When a new work group forms, or an established work group undertakes a new task or problem, the group needs to be designed, staffed, structured, and trained before it can transform into a high performance team (Sundstrom, 1999). For example, if team members do not know one another well or have never worked together before, it is important for them to get acquainted and to discuss what competencies each person brings to the team and what types of preferences people have regarding how to approach the task. Alternatively, when an established team takes on a new
project, team members are likely to have a good sense of the different competencies people have but still need to discuss various unique perspectives they have on the problem or different approaches that different team members may think are
appropriate for the particular project. As you will see, we can identify four stages of team development, each of which requires team members to give different emphasis to the various task and maintenance behaviors discussed above. The leader of a team (and also the team members) must be aware of how the team's needs evolve during these stages of development and encourage group members to perform different aspects of the task and group maintenance behaviors at the different stages.
STAGE 1: TESTING
At stage 1 the goals of the group are established and the task is defined. Group members ask themselves what the purpose of this team is and whether they want to be a member. (Of course, in most work-related situations, group members do not have a choice about their membership.) To create a climate where people can share ideas and feelings and begin to identify and align with a common goal, the group leader should encourage members to offer new ideas and suggest ways to approach the task (task role) and should also make sure everyone's opinion is heard, creating a climate where people feel safe to offer opposing views (group maintenance role).
STAGE 2: ORGANIZING
At stage 2 the group establishes a structure. The group leader must emphasize the common purpose (task role) and establish norms and standards. In addition, the group must clarify issues regarding the sharing of information-how members will communicate with one another and what types of information need to be shared. If the group has no appointed leader, one of the group members will often emerge as an informal leader in this stage. Sometimes several people are identified as leaders, some focusing more on tasks and others on group maintenance. So that group members may ask more specific questions about what the group will do and how they will do it, the leader should encourage group members to continually question and assess the quality of suggestions and potential solutions (task role) and to resolve differences by helping others understand the differing perspectives that people bring (group maintenance role).
STAGE 3: ESTABLISHING INTERDEPENDENCE
Individual talents are drawn out and used and attention is focused on how to coordinate individual efforts in stage 3. The group leader should focus on member interdependence, discourage competition, and encourage individuals to take on informal leadership roles. The key question group members ask themselves concerns how they can coordinate their individual actions to accomplish the team's goals more effectively. At this stage, focusing on the task, the team needs members to raise and/or clarify important points and differences in perspective, and then to pull together and summarize or synthesize the range of ideas that have been expressed (task roles). Similarly, group maintenance behaviors that help the team to succeed focus on helping members see how the differing perspectives can potentially lead to
a more creative or more productive proposal for action, and then encouraging others to pursue different ideas and suggestions.
STAGE 4: PRODUCING AND EVALUATING
If the group has successfully managed the first three stages, by stage 4 it should have transformed into a team and should be working together smoothly. Team members should be committed to a common goal or purpose, have a clear
understanding of the different roles and responsibilities of individual team members, have a communication structure that allows for an open sharing of different
perspectives, and have a sense of mutual accountability. At this stage, team members begin to evaluate the product of the team effort and also how well the individuals are working together as a team. To solicit input from all group members in evaluating goals, task output, productivity, and team process, the leader should encourage team members to ask questions regarding how it has approached its task and offer suggestions for improving team performance (task role) as well as
feedback and observations on the team process (group maintenance role). Again, one can see how the role that the team leader plays in helping the team develop is both critical and paradoxical. On the one hand, the team leader sets the climate and must be seen as someone with a strong personal vision. On the other hand, the leader must clearly demonstrate a belief in the team's purpose and in the notion that each person's contribution to the team is equally valuable. Thus, team leaders must simultaneously lead and give team members the opportunity to take a leadership role, suggest directions and listen to others' suggestions, and be
appropriately involved in the day-to-day work while not micromanaging. In addition, they must find ways to value differences and reward successes, while never allowing some individuals to shine at the expense of the other team members. In the next two sections, we suggest some specific approaches to team building, approaches that build on the notion of maintaining a balance between task and group
maintenance focus in the team.
