CHAPTER 10
Leading Teams
Chapter Outline
The Value of Teams
The Dilemma for Team Members
Leading a Team to High Performance
Team Processes
What Team Members Must Contribute
Leading a Virtual Team
Handling Team Conflict
In the Lead
Tony Brown and Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company
Spring Company
Smart Balance
Leader’s Self-Insight
Individual or Team?
Are You a Contributing Team Member?
How Do You Handle Team Conflict?
Leader’s Bookshelf
Summary and Interpretation
Many leaders are called upon to facilitate teams rather than manage direct-report subordinates.
Teams can be effective in providing the coordination and information sharing needed to
accomplish interdependent tasks. Functional teams typically are part of the traditional
organization structure. Cross-functional teams include people from different functional areas and
are often formed for projects of special importance. Self-directed teams are member-centered
rather than leader-centered and -directed.
Teams present a dilemma for many people. Individuals have to give up their independence and
sometimes make sacrifices for the good of the team. Other potential problems are free riders and
dysfunctional teams.
These principles apply to virtual and global teams as well. However, being a team leader is even
more challenging when people are scattered in different geographic locations and may be
separated by language and cultural differences. To create effective, smoothly functioning virtual
teams, leaders select team members who have the skills and temperaments to work virtually, use
technology to build trusting relationships, and agree on ground rules for the team.
Your Leadership Challenge
After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
• Turn a group of individuals into a collaborative team that achieves high performance
through a shared mission and collective responsibility.
• Identify challenges associated with teamwork and explain why people sometimes have
negative feelings about working in a team.
• Lead a team to high performance by providing a compelling purpose and clear objectives,
Key Terms and Concepts
Team: a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish a
shared goal or purpose.
Functional team: a team made up of a supervisor and subordinates in the formal chain of
command.
Forming: stage of team development that includes orientation and getting acquainted.
Storming: stage of team development in which individual personalities and conflicts emerge.
Norming: stage of team development in which conflicts have been resolved and team unity
emerges.
Performing: stage of team development in which the major emphasis is on accomplishing the
team’s goals.
Adjourning: stage of team development that occurs in committees and teams that have a limited
task to perform; the emphasis is on wrapping up, gearing down, and signifying closure.
Virtual team: a team made up of geographically or organizationally dispersed members who
share a common purpose and are linked primarily through advanced information technologies.
Global team: teams made up of culturally diverse members who live and work in different
countries and coordinate some part of their activities on a global basis.
Conflict: antagonistic interaction in which one party attempts to thwart the intentions or goals of
another.
Task conflict: disagreement among people about the goals to be achieved or the content of the
tasks to be performed.
Introduction
Chris Rufer, the founder of Morning Star, a tomato processor with three factories that produce
products for companies such as Heinz and Campbell Soup Company, believes if people can
manage the complexities of their own lives without a boss, there is no reason they can’t manage
themselves in the workplace. Rufer founded Morning Star based on self-directed teamwork, but
as the company grew from the original 24 colleagues (as employees are called) to around 400,
Annotated Lecture/Outline
Leadership Challenge #1: Turn a group of individuals into a collaborative team that achieves
high performance through a shared mission and collective responsibility.
I. The Value of Teams
Teams are not right for every situation, but much work in organizations is interdependent, which
means that individuals and departments rely on other individuals and departments for
information or resources in order to accomplish their work. When tasks are highly
interdependent, a team can be the best approach for ensuring the level of coordination,
information sharing, and exchange of materials necessary for successful task accomplishment.
When they are effective, teams can provide benefits for both organizations and employees
through:
• Higher productivity
• Quality improvements
A. What is a Team?
A team is a unit of two or more people who interact and coordinate their work to accomplish
a shared goal or purpose for which they are committed and hold themselves mutually
accountable. A team is a group of people, but the two are not one and the same. Even a group
of employees whose work is related is not a team unless the members share a common
purpose that requires them to depend on each other. In addition, the concept of teamwork
implies that team members sublimate their individual needs, desires, and egos and synthesize
their knowledge, skills, and efforts toward accomplishing a common goal
Individual stars don’t necessarily make a great team, in sports or in business. Issues that
teams in all organizations face are as follows:
• How to get star performers to sublimate their egos and sacrifice their individual goals?
• How to bring together the right set of specialties and skills?
• How to define roles?
CONSIDER THIS: Lessons from Geese
Fact 1: As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in
a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew
alone.
Lesson: People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are
going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
Fact 2: When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying
alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird
immediately in front of it.
