages or broken equipment. You allocate resources and are a negotiator. You are also a technical expert, able to use the knowledge or techniques of your specific discipline to attain team and organisational objectives.

Consider the Impact of Leadership StylesAn organisation has the greatest chance of being successful when all of the employees work toward achieving its goals. Since leadership involves the exercise of influence by one person over others, the quality of leadership exhibited by managers is a critical determinant of organisational success. Thus, managers study leadership in order to influence the actions of teams of employees toward the achievement of the goals of the organisation.There are many leadership theories such as:

Trait Leadership theories: Earliest theories assumed that the primary source of leadership effectiveness lay in the personal traits of the leaders themselves. Yet, traits alone cannot explain leadership effectiveness.

Behavioural Leadership theories: Later research focused on what the leader actually did when dealing with employees. These behavioural theories of leadership sought to explain the relationship between what the leader did and how the employees reacted, both emotionally and behaviourally. Yet, behaviour can't always account for leadership in different situations.

Contingency Leadership theories: Contingency theories of leadership studied leadership style in different environments. Transactional leaders, such as those identified in contingency theories, clarify role and task requirements for employees. Yet, contingency can't account for the inspiration and innovation that leaders need to compete in today's global marketplace.

Transformational Leadership theories: Newer transformational leadership studies have shown that leaders, who are charismatic and visionary, can inspire followers to transcend their own self-interest for the good of the organisation.

In this programme we will focus on Situational Leadership theory, which is a behavioural theory:The behavioural theorists identified determinants of leadership so that people could be trained to be leaders. They developed training programs to change managers' leadership behaviours and assumed that the best styles of leadership could be learned.


A Definition of LeadershipA traditional definition of leadership: Leadership is an interpersonal influence directed toward the achievement of a goal or goals.Three important parts of this definition are the terms interpersonal, influence, and goal. Interpersonal means between persons. Thus, a leader has more than one person (group) to lead. · Influence is the power to affect othersGoal is the end one strives to attain.Basically, this traditional definition of leadership says that a leader influences more than one person toward a goal.The definition of leadership used in this course follows:LEADERSHIP is a dynamic relationship based on mutual influence and common purpose between leaders and collaborators in which both are moved to higher levels of motivation and moral development as they affect real, intended change. (Kevin Freiberg and Jackie Freiberg, NUTS! Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success, Bard Press, 1996, p. 298)Three important parts of this definition are the terms relationship, mutual, and collaborators. Relationship is the connection between people. Mutual means shared in common. Collaborators cooperate or work together.This definition of leadership says that the leader is influenced by the collaborators while they work together to achieve an important goal.

Leadership versus ManagementA leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. The leader of the work team may emerge informally as the choice of the group. If a manager is able to influence people to achieve the goals of the organisation, without using his or her formal authority to do so, then the manager is demonstrating leadership. According to John P. Kotter in his book, A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs From Management (The Free Press, 1990), managers must know how to lead as well as manage. Without leading as well as managing, today's organisations face the threat of extinction. Management is the process of setting and achieving the goals of the organisation through the functions of management: planning, organising, directing (or leading), and controlling. A manager is hired by the organisation and is given formal authority to direct the activity of others in fulfilling organisation goals. Thus, leading is a major part of a manager's job. Yet a manager must also plan, organise, and control. Generally speaking, leadership deals with the interpersonal aspects of a manager's job, whereas planning, organising, and controlling deal with the administrative aspects. Leadership deals with change, inspiration, motivation, and influence. Management deals more with carrying out the organisation's goals and maintaining equilibrium.The key point in differentiating between leadership and management is the idea that employees willingly follow leaders because they want to, not because they have to. Leaders may not possess the formal power to reward or sanction performance. However, employees give the leader power by complying with what he or she requests. On the other hand, managers may have to rely on formal authority to get employees to accomplish goals.


Trait TheoriesIn the 1920's and 1930's, leadership research focused on trying to identify the traits that differentiated leaders from non-leaders. These early leadership theories were content theories, focusing on "what" an effective leader is, not on 'how' to effectively lead. The trait approach to understanding leadership assumes that certain physical, social, and personal characteristics are inherent in leaders. Sets of traits and characteristics were identified to assist in selecting the right people to become leaders. Physical traits include being young to middle-aged, energetic, tall, and handsome. Social background traits include being educated at the "right" schools and being socially prominent or upwardly mobile. Social characteristics include being charismatic, charming, tactful, popular, cooperative, and diplomatic. Personality traits include being self-confident, adaptable, assertive, and emotionally stable. Task-related characteristics include being driven to excel, accepting of responsibility, having initiative, and being results-oriented.Trait theory has not been able to identify a set of traits that will consistently distinguish leaders from followers. Trait theory posits key traits for successful leadership (drive, desire to lead, integrity, self-confidence, intelligence, and job-relevant knowledge) yet does not make a judgment as to whether these traits are inherent to individuals or whether they can be developed through training and education. No two leaders are alike. Furthermore, no leader possesses all of the traits. Comparing leaders in different situations suggests that the traits of leaders depend on the situation. Thus, traits were de-emphasised to take into account situational conditions (contingency perspective).

Behavioural TheoriesThe behavioural theorists identified determinants of leadership so that people could be trained to be leaders. They developed training programs to change managers' leadership behaviours and assumed that the best styles of leadership could be learned.Theory X and Theory YDouglas McGregor described Theory X and Theory Y in his book, The Human Side of Enterprise. Theory X and Theory Y each represent different ways in which leaders view employees. Theory X managers believe that employees are motivated mainly by money, are lazy, uncooperative, and have poor work habits. Theory Y managers believe that subordinates work hard, are cooperative, and have positive attitudes.Theory X is the traditional view of direction and control by managers.The average human being has an inherent dislike of work and will avoid if he or she can. Because of this human characteristic of dislike of work, most people must be controlled, directed, and threatened with punishment to get them to put forth adequate effort toward the achievement of organisational objectivesThe average human being prefers to be directed, wishes to avoid responsibility, has relatively little ambition, wants security above all.Theory X leads naturally to an emphasis on the tactics of control - to procedures and techniques for telling people what to do, for determining whether they are doing it, and for administering rewards and punishment. Theory X explains the consequences of a particular managerial strategy. Because its assumptions are so unnecessarily limiting, it prevents managers from seeing the possibilities inherent in other managerial strategies. As long as the assumptions of Theory X influence managerial strategy, organisations will fail to discover, let alone utilise, the potentialities of the average human being.Theory Y is the view that individual and organisational goals can be integrated.Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 41

http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/motivation/mcgregor.html

http://sol.brunel.ac.uk/~jarvis/bola/motivation/mcgregcv.html

The expenditures of physical and mental effort in work are as natural as play or rest. External control and the threat of punishment are not the only means for bringing out effort toward organisational objectives. Commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievement. The average human being learns, under proper conditions, not only to accept but also to seek responsibility. The capacity to exercise a relatively high degree of imagination, ingenuity, and creativity in the solution of organisational problems in widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population. Under the condition of modern industrial life, the intellectual potentialities of the average human being are only partially utilised.Theory Y's purpose is to encourage integration, to create a situation in which an employee can achieve his or her own goals best by directing his or her efforts toward the objectives of the organisation. It is a deliberate attempt to link improvement in managerial competence with the satisfaction of higher-level ego and self-actualisation needs. Theory Y leads to a preoccupation with the nature of relationships, with the creation of an environment which will encourage commitment to organisational objectives and which will provide opportunities for the maximum exercise of initiative, ingenuity, and self-direction in achieving them.

