Team Building

What is a group?
• A group is a collective of mutually independent individuals with
separate goals who are brought together by common interests
and experience.
• Even though everyone shares information and resources with
other group members, each member is responsible for his/her
own work.
• There are two types of groups:
• formal group, created by the management to perform a particular
task.
• informal group, formed naturally by employees for different
reasons
What is a Team?
• A team is an interdependent group of individuals who share
responsibility and are focused on a common goal.
• People in a team have a mutual understanding with other
members.
• By working together, they tend to maximize each other’s
strengths and minimize weaknesses.
• Unlike a group, where each member is expected to contribute
separately, the most important characteristic of a team is
synergy: the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Together Everyone Achieves More

 Group vs Team
• Individuals that get on the same elevator most likely share some
things: they work in the same building and on the same floor or they
may work for the same boss and have similar interests.
• The mere fact that they have something in common makes them a
group.
• However, if elevator breaks down and they get stuck, a common
goal of “getting out of there” makes this group a team.
• In a group, everybody works on mutually exclusive tasks, while in a
team all members are focused on common goal or mission through
completion of interdependent tasks.

The biggest disadvantage of groups (in comparison to teams) is an

individual accountability, which makes organization’s goal less
important than personal.
 Why people form groups?

• Social identity theory – considers when and why individuals

consider themselves members of groups.
• People have emotional reactions to the failure or success of
their group because their self-esteem gets tied into the
performance of the group.
• Social identities help us understand who we are and where
we fit in with people.

• In-group favoritism
• Beyond feeling of “schadenfreude” in-group favoritism
occurs when we see that the members of our group as
better than other people and all others are the same.
Why do people develop social identity?
Several characteristics make a social identity important to a person

• Similarity
• Same values, same demographics have higher level of identification
• Distinctiveness
• How do I stay distinct from other groups? For example a vet who works in
a hospital identifies with organization while a vet who is in animal
research identifies with profession.
• Status
• Self esteem determines how you identify with a group. A high status
organization makes sense if you are looking at increasing you esteem.
• Uncertainty reduction
• Associating with a group or organization that is stable
 Activity: Lost in the Desert
• Your group is lost in a desert.
• In the baggage you find several
items.
• Prioritize the items in order of
their importance for your
survival.
• The individuals of the group will
spend not more than 5 minutes on
prioritizing their individual list.
• In the next 15 minutes the group
will discuss to arrive at the group
priorities of the items.
• Everybody in your group should
agree unanimously to the
prioritization.
 Lost in a Desert: Your baggage items

A. Box of matches I. Map of the region

B. Food concentrate J. Small knife
C. Guide book K. Magnetic compass
D. Parachute L. 20 litres of water
E. Portable heating unit M. First aid kit with needles
F. Two .45 caliber pistols N. Solar powered FM receiver
G. One case dehydrated milk transmitter
H. Cosmetic mirror O. Sunglasses and white robes
 Moon Explorer Problem- variation

A. Box of matches I. Stellar map (as seen from the

B. Food concentrate moon)
C. 20 Meter nylon Rope J. Life raft
D. Parachute Silk K. Magnetic compass
E. Portable heating unit L. 20 litres of water
F. Two .45 caliber pistols M. Signal flares
G. One case dehydrated pet milk N. First aid kit with needles
H. Two 50 kg tanks of oxygen O. Solar powered FM receiver
transmitter
Analysis
• Who performed better, individuals or groups?
• What factors contribute to group success on tasks such as
these?
• How can groups be used more productively at work to capitalize
on their assets?
• Which groups could reach at a consensus fast and with least
confusion
• What is more important?
• Least mean deviation?
• More inclusive decision?
Key factors in Team Building
Team Building Requirements
Key Success Factors : S.C.O.R.E

Open
Clear Role & Rapid Effective
Strategy Communic
Responsibility Response Leadership
ation
 Strategy

• Shared purpose
• Clearly articulated values and ground
rules
• Understanding of risks and opportunities
facing the team
• Clear categorization of the overall
responsibilities of the team

• To measure individual results

Team Strategy
Clear Roles & Responsibility
• Clear definition of roles and responsibilities

• Responsibility shared by all members

• Specific objectives
 Team Roles and Responsibilities

• A critical issue that can impede the success of teams is a lack of

clarity regarding the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of the
various individuals who compose its membership.
• Because it can be difficult to understand fully the distinction
between a role and a responsibility, please keep the following
definitions in mind
• Roles — Generally, roles are the positions team members assume or the
parts that they play in a particular operation or process. (For example, a
role an individual might assume is that of facilitator).
• Responsibilities — On the other hand, responsibilities are the specific
tasks or duties that members are expected to complete as a function
of their roles.
How Role Requirements Change In
Different Situations
• Role – a set of expected behavior patterns attributed to someone occupying
a given position in a social unit.
• Role perception – one’s perception of how to act in a given situation.

