Fredrick SmithThe founder, Chairman, President and CEO of FedEx.

FORBES

World’s 50 Greatest Leaders

Chief Executive Magazines’s 2004

CEO of the Year

- Founded Federal Express- Integrated air-ground system

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The Fed-ex Mission

Superior financial returns

Customer needs

Mutual rewards

Mission Statement

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The Fed-Ex Values

People

Service

Innovation

Integrity

Responsibility

Loyalty

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Team concept

Way of life

better organizational performance

Synergistic benefits

Improved qualityImproved customer

satisfactionImproved efficiency

Improved employee satisfaction

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Groups vs Teams

Groups Teamsindividual self interest achieving team goals and interests

individual work and abilities Sense of shared mission

Individual responsibilities Collective responsibility

individual oriented Focus on sharing information, insights and perspectives

Hierarchical leadership style Participative/empowerment-oriented leadership style

Inequality between members Equality between members

What's in it for me What's in it for the team

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Standards set by Fred Smith

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Team Approach

Implementation of team approach within business units

• Empowerment of teams

• Transferring of leadership roles to team members

• Teams are charged with improving productivity and customer satisfaction

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High Team Standards

• Standard of commitment to quality service and customer satisfaction

• “Golden Package” standard

• Every package is critical and must be delivered on time

• Onus on team with “golden package” to deliver NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS

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Reinforcement of Standards

• Monthly Circle of Excellence award Service

• Recognition of group performance• Reinforcement of high team standards

expected• Encourages innovative thinking and

better work performance

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Organisational Goals

• People Importance of employee satisfaction and empowerment

• ServiceQuality service and customer satisfaction

• ProfitCorporate profit

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Achievement of Goals

• People - Employee satisfaction- High team standards give greater responsibility to team members- Reaffirmation of team performance

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Achievement of Goals

• Service - High service standard and customer satisfaction- “Golden Package” standard ensures that customers’ delivery orders are met- Empowerment of teams led to improvement of organisation - E.g. “Superteams” cutting service glitches and solving billing problems- Organisational improvements led to better provision for customer satisfaction

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Achievement of Goals

• Profit

- High team standards helped cut organisational costs

- Better customer service resulted in greater corporate profit

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Summary of Q1

• Fred Smith organised FedEx into teams • Implemented team approach• Set high team standards, embodied by “golden

package”• Achieved organisational goals of People-Service-

Profit- Employee satisfaction- Customer satisfaction and improvement in organisational performance- Generation of greater corporate profits

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What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

Characteristics of Effective Teams:1. A highly publicized team charter and team norms2. Widely shared goals and objectives3. Strong team cohesion and high task interdependence4. A diversified team mix5. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities 6. Positive interpersonal relationships

7. Clearly stated standard operating procedures8. Trust and conflict management abilities9. Effective interpersonal communication skills10. Strong top management support

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Out of the 10 characteristics of effective teams, 4 in particular stand out:

2. Widely shared goals and objectives

5. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

6. Positive interpersonal relationships

10. Strong top management support

What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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Widely shared goals and objectives

- Fred Smith made sure that every employee at FedEx felt they could share in the success of the company.

- When team members all share the same goals and objectives and each member knows his or her role in achieving the team’s goal, it helps to build a sense of belonging to the team. This helps to form a sense of ownership in the goals and objectives of the team and thus greater accountability for team actions. Hence it allows employees to remain highly engaged and thus improve team performance.

What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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Widely shared goals and objectives

- Fred Smith made sure that every employee at FedEx felt they could share in the success of the company

- Sense of belonging formed -> Employees remain highly engaged -> Improves team performance

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What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

- Employees have freedom and autonomy to set their own roles and responsibilities -> accountability for their actions

- Managers also know that they have an important role in contributing to the success of their teams. Managers perceive their roles as facilitators, guiding but not ordering their teams.

- As each employee and manager know the job that they are supposed to do, it helps them to remain highly engaged in their teams.

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What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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Positive interpersonal relationship

- Fred Smith made sure to cultivate a good relationship between managers and employees

- Positive interpersonal relationship ensures that there is mutual trust and respect between managers and employees. This develops a sense of belonging in the team.

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What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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Strong top management support

- Reward and recognition -> motivates employees + inspires competition

- Job-secure environment -> employees not afraid to make mistakes

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What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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Summary:

1) Widely shared goals and objectives

2) Clearly defined roles and responsibilities

3) Positive interpersonal relationships

4) Strong top management support

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What motivated the employees of Fedex to remain highly engaged in their teams?