Transformational Leadership theoriesTransformational leadership blends the behavioural theories with a little dab of trait theories. Transactional leaders, such as those identified in contingency theories, guide followers in the direction of established goals by clarifying role and task requirements. However, transformational leaders, who are charismatic and visionary, can inspire followers to transcend their own self-interest for the good of the organisation. Transformational leaders appeal to followers' ideals and moral values and inspire them to think about problems in new or different ways. Leader behaviours used to influence followers include vision, framing, and impression management. Vision is the ability of the leader to bind people together with an idea. Framing is the process whereby leaders define the purpose of their movement in highly meaningful terms. Impression management is a leader's attempt to control the impressions that others form about the leader by practicing behaviours that make the leader more attractive and appealing to others. Research indicates that transformational, as compared to transactional, leadership is more strongly correlated with lower turnover rates, higher productivity, and higher employee satisfaction. A transformational leader instils feelings of confidence, admiration and commitment in the followers. He or she is charismatic, creating a special bond with followers, articulating a vision with which the followers identify and for which they are willing to work. Each follower is coached, advised, and delegated some authority. The transformational leader stimulates followers intellectually, arousing them to develop new ways to think about problems. The leader uses contingent rewards to positively reinforce performances that are consistent with the leader's wishes. Management is by exception. The leader takes initiative only when there are problems and is not actively involved when things are going well. The transformational leader commits people to action and converts followers into leaders.Transformational leaders are relevant to today's workplace because they are flexible and innovative. While it is important to have leaders with the appropriate orientation defining tasks Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 42

and managing interrelationships, it is even more important to have leaders who can bring organisations into futures they have not yet imagined. Transformational leadership is the essence of creating and sustaining competitive advantage.

Contingency TheoriesSuccessful leaders must be able to identify clues in an environment and adapt their leader behaviour to meet the needs of their followers and of the particular situation. Even with good diagnostic skills, leaders may not be effective unless they can adapt their leadership style to meet the demands of their environment. Fiedler's Contingency ModelLeadership Theory and Research: Perspectives and Directions (Academic Press Inc (HBJ), 1993) was a tribute to Fred Fiedler's 40 year study of leadership and organisational effectiveness. The editors, Martin M. Chemers and Roya Ayman, write of Fiedler's contribution: "The realisation that leadership effectiveness depends on the interaction of qualities of the leader with demands of the situation in which the leader functions, made the simplistic "one best way" approach of earlier eras obsolete."Fred E. Fiedler's contingency theory states that there is no best way for managers to lead. Situations will create different leadership style requirements for a manager. The solution to a managerial situation is contingent on the factors that impinge on the situation. For example, in a highly routine (mechanistic) environment where repetitive tasks are the norm, a certain leadership style may result in the best performance. The same leadership style may not work in a very dynamic environment. Fiedler looked at three situations that could define the condition of a managerial task:Leader member relations: How well do the manager and the employees get along? The task structure: Is the job highly structured, fairly unstructured, or somewhere in between? Position power: How much authority does the manager possess? Managers were rated as to whether they were relationship oriented or task oriented. Task oriented managers tend to do better in situations that have good leader-member relationships, structured tasks, and either weak or strong position power. They do well when the task is unstructured but position power is strong. They also did well at the other end of the spectrum when the leader member relations were moderate to poor and the task was unstructured. Relationship oriented managers do better in all other situations. Thus, a given situation might call for a manager with a different style or a manager who could take on a different style for a different situation. These environmental variables are combined in a weighted sum that is termed "Favourable" at one end and "unfavourable" at the other. Task oriented style is preferable at the clearly defined extremes of "favourable" and "unfavourable" environments, but relationship orientation excels in the middle ground. Managers could attempt to reshape the environment variables to match their style.Another aspect of the contingency model theory is that the leader-member relations, task structure, and position power dictate a leader's situational control. Leader-member relations are the amount of loyalty, dependability, and support that the leader receives from employees. It is a measure of how the manager perceives he or she and the group of employees is getting along together. In a favourable relationship the manager has a high task structure and is able to reward and or punish employees without any problems. In an unfavourable relationship the task is usually Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 43

unstructured and the leader possesses limited authority. The spelling out in detail (favourable) of what is required of subordinates affects task structure.Positioning power measures the amount of power or authority the manager perceives the organisation has given him or her for the purpose of directing, rewarding, and punishing subordinates. Positioning power of managers depends on the taking away (favourable) or increasing (unfavourable) the decision-making power of employees.The task-motivated style leader experiences pride and satisfaction in the task accomplishment for the organisation, while the relationship-motivated style seeks to build interpersonal relations and extend extra help for the team development in the organisation. There is no good or bad leadership style. Each person has his or her own preferences for leadership. Task-motivated leaders are at their best when the group performs successfully such as achieving a new sales record or outperforming the major competitor. Relationship-oriented leaders are at their best when greater customer satisfaction is gained and a positive company image is established.

Situational leadership theoriesWe will explore the Hersey-Blanchard situational leadership model to understand situational leadership theories more:Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership ModelThe Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership theory is based on the amount of direction (task behaviour) and amount of socio-emotional support (relationship behaviour) a leader must provide given the situation and the "level of maturity" of the followers. Task behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in spelling out the duties and responsibilities to an individual or group. This behaviour includes telling people what to do, how to do it, when to do it, where to do it, and who's to do it. In task behaviour the leader engages in one-way communication. Relationship behaviour is the extent to which the leader engages in two-way or multi-way communications. This includes listening, facilitating, and supportive behaviours. In relationship behaviour the leader engages in two-way communication by providing socio-emotional support. Maturity is the willingness and ability of a person to take responsibility for directing his or her own behaviour. People tend to have varying degrees of maturity, depending on the specific task, function, or objective that a leader is attempting to accomplish through their efforts.To determine the appropriate leadership style to use in a given situation, the leader must first determine the maturity level of the followers in relation to the specific task that the leader is attempting to accomplish through the effort of the followers. As the level of followers' maturity increases, the leader should begin to reduce his or her task behaviour and increase relationship behaviour until the followers reach a moderate level of maturity. As the followers begin to move into an above average level of maturity, the leader should decrease not only task behaviour but also relationship behaviour. Once the maturity level is identified, the appropriate leadership style can be determined. The four leadership styles are telling, selling, participating, and delegating:

High task/low relationship behaviour (S1) is referred to as "telling." The leader provides clear instructions and specific direction. Telling style is best matched with a low follower readiness level.

