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CHAPTER 9
Developing Teamwork
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with specific information about how to develop
teamwork. Such information is vital in an era that glorifies the importance of teamwork.
CHAPTER OUTLINE AND LECTURE NOTES
Developing teamwork is such an important leadership role that team building is said to differentiate
successful from unsuccessful leaders. Furthermore, leaders with a reputation as teamwork builders are
often in demand. A team is a work group that must rely on collaboration if each member is to
experience the optimum success and achievement. Teamwork is an understanding and commitment to
group goals on the part of all team members. All teams are groups, but not all groups are teams. A team
accomplishes many collective work products, whereas group members sometimes work slightly more
independently
I. THE LEADER’S ROLE IN THE TEAM-BASED ORGANIZATION
Instead of the leader’s job disappearing, leaders learn to lead in new ways. The new leaders need
to understand team processes. Leaders are often facilitators who lead two or three teams. Teams
need effective leadership to stay on course, especially when they are forming. Some of the key
roles of a leader in a team-based organization include:
• Building trust and inspiring teamwork
• Coaching toward higher levels of performance
• Facilitating and supporting the team’s decisions
When the leader is not a member of the team, he or she is classified as an external leader. A study
showed that under ordinary work conditions, when the leaders were too actively involved in
coaching the team and sense making, satisfaction with leadership declined. When the team faced
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disruptive conditions, such as a heavy workload, coaching and sense making by the leader
increased satisfaction with leadership.
II. LEADER ACTIONS THAT FOSTER TEAMWORK
Fostering teamwork is a major factor for the success of teams, including those working offshore.
(Teamwork might take the form of coordinating linked work.) Inspirational leaders, as well as less
charismatic ones, can encourage teamwork through certain actions and attitudes. The actions can
be divided into those leaders can take using their own resources (informal techniques) and those
actions that generally require organization structure or policy (formal techniques).
A. Actions Leaders Can Take Using Their Own Resources
1. Defining the Team’s Mission. A starting point in developing teamwork is to specify the
team’s mission. The mission should contain a specific goal, purpose, and philosophical
3. Developing a Norm of Teamwork Based on Cooperation Theory. A major strategy for
teamwork development is to promote the attitude among group members that working
together is an expected standard of conduct. The leader can also communicate the
norm of teamwork by frequently using words and phrases that support teamwork.
A norm of teamwork is based on cooperation theory, a belief in cooperation and
collaboration rather than competitiveness. Individuals who are accustomed to
4. Develop Group Emotional Intelligence. The leader’s role in developing a norm of
teamwork can also be framed as the leader helping the group develop emotional
5. Emphasizing Pride in Being Outstanding. A standard way of building team spirit, if
6. Serving as a Model of Teamwork Including Power Sharing. . A powerful method of
fostering teamwork is for the leader to be a positive model of team play. One way of
exemplifying teamwork is for the leader to reveal important information about ideas
6. Using a Consensus Leadership Style. Consensus decision making enhances teamwork.
Contributing input to important decisions helps foster the feeling among group
7. Establishing Urgency, Demanding Performance Standards, and Providing Direction.
Team members need to believe that the team has urgent, constructive purposes. The
8. Encouraging Competition with Another Group. One of the best-known methods of en-
9. Engaging in Ample Interaction with the Team. A helpful tactic for building teamwork
10. Minimizing Micromanagement. A strategic perspective on encouraging teamwork is
for the leader to minimize micromanagement, the close monitoring of most aspects of
11. Practicing E-Leadership for Virtual Teams. E-leadership is a form of leadership
practiced in a context where work is mediated by information technology. The focus of
leadership shifts from individuals to networks of relationships because the Internet
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facilitates connecting so many people. An example of e-leadership to facilitate
teamwork would be establishing chat rooms to solicit opinions from members of a
cross-border virtual team before reaching a final decision. Suggestions for building
teamwork within a virtual team include the following:
a. Solicit volunteers when feasible.
b. Ensure that the task is meaningful to the team and the company.
c. Establish and maintain trust through the use of information technology.