• Role expectations – how others believe one should act in a given

situation.
• Psychological contract: Employer and employee unwritten
agreement setting out mutual expectations.

• Role conflict – situation in which an individual faces divergent role

expectations. ( compared to his perception)

• Zimbardo’s prison experiment:

• Prisoners and Guards in Stanford University.
• BBC study and the difference
Team Roles and Responsibilities
Open Communication and Rapid Response

Open Communication
• Respect for individual differences

• Open communication environment among

the members

Rapid Response
• Rapid response to the team’s problems

• Effective management to change in the internal

and external environment
 Effective Leadership
• Team leader who is able to help members achieve the objective and
build the team.

• Team leader who can draw out and free up the skills of all team
members, develop individuals
Team Work
What are the stages of team development?

• In 1965, a psychologist named Bruce

Tuckman said that teams go through 5
stages of development: forming,
storming, norming, performing and
adjourning.
• The stages start from the time that a group
first meets until the project ends.
• Tuckman didn’t just have a knack for
rhyming. (Although, it does make the
stages easier to remember.)
• Each is aptly named and plays a vital part
in building a high-functioning team.
Stage 1
Stage 1: Forming
• The first stage of team development is forming, which is
a lot like orientation day at college or a new job.

• During this stage, discussion is around:

• Member’s skills, background and interests
• Project goals
• Timeline
• Ground rules
• Individual roles
• As the group starts to familiarize themselves, roles and
responsibilities will begin to form.
Stage 1: Forming
• It is important for team members to develop
relationships and understand what part each person
plays.
• The focus is to have open ended discussion without
sounding inquisitive.
• This stage focuses more on the people than on the
work, your team probably won’t be very productive yet.
• The productivity at this stage should be measured in
terms of building relationship, agreeing on ground rules
and not based on the task ahead.
Stage 2
Stage 2: Storming
• This is the stage you become aware of a person’s
characteristics and that may frustrate or annoy you,
• Being in a team is like being in a relationship. At first,
you may think someone is perfect and flawless.
• But, then you realize that they aren’t. Once you’re aware
of their flaws, you learn to embrace them or the
relationship will end quickly.
• In the storming stage, the reality and weight of
completing the task at hand have now hit everyone.
Stage 2: Storming
• Members might disagree (with the team leader also) over how to
complete a task or voice their concerns if they feel that someone
isn’t pulling their weight.
• Some try to avoid conflict and skip this stage. Instead recognize
conflicts and resolve them early on.
• Try and put yourself in the other person’s shoes- empathize.
• This will also get you to understand his perspective and will help
in resolving any conflict.
• Try and break down the disagreement into small and solvable
problems and discuss each of them – to resolve.
Stage 3
Stage 3: Norming
• Groups start to settle into a groove. Everyone is
contributing and working as a cohesive unit.
• Of course, you may still think that a particular member is
obnoxious. But, you also start to admire his knowledge
and value his opinions in his strength areas.
• Storming sometimes overlaps with norming. As new
tasks arise, groups may still experience a few conflicts.
• It is possible for the team to revert back to the "storming"
stage if one of the members starts to slack or work
independently or to "forming" stage if a new member
joins the team.
• If you’ve already dealt with disagreements before, it will
probably be easier to address this time.
Stage 4
Stage 4: Performing
• In the "performing" stage, teams are functioning at a
very high level. The focus is on reaching the goal as a
group. The team members know each other, trust each
other and rely on each other.
• They can make decisions and problem solve quickly and
effectively.
• When they disagree, the team members can work
through it and come to consensus without interrupting
the project's progress.
• If there needs to be a change in team processes - the
team will come to agreement on changing processes on
their own without reliance on the team leader.
Stage 5
Stage 5: Adjourning (Mourning)
• In 1977, Tuckman added a fifth stage called adjourning.
(Sadly, not a perfect rhyme.)
• This stage looks at the team from the perspective of the
well-being of the team rather than from the perspective
of managing a team through the original four stages of
team growth.
• The team leader should ensure that there is time for the
team to celebrate the success of the project and capture
best practices for future use.
• The team members will keep in touch with each other as
they have become a very close knit group and there will
be sadness at separating and moving on.
12 Angry Men