High task/high relationship behaviour (S2) is referred to as "selling." The leader encourages two-way communication and helps build confidence and motivation on the


part of the employee, although the leader still has responsibility and controls decision making. Selling style is best matched with a moderate follower readiness level.

High relationship/low task behaviour (S3) is referred to as "participating." With this style, the leader and followers share decision making and no longer need or expect the relationship to be directive. Participating style is best matched with a moderate follower readiness level.

Low relationship/low task behaviour (S4) is labelled "delegating". This style is appropriate for leaders whose followers are ready to accomplish a particular task and are both competent and motivated to take full responsibility. Delegating style is best matched with a high follower readiness level.

Follower readinessUnderstanding leadership styles is just the beginning. You need to understand when to a specific leadership style would be appropriate to use. For leadership to be effective one must consider another important variable – the readiness of the direct report to be led or influenced. In order to use any of the leadership styles you must be able to diagnose the person’s performance. Performance consists of two components: Ability and willingness.

Ability may be acquired through appropriate skills and knowledge which can be acquired through training or experience.

Willingness is a combination of confidence and motivation i.e. a feeling of being able to do the job without supervision and the interest and enthusiasm to do a job well.

It is important to note that follower readiness is task specific and indicates the extent to which a follower demonstrates the ability and willingness to accomplish a specific task. Ability and willingness are mutually dependent and a significant change in the one will affect the other.If a staff member brings a certain degree of willingness into a specific situation, this will affect current ability. This in turn will affect the extent to which they will grow and develop competence and ability. Similarly, if a follower brings a certain amount of knowledge, experience and skill to a particular task this will affect confidence, commitment and motivation. Readiness may therefore be described as combinations of ability and willingness that reports bring to each task they have to perform.The continuum below shows how the employee’s readiness / maturity can be divided into four levels:

High Moderate Low

R 4 R 3 R 2 R 1

Able and Willing / Confident

Able but Unwilling / Confident

Unable but Willing / Confident

Unable and Unwilling / Insecure

Mature Immature

The employee has the ability to do the job and is committed i.e. he/she has the

The employee has the ability to do the job, but is not willing to use the ability i.e.

The employee lacks ability but is motivate and making an effort. The report will

The employee is unable to do the job and lacks commitment and


ability and is confident to do the job

insecure or apprehensive about doing it alone

remain confident as long as the leader is there to provide guidance

motivation

Delegating Participating Selling / Coachin

g

Telling / Directin

g

Effective matching of leadership style to employee development level requires the skills of diagnosis from the leader to ensure that the correct combination of directive and supportive behaviour may be displayed. Failure could lead to over or under leadership with dire consequences for both leader and direct report and the organisation. The leader needs to vary the leadership style with each individual depending on the task under consideration.

SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRID

ParticipatingLow TaskHigh Relationships Take this approach to manage employees

who are learning and performing well Delegate, listen, set goals and use one-on-

one problem-solving Hold the employee to standards and

agreements, but support his or her own judgments

Coaching / SellingHigh TaskHigh Relationships Take this approach to manage maturing

employees Try some delegation with a little less control Get employees’ ideas and suggestions

for accomplishing the work Loosen controls as you see results

Delegating / IndependentLow TaskLow Relationship Take this approach to manage very willing

and able employees (those who are fully self-directed)

Agree on quality standards and hold people accountable

Be available to help and run interference, but let people do what they’re good at

TellingHigh TaskLow Relationship Take this approach to manage new or

recalcitrant employees – this involves close supervision and tight control.

With work that has a low tolerance for error, it may be necessary to maintain tight deadlines and a high level of coordination

When leading or managing performance using Situational leadership, you will ensure success if you follow the following five steps:

Agree on goals Diagnose development level Agree of the appropriate leadership style Plan how you are going to work together


Following through – eventually changing leadership style as the employee’s competence and commitment grows.

Adapting Leadership StylesA manager should make every effort to be flexible at all times. The following summary indicates what happens when a leader adopts one particular style and is not prepared to vary according to the task maturity of the individual employee.

Effects of not adapting stylesUsing the Telling / Directing Style only

Employees become passive when thinking is done for them. They see no reason why they should think for themselves and will wait to be told what to do next.

If staff know that a manager will always do things his/her way regardless of any suggestions they may make, they will lose initiative and become less tenacious in achieving their goals.

As they begin to realise that the manager always has the final say, employees will accept that he/she is the only one who knows how to do things correctly and never question decisions.

Reports start feeling inadequate as they never get a chance to express their opinions and they feel that anything they say is worthless anyway and keep it to themselves.

Employees who are constantly subjected to a directive management style gradually lose interest in the overall goals of the team and simply see their task as something that has to be done in a way that offers the least possible inconvenience to them.


Using a Selling / Coaching Style Only As a direct report’s level of task maturity starts to increase he/she may resent having

everything spelt out to them. Over a period of time they will no longer accept responsibility and rely on being told what to do.

If it becomes an accepted fact that the manager will indicate every step of the way, staff will become less inclined and finally unable to act on their own initiative even on those occasions when it might be necessary for them to do so.

No manager can expect to be available at all times when his advice and instructions are required. When employees, who have become accustomed to receiving detailed instructions suddenly, find themselves in a position when they have to make a decision, they tend to go to pieces and are not prepared to commit themselves to a definite course of action.

Using the Participative Style only Employees may overestimate their own ability if they are constantly involved in the

planning process and they may eventually believe they are just as capable as the manager. This could lead to overconfidence and taking wrong decisions because the direct report does not believe it is necessary to refer anything to his manager for approval.

Discipline may become a problem as employees start taking it for granted that they will always have a say in planning and start considering themselves at the same level as the manager. This could lead to people doing their own thing and not taking kindly to having a decision overruled.

Time may be wasted if a task needs to be redone because the employee was allowed to take too much responsibility and valuable time may be lost and productivity affected.

Using the Delegating Style only Employees are confident and motivated because they are allowed to voice new ideas

and know that it will be listened to and acted upon. Employees can act independently and therefore capable of finding solutions without

having to refer to a manager. This gives the manager time to deal with those matters which need his or her special attention.

Employees may overstep authority and in this way make costly mistakes. The key is to be able to tell the difference between the occasions when this is justified and when the approval of a higher authority is required.

Techniques for Managing Team DynamicsThere are techniques for the constructive management of team dynamics and conflict that the team leader can use to promote trust, cohesion, creativity and productivity.


“Shaping Team Players”: Team CharterAn effective team begins by taking time to decide how it will work to achieve its objectives. The first thing a team should do, is to create a team charter14.The team’s charter establishes its purpose and goals and explains how the team will function. A well-developed team charter makes it easy for all team members to understand what is expected of them and helps to keep them focused on their common purpose. A team charter is a proactive document that lays down the groundwork for dealing with issues and situations that may arise in the future. The team charter is a document that the supervisor needs to complete daily and weekly to check if his/her team is achieving the targets that have been set.In addition if there are any changes, e.g. production orders increase, or targets are not met, or there is an unscheduled maintenance shut, load shedding, whatever, you and your team will have to renegotiate a new team charter, by which you will hold the team accountable for this new target.

