The Discipline Of Teams A Harvard Business Review

Presentation on

INTRODUCTION

The article says: If a manager wants to make better decisions about teams, they must know what a team is.

TEAM :-A small no. of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

4 Driving Elements of a Team :

Common Commitment and Purpose.

Performance Goals

Complementary Skills

Mutual Accountability

3 Types of Teams

Teams that Recommend things

Teams that Make or do things

Teams that Run things

GROUP v/s TEAM:

GROUP TEAM

Strong , clearly focused leader Shared leadership roles

Individual accountability Individual and mutual accountability

Individual work products Collective work products

Discusses , decides and delegates Discusses , decides and does real work together

Runs efficient meetings Encourages open-ended discussions and active problem-solving techniques

Group’s purpose is same as the broader organizational mission

Specific team purpose that the team itself delivers

TEAM WORK represents :

A set of VALUES : that encourage listening and responding constructively to views expressed by others.

Providing Support & recognizing the interest and achievements of others These values help teams perform, promote individual performance & that

of the entire organization. The essence of a TEAM is Common Commitment: without it , groups

perform as individuals and with it, they perform as powerful unit of collective performance.

Teams fall apart if a common goal is missing, but on the contrary when goals are combined with team commitment, they become a powerful engine of performance

Reasons For Transforming Broad Directives Into Specific And Measurable Performance Goals

Defining a distinct work product- Specific team-performance goals help define a set of work products that are different both from an organization-wide mission and from individual job objectives.

Facilitating clear and productive discussions- The specificity of performance objectives facilitates clear communication and constructive conflict within the team. When goals are clear, the discussions can focus on how to pursue or change these goals.

Helping the team to assess its performance- The attainability of specific goals helps teams maintain their focus on getting results. With the measure of attainability of the goals or objectives ,the team knows exactly where it stands.

Reasons Continued…

Have a leveling effect conducive to team behavior- Outward bound and other team-building programs illustrate that specific objectives have a leveling effect which is conducive to team behavior.

Allows a team to achieve small wins- Specific goals allow a team to achieve small wins as it pursues its broader purpose. These wins are invaluable to building commitment and overcoming the obstacles that get in way of long-term purpose.

Performance goals are compelling- They are symbols of accomplishment that motivate and energize. They challenge the people

to commit themselves, as a team, to make a difference.

Approaches For Building Team Performance

Establish Urgency, demanding performance standards, and direction- The more urgent and meaningful the rationale, the more likely it is that the team will live up to its performance potential. Teams work best in compelling context.

Select members for skill and skill potential, not personality- No team succeeds without all the skills needed to meet its purpose and performance goals. So, a manager must choose people for their existing

skills and potential to improve them and learn new ones.

Approaches cont…

Pay particular attention to first meetings and actions. Initial impression always makes a great deal- When potential teams first gather, they monitor the signals given by others and pay particular attention to those in authority.

Set some clear rules of behavior- Most critical initial rules pertain to attendance, discussions, confidentiality, analytic approach, end-product orientation, constructive confrontation and contributions.

Spend lots of time together- In order to be successful as a team, the members must give themselves the time to learn to be a team.

Set and seize upon a few immediate performance-oriented tasks and goals- Effective teams trace their advancement to key performance-oriented events. These events can be set in motion by establishing a few goals that can be achieved early on.

Challenge the group regularly with fresh facts and information- New information causes a team to redefine its understanding of performance challenge, thereby helping the team share a common purpose, set clearer goals and improve its common approach.

Exploit the power of positive feedback, recognition, and reward- Positive reinforcement works well in team context. Giving rewards or feedbacks helps shape new behaviors critical to team performance.

Approaches cont…

“The combination of purpose and specific goals is essential to performance. Each depends on the other to remain relevant and vital”

Size of the team

• No fixed criteria

• Small size more of a pragmatic guide than an absolute necessity for success.

Issues:• Issues in constructive Interaction.• Logistics issues.

Result:• Superficial missions.• Meeting becomes a chore and people don’t even know why they have gathered.• Very frustrating for the team members.

Skills

Complementary skills. Not necessary to have people with same skill set or background. CFTs

Skill Requirement: Technical or functional expertise- Appropriate and diverse. Problem solving and decision making skills- problem and opportunity identification, evaluate options and move forward. Interpersonal skills- Risk taking, helpful criticism, objectivity,active listening, recognizing the interests and achievements of others.

Teams: Opportunity to develop skills.

It’s common to overemphasize the skills in team selection

The authors of the case study didn’t encounter any successful teams that had all the needed skills required for the task at the beginning.

It was discovered that teams are powerful vehicles for developing the skills needed to meet the team’s performance challenge.

Effective Teams

Element of Commitment (to a common goal)

Element of Emotional logic

Establishment of Social Contract

Group TeamsAccountability

Example

HP and motorolla

Ingrained perfect ethic

Allow organic team

formation

Factor of mutual accountability

Being in boat together

Organic Teams

Features :Joint Specialization Decentralization Mutual adjustments much verbal communication people work over time

Challenges with type of teams

Teams that recommend things

Issues Getting off to a fast and constructive start Dealing with ultimate handoff that’s required to get recommendations implementedPredetermined completion date

Management’s roleForm team with different skills and influencing powerRemove obstacles(say political barriers) and improve cooperation .

Teams that Do things

IssuesHow to build necessary system and power without falling into trap of appearing to promote teams for their own sake

Management’s role Training should be given to teams, responsive for real time needs

Teams that Run things

IssuesDetermining whether a real team approach is right or not?

Working in GROUP is preferred over TEAM work

Management’s roleIf Top management uses TEAMS to run things, it should be make sure that the TEAM succeeds in identifying specific purpose and goals

Conclusion

Real Team performance at Top lever of management occurs

Effective Team becomes primary unit of performance

“Top Management must recognize a team’s unique potential to decline result, deploy teams strategically when they are best tool for jobs, Foster basic discipline of teams- that will make them effective”

Any queries or suggestions ?