B. Actions Generally Requiring Organization Structure or Policy
1. Designing Physical Structures That Facilitate Communication. Group cohesiveness,
and therefore teamwork, is enhanced when team members are located close together
2. Emphasizing Group Recognition and Rewards. Giving rewards for group accom-
3. Initiating Ritual and Ceremony. Ritual and ceremony afford opportunities for
4. Practicing Open-Book Management. In open-book management every employee is
5. Selecting Team-Oriented Members. A heavy-impact method of building teamwork is
to select team members who are interested in and capable of teamwork. A starting
6. Using Technology That Enhances Teamwork. Workers can collaborate better when
they use information technology that fosters collaboration, often referred to as
7. Blend Representatives from the Domestic Company and Foreign Nationals On the
Team. The fact or working with people from your own country, as well as a
representative from the country of company headquarters often enhances teamwork.
III. OFFSITE TRAINING AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Offsite or outdoor training is a well-known experiential approach to building teamwork and
leadership skills. Wilderness training is closely associated with outdoor training except that the
setting is likely to be much rougher. In both outdoor training and wilderness training, participants
A. Features of Outdoor and Offsite Training Programs
Participants are placed in a demanding outdoor environment. They have to rely on skills they
did not realize they had and on each other to complete the program. Emphasis is placed on
building self-confidence, leadership, and teamwork. The list of team-building activities
continues to grow and now includes tightrope walking, adventure racing, and cooking.
(Waterboarding is among the latest.) Building or repairing houses for people in need is
gaining in popularity as a form of team building. Another novel approach is for participants
to perform stand-up comedy in front of work associates.
is conducted annually at Seagate Technology. The team spends a week in Queenstown, New
Zealand, located at the bottom of the world. A major rationale for the extensive team–
building activity is that when people are placed in unfamiliar situations, and fatigued, they
are more likely to ask for help and work as a team.
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B. Evaluation of Outdoor Training for Team Development
Outdoor trainers claim that their programs improve self-confidence, help people appreciate
their strengths, and teach people to work better with one another. Many training directors
also speak positively of outdoor training. Reservations about outdoor training include the
fact that it is physically dangerous and that the teamwork training does not carry over to the
III. THE LEADER-MEMBER EXCHANGE MODEL AND TEAMWORK
The leader-member exchange model developed by George Graen and associates helps explain
why one subgroup in a unit is part of a cohesive team and another group is excluded. The leader-
member exchange model (LMX) proposes that leaders develop unique working relationships
A. Different-Quality Relationships
Leaders treat each member somewhat differently, with the links that exist between the leader
and each individual team member differing in quality. When the quality of the relationship is
high, the member is “in” with the leader. Leaders and group members liking each other is a
major contributor to the quality of the relationship. A note of caution about leader-member
exchanges is that evidence suggests that the leader and group members may perceive the
quality the exchange differently.
Treatment of In-Group versus Out-Group Members. In-group members are invited to
participate in important decision making, are given added responsibility and are privy to
interesting gossip. Members of the out-group are managed according to the requirements of
being cooperative in ways that were not expected of them.
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Safety Performance. A study with sixty-four group leaders found that positive leader-
member exchanges were associated with more communication about safety,
Transformational Effects. A study showed that positive leader-member exchanges may
low, LMX is negatively related to emergent leadership.
B. First Impressions
The leader’s first impression of a group member’s competency plays an important role in
placing the member into the in-group or out-group. Another key linking factor is whether the
IV. GUIDELINES FOR ACTION AND SKILL DEVELOPMENT
Some research suggests that teamwork is more likely to be enhanced when the team leader
coaches the tam as an entity, rather than coaching individual members.
COMMENTS ON EXPERIENTIAL EXERCISES
Leadership Skill–Building Exercise 9–1: Shelters for the Homeless
This exercise offers yet another opportunity for practicing teamwork. Our experience with the previous
editions of the text is that the content of this exercise has high intrinsic interest and thus leads to
enjoyable student interactions. Of note, this approach to team building is now widely practiced by
companies.
Leadership Self–Assessment Quiz 9–1: Team Player Attitudes
A useful issue for the modern worker to confront is the extent to which he or she really does enjoy
teamwork. Not everybody is inclined toward working in a team. Such individuals might seek work
that gives ample opportunity for working alone.