The charter should include each of the following:i. Vision and mission statement: The team has a common sense of purpose, even a team

name: this provides a sense of identity, which can be as simple as “the distribution team” or as fancy as “the zebra team”. The team vision and mission are closely aligned to the company mission and vision, as the team exists to achieve company goals and implement company strategy.

ii. Team goals and objectives: agree on deliverables- defining what the team will produce on a regular basis.

iii. Team ground rules, which create common expectations, encourage desired behaviour, and help the team to self-manage itself. They include:

a. Decision-making styleb. Conflict resolution methodsc. Report formatd. Conduct (behaviour) at team meetingse. Definition of quality (based on standards and targets they are expected to

achieve)

iv. Team member roles and responsibilities, i.e. as a forklift driver, my contribution to achieving the team goals is…. This section answers the questions of why we are at work, how we will work together to achieve our goals and the importance of each role in the team, like the links of a chain.

Remember:The purpose of the team charter is to measure your team’s performance on a daily and weekly basis against agreed upon targets. The measurement needs to have a standard that needs to be achieved each day, a measurement of whether it is achieved and a recalculation of these

14 Robbins, p 359Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 49

achievements the next day or week, dependent on rework, but you will, of course, use your company format where it exists). Based on feedback that management give you, the team leader, feedback is given to each team member at the morning meeting to discuss the following issues:

“Did we achieve our target yesterday or not?” “If not, why not and what are we going to do about the problems?”

These results need to be visually displayed in your workplace. In conjunction to this visual chart that is updated daily and then recorded for each week, another chart measuring absenteeism, as well as one measuring rework/waste needs to be recorded as this will impact on the achievement of targets. In addition, records of problems that occurred and suggested solutions need to be kept. This team charter will then change as the targets change, in other words no changes can be made unless they are communicated and agreed upon with the team. This is also the platform that will be used to induct a new team member as the team member will be inducted into what is required from each team member and the new person. The team charter should also be the basis of motivation and as you can see from the above, should also be the basis for problem solving, decision making, planning, organising and leading (The general management functions).

Managing Team ConflictTeam conflict is typically seen as negative. We tend to think of it as team members disagreeing, arguing and screaming at one another.

Dealing openly with group conflict seems uncomfortable for most individuals, but these differences are a normal part of every team's functioning. Most members of a team have to learn two fundamentals:

Having different opinions is one of the essential benefits of teamwork. Team members have strong feelings and emotions. A team cannot achieve its full

potential if all that is allowed is logic or information. Dealing with a team conflict head-on can assist the team in finding better solutions and developing a solid foundation of trust in the long run.Resolving conflict constructively is the most critical of team skills. Without this ability, the team cannot develop the trust and bonding that allows moving from the Storming stage into peak performance. Conflict resolution is not a stand-alone skill. There are specific techniques and attitudes that are helpful, but conflict resolution interrelates with other skills.

Facilitate conflict resolution Set out the “rules of the game”. Get both sides to agree to resolve the conflict Get each side to state their case


Emphasise the areas of agreement Suggest possible solutions Reach an agreement with both parties Agree and record an action plan

Steps you can teach your team members: Attack the problem, not the person. Focus on what can be done, not on what can't be done. Encourage different points of view and honest dialogue. Express your feelings in a way that does not blame. Accept ownership for your part of the problem. Listen to understand the other person's point of view before giving your own. Show respect for the other person's point of view. Solve the problem while building the relationship.

Promoting Trust in the TeamTeamwork involves trust among team members and between management and associates. Webster's Dictionary defines trust as the "assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something." Trust is a critical issue in any type of relationship because a relationship without trust is not really a relationship at all. One of the problems that managers encounter when dealing with teams is that managers cannot automatically instil trust into their members. Yet, even with the appropriate individuals on a team, a team that does not build a trusting relationship is not an effective team. Research shows that trust is the basis for creating a healthy work environment. According to Heathfield (2002a), trust is the necessary precursor for the following:

Feeling able to rely upon another person Cooperating as a group Taking thoughtful risks Experiencing believable communication

In other words, "trust forms the foundation for effective communication, associate retention,

motivation, and contributions of discretionary energy" (Heathfield, 2002a).


If you want your team to trust you, you have to show that you trust and respect them.

Robbins15 identifies the following dimensions of trust:

Act from a position of integrity so that everyone benefits. Be open and transparent. If certain sensitive information cannot be revealed, tell the

members, don’t lie to them. Seek the best interests of the team. Communicate effectively – keep team members informed by explaining decisions and

policies. Provide constant and accurate feedback. Be honest and open about problems and your own limitations.

Be supportive – be available and approachable. Encourage and support team members’ ideas. Show that you are available and approachable if they have any problems or need support or advice

Be respectful – delegate with authority, always be fair and consistent, listen to your team members’ ideas and suggestions, be respectful of their differences, background and opinions

Be fair – give credit where it is due. Be objective and impartial in performance evaluations and feedback. Be generous with your praise. Be fair in the decisions you make

15 p 356Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 52

Be predictable – be consistent in the way you interact with members and in your daily supervision. Keep your promises and your commitments

Demonstrate personal competence – develop the admiration and respect of team members by demonstrating technical and professional ability and good business sense. By being a role model you are setting a positive example to the rest of the team

Be honest – it is important that both you and your team understand the difference between ‘yes” and ”no”. When you say ‘yes” and you really mean “no”, you lose personal power. When you say what you mean, and do what you say, you will be regarded as trustworthy.

Promoting Cohesion in the TeamIf you want to make your next teambuilding activity or teambuilding exercise live up to its true potential, integrate the teambuilding with real-time work goals. Establish a systematic workplace integration and follow-up process - before you go on the team building adventure. You need to make the good feelings and the outcomes from the team building activity last beyond the final team building exercise.Without this attention to integration, corporate team building or planning events are, at best, a short term boost to employee enthusiasm and positive morale. If they are planned and executed well, people feel good about themselves and about each other. Employees get to know each other better and have a common experience to talk about back at work.

