STEVEN R. VAN HOOK

JONES INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY

May 26, 2000

Team Development Case Model

FOREWORD

This, obviously, is a fictitious case model.

INTRODUCTION

NASA Ames Research Center astrophysicists have verified a massive comet on a 95-percent certain collision course with earth; strike time projected in 3.5 years. The President of the United States -- in an attempt to denationalize and depoliticize the process -- has asked our office to organize an international team of cross-institutional representatives from existing government and non-government bodies to develop a global strategy for assessing and addressing the relevant issues (e.g., defensive measures, public notification, evacuation and emergency preparations, doomsday scenarios).

To keep the preliminary data and efforts confidential as well as to help facilitate streamlined progress, the President has requested the team size not exceed 20 members, with the broadest representation possible within the constraints: developed and undeveloped nations, scientists, military strategists, sociologists, psychologists, theologians, etc.  Due to the urgent and global nature of the task, the team must function with a non-partisan and well-focused cohesion.

In consideration of the impeccable past performance of our office, the indisputable track record of our transnational successes, the unimpeachable integrity of our company management, we have been appointed as the team leader.

The initial and most crucial phase of the team assignment will be the team building process: Gathering "technically competent team members who inspire each other's respect and who are capable of implementing changes resulting from team building processes of goal-setting and operational/procedural changes." (Boss, 1995) 

ANALYSIS

Hackman (1991) provides "process criteria" and "organizational conditions" that are key to developing an effective team, including:

• Members must exert sufficient effort to accomplish the group's task acceptably. The selected team members in this case model must be prepared to relinquish and be relieved of professional and personal obligations for the duration of the team assignment.
• Members must bring adequate skill and knowledge to bear on their task. Key government intelligence agencies and academic leaders will be critical in identifying team candidates.
• Members must employ task performance strategies appropriate to the work and the work setting. Not only must team members be screened for suitable qualifications, but screened for past performance histories in high-stress team workgroups.

The team leader (us) will be responsible for establishing organizational conditions promoting team effectiveness including well-defined group structure, supportive organizational context with effective motivational and informational systems, and consistent expert coaching throughout the assignment. That's what we do -- that's why we were selected.

Once the selected group is assembled, an initial diagnosis will be performed assessing the teamwork dimensions of:

• Goals: Do members share the same vision of what the group seeks to accomplish? Do they articulate that vision in the same terms?
• Roles: Does each member understand what other members expectations? Is each member's role perception consistent with others' expectation for that role? Does each member feel valued by others in the group?
• Operations: Has the group developed operations and procedures to ensure successful task accomplishment?
• Relationships: Does communication in the group reflect open sharing of information and relevant interpretations? Are messages among members mutually respectful? Have members developed ways of communicating negative feedback constructively?

INTERVENTION

Boss (1995) proscribes requisites that must be met in successful team-building efforts, which we have capably addressed largely in the team selection process.

• Commitment of the group's formal leader.
• Support from informal leaders in the group and involvement in process.
• Preparedness with the group (i.e., willingness to resolve problems, and accountability for results of the process).
• Realistic expectations concerning the process and its outcomes.
• Internal tensions and group problems making team building necessary.
• Technically competent team members who inspire each other's respect and who are capable of implementing changes resulting from team building processes of goal-setting and operational/procedural changes.

After an intensive orientation introducing the group members, defining operational procedures, and establishing the profound nature of the assignment, the Boss' requisites for successful team building should be thoroughly addressed, and the group primed to smoothly transition to effective team performance.

Seibold's (1995) steps in team building will contribute to the rapid development of team productivity:

1. Create an agenda by categorizing problems facing the group (goals, roles, operations/procedures, and relationships).
2. Use member involvement to resolve and improve operations and procedures.
3. Revisit goals and help members create a shared vision.
4. Help members consider role requirements emanating from their vision.
5. Aid members to improve relationships within the team.

Harrington-Mackin (1994) proposes the following steps in "getting started" with team building, as well as issues we will need to address throughout the team assignment:

• Identify key activities the team must undertake.
• Specify results expected of the team.
• Determine the resources available to the team.
• Agree upon the type and frequency of communication within the team, and between it and other groups.
• Develop rules to which team members will adhere.
• Work at developing skills necessary for successful task accomplishment.
• Determine how much authority the team will have.
• Finalize team membership, interim facilitator and schedule/agenda for first meeting.
• Determining level of authority
• Determining optimal size
• Assigning formal roles (e.g., team adviser, facilitator, process observer, recorder, time keeper, subject matter expert, single point of contact [i.e., a gatekeeper])
• Removing a member from the team
• Handling resignation requests
• Conducting exit interviews
• Recognizing and avoiding causes of team failure

EVALUATION

Zander (1994) contributes a number of strategies for increasing team success. In turn, these strategies provide an effective tool for evaluating the team's effectiveness throughout the assignment.

• Has the team leader effectively expressed a desire for members to work well on the task (e.g., offering praise, encouragement, suggestions)?
• Do team members work hard for the group and expect others to do the same (e.g., making few errors, deciding how to improve quality)?
• Do team members work to assist other members and expect other members to do the same (e.g., helping to develop needed skills, sharing task responsibilities created by overload)?
• Do individual team members set personal goals close to the team's goals, and take more pride in the team's output than in their own contributions to the team?
• Does the team leader Emphasize sources of team pride, and what consequences it has for the team?
• Does the team leader facilitate goals and work methods to enhance the probability of team success?
• Ensuring that each member understands what his contribution to the team is, that it is valued, and that other members depend upon those contributions.
• Privately conversing with members concerning how their membership in the team is meaningful to them personally, so each member will view the team as an attractive entity worth belonging to and worth sacrificing for.

 Of course, the final indicator of a successful "team building" process will be in the value of the final product.

REFERENCES

Boss, R.W. (1995). Comment: The challenge of building effective work groups. Journal of Management Inquiry, 4(2).

Hackman, J.R. (1991). Work teams in organizations: An orienting framework. In J.R. Hackman (Ed.), Groups that work (and those that don’t): Creating conditions for effective teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Harrington-Mackin, D. (1994). The team building tool kit: Tips, tactics, and rules for effective workplace teams. New York: American Management Association.

Seibold, D.R. (1995). Developing the "team" in team-managed organization: Group facilitation in a new plant design. In L.R. Frey (Ed.), Innovations in group facilitation techniques: Case studies of applications in naturalistic settings. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Zander, A. (1994). Making groups effective, 2nd Edition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

  
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