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Leadership Skill–Building Exercise 9–2: Team Leader Candidates
When a student addresses the rest of the group about why he or she should be chosen as the team
leader, the student is likely to think about his or her attitudes toward teamwork. The observers
might also ponder what type of person makes a good team leader.
Leadership Skill–Building Exercise 9–3: Trust Me
The Trust Me exercise is more complicated than the standard trust fall, therefore offering the possibility
of greater student involvement. The exercise also gives students more data to work with in terms of
making observations about teamwork.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-4: My Leadership Portfolio
Most students should be readily able to find a group activity in which to practice enhancing
teamwork, either as the group leader or team member. This portfolio entry gains in relevance
because so many groups and teams could benefit from teamwork enhancement.
Leadership Skill-Building Exercise 9-5: The Trust Fall
We add the venerable trust-fall exercise for sake of completion. As stated in the text, although
COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. What would be the potential disadvantages of selecting a team leader who is highly charismatic
and visionary?
2. Some top-level managers prohibit or discourage workers from telecommuting (including working
from home and other locations) because they think such activity interferes with teamwork. What
is your opinion on this issue?
The reason that telecommuting might interfere with teamwork is that the face–to-face interaction
that facilitates teamwork is missing with remote workers. The counterargument is that electronic
3. Imagine yourself as the newly-appointed leader of a team doing work in your field of knowledge
and experience. Which one or two first steps would you take to encourage teamwork?
4. Imagine yourself as the team leader, and the gang invites you to join them for an after-hours drink
at a bar. From the standpoint of enhancing teamwork, explain if joining the team would be
effective.
Although this discussion question may appear innocuous, a major challenge the team leader faces
is to figure out how much to socialize with the group. A key variable here is that a team leader is
5. Is there a role for independent-thinking, decisive, and creative leaders in a team-based
organization? Explain.
Despite all the favorable press about team-based organizations, decisive, creative, and
6. Each member of the top-management team at Five Guys wears khaki pants and a polo shirt with
the Five Guys logo. What impact do you think this practice has on teamwork?
7. As the team leader, should you dress in about the same fashion as the rest of the team? Or, should
you dress a little fancier? Explain your reasoning.
An appropriate response to this question depends to a large extent on how the student perceives
the role of the team leader. If the team leader is perceived as having higher status than the other
8. What is your opinion of the value of experience in team sports for becoming a good team player
in the workplace?
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9. One of the character-building exercises in the Tough Mudder obstacle courses is “electro-shock
therapy” in which participants pass through a dangling curtain of electrical wires carrying 10,000
volts of electric shock. Any thought on the leadership-skill value of this exercise, along with the
ethics of the task?
It could be argued that working to avoid the electric shock helps develop the skill of dealing with
potential danger, and therefore is an ethical approach to leadership development. The argument
10. How can political skill help a person avoid being adversely affected by the leader-member
exchange model?
By using political skill, the group member can get on the good side of the leader and thus avoid
PLAUSIBLE RESPONSES TO CASE QUESTIONS
Leadership Case Problem A: The Global Insurance Tag Team
This case illustrates a continuing challenge in the modern business world: coordinating the efforts
of globally dispersed team members, and at the same time building teamwork.
1. Identify the teamwork problems you think Calvin might be facing.
2. What steps do you recommend Calvin take to enhance teamwork in his global disaster
insurance team?
3. What might Calvin do to provide stronger leadership to his global team?
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Associated Role Play
Leadership Case Problem B: Ashey Wants to Boost Teamwork
This case illustrates the challenges of converting a regular work group into a highly productive
team. The team leader may need to intervene to improve teamwork, but which intervention to
choose may not be clear.
1. How can Ashley be a more effective team leader?
Ashley needs to take more positive steps toward building a team. She goes about factually
discussing the idea that the work group should not be an effective team, but she does not
2. What can Ashley do to get her team more interested in functioning as a team?
To get the group more interested in functioning as a team, Ashley might look for ways to
3. Based on whatever information you have found in the case, what is your evaluation of
Ashley’s charisma?
No evidence in the case suggests that Ashley is charismatic. She appears to be going about
her leadership role in a perfunctory way.
Associated Role Play