Organizational Structure Running A Successful Business
Making teams work
1. Making Teams WorkMaking Teams Work
Building Teams & Managing TeamworkBuilding Teams & Managing Teamwork
2. Groups vs. TeamsGroups vs. Teams
• People work togetherPeople work together
• Feelings aren’t part of theFeelings aren’t part of the
workwork
• Conflict is accommodatedConflict is accommodated
• Trust and openness areTrust and openness are
measuredmeasured
• Information is given on aInformation is given on a
need to know basisneed to know basis
• Goals/Objectives areGoals/Objectives are
either personal or uncleareither personal or unclear
• People support onePeople support one
anotheranother
• Feelings are expressedFeelings are expressed
openlyopenly
• Conflict is worked throughConflict is worked through
• People trust each otherPeople trust each other
• Information is sharedInformation is shared
freelyfreely
• Objectives are common toObjectives are common to
allall (Shared Vision)(Shared Vision)
3. Stages of Team DevelopmentStages of Team Development
FORMING
STORMING
PERFORMING
NORMING
The group gets
together for the
first time, formal
methods/rules are
yet to be
established
After the
relatively polite
forming stage,
members grow in
confidence and
an amount of in-
fighting is likely
Now the group moves
on to establish norms
(systems/procedures):
how it should work
and a basis for
decision making
Finally, the group
becomes far more
of a cohesive unit
and starts to
perform as a team
5. Dealing with BehavioursDealing with Behaviours
• When team members don’tWhen team members don’t
say much nor participatesay much nor participate
• When team membersWhen team members
challenge status quo or showchallenge status quo or show
signs of demotivationsigns of demotivation
• When norms start to emergeWhen norms start to emerge
that influence behavioursthat influence behaviours
• When the team starts toWhen the team starts to
performperform
• Break the ice, shareBreak the ice, share
information ideas andinformation ideas and
experiencesexperiences
• Lead from the front; inviteLead from the front; invite
questions/opinions; bequestions/opinions; be
proactiveproactive
• Keep communication open;Keep communication open;
mediate differences; look formediate differences; look for
new ideasnew ideas
• Provide feedback; promoteProvide feedback; promote
new ideas; simplify thingsnew ideas; simplify things
6. Recognizing Performing StageRecognizing Performing Stage
• Problems get solved and work gets doneProblems get solved and work gets done
• Team members are more supportive of eachTeam members are more supportive of each
otherother
• Information and ideas are sharedInformation and ideas are shared
• Greater tolerance and flexibilityGreater tolerance and flexibility
• More humour, energy and opennessMore humour, energy and openness
• Nothing is too much trouble; no challenge tooNothing is too much trouble; no challenge too
difficultdifficult
Example: A buggy being pulled in different directions by a bunch of horses.
Forming: requires clarity & structure
Conforming: requires a task master role and a relationship building role
Storming: requires someone to manage conflicts and avoid groupthink at the same time
Performing: requires feedback and continuous improvement
Suppose you’re considering buying a new car. What would you expect from a good car? It gives fuel consumption, is reliable and looks good etc. this would put you on point A. Now if after buying this car you found out that it gives better mileage then you expected and was more reliable then you thought, it would take you to point B. You’ll be nicely surprised. On the other hand if the mileage wasn’t as good as was boasted and reliability wasn’t what you thought it would be, you’d be disappointed and it will take you to point C. Hence, the line C-A-B would represent your performance curve, and it would be in your interest to keep on the right side of the line with high satisfaction and high performance.
If when you got in your new car and found that there was no carpeting inside and no shock absorbers you would be shocked and disappointed, point C. But these are not the features you would have listed on the attributes in a good car because these are taken for granted. However it doesn’t matter to people how much the shock absorbers cost or what colour they are, as long as the ride is smooth. Hence, there are features which if absent will upset people but the addition of extra basic features will not lead to a rise in satisfaction, point D. This is represented by the Basic Requirement curve from point C to D.
On the other hand if after getting in your new car you found, to your amazing delight, that the seats adjusted according to your height, the rear view and side view mirrors adjusted automatically to your seating position, and in winters your seats automatically warmed up, you’d be ecstatic. This will take you right up to point B. but if these things were not present but otherwise the car was as you expected, your satisfaction level wouldn’t decrease. It’ll be at point E. this is denoted by the Excitement Curve B-E.
The message is simple: High Performance Teams strive to work on the excitement curve level by doing unbelievable stuff for their customers through innovations and breakthroughs. However, this must be done not at the expense of meeting and exceeding basic requirements and continuously improving task accomplishment and generate higher performance & satisfaction.
Competing: Handling conflicts head on by standing firm and rejecting the ideas of others (this is a win-lose situation where you win at the expense of others, which is likely to stimulate resentment from the other side in some form, some time.)
Avoiding: Not getting involved in the conflict (in the hope that it will go away itself which is like a pigeon which closes its eyes when a cat attacks it-this is a lose/lose situation where both parties eventually lose)
Accommodating: This is a lose/win situation where you accept the situation and agree to back down (this shows being passive which is going to increase resentment within you)
Compromise: This is better than either competing, avoiding or accommodating but still may not be the best possible solution (it is win/win where each party gains a little and loses a little to reach a settlement. It may slide back to any of the three situations mentioned previously.)
Collaborating: This is the best possible way which promises the best possible outcome. With this approach ideas of both parties are taken and developed in an integrative manner. (This is the win/win situation which everyone should be striving for.
However, regardless of which style you prefer to use it is important that conflict is not ignored. Remember that team members don’t have to like each other to work well with each other.