Movie contd…..
 Is the Team Effective?
There are various indicators of whether a team is working effectively
together as a group. The characteristics of effective, successful
teams include:
• Clear communication among all members
• Regular brainstorming session with all members participating
• Consensus among team members
• Problem solving done by the group
• Commitment to the project and the other team members
• Timely hand off from team members to others to ensure the project
keeps moving in the right direction
• Positive, supportive working relationships among all team members
 Is the Team Effective?
Teams that are not working effectively together will display the
characteristics listed below. The team leader will need to be actively
involved with such teams.
• Lack of communication among team members
• No clear roles and responsibilities for team members
• Team members "throw work over the wall" to other team members, with lack
of concern for timelines or work quality
• Team members work alone, rarely sharing information and offering
assistance
• Team members blame others for what goes wrong, no one accepts
responsibility
• Team members do not support others on the team
• Team members are frequently absent thereby causing slippage in the
timeline and additional work for their team members
Key Success Factors for a team
The 4 contextual factors most significantly related to team
performance:
• Adequate Resources :
• Scarcity of resource is directly linked to drop in performance. The
support the team receives from the organization like timely
information, proper equipment, adequate staffing, encouragement
and admin assistance is a huge success factor.
• Leadership and Structure:
• Agreeing on the specifics of work and how they fit together to
integrate individual skills require leadership and structure.
• In multi-team situations leaders play the role of facilitators making
sure that the teams work together rather than against.
Key Success Factors for a team
Climate of trust :
• Team members are more likely to think out of the box and take
risks when they believe they can trust others in the team. Trust
also allows a team to accept and commit to its leader’s goals and
decisions.

• Evaluation and Reward System:

• Individual evaluation can be counter productive. Group based
appraisals, profit sharing, small-group incentives can reinforce
team effort and commitment.
Activity:Working in a team

Making shapes
Johari Window: A Model for Self-Understanding

• Joseph Luft and Harrington Ingham created the model(1955)

• The labels refer to 'self' and 'others': 'self' means oneself while
'others' means other people in the person's group or team.
Johari Window: A Model for Self-Understanding

• Open area, open self, free area, free self, or 'the arena‘: what is
known by the person about him/herself and is also known by
others
• The open free area, or 'the arena‘ - the space where good
communications and cooperation occur, free from distractions,
mistrust, confusion, conflict and misunderstanding
• Blind area, blind self, or 'blindspot‘: what is unknown by the
person about him/herself but which others know
• Hidden area, hidden self, avoided area, avoided self or 'façade’:
what the person knows about him/herself that others do not
know
• Unknown area or unknown self: what is unknown by the person
about him/herself and is also unknown by others
Use of the Model
• self-awareness
• personal development
• improving communications
• interpersonal relationships
• group dynamics
• team development
• inter group relationships
Team Creativity – Class exercise

Splat
Emotional Quotient
• Self-awareness: The ability to recognise what you are feeling, to
understand your habitual emotional responses to events and to
recognise how your emotions affect your behaviour and
performance. When you are self-aware, you see yourself as others
see you, and have a good sense of your own abilities and current
limitations.

• Managing emotions: The ability to stay focused and think clearly

even when experiencing powerful emotions. Being able to manage
your own emotional state is essential for taking responsibility for your
actions, and can save you from hasty decisions that you later regret.

• Motivating oneself: The ability to use your deepest emotions to move

and guide you towards your goals. This ability enables you to take
the initiative and to persevere in the face of obstacles and setbacks.
Emotional Quotient
• Empathy : The ability to sense, understand and respond to what
other people are feeling. Self-awareness is essential to having
empathy with others. If you are not aware of your own
emotions, you will not be able to read the emotions of others.

• Social Skill: The ability to manage, influence and inspire

emotions in others. Being able to handle emotions in
relationships and being able to influence and inspire others are
essential foundation skills for successful teamwork and
leadership.
Thank You