FORMAL APPROACHES TO TEAM BUILDING
Although a team may eventually reach the producing and evaluating stage of its development, it will likely cycle back through the various previous stages as it meets new challenges. Indeed, most work groups experience frequent, if not constant, change. Sometimes these changes are associated with new group members; sometimes they are associated with new tasks and responsibilities. Sometimes the changes are the result of changes in the group's external environment, in which case the group must adjust in order to adapt to a new focus of the organization or new trends in the industry. At this point it is often important to "stop the action" and involve the group in formal team-building activities.
You may have heard the expression, "When you are up to your hips in alligators, you forget that you came to drain the swamp." Sometimes it is important to step out of the swamp and think about what you are doing. Formal team-building activities allow the group to put aside the work of the day, evaluate how well the group is
performing as a team, and make any necessary changes. But team-building activities should not be seen as isolated experiences or events. Rather, they should be part of an integrated approach to team building that involves regularly scheduled sessions to allow the team to address whatever issues it is currently facing (Dyer, 1995). At Whole Foods Market, a natural foods grocery chain, teams have clear performance goals and meet at least once a month to share information and solve problems (Fishman, 1996).
When team members are interdependent, there is a need for effective
may be the most effective way to enhance communication among team members. Many managers hold periodic off-site meetings to help keep employees enthusiastic and energized. The key is to encourage input from everyone regarding problems they are experiencing and questions or concerns they might have. Managers can also bring information about anticipated changes to these meetings. Sometimes it is important to clarify how much and what types of information individuals need in order to perform their jobs effectively. A group meeting to examine current information flows, and whether these flows meet each individual's needs, can enhance team functioning. (The section on Using Participative Decision Making later in this chapter will provide more information on how to conduct effective meetings.) A fairly simple, but effective, team-building technique involves setting aside a day or two, away from the worksite if possible, to examine three questions: (1) What do we do well? (2) What areas need improvement? (3) What are the barriers to
improvement? Starting with an examination of what the team does well reminds the group that while there may be some problems or issues to deal with, the team also has strengths upon which to build. This establishes a positive climate for the team- building session and gets people involved in the discussion. Depending on how much time there is between team-building sessions, the list of areas for improvement may be short or long. This is a good reason to schedule regular team-building sessions. If the list is too long, the team may need to set priorities regarding which issues should be handled first. The last question reminds the team that team building is more than short-term problem solving. It involves taking a larger look at the system and
examining specific problems to determine whether they are isolated events or the result of an underlying structural issue. If there is an underlying structural issue, it will likely need to be dealt with before the improvement can be made. The final team product of such a session should be an action plan to deal with whatever problems or issues are raised in the session. The action plan should include a statement of
objectives (what the team wants to accomplish with this improvement effort), a time frame for addressing the issue, and a clear assignment of who is responsible for organizing the improvement effort (remember Anybody, Everybody, Nobody, and Somebody!).
As mentioned earlier, one key to effective team functioning is having each team member know his or her role and how that role fits into the larger team effort. Several techniques are available. Role analysis technique (RAT) focuses one by one on the various roles in the group. This technique was first used by KP Engineering Corporation, a manufacturer of welding electronics, and is useful when team members are performing different functions (Dayal and Thomas, 1968). In this activity, the person performing in the role to be analyzed states his or her job as he or she sees it. Other group members then comment on and make suggestions for changes in this job description. The individual in that role then lists expectations of other members who affect how the job is performed.
There is open discussion until agreement is reached on a job description and the associated expectations of others. This process is then repeated until everyone has had his or her job analyzed.
A similar technique is role negotiation (Harrison, 1972). Here all members
simultaneously list what expectations they have of others in the work group, focusing on what they feel others should do more of or better, do less of or stop doing, and maintain as is. Lists are exchanged, and individuals negotiate with one another until all team members agree on those behaviors that should be changed and those that should be maintained. A master list of agreements is later circulated to the group. Responsibility charting (Beckhard and Harris, 1977) involves creating a large chart that lists the group's decisions and activities along the left side of the chart and each
employee's name along the top of the chart (see Figure 3.1). Codes indicate whether the individual has the responsibility for the activity or decision (R), has the right to approve or veto a decision (A-V), provides support or resources for the activity or decision (S), or needs to be informed of the activity or decision (I). The chart allows the group to see explicitly whether some members of the group are overloaded and some could be given additional tasks and responsibilities.