Lesson: If we have as much sense as a goose, we stay in formation with those headed where we
want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
B. Types of Teams
Teams are found at every level of today’s organizations. Organizations use various types of
teams to meet internal needs or external challenges. There are three types of teams used in
organizations: functional, cross-departmental, and self-directed.
Exhibit 10.1: Evolution of Teams and Team Leadership
Functional Teams
A functional team is part of the traditional vertical hierarchy. This type of team is made
up of a supervisor and his or her subordinates in the formal chain of command. Sometimes
Cross-Departmental Teams
A cross-departmental team is made up of members from different departments within the
organization. These teams are often called cross-functional teams. Cross-departmental
teams are typically used for projects that affect several departments and therefore require
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can create a cross-departmental team to handle a
project that requires coordination across functional boundaries. Use a special-purpose team for
a project of special importance, such as developing a new product or service.
One type of cross-departmental team is the special-purpose team, sometimes called a
project team. Special-purpose teams focus on a specific purpose and disband once the
project is completed. They are created outside the formal organization structure to
undertake a project of special importance or complexity or to develop a new product or
service.
In the Lead: Tony Brown and Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Company
The Big Three U.S. automakers (General Motors (GM), Chrysler, and Ford) weren’t the only
organizations in the auto industry on the brink of bankruptcy by the fall of 2008. Most of their
suppliers were also struggling to stay alive, and some had already gone out of business. Leaders
at Ford knew that without parts, nothing else they did to save the company would matter.
Tony Brown, Ford’s vice president of global purchasing, suggested creating a special-purpose
team to monitor parts manufacturers, prevent supply chain disruptions, and speed up Ford’s plan
Evolution to Self-Directed Teams
Self-directed teams are made up of employees who work with minimum supervision and
rotate jobs to produce an entire product or service, or at least one complete aspect or
portion of a product or service.
Leadership is based on the vertical hierarchy. In cross-departmental teams, members have
more freedom from the hierarchy, but the team typically is still leader-centered and leader-
directed. The leader is most often assigned by the organization and is usually a supervisor
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can use a self-directed team when members are
capable of working together without active supervision. Give the team access to the money,
equipment, supplies, and information needed to perform its project or task, and empower the
team with decision-making authority.
Self-directed teams have access to information and resources needed to perform a complete
task and are empowered with decision-making authority to take over duties such as
selecting new members, scheduling work or vacations, and evaluating performance. Self-
directed teams are typically not completely autonomous, in that organizational leaders set
Discussion Question #1: What is the difference between a “team” and a “group”? Describe your
personal experience with each.
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Discussion Question #2: Discuss the differences between a cross-departmental team and a self-
directed team. Do you believe self-directed teams could be effectively used in certain types of
organizations? Explain.
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Leadership Challenge #2: Identify challenges associated with teamwork and explain why people
sometimes have negative feelings about working in a team.
II. The Dilemma for Team Members
New Leader Action Memo: Do you enjoy working as part of a team, or do you prefer to do
your work individually? Complete Leader’s Self-Insight 10.1 to get an idea of your feelings
toward teamwork and whether team leadership might present a problem for you.
Some people love the idea of teamwork, others hate it, and many people have both positive and
negative emotions about working as part of a team. Leaders can be more effective when they
understand three primary reasons teams present a dilemma of people:
• We Have to Give Up Our Independence. When people become part of a team, their success
depends on the team’s success; therefore, they are dependent on how well other people
Exhibit 10.2: Five Common Dysfunctions of Teams
Discussion Question #5. How might an individual’s dilemma about teamwork be intensified or
reduced in a virtual team? As a virtual team leader, what would you do to manage these
dilemmas?
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Leadership Challenge # 3: Lead a team to high performance by providing a compelling
purpose and clear objectives, clarifying roles and responsibilities, designing the team in terms of
size and diversity, giving team members decision authority, and providing support and coaching.
III. Leading a Team to High Performance
Smoothly functioning teams don’t just happen. They are created and shaped by leaders. Harvard
Business School professors studying surgery teams, for example, found that the attitude and
actions of the team leader, and the quality of the leader’s interactions with team members, are
crucial to team effectiveness and the success of the surgery. To lead any team to high
performance, whether in health care, manufacturing, Internet services, or NASCAR racing,
leaders incorporate the following elements:
• A Compelling Purpose, Clear Objectives, and Explicit Metrics.
These five elements are among the most important guidelines for team leaders.
Discussion Question #3. Which of the five elements of high-performance teams do you think
would be most difficult for a leader to implement in a virtual team? Explain.
