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The first task for managing a team is putting the team together. One way to consider this is the “three R’s,” from “Assembling the Startup Team” by Noam Wasserman.
The first task is to determine the range of skills and expertise the project will need, as well as the range of knowledge or perspectives that should be represented. This requires some foresight into all the needs for a project that might not be immediately apparent.
EXAMPLE
At Quenchbliss, Jestina knows that she needs people with physical skills who can carefully pack and move soda, and people skills to respond quickly to customer complaints and handle them effectively.While people are usually assigned roles that fit their skills and experience, remember when people are more motivated when they are challenged, so assigning people to roles they've never filled before might sometimes be a good idea.
However, roles may be positive or negative. In some cases, the same role might be both, such as a person who constantly makes jokes initially helping individuals relax and get along, but later in the process becoming a distraction. Some common positive and negative roles are listed below (McLean, 2005).
| Positive Role | Definition |
|---|---|
| Initiator-Coordinator | Suggests new ideas or new ways of looking at the problem |
| Elaborator | Builds on ideas and provides examples |
| Coordinator | Brings ideas, information, and suggestions together |
| Evaluator-Critic | Evaluates ideas and provides constructive criticism |
| Recorder | Records ideas, examples, suggestions, and critiques |
| Negative Role | Definition |
|---|---|
| Dominator | Dominates discussion, not allowing others to take their turn |
| Recognition Seeker | Relates discussion to their accomplishments; seeks attention |
| Special-Interest Pleader | Relates discussion to special interest or personal agenda |
| Blocker | Blocks attempts at consensus consistently |
| Joker or Clown | Seeks attention through humor and distracts group members |
In some cases, there are also organizational policies and politics to consider. Most organizations strive to have diverse hiring committees to ensure equity in hiring. In other cases, leaving a certain person or an entire department out of the process would create conflict.
EXAMPLE
Suppose Jestina needs to hire a warehouse manager. Although higher level managers will primarily make up the committee, floor workers in the warehouse should be involved in the hiring process so they have a say in the new team member.Roles are important because you have to think about the division of labor and skills, as well as who are in the right roles for decision making. The startup team needs to think through the implications of assigning people to specific roles, as that may dictate their decision power and status.
Relationships refer to the individuals in the group and how they interact with each other. For a person assembling a team, it may be tempting to include longtime colleagues or associates because they are used to one another and comfortable working together. Indeed, these heritage relationships are a good foundation to build on. However, too many members with past connections can lead to “groupthink,” limiting the group’s ability to brainstorm and problem solve.
EXAMPLE
If a team is all men under 35 with similar roles, they may not be able to identify the impact of their decisions on people outside that demographic. They would also be more prone to groupthink since they bring similar backgrounds and perspectives. Furthermore, team cohesiveness may actually be weaker, since there will be an in-group and an out-group among people who already know one another. As the team is assembled, managers might instead look for opportunities for diversity, not just of demographics, but of backgrounds and perspectives. They might include newer staff members with the needed knowledge and skills to give them experience and to build collegial relationships.Finally, defining the rewards of team participation is sometimes difficult. In matrix organizations where project teams represent the primary duties of staff, this will be part of ongoing performance reviews, but for ad-hoc teams like hiring committees, event planning, or special projects, work on the team falls outside of each member’s regular duties and is not directly connected to their performance review or compensation. The work can even set them back in terms of their performance goals, since it takes time and energy away from their regular tasks. It is important to provide incentives by making sure time is allowed for the project, and that performance goals are adjusted to include the work on the team. Ideally, there will also be intrinsic rewards for participation, such as recognition and professional development.
How do teams grow and develop over time? Bruce Tuckman proposed one model of team development that consists of four stages through which teams generally proceed. This model has been used for decades, perhaps because of Tuckman’s catchy (and easy to remember) names for these stages.
| Stage | Definition |
|---|---|
| Forming | In the first stage of development, when team members first come together, emphasis is usually placed on making acquaintances, sharing information, testing one another, and so forth. This stage is referred to as forming. Team members attempt to discover which interpersonal behaviors are acceptable or unacceptable in the team. In this process of sensing out the environment, a new member is heavily dependent upon others for providing cues to acceptable behavior. Often, work groups stay in this state constantly. With any group or team, of course, the ideal state is to have them all at the performing level. |
| Storming | In the second stage of team development, a high degree of intergroup conflict (storming) can usually be expected as team members attempt to develop a place for themselves and to influence the development of team norms and roles. Issues are discussed more openly, and efforts are made to clarify team goals. |
| Norming | Over time, the team begins to develop a sense of oneness. Here, team norms emerge (norming) to guide individual behavior. Team members come to accept fellow members and develop a unity of purpose that binds them. |
| Performing | Once team members agree on basic purposes, they set about developing separate roles for the various members. In this final stage, role differentiation emerges to take advantage of task specialization in order to facilitate goal attainment. The team focuses its attention on the task (performing). |
| Adjourning | Because teams are often assembled to complete one project or goal, there is often a planned wrap-up stage to both celebrate their achievement and evaluate their performance as a team. |
As we consider this model, it should be emphasized that Tuckman does not claim that all teams proceed through this sequence of stages. Rather, this model provides a generalized conceptual scheme to help us understand the processes by which teams form and develop over time. As with other models we’ve looked at, it is also important to remember that these stages aren’t completely iterative and distinct. A team may always be forming as new members join and will likely continue norming as members evaluate their success and identify ways to improve team dynamics.
However, the model is useful for understanding how teams coalesce and reminds us to set a realistic schedule that gives teams a time to “gel” before they begin to perform.
Tuckman’s model also helps identify the moments a team is most vulnerable to failure or disbandment, as they transition from one stage to the next. For example, a team may get past the “getting to know you” (forming) stage but find that conflicts and strong personalities begin to derail the process; it is important to develop rules and standards of communication (norming) for the team to continue growing. There are more possibilities of failure or disbandment as the team transitions to taking action (performing); the team may disagree on what actions to take, or, once a major task is accomplished, whether or not to continue.
As you can see, groups can “fail” at any stage, for reasons already listed, such as personality conflicts, interdependence for deadlines, and many other reasons. As the leader, it is important to understand and recognize when these failures happen, so you can get the team back on track, even if that means starting over at the forming phase. A team may also fail if their initial goals are met and no new ones are identified, that is, the team leader fails to recognize the need for adjournment.
EXAMPLE
Consider a landscaping company that sends teams of people to homes and businesses for groundskeeping. Each team has experts in areas such as tree trimming, irrigation, plants, and lawn care. Suppose the manager decides to switch teams on a weekly basis, meaning the same people do not always work together. Because they are always changing, each team is always in the forming stage. A team that consistently works together can proceed to the “performing” stage and will thus be more efficient and effective. Moreover, having a new team every week increases the chances of conflict and failure.Source: THIS TUTORIAL HAS BEEN ADAPTED FROM OPENSTAX "ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR". ACCESS FOR FREE AT OPENSTAX.ORG/BOOKS/ORGANIZATIONAL-BEHAVIOR/PAGES/1-INTRODUCTION. LICENSE: CREATIVE COMMONS ATTRIBUTION 4.0 INTERNATIONAL.
REFERENCES
McLean, S. (2005). The basics of interpersonal communication. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
