Leading Effective Teams

Dr Catherine HannawaySenior Fellow, Durham University

Task Team

Individual

Prof John AdairEffective Leadership

http://www.nhsleadership.org.uk/workstreams-clinical-theleadershipframework.asp

Why Teams?

“There is a significant and negative relationship between the percentage of staff working in teams in acute hospitals and the mortality rate in those hospitals, taking account of local health care needs and hospital size. Where more employees work in teams the death rate among patients is significantly lower.”

Borrill & West, Aston University, 1999

Groups and teams: how to tell the differenceWorking group

– strong, clearly focused leader

– individual accountability

– the group’s purpose is the same as the broader organisational mission

– individual work-products

– runs efficient meetings

– measures its effectiveness indirectly by its influence on others (e.g. financial performance of the business)

– discusses, decides, and delegates

Team

– shared leadership roles

– individual and mutual accountability

– specific team purpose that the team itself delivers

– collective work-products

– encourages open-ended discussion and active problem solving meetings

– measures performance directly by assessing collective work products

– discusses, decides and does real work together

Focusing on team basics

Katzenbach and Smith (1993)

Problem solving

Technical/function

Interpersonal

Mutual

Small number of people

Individual

Specific goals

Common approach

Meaningful purpose

Skill

s

Accountability

CommitmentCollective work products

Personal growth

Performance results

Why Teams?• They bring together complementary skills and experiences that exceed those of

any individual– enables a better response to multifaceted challenges

• In jointly developing clear goals and approaches, teams establish communications that support real-time problem solving and initiative– as a result teams can adjust their approach to new information and

challenges with greater speed, accuracy and effectiveness

• They provide a unique social dimension that enhances the economic and administrative aspects of work– overcoming the barriers that stand in the way of collective performance

• Teams have more fun!– fun both sustains and is sustained by team performance

Characteristics of High Performing Teams • Leadership• Membership• Ownership

– memory of high performing teams

• Accountability• Good philosophy• Shared purpose• Shared understanding• Clarity of individual and team roles• Shared values• Trust• Timeliness of actions• Celebration of success

– positive feedback, team feeing valued

• Empowered• Support from within the team• Laughter• Desire for all to succeed• Common vision• Working for the greater good• Everyone thinks you are a high performing team• Committed to task/completion of objective• Valuing of each member of the team

• Feeling safe to take risks• External positive affirmation that you are

doing a good job• Successful team accepts feedback and

acts on this feedback/seeks feedback• Reflective• Reflect on own team performance • Self evaluation• Trust other people to cross cover• Self support themselves and the team• Task significant to themselves and others• Like each other• Respect everybody’s strengths• Build on things that work well• Share goals - fun, clear• Same mind set• Organised - Commitment• Think differently, happy with the mix• Want to support each other – fair• Honest about performance• Not blamed – getting rid of fear• Brave enough to stop things that aren’t

working• Finish job!! Celebrate• Reflect – and be positive

The Team Performance Curve

Katzenbach and Smith

Working group

High-performing

team

Real team

Potential team

Pseudo-team

Team effectiveness

Perf

orm

an

ce im

pact

How Work Groups Form into Effective Units or Teams (Bruce Tuckman)

1 Forming2 Storming3 Norming4 Performing

Important that:• Group Members recognise they belong to the group• Have effective working relationships based on agreed goals• Understand one another and are prepared to share ideas and

feelings

Key Points on Performance CurveWorking Group• no significant incremental

performance need or opportunity to require it to become a team

• members interact primarily to share information, best practices, perspectives and to make decisions to help each individual perform

• beyond that no common purpose, performance goals, joint work-products that call for either a team approach or mutual responsibility

Pseudo-team• could be a significant performance

need or opportunity but it has not focused on collective performance and is not really trying to achieve it

• weakest of all groups in terms of performance impact

• contribute less than working groups as interactions detract from each member’s individual performance without delivering any joint benefit

• sum of the whole is less than the potential of the individual parts

Key Points on Performance CurvePotential Team• a significant incremental performance

need and is really trying to improve its performance impact

• typically requires more clarity about purpose, goals or work-products and more work on a common working approach

• potential teams abound in organisations

• steepest performance gain comes between a potential team and a real team

Real team• a small number of people with

complementary skills who are equally committed to a common purpose, goals, and working approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable

High-performance team• meets all the conditions of real teams

and has members who are also deeply committed to one another’s personal growth and success

• significantly outperforms all other like teams and all reasonable expectations given its membership

Some Thoughts on Leading Teams

• Genuine concern for others• Ability to communicate and inspire• Decency• Humanity• Humility• Sensitivity• Respect for others Prof Beverley Alimo-Metcalfe summarises the 7 qualities as the leader being a servant not a hero

Belbin – Team Roles CategoriesAction-orientated roles

shaper

implementer

completer/finisher

People-orientated roles

co-ordinator

team workerresource investigator

Cerebral roles

plant

monitor evaluator

specialist

Belbin (1993)

Team Leadership• look to the specifics of the performance challenge – effective working group

requiring good management or team approach?

• keep the purpose, goals and approach relevant and meaningful

• build commitment and confidence

• strengthen the mix and level of skills

• manage relationships with outsiders, including removing obstacles

• create opportunities for others

• do real work

Approaches to building team performance• Establish urgency and direction• Select members based on skills and skill potential, not

personalities• Pay particular attention to first meetings and actions• Set some clear rules of behaviour• Set and seize upon a few immediate performance-oriented

tasks and goals• Challenge the group regularly with fresh facts and information• Spend lots of time together• Exploit the power of positive feedback, recognition and

reward

Further Reading

• Belbin, R Meredith (1998) Team Roles at Work. BH

• Borrill, C.A., West, M. (2000c), Team-working and Effectiveness in Health Care, Aston Centre of Health Service Organisation Research (ACHSOR), University of Aston, Birmingham

• Borrill, C.A., West, M. (2000a), How Good is Your Team? A Guide for Team Members, Aston Centre of Health Service Organisation Research (ACHSOR), University of Aston, Birmingham

• Katzenbach J.R. and Smith D.K. The Wisdom of Teams – Creating the high performance organisation – Harvard Business School Press