A frequent expectation from team building activities is that they build trust. Team building events have little to do with building trust, however, unless company planning, that is carefully followed up on and yields real results, is part of the team building or retreat. At worst, team building sessions help employees become cynical about their organisations. This occurs when the teambuilding events are held outside of the context of the company’s normal way of doing business. If you send people off to a teambuilding event, as an example, but all rewards in your company are based on individual goals and efforts, the teambuilding event will have no lasting impact.People will lose productive hours complaining about the time and energy invested in the teambuilding or planning activities. Unhappiness, management criticism and employees complaining to each other sap energy, productivity and joy from the work day.An event that is not followed up with meaningful activities in the workplace should not be held. They harm trust, motivation, employee morale and productivity. They don’t solve the problems for which they were scheduled and held. You will eventually lose the people you most want to keep, especially if they don’t see your organisation getting better as a result of off-site teambuilding and planning sessions.If the team building event has no follow up, people become cynical about such events as a waste of time and energy. With recent organisational downsizing and cost cutting, people feel as if they are already doing more than one job. In this context, teambuilding for its own sake has lost popularity.The success of a team building or of a strategic planning activity begins well before the start of the sessions. Use the team to plan the event since you want to model the behaviour you seek from the teambuilding sessions you schedule. The likely long-term effectiveness of a team building event or corporate retreat is enhanced when you incorporate annual team building events into an overall company structure. This cultural framework of philosophies, values and practices is designed to build the concept of “team” on a regular basis. In this environment, team building sessions can yield supportive results.


http://humanresources.about.com/od/workrelationships/l/aatrust.htm

”There are two things people want more than sex and money - recognition and praise." -Mary Kay Ash

A key leadership trait is the ability to inspire followership. In addition to supplying a shared vision and direction, leaders must develop a relationship with the people they inspire to follow them. The successful leadership relationship inspires people to become more than they might have been. Following an effective leader, people accomplish and achieve more than they may ever have dreamed possible. The foundation of this successful relationship is the leader’s ability to make people feel important and appreciated. The leader excels at creating opportunities to provide rewards, recognition and thanks to his or her staff. (Yes, money works to a certain extent, although, as a limited quantity in organisations, don’t overemphasise its importance.) Employee recognition is not just a nice thing to do for people. Employee recognition is a communication tool that reinforces and rewards the most important outcomes people create for your business. When you recognise people effectively, you reinforce, with your chosen means of recognition, the actions and behaviours you most want to see people repeat. An effective employee recognition system is simple, immediate, and powerfully reinforcing.Effective leaders need to demonstrate the following practices:

Pay attention to people using common courtesy. Say good morning. Ask people how their weekend turned out. Ask whether Rebecca won her soccer match. Practicing simple courtesy is a powerful relationship-building tool.

Listen to what your co-workers, peers and staff members have to say. Listen giving full attention to the person seeking your attention. If you can’t pay full attention and listen actively, set a time with the person to meet when you can. You gain much information from the ideas and opinions of others. You make people feel special when you listen to them without distraction. Know that Rebecca has a soccer match.

Use powerful, positive language in your interaction with others. Say "please" and "thank you" and "you're doing a good job." Say, “We couldn’t have accomplished the goal without you.” “Your contribution saved the customer for the company.” Powerful, positive recognition makes people feel important. Powerful, positive recognition encourages your employees to contribute more of the same work in the future.

Put praise in writing. A "thank you" note to the employee, with a copy to her file, magnifies the impact of the recognition.

Keep your commitments to staff. If you have a meeting set up for Tuesday, attend the meeting. Cancellation should not occur except in a true emergency. Promised Pat a day off? Don’t do it unless you know you can keep your promise.

Give staff public credit for contributions. You didn’t think up the idea for senior staff review. Instead say, “Mary thought this approach would work well and I agree with her” and “The credit belongs to John. Isn’t that a terrific idea?”

When you consider team recognition processes, you need to develop recognition that is equally powerful for both the team and the individuals in the team. You must address five important issues if you want the recognition you offer to be viewed as motivating and rewarding by your team and important for the success of your organisation/ business unit:

All team members must be included in the recognition. The recognition must supply the team members with specific information about what

behaviours or actions are being rewarded and recognised.Sakhisisizwe LG Unit Standard 252037 54

Any team which then performs at the level or standard stated in the criteria receives the reward.

The recognition should occur as close to the performance of the actions as possible, so the recognition reinforces behaviour the manager wants to encourage.

Ensure that you do not design a process in which managers "select" the people to receive recognition. This type of process will be viewed forever as "favouritism" or talked about as "it's your turn to get recognised this month." This is why processes that single out an individual, such as "Employee of the Month," are rarely effective.

If you attach recognition to "real" accomplishments and goal achievement as negotiated in a performance development planning meeting, you need to make sure the recognition meets the above stated requirements. Supervisors must also apply the criteria consistently, so some organisational oversight may be necessary.People also like recognition that is random and that provides an element of surprise. If you thank a manufacturing group every time they make customer deliveries on time with a lunch, gradually the lunch becomes a "given" or an entitlement and is no longer rewarding.In a certain organisation, the CEO traditionally bought lunch for all employees every Friday. Soon, he had employees coming to him asking to be reimbursed for lunch if they ate lunch outside of the company on a Friday. His goal of teambuilding turned into a "given" or an entitlement and he was disappointed with the results.

Promoting Creativity in the TeamEmployee involvement is creating an environment in which people have an impact on decisions and actions that affect their jobs.Employee involvement is not the goal nor is it a tool, as practiced in many organisations. Rather, it is a management and leadership philosophy about how people are most enabled to contribute to continuous improvement and the ongoing success of their work organisation.You need to involve your team members as much as possible in all aspects of work decisions and planning. This involvement increases ownership and commitment, retains your best employees, and fosters an environment in which people choose to be motivated and contributing.

Employees can be involved in decision-making and continuous improvement activities by using such methods as suggestion boxes, quality circles, work teams, continuous improvement meetings and periodic discussions between supervisor and members.Intrinsic to most employee involvement processes is training in team effectiveness, communication, and problem solving; the development of reward and recognition systems; and frequently, the sharing of gains made through employee involvement efforts.The following employee involvement model was developed from work by Tannenbaum and Schmidt (1958) and Sadler (1970). They provide a continuum for leadership and involvement that includes an increasing role for employees and a decreasing role for supervisors in the decision process. The continuum includes this progression.

Step 1: Tell - The supervisor makes the decision and announces it to staff. The supervisor provides complete direction.Step 2: Sell - The supervisor makes the decision and then attempts to gain commitment from staff by "selling" the positive aspects of the decision.


Step 3: Consult - The supervisor invites input into a decision while retaining authority to make the final decision him/herself.Step 4: Join - The supervisor invites employees to make the decision with the him/her. The supervisor considers her voice equal in the decision process.Step 5: Delegate - The supervisor turns the decision over to another party.

Promoting Productivity in the Team by delegatingDelegation is a vital skill for team leaders. Genuine delegation leads to a team owning its success and increasing its capacity for achievement. Yet letting go of control can be hard. There are many reasons why managers don't delegate important tasks to their employees. Sometimes tasks need to be done immediately and the manager can simply do it better and faster, or no employee is currently trained to do the job. Managers may also fear loss of control or recognition. These circumstances (and others like them) often exist simply because managers and their employees are not prepared for delegation. It is not enough to simply assign a task and expect a satisfactory completion. Managers, supervisors and team leaders need to not only transfer responsibility for tasks, but also develop the skills necessary to empower those expected to complete them. Empowered delegation is at the heart of effective leadership, and, like all important skills, requires training and preparation.

