Lecture Notes
Chapter 7: Strengthening Teams and Conducting Meetings
Learning Objectives
7.1. Distinguish between a group and a team
7.2. Explain the impact of the environment, the topic(s), and the participants on communication
within meetings
7.3. Analyze the roles and norms displayed by a group or team
7.4. Discuss the concepts involved in effective problem solving
7.5. Describe ways to foster innovative thinking in a team context
7.6. Discuss the need for conflict and the strategies for productive conflict
7.7. Apply the KEYS process to professional excellence as you develop your groups into teams
Chapter Summary
Chapter 7 explains the distinction between a group and a team. It also explains the impact of the
environment, the topic(s), and the participants on communication within meetings. Next, it
analyzes the roles and norms displayed by a group or team. In addition, this chapter discusses
effective problem solving and ways to foster innovative thinking in a team context. It continues
by discussing the need for conflict and the strategies for productive conflict. Finally, it describes
how to use the KEYS process of professional excellence to develop your groups into teams.
Chapter Outline
I. How Do Groups Differ From Teams?
A. Groups and Teams
1. Groups are three or more people working toward a common goal or purpose.
2. Teams are groups in which members share leadership responsibilities for
creating team identity, achieving mutually defined goals, and fostering innovative
thinking.
3. Four key differences between groups and teams
a. Team members share leadership responsibilities.
b. Team members share an identity.
c. Team members define what their goals will be.
d. Teams strive for innovation.
II. Conducting Meetings
A. Meeting Environment
1. Meeting environment includes both the time a meeting is held and its location.
2. Most people spend little time thinking about it when they plan their meetings.
3. Things to consider
a. Time
b. Location
c. Aesthetics and comfort
d. Length
e. Breaks
B. Meeting Topics (Agenda)
1. An agenda is a guide or an overview of the topics that will be covered during
the meeting.
2. Agendas should be distributed several days in advance of the meeting.
3. Leaders with professional excellence prioritize agenda items.
C. Meeting Participants
1. Who should be at this meeting?
2. Can all key members attend this meeting at this time?
III. Shared Leadership
A. Team Roles
1. Teams require members to share leadership.
2. Task roles are functional roles that help the team carry out tasks.
3. Relationship roles are functional roles that help strengthen or maintain team
relationships.
4. Self-centered roles are dysfunctional roles that interfere with a team’s
productivity.
B. Team Norms
1. Norms are unwritten rules of behavior.
2. Reflect on what norms are operating within your workspace.
3. Read the employee handbook.
4. Eliminate negative norms by addressing them and working to fix them.
IV. Problem Solving
A. Describing and Analyzing the Problem
1. Teams take time to discuss the problem.
2. Team members share their own insights and experiences.
3. Actively seek and share feedback from other employees and relevant parties.
4. Include diverse perceptions of a problem.
B. Generating Possible Solutions
1. Do not stop with an “okay” solution.
2. Teams seek innovative solutions that address all facets of a problem.
3. There are many tools that can aid your team in generating possible solutions.
C. Evaluating All Solutions
1. Criteria are the standards used to decide.
2. Teams develop a systematic process for evaluation.
3. The devil’s advocate has the task of making sure dissenting points of view are
discussed.
D. Deciding on the Solution
1. Decision by the Leader
a. Members recommend or advise the leader.
b. Leader makes the ultimate choice.
c. Not truly teamwork.
2. Voting
a. Team members cast a vote for the solution they find most meritorious.
b. Team members have equal input in the decision.
c. It is quick and easy.
d. Lacks innovation.
3. Compromise
a. Compromise is a lose–lose approach.
b. The goal becomes narrowing options, not developing innovative ideas.
4. Consensus
a. Consensus is when team members work toward a solution or agreement
that all team members can support.
b. Results in a stronger commitment to implementing the solution and
strengthens the relationship between team members.
c. Time-consuming.
E. Planning How to Implement the Solution
1. Teams make certain their solutions are implemented by developing a thorough,
detailed plan.
2. A lead person who is accountable for a given task must be designated.
V. Cultivating Innovative Thinking
A. Explorer
1. Explorers seek out new information in uncharted land.
2. They follow curiosity, leave their own turf, and look for lots of ideas and
information.
3. Teams need to be given the task of exploring and asking questions.
B. Artist
1. The artist puts together ideas in new ways.
2. This is the creative stage.
3. Teams should ask “what if” questions.
C. Judge
1. The judge evaluates the possible solutions and then select one solution for
implementation.
D. Warrior
1. The warrior develops and carries out the plan.
2. Team members must be strong and ready to overcome inevitable difficulties.
E. Supporting Each Role
1. Teams need to make certain each role (explorer, artist, judge, or warrior) is
present and support each member’s own unique innovative thinking.
2. To ensure innovation, teams must have at least one member who is strong in
each area and share leadership to maximize those strengths.
VI. Conflict in Team Meetings
A. Need for Conflict
1. Groupthink is the tendency for cohesive groups to make faulty decisions.
a. Causes of Groupthink
i. Highly cohesive group
ii. Isolated
iii. Homogeneous
iv. Charismatic leader
v. Desire for cohesion
b. Avoiding Groupthink
i. Norms should be developed for seeking additional information
ii. Testing assumptions
iii. Incorporating the role of devil’s advocate
2. Meetingthink has the same outcome as groupthink, but it doesn’t require the
same inputs.
a. False empowerment: occurs when a leader acts as if he or she plans to
involve the group in the decision-making process
b. Overload: occurs when group members cannot concentrate on the issue
due to having other things on their mind
c. Poorly Run Meetings
i. Disorganized due to lack of an agenda, too lengthy, having the
wrong participants there, or other variables that contribute to
ineffective meetings
d. Avoiding Meetingthink
i. Consider the environment.
ii. Use an agenda.
iii. Facilitate the discussion.
iv. Challenge yourself to be fully prepared and engaged in every
meeting you attend.
B. Productive Conflict
1. Stages of Team Development
a. Forming—groups are polite and impersonal as they test the waters.
b. Storming—conflict appears and members engage in infighting and often
clash with the leader.
c. Norming—the group develops procedures for organizing, giving
feedback, and confronting issues.
d. Performing—members carry out the duties of the group.
e. Adjourning—group completes its work, resolves issues, and ends.
2. Handling Conflict
a. Flight occurs when you choose not to engage or deal with a conflict.
b. Fight is another alternative requiring individuals to engage in some type
of confrontation.
C. The Unite Approach
1. Unite requires team members to stop stating positions and start exploring
issues.
a. A position is a demand that includes a person’s solution to the problem.
b. Interests are the needs and concerns underlying each position.
2. Raise the Issue
a. Preparation includes many of the elements we have already discussed,
such as considering the meeting environment, meeting participants, and
meeting topic.
b. State the issue concisely and in a neutral tone.
3. Invite Cooperation
a. Emphasize that the unite approach requires effective listening and
participation from all team members.
b. Incorporate the round robin technique: going around the circle and
allowing everyone to share his or her perceptions of the issue.
VII. KEYS to Excellence in Team Communication
A. Know Yourself
1. Do a self-inventory of how you have interacted with others in the past and how
your team members reacted to your communication.
B. Evaluate the Professional Context
1. Identify what is considered professional communication and what is not.
C. Your Communication Interactions
1. Be critical of your communication while talking with your team members.
D. Step Back and Reflect
1. Take a reflexive inventory of your communication with other team members.