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Discussion Question #6. The chapter suggests that very small teams (say, three to six members)
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Leadership Challenge #4: Understand and handle the stages of team development, and know
how to promote cohesiveness and shape productive team norms.
IV. Team Processes
Team processes refer to the dynamics that change over time and can be influenced by leaders.
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can articulate a clear and compelling vision for
the team to help members see their work as meaningful and important. You can define objectives
A. How Teams Develop
It is important for leaders to understand that teams develop over time. Research suggests that
teams develop over several stages. These stages typically occur in sequence, although there
can be overlap.
Exhibit 10.3: Five Stages of Team Development
Forming
The forming stage of development is a period of orientation and getting acquainted. Team
members find out:
• what behavior is acceptable to others
• explore friendship possibilities
• determine task orientation
Uncertainty is high because no one knows what the ground rules are or what is expected of
them. The leader’s challenge at this stage of development is to facilitate communication
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can guide your team through its stages of
development. Early on you can help members know one another, and then encourage
participation and common purpose, followed by clarifying goals and expectations. Finally, you
can concentrate on helping the team achieve high performance.
Storming
During the storming stage, individual personalities emerge more clearly. People become
more assertive in clarifying their roles. This stage is marked by conflict and disagreement.
Team members may disagree over their perceptions of the team’s mission or goals. The
Norming
At the norming stage, conflict has been resolved and team unity and harmony emerge.
Consensus develops as to who the natural team leaders are, and members’ roles are clear.
Team members come to understand and accept one another. Differences are resolved, and
members develop a sense of cohesiveness. This stage typically is of short duration and
moves quickly into the next stage. The team leader should emphasizes openness within the
team and continue to facilitate communication and clarify team roles, values, and
expectations.
Performing
During the performing stage, the major emphasis is on accomplishing the team’s goals.
Members are committed to the team’s mission. They interact frequently, coordinate their
Adjourning
The adjourning stage occurs in committees and teams that have a limited task to perform
and are disbanded afterward. During this stage, the emphasis is on wrapping up and
gearing down. Task performance is no longer a top priority, and Leaders frequently focus
on team members’ social and emotional needs. People may feel heightened emotionality,
strong cohesiveness, and depression or regret over the team’s disbandment. At this point,
In the Lead: Spring Company
When top leaders at Spring Company decided to move some aspects of supply chain process
development to one of the company’s Indian facilities, one of their key concerns was making
sure the engineers in the United States and the ones in India came together quickly around a
shared mission and a focus on key performance goals, putting the success of the team ahead of
individual interests.
Discussion Question #4: Describe the stages of team development. How would you facilitate a
team’s development through each stage?
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B. Team Cohesiveness
Team cohesiveness is defined as the extent to which members are attracted to the team and
motivated to remain in it. Members of highly cohesive teams are committed to team activities,
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can facilitate team cohesiveness by providing
members with opportunities to interact and know one another. You can use friendly competition
with other teams to increase cohesiveness, and work with top leaders to develop high-
performance norms for the team.
Determinants of Cohesiveness
Leaders can use several characteristics of team structure and context to influence
cohesiveness:
• Team Interaction—when team members have frequent contact, they get to know one
another, consider themselves a unit, and become more committed to the team.
• Shared goals—when team members agree on purpose and direction, they will be
more cohesive.
Consequences of Cohesiveness
The outcome of team cohesiveness can fall into two categories—morale and performance.
As a general rule, morale is higher in cohesive teams because of increased communication
among members, friendly team climate, maintenance of membership because of
commitment to the team, loyalty, and member participation in team decisions and
activities. High cohesiveness has almost uniformly good effects on the satisfaction and
morale of team members.
Discussion Question #7. Discuss the relationship between team cohesiveness and performance.
As a leader, can you think of specific ways you would encourage norms of cohesiveness and
collaboration?
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C. Team Norms
A team norm is an informal standard of conduct that is shared by team members and guides
their behavior. Norms are valuable because they provide a frame of reference for what is
expected and acceptable.
Exhibit 10.4: Two Ways Team Norms Develop
Norms begin to develop in the first interactions among members of a new team, so first
V. What Team Members Must Contribute
The qualities and competencies of team members contribute to high performance.
A. Essential Team Competencies
Research has identified a number of key competencies needed to make up an effective team.
To function well as a team, members of the team should together display each of the
following five competencies:
• Goal Setting and Performance Management. Team members must have the ability to
establish and execute specific, challenging team objectives, as well as ways to monitor
and evaluate performance toward meeting objectives.