Steve Chalke offers a check list of things you can consider for delegation: Delegate things you are good at Delegate things you are bad at Delegate work which will provide experience Seek opportunities to reinforce talents Delegate routine decisions

Delegation tips: Provide context - It is essential to be clear about what is required, and why it is

important. Framing the delegated work within the broader context energises recipients. They're clear how the work you are delegating contributes to the overall success of the team. Recipients should also be clear how their tasks help the team achieve the vision or success criteria.

Delegate authority and responsibility - Delegation of the responsibility to complete a task is relatively easy. Delegating the necessary authority is less so. Delegation of authority requires confidence in the individual, since the leader is relinquishing some control over team activities. Yet without the necessary authority and room for decision making, people are not empowered to complete the tasks they have been given. This is particularly vital in a voluntary organisation.

Support, don't abdicate - Delegation does not mean complete withdrawal. Particularly in the early stages, people need support and encouragement to take on additional responsibility. They may need skills training, or encouraging feedback as they stretch themselves in previously untested areas. Abdication can leave the delegated person feeling that if anything goes wrong they are left isolated.


Only delegate when appropriate - Check that the recipients of the delegation have the necessary skills, information, authority and capability to carry out the delegated responsibilities. If not, then the work will not get done and the individual concerned may lose motivation. Map out what is delegated to the various individuals and sub-teams on your team. Check for consistency and overlaps, and ensure that there is clear communication within the team as to who has responsibility for which areas. This is even more important within a team setting than in a traditional one-to-one, manager to subordinate relationship.

Great delegation builds trust, develops skills in those to whom the tasks have been delegated and

frees the leader to work on other things

Performance FeedbackManagers generally find giving performance feedback to their team members very difficult, as they are often uncomfortable discussing performance weaknesses and fear confrontation when presenting negative feedback, especially as some employees tend to get defensive when their weaknesses are pointed out. In fact, instead of seeing the feedback as constructive and a basis for improving performance, some employees end up criticising the manager or redirecting the blame at someone else. An additional problem managers face when giving feedback is that employees generally have an inflated view of their own performance. A feedback session should ideally result in the employee leaving the session in a positive frame of mind, determined to correct the deficiencies.

Formative Assessment 4: SO4 EEK4 & 5


5. EVALUATE AND IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF A TEAM

Specific Outcome 5 Evaluate the effectiveness of a team and propose ways to improve team effectiveness.

Assessment Criteria The functioning of a team is evaluated against the characteristic of high performance

teams. An action plan is developed for improving the effectiveness of the team.

Evaluating and Improving the Effectiveness of a Team

We have now covered the concepts you need to understand to build and lead a team to meet set goals and objectives. We have considered the principles and processes of building a team, explored leadership styles and their impact on a team and finally considered the principles of delegation.In this module we are going to put it into practice and look at how we are going to apply it to our own work environment and teams.

Evaluate the Functioning of a TeamSuccessful or high-performing teams share certain common characteristics and if management hope to enhance organisational performance through the use of teams, they will need to ensure that their teams actually do possess these characteristics.

MissionEffective teams have a clear mission and purpose. It may be a short-term objective (select a vendor for a project) or a long, ambitious goal (find ways to improve customer satisfaction). Regardless, teams need a defined, mutually agreed upon purpose and mission. Missions give teams direction and purpose

Commitment Team members must be committed to the team's mission. Commitment develops as members begin to personalise their involvement and take ownership for the team's success. Commitment may come immediately for some team members, and it may take some time for others.

Team members must agree to some level of commitment. Norms/Ground Rules

Effective teams have explicit and appropriate ground rules and norms. One example might be, "Team meetings will be held on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 10:30 a.m."


or "Team members agree to rotate roles from meeting to meeting." Ground rules provide teams with guidelines and a common set of procedures by which to operate


An Effective ProcessCompetent, goal-oriented teams agree on a process for success. Teams are unique, no two work exactly alike. Regardless of the process a team embraces, team members must agree on the process and understand their role. Teams should agree on a process by which to function and make decisions.

InterdependenceIn a group, people operate independently from one another. One person's progress is not affected by anyone else. Teams however, function interdependently. Every member's role and work complements someone else, and individual progress hinges on the help and input of others. Interdependence is based on valuing and using the skills, knowledge, abilities and perspective of other team members. Effective teams function on the strength and skills of all members.

Develop an Action Plan to Improve the Effectiveness of a Team

Once you have established your team you need to set goals and create a plan of action.As a manager you will determine what you and your team want to accomplish and you plan to achieve it by setting goals: for individual projects, short- and long-term strategies, production, sales … Given the importance of goal setting of an organisation, it is important that your conduct goal-setting sessions with the participation of your team. You can achieve this by following these steps:

Establish rapport: As with any individual or group process, gaining others’ trust and confidence is essential. You may decide to use an ice-breaking activity, engage participants in conversations about areas of individual interest, or use a more structured strategy. Whatever the approach, you should not proceed until you feel that rapport has been established.

Develop and initial set of group goals: It is important that all participants contribute, so have individuals work alone to list two goals that are important to them. Work around the group recording first-choice goals on a whiteboard, then record others not previously listed.

List those affected by the goals: Identify those people who will be affected by the goals. These stakeholders are likely to be stakeholders, customers or colleagues, including members of the group. This action may require some new goals be written taking into account the additional information.

Identify the motivators: Work down the list of goals identifying the motivations for each. What exactly is the purpose of each goal? Why has it been included? If no good reason can be given, it’s doubtful if it should be retained. Consult with the person who contributed the goal in the first place regarding its continued inclusion.

List constraints: Constraints or barriers can inhibit the ultimate achievement of a goal. Such constraints may be rules, regulations, policies or any other factor that may limit goal accomplishment. For example, inadequate funding or staffing may severely limit the extent to which a goal can be achieved. Seek suggestions regarding actions that will eliminate or reduce constraints. Explore briefly the tasks and timelines necessary for accomplishing each goal.


Revise and collapse the listed goals: After taking into account the motivations, constraints and timelines, you may now need to revise your list of goals, rewrite those that are considered similar, and collapse the list into a manageable number.

Distinguish between primary and secondary goals: Primary goals typically relate to the products and services affecting profits. Secondary goals are achieved as a by-product of pursuing the primary goals and relate specifically to satisfaction and achievement. By differentiating between these two types, you will be better placed to take the necessary actions.

Collate a final statement of goals: Record each goal statement to include both a primary and a secondary component. Each statement should be written so that as a primary goal is achieved a secondary one is accomplished as well.

Seek consensus for the listed goals: Given the participate approach adopted, consensus can be expected. However, you will still need to give participants an opportunity to suggest adjustments. Prioritise the final list.

Develop a Plan of ActionOnce you have agreed to the team goals to want to convert the achievement of these goals into a step-by-step approach for action. In simple terms, ‘who’ is to do ‘what’ by ‘when’? You will need to develop an action plan, and you can be assured of success of you follow these steps during and action planning session. In the action planning session you should:

Generate a list of actions for each goal: Use brainstorming to compile a list of actions to achieve a particular gaol and record these below each goal. Arrange this list of suggested actions in sequential order.