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How would you classify Fedex’s employees in terms of types of followers?

Followership

The behaviour of followers that result from the leader-follower mutual influencing relationship.

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Effective Follower Conformist Follower

Alienated Follower Passive Follower

Pragmatic Follower

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Critical ThinkingHigh

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LowLow

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Effective Follower Conformist Follower

Alienated Follower Passive Follower

Pragmatic Follower

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Critical ThinkingHigh

High

LowLow

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Effective Follower Conformist Follower

Alienated Follower Passive Follower

Pragmatic Follower

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Critical ThinkingHigh

High

LowLow

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Effective Follower Conformist Follower

Alienated Follower Passive Follower

Pragmatic Follower

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Critical ThinkingHigh

High

LowLow

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Effective Follower Conformist Follower

Alienated Follower Passive Follower

Pragmatic Follower

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l of i

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Critical ThinkingHigh

High

LowLow

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Alienated Follower: someone who is low on involvement yet is high on critical thinking

Conformist Follower: someone who is high on involvement but low on critical thinking

Passive Follower: someone who is neither high on critical thinking nor involvement

Effective Follower: Someone who is high on critical thinking and involvement

Pragmatic Follower: exhibits a little of all four styles depending on which style fits the prevailing situation, ambiguous image

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How would you classify Fedex’s employees in terms of types of followers?

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Effective Followers

Effective followers are people who are high on critical thinking and involvement.

Describe as being proactive and they function well in self managed teams.

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How would you classify Fedex’s employees in terms of types of followers?

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- Function well in self-managed teams - They are able to work well in self-managed teams with little direct

supervision from managers.

- Courage to initiate change - Responsibility to make the changes needed to improve productivity and

customer satisfaction

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How would you classify Fedex’s employees in terms of types of followers?

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Summary:

Effective Followers because…1) Function well in self-managed teams2) Have the courage to initiate change

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How would you classify Fedex’s employees in terms of types of followers?

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Self-Managed Teams (SMT)

Cross-functional

Independent

Share and rotate leadership responsibilities

Mutual responsibility

Freedom in decision making, managing, planning, scheduling and taking action

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SMT vs. Conventional teams

Characteristics: Self-Managed Teams Conventional Teams

• Leadership Within the team Outside the team

• Team member role

Interchangeable Fixed

• Accountability Team Individual

• Work effort Cohesive Divided

• Task design Flexible Fixed

• Skills Multi-skilled Specialized

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Fedex Self-managed teams

Quality action teams „superteams“Company wide

projects(Crossfunctional teams)

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Team-Centered Decision-Making Model

Team member empowerment

Requires skilled team leader

Psychologicaly safe environment

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Team-Centered Decision-Making Model

Pros•Improve decision quality•Decision shifted away from leaders, think more strategically•Spread responsibility •Higher member commitment

Cons•Longer decision making•Conflict of priorities•Compromises instead of optimal solutions

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Fedex decision-making

Self-managed teams• Little manager supervision

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Potential Pitfalls

Requirements

• Commitment• Effort• Organizational support

Social loafing

Groupthink

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Describe the roles management in FedEx play in building effective teams. Do

you think they would be effective without the

management’s involvement?

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This philosophy, PEOPLE, SERVICE, PROFIT (PSP) •Open communication

•Sense of trust among employees

•"People" programs and policies

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Management in FedEx

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Roles of management

Employees involvementSurvey-Feedback-ActionOpen Door program

Team FacilitatorsLeadership Evaluation and Awareness ProcessGuaranteed Fair Treatment Procedure

MotivatorRecognition and reward program - “bravo zulu" award.

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Optimal work conditionsJob-secure environment

Employee empowermentaccountability and responsibility

little supervision

Building effective teams

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Creativity at FedEx

FedEx Day

Foster creativityGive members an opportunity to create

Lift all the restrictions of work

Test out temporary or novel ideas

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Lack of Management’s Involvement

• undefined roles and responsibilities• weak top management support• missing facilitator, peacemaker

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Quick Recap1)PEOPLE, SERVICE, PROFIT (PSP)

2)Employees Involvement, Team Facilitator, Motivator3)Optimal work conditions, Employee Empowerment

4)Creativity5)Undefined Roles and Responsibilities, Lack of Management Support,

Missing Facilitator/Peacemaker

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