INFORMAL APPROACHES TO TEAM BUILDING
As indicated, team building is not an event, but an ongoing process. In between formal team-building sessions, the team can use informal techniques to encourage team development. Often when people think about team building they assume that it has to do with getting people to like each other, but as Dyer (1995) notes, "The fundamental emotional condition in a team is not liking but trusting. People do not need to like one another as friends to be able to work together, but they do need to trust one another" (p. 53, emphasis added). They need to trust that other team members are equally invested in accomplishing the team's goals; they need to trust that other team members will share information appropriately; and they need to trust that other team members will be willing to work out disagreements in a professional manner.
How do you establish trust among team members? First and foremost, team members need to understand that each person's willingness to trust other team members will likely be influenced by that person's observations of the other team members' actions. If team members consistently produce and are willing to help others when they need assistance, trust is likely to develop among the team members. One key element here is ensuring that each person believes in the common goals and so is willing to "go the extra mile" when necessary.
Second, a managerial leader must work to create an atmosphere in which it is safe to trust others. Trust is a behavior that re-creates itself. That is, team members are more likely to trust other team members when they themselves feel trusted-when they feel that others are being open and honest in their communications. In the previous chapter you used the Johari window as a tool for thinking about self- awareness. The Johari window also tells you something about how you relate to others. When an individual has a large facade (information that is known to the self but unknown to others), others have a hard time trusting that individual because they do not feel trusted by the person. Alternatively, when an individual has been candid and sincere with others, that person will more likely be seen as approachable and trustworthy. Thus a managerial leader must begin by trusting the team
members and set an example by sharing key information with the team.
Finally, although we indicated that the purpose of team building is not to create a situation in which everyone likes everyone else, we do believe that social interaction can create opportunities for people to get to know each other, thereby creating greater potential for trust among team members. For example, a manager may encourage group interaction by suggesting that the group meet for a meal after work, or during a meal break, where possible. Annual picnics and holiday
celebrations, as well as celebrations of personal events, such as birthdays or
parenthood, communicate to employees that they as individuals are important to the organization. Christine Rochester, "Ambassador" at Play, a marketing firm, uses small gestures to help her employees feel energized-perhaps giving an employee a car wash or buying milkshakes for a team. Celebrations of people's accomplishments let team members know that their work is appreciated. Play also uses rituals, such as opening every meeting with a drum roll, to create a sense of "magic" among the creative workers (Dahle, 2000).
When we began this section, we noted that team building is not as regularly
practiced in many organizations as one might expect, given what we know about the potential for team performance. What we need to ask here is: What are the barriers to team building? How do we overcome them? Of course, one important reason why team-building programs are not more widely used in work organizations is time. Often the need to get the job done leads work groups to focus on specific tasks rather than on planning and coordination. Further, when group members focus on their own parts, they sometimes find it difficult to see the whole picture or to recognize that they are not currently seeing that picture. There is no way to give people more time. Team members and organizational leaders must see the value of team building and recognize that this is a long-term investment. A day or two spent away from the worksite may save the team much more in both time and money in the long run.
A second reason may be a lack of knowledge about how to build a team. Some people assume that "team" is something that does or does not happen. They may not realize the many and varied techniques that can enhance team functioning. It is a manager's responsibility to examine the need for team building in his or her work unit and, if such a need exists, to determine which formal or informal approaches would be most effective.
A final reason-but perhaps the most important one-is organizational culture. Effective team building requires an environment that values differing opinions and open
resolution of conflict (see the last competency in this chapter, Managing Conflict). In an organization in which there is mistrust or negative feelings among coworkers, it is difficult to establish a team spirit. In cases such as these, one should consider
bringing in an objective outside consultant to do formal team-building or organization development activities.
Similarly, the organization may not reward team behaviors or team-building activities. An organization may prescribe team building for its employees, but if managers are not evaluated on the implementation of such activities, there may be little incentive to take the time to do team building. In a similar fashion, some organizations will hold team-building sessions but then reward employees for their individual performance. If a sales representative is compensated based on individual sales, there is little incentive to share "best practices" with others in the work unit. Here, organizations need to examine their performance and reward systems to ensure that they do not run counter to team-building efforts. Further, upper-level managers need to demonstrate by their own actions their commitment to and support for team-building activities (Dyer, 1995).