Prepare a timeline: Beginning with the present labelled ‘Now” and an ending point labelled ‘Goal achieved’, build a timeline on which you allocate dates by which you intend to complete each of the sequential actions listed under a particular goal. It is important that you get both sequence and timing right if you are to achieve your goals effectively.

Allocate resources: Financial, physical and human resources must be allocated to each action step. If resources are limited, or fall short of requirements at any stage, it may be necessary to return to an earlier step and revise the action plan.

Identify possible problems: Consider all of the things that could go wrong in the process of achieving a particular goal. List these problems and identify causes and suitable actions to resolve them. If necessary, these actions might need to be added to appropriate slots on the timeline.

Decide how the process will be monitored: List ways in which the progress of the action plan can be monitored. These monitoring stages should also be included on the time line.

Assign tasks: Take each point on the timeline in turn and ask: “Who will do what, by the date set, to bring about the specific action?” Allocate these tasks to appropriate individuals and teams.

Estimate costs: Give consideration to any costs required to complete the tasks. All costs will have to taken into account when preparing a budget. If funds are not available, tasks will have to be reviewed and where necessary, revised or eliminated.

Implement the plan: Translate all the actions to a plan, listing the actions required, team members responsible for specific tasks and when the tasks should be completed.


Promoting ProductivityHaving action plans are all very well, but if the team does not use its time effectively it is unlikely to achieve the desired results. To get you team to use their time to best advantage you need to control activities and ensure that each member of your team is getting full value out of their day:

Watch for indications of chaos: Be on the look-out for messages that indicate that the human component in your department is not being used, time-wise, to its best advantage: You are often interrupted by staff seeking assistance, instruction or direction

You staff practises reverse delegation – referring tasks back to you] Deadlines are missed or postponed Staff assignments often need to be redone because they are of poor quality You action tray is choking and you seem to be taking more and more work home Staff morale is low and work is no longer challenging. Employees seem to spend a lot of

time chatting and socialising Find out how they spend their time: Before staff can manage their time more

effectively, it is important that they, and you, know how they are currently using their time. You might keep a time/task schedule, entering the employee’s name, the task assigned, date assigned, you estimation of the completion date, actual completion date, with a comments column for unexpected interruptions to the task.

Or have them keep an accurate record in their diaries, or construct a simple matrix indicating time and tasks. Al this is valuable information for future discussions with individual employees.

Help staff organise their work areas: By observing what staff do and how they do it, you can identify efficiencies that can be introduced. Consider office layout, for example. Proximity to essential equipment like photocopiers, computer printers and telephones is a key consideration. If employees have to walk the length of the office to use a printer, you observations will have detected a real time-waster. Office landscaping, too, improves productivity by not only enhancing the visual appeal, but by reducing distractions as well.

Compile a skills index for staff: A skills index can be easily calculated using the many commercially available measurement tools, or you may prefer to construct your own. You may find, for example, that clerical staff use their word processing package to 40% percent of its capability.

Training in this specific area will make a significant change to individuals’ confidence and productivity. Employees possessing the skills necessary to complete their jobs will be less likely to interrupt others by asking for help.

Provide the right mix of resources: The right mix of people and other resources is essential if staff are to complete the jobs assigned to them.

Allocating too few resources not only affects productivity and profitability but also means that idle people fill their spare time interrupting others.

Teach time-saving techniques: Never assume ‘everyone knows that’ when it comes to time-saving techniques. Teach your staff about time-savers: Allocating tasks for periods when you will be the most productive Setting daily priorities and keeping to them


Handing each piece of paper only once Continuing to ask: “What is the best use of my time right now?”

Make sure you are not part of the problem: Compile a list of time-wasters identified by employees. If you, ‘the boss’, feature on that list, find out what aspects of your behaviour need attention. It could be that you need to: Communicate more clearly and more frequently Avoid interrupting staff unnecessarily Ensure staff are not kept waiting for an appointment with you Stop being indecisive

Keep things on track by Following UpIn order to keep work activities on track it is essential that you follow-up with your team embers regularly. Follow-up action need to be more than ad hoc additions to daily routines.Effective follow-up discussions not only demonstrate to employees that you mean what you say, that you actually do follow up, but also show your interest in the employee’s progress. This is how you should use follow-up actions to best advantage:

Review previous discussions: Having set aside time for a follow up meeting, make sure it happens. Begin the meeting by briefly recapping any previous discussions including any actions you had both agreed upon at that time.

Be specific and highlight only important aspects of those discussions. Again focus only on identified problems, not on the person.

Arrive at an assessment: If progress since the initial meeting has been positive, encourage the employee to talk about his/her achievements. Take time to outline to the employee your assessment of his/her contributions and accomplishments. Express your pleasure at obvious progress.

If however, you do not consider that the problem has been resolved, refer to specific data to show that the employee still has work to do, and continue to explore the issue.

Explore possible solutions: In the case of insufficient improvement, suggest as many different options as possible to overcome the problem but avoid demanding specific actions. People will work harder to solve their problems when they themselves have a say in the strategy to be adopted. Let the employee decide on a suitable plan of action with your guidance and assistance.

Clarify the consequences of continued lack of improvement: This is a very sensitive part of the discussion because you want the employee to understand what will happen if the problem isn’t corrected. Stress that the purpose of the discussion is to resolve the problem. However be firm or what the consequences will be if there is no improvement.

Agree on actions to be taken: If the plan is going to work it will need the employee’s commitment and your support. It must be seen as a cooperative effort, the end product being improvement in the team member’s performance against specified goals and objectives.

To gain that commitment, reach agreement on the specific actions to be taken, preferably using the employee’s ideas and solutions.


Set a date for another follow-up meeting: Agree to meet again at a later date to review progress. This again reinforces the fact that you are serious about correcting the problem and achieving goals and objectives

Confirm your confidence in the employee: End on a positive note by acknowledging your confidence in the staff member. People are far more responsive when they know that you want them to succeed. Your demonstration of confidence and encouragement will contribute to a workable and lasting solution.

Record outcomes: Whatever the outcome of the follow-up meeting, record all information immediately following that meeting. This action not only signifies completion of another important management task, but also ensures that you have a permanent record of any further follow-up action required. You then also have detailed comments for reference at the next meeting if required.

Stay in touch: Remain ‘visible’ by retaining regular contact with all employees. In that way you can’t help but be there to ensure follow-up action is taken.