New Leader Action Memo: What contributions do you make to a team? Complete the
questionnaire in Leader’s Self-Insight 10.2 to see which competencies you typically contribute to
the success of a team.
B. Team Member Roles
The five team competencies reflect that a team needs members who meet the important needs
of the team for both accomplishing its tasks and fostering member unity, satisfaction, and
well-being. Task-oriented behavior places primary concern on tasks and production and is
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can make sure that both the task and
socioemotional needs of team members are met so that people experience both friendly support
and goal accomplishment.
For a team to be successful over the long term, both task-oriented behavior and relationship-
oriented behavior are required within the team. The task-specialist role is associated with
behaviors that help the team accomplish its goal. People who play a task-specialist role often
display the following behaviors:
• Initiate Ideas. Propose new solutions to team problems.
• Give Opinions. Offer opinions on task solutions; give candid feedback on others’
suggestions.
The socioemotional role includes behaviors that maintain people’s emotional well-being and
strengthen the social identity. People who adopt a socioemotional role display the following
behaviors:
• Encourage—are warm and receptive to others’ ideas; praise and encourage others to
draw forth their contributions.
Teams with mostly socioemotional roles can be satisfying, but they also can be unproductive.
At the other extreme, a team made up primarily of task specialists will tend to have a singular
concern for task accomplishment. This team will be effective for a short period of time but
will not be satisfying for members over the long run. Effective teams have people in both
task-specialist and socioemotional roles.
Discussion Question # 8. Think about a team you have participated in to do a class project or a
sports team on which you participated. Can you identify members who played a task-specialist
role and those who played a socioemotional role? What behaviors were associated with each?
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Leadership Challenge #5: Understand the challenges and benefits of virtual teams and the team
leader behaviors that contribute to virtual team effectiveness.
VI. Leading a Virtual Team
A virtual team is made up of geographically or organizationally dispersed members who share a
Exhibit 10.5: Differences between Conventional, Virtual, and Global Teams
Team members typically share similar cultural backgrounds and characteristics. The key
characteristics of virtual teams, on the other hand, are as follows:
• Spatial distance limits face-to-face interaction.
• The use of technological communication is the primary means of connecting team
members.
Members of virtual teams are often scattered in different locations, whether it be different offices
and business locations around the country or around the world. Team members use e-mail,
In the Lead: Smart Balance
Smart Balance has about 67 employees, but nearly 400 people work for the company. Smart
Balance started by making a buttery spread and now has a line of spreads; all-natural peanut
butter; nutrient-enhanced milk, cheese, sour cream, and popcorn; and other products. Leaders
decided to use virtual teams, including employees and outside contractors, to enable Smart
Balance to innovate and expand rapidly.
A. Uses of Virtual Teams
Virtual teams may be temporary cross-functional teams that work on specific projects, or they
may be long-term, self-directed teams. One of the primary advantages of virtual teams is the
ability to rapidly assemble the most talented group of people to complete a complex project,
New Leader Action Memo: As a leader, you can help a virtual team perform even with limited
control and supervision. You can select members who thrive in a virtual environment, arrange
B. Challenges of Virtual Teams
Despite their potential benefits, there is growing evidence that virtual teams are often less
effective than teams whose members meet face-to-face. Studies indicate that, as virtual
distance grows innovative behavior can decline by a whopping 93 percent. Trust drops 83
Building team relationships and trust is the biggest challenge faced by virtual team leaders.
Virtual team leaders have to trust people to do their jobs without constant supervision, and
they learn to focus more on results than on the process of accomplishing them. Too much
control can kill a virtual team, so leaders have to give up most of their control and yet at the
same time provide guidance, encouragement, support, and development. To be successful,
virtual team leaders can master the following skills:
• Select the Right Team Members. Team members need the right mix of technical,
interpersonal, and communication skills to work effectively in a virtual environment.
As the use of virtual teams grows, there is growing understanding of what makes them
successful. Some experts suggest that leaders solicit volunteers as much as possible for virtual
teams, and interviews with virtual team members and leaders support the idea that members
who truly want to work as a virtual team are more effective.
Leadership Challenge #6: Handle conflicts that inevitably arise among members of a team.
VII. Handling Team Conflict
There is an increased potential for conflict among members of virtual teams because of the
greater chances for miscommunication and misunderstandings. Studies of virtual teams indicate
that how they handle internal conflicts is critical to their success, yet conflict within virtual teams
A. Types of Conflict