Formative Assessment 5: SO5


FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS WORKBOOKFormative Assessment 1: SO1 EEK2Theory of TeamsIn small groups or individually as per your facilitator’s instructions, complete the following:

1.1 Define the concept of a “team” in your own words:

1.2 Would you describe the working arrangement you have in your workplace as a work group or a work team? Give a reason for your answer. (Bear Robbins’ statement about “merely calling a group a team” in mind)

1.3 List 3 activities/tasks in your workplace that are best performed by individuals and say why you think that is the case:

1.4 List activities/tasks in your workplace that are best performed by teams and say why you think that is the case:


1.5 Describe 3 different types of teams in your workplace and discuss their unique roles and characteristics:

Type of team Unique roles Characteristics

1.6 Discuss the importance of teams for achieving your workplace goals and objectives Give examples of the contributions of at least 3 teams:


Place any extra evidence after this page, clearly marked for easy reference


Formative Assessment 2: SO2 EEK1Apply the Theory of Teams to Team DynamicsIn small groups or individually as per your facilitator’s instructions, complete the following:

2.1 Reflect on where your team is now in terms of its developmental stage and assign team roles to each member. In each case say why you have come to a particular conclusion (based on observations of behaviour):

Development stage:

Reason:

Team Roles Team member names

Reasons

Leading

Doing

Thinking

Socialising

2.2 Explain how you will ensure that your team does not become the victim of the “team dysfunctions” described in the Learner Guide. Refer to team specific actions and situations:

Dysfunction How I will counteract/ prevent in my teamLack of trust

Fear of conflict


Lack of commitment

No accountability

Inattention to results

2.3 Refer to cross- functional and virtual teams and discuss the benefits and challenges that these types of teams do (or would) present in your particular workplace:



Formative Assessment 3: SO3 Explain the Process of Building Teams In small groups or individually as per your facilitator’s instructions, complete the following:

3.1 Write a short paragraph of 2-3 lines on how you will foster a culture of teamwork in your workplace under the following headings:

Build fun and shared experiences into the agendaCelebrate group successes publiclyPromote a participative environmentEngender trust

3.2 Analyse each of the stages of team development in terms of the human behaviour that drives the different stages:

Stage Human behaviour that drives it

Forming

Storming

Norming


Performing



Formative Assessment 4: SO4 EEK4 & 5Analyse the Role of the Team Leader in Building TeamsIn small groups or individually as per your facilitator’s instructions, complete the following

4.1 Leadership questionnaire. Rate yourself on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on the

following attributes of a good leader:

Attribute Rating

1. I am comfortable with change

2. I am known as a visionary

3. I am able to remain calm under pressure

4. I am willing to admit my mistakes

5. I am prepared to accept responsibility when things go wrong

6. I give credit where credit is due

7. I am enthusiastic

8. I am supportive

9. I am a team player

10. I see people as an asset, rather than a resource

11. I communicate well

12. I believe that people should be allowed to manage themselves

13. I am a good coach

14. I lead through example

15. I am competent and confident

16. I have personal power

17. I look like a leader

18. I sound like a leader

19. I am comfortable with taking risks

20. I am able to influence people

TOTAL:

4.2 Assess your score and identify ONE area where you need to improve. Say how you are


going to go about improving it.

4.3 Now draw up a list of 10 attributes that you think a good leader should have if s/he wants to

lead your team.

4.4 Describe how you would go about motivating/ empowering the employees described below

and what leadership style you would adopt in each case:

a. You and a friend have owned and operated a small business for the last two years. You have just taken on two large and important accounts. To meet the needs of these accounts, plus the ones you already have, you hire six new employees. Capital is tight and an important deadline is approaching

b. You have just been promoted to a supervisor after working as a clerk for the last three years. Many of your co-workers, who are now your subordinates, are happy for you, but you have heard that a couple of them are not pleased because they also applied for the job and they thought they were better suited for the position.

c. Like many retailers, your busiest time is during the Christmas holiday season. You manage the sales department and have brought on almost as many temporary workers as compared to your regular staff. Your company standards are high.

d. You are a supervisor and your boss is a complete authoritarian (autocratic) manager. Some of your peers have a nick-name for this person, "The Little Dictator." You believe that the employees who work for you deserve better.

e. You lead a department of highly educated and skilled computer programmers. There is a shortage of these workers and they always seem to be moving on to other companies for either better pay, better benefits, a project that interests them, or to learn a new programming skill.

f. You lead a department of unskilled workers who work on an assembly line. They make just above minimum wage and are not highly motivated, yet your manager expects you to maintain a high production quota

4.5 Describe how you will use the following techniques to manage the dynamics in your team:

a. Team charterb. Managing team conflictc. Promote trustd. Promote cohesione. Promote creativityf. Promote productivity


g. Performance feedback



Formative Assessment 5: SO5 Evaluate and Improve the Effectiveness of a TeamIn small groups or individually as per your facilitator’s instructions, complete the following:

5.1 Evaluate your team against the “Guidelines for building high performance teams”. Where is your team meeting requirements, or falling short? Give a reason for each answer:

Guideline Meeting/ falling short

Reason

Right size

Right mix of abilities and skills

Specific roles

Have a commitment to a common purpose

Leadership and structure

Hold members accountable


Implement appropriate performance evaluation and reward systems

Establish mutual trust

Turn individuals into team players

5.2 Draw up an action plan to improve the effectiveness of your team; for example: Identify and discourage time-wasting activities so as to improve productivity. List the time wasters that you identified in your workplace and explain how you have communicated and discussed them with your team members and what plans you have collectively come up with to eliminate or reduce them.



References and Further Reading Allender, H.D.,(1993) Self-directed work teams: how far is too far? Industrial

Management, Vol.35 (5), Bittel, Lester R. and John W. Newstrom. 1990. What every supervisor should know. 6th

ed. Gregg Division: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Blake, R.,& Mouton, J., (1964)The Managerial Grid, Houston: Gulf. Cloete, J J N. 1994. Public administration and management. Pretoria: J L van Schaik. De Klerk, G T & Kruger, S, 1995, "Management ethics and social responsibility", Kroon, J

(ed), General Management. Pretoria: Kagiso Tertiary. Du Toit, D F P, Van der Waldt, G & Bayat, M S, 1998, Public Administration and

Management. Kenwyn: Juta & Co Ltd. Dwivedi, O P, 1997, "Democracy and Good Governance: An Ethical Approach", Paper

presented at seminar on Challenges Facing Government Administration, 10-11 December, Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia.

Dyer, J. L., 1984, Team research and team training: A state-of-the-art review. Human Factors Review

Guzzo, R.A., & Dickson, M.W., (1996). Teams in organizations: Recent research on performance and effectiveness. Annual Review of Psychology, 47, pp.307-338.

Hersey, Paul, K. Blanchard and E. Johnson Dewey. 1993. Management of Organizational Behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall

Kouses, James M. & Posner, Barry S. (1987). The Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Margerison, C. & McCann, D. (1985). How to Lead a Winning Team, MCB University Press.

Robbins, Stephen P. 1979. Organizational Behavior. 7th ed. Englewood Cliffs New Jersey: Prentice Hall International

Smit, P.J & GJ De J Cronjé, 1999. Management Principles. Kenwyn: Juta & Co. Ltd South Africa (Republic), 1994, Public Service Act 103 of 1994. Pretoria: Government

Printer. South Africa (Republic), 1995, Draft White Paper on the Transformation of the Public

Service. Pretoria: Government Printer. South Africa (Republic), 1996, Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of

1996. Pretoria: Government Printer. http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Str-Ti/Teams-and-Teamwork.html http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020a.htm


http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020a.htm


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