CHAPTER 9
Developing Teamwork
The purpose of this chapter is to provide the reader with specific information about how to develop
teamwork as a leader. 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
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
A role for executive-level leaders requiring separate mention is that of leading a number of teams
within the organization within the organization, referred to as intergroup leadership. To carry out
the role of successfully building teamwork among various teams, a starting point is for the leader to
talk about the identity of the team composed of teams.
Chapter 9: Developing Teamwork
II. LEADER ACTIONS THAT FOSTER TEAMWORK
Fostering teamwork is a major factor for the success of teams. 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
2. Establishing a Climate of Trust. Without team members trusting each other, and
trusting the leader, working together cooperatively is unlikely. A starting point in
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. Political infighting can be decreased
through encouraging teamwork. The terms “working together” and “winning team” are
effective.
motivation among team members.
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
intelligence. The leader creates norms that establish mutual trust among members. A
Chapter 9: Developing Teamwork
5. Emphasizing Pride in Being Outstanding. A standard way of building team spirit, if not
teamwork, is to help the group realize why it should be proud of its accomplishments.
6. Serving as a Model of Teamwork Including Power Sharing and Collective Leadership.
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
7. Using a Consensus Leadership Style. Consensus decision making enhances teamwork.
Contributing input to important decisions helps foster the feeling among group
8. Establishing Urgency, Demanding Performance Standards, and Providing Direction.
Team members need to believe that the team has urgent, constructive purposes. The
9. Encouraging Competition with Another Group. One of the best-known methods of en-
10. Engaging in Ample Interaction with the Team and Provide Positive Feedback. A
helpful tactic for building teamwork is to build positive relationships with team
11. Minimizing Micromanagement. A strategic perspective on encouraging teamwork is for
the leader to minimize micromanagement, the close monitoring of most aspects of
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members may need to function well as a unit.
12. 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
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.
Videoconferencing is ideal for virtual teams because it allows members to see and
interact with each other from remote locations at the same time. The trend toward
forming cross-cultural teams from geographically dispersed units of a firm increases
the application of virtual teams. Another driving force for the use of virtual teams has
been the gig economy—workers who are involved in some form of freelancing or
contracting, often based on outsourcing.
Suggestions for building teamwork within a virtual team include the following:
a. 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
trained, empowered, and motivated to understand and pursue the company’s business
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5. Selecting Team-Oriented Members. A heavy-impact method of building teamwork is to
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.
Perhaps having a representative from the parent company, yet still respecting local
talent, creates a spirit of cooperation.
III. OFFSITE TRAINING AND TEAM DEVELOPMENT
Offsite or outdoor training is a well-known experiential approach to building teamwork and leader-
ship skills. Wilderness training is closely associated with outdoor training except that the setting is
The goals of outdoor training include (1) discovering your strengths and weaknesses, (2) testing
your limits, and (3) having the opportunity to break through barriers between yourself and others.
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. 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.
B. Evaluation of Outdoor Training for Team Development
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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
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 with
group members. One subset of employees, the in-group, is given additional rewards, responsibility,
and trust in exchange for their loyalty and performance. The in-group becomes part of a smoothly
functioning team headed by the formal leader. Out-group members are less likely to experience
good teamwork.
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
Reciprocity between Leader and Members. The leader grants more favors to the in-group
member, who in response works harder to please the leader, a contributor to being a good team
player. In a hospital setting study, positive exchanges involved group members’ engaging in
increased good citizenship behavior and in-group role behaviors such as putting extra effort
into performing their duties.
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Leader Status. When group members perceive leaders to have high status, it is easier for the
leader to form the type of high-quality relationships that contribute to good teamwork (as
shown in a bank study).
B. First Impressions
The leader’s first impression of a group member’s competency plays an important role in
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
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
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
Leadership Skill–Building Exercise 9–3: The Scavenger Hunt
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
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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
experience will be slightly different.
COMMENTS ON DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND ACTIVITIES
1. What would be the potential disadvantages of selecting a team leader who is highly charismatic and
visionary?
A highly charismatic leader will often set him or herself off from the group, and group members
the extent it should be in a true team.
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
3. 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
4. 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 independent-
key corporate positions, such as a CEO hired with the assist of an executive recruiter.
5. When evaluating candidates, some hiring mangers draw the distinction between a “team player”
versus an “independent thinker.” What is your opinion of the validity of this distinction?
The argument for this distinction is that some people who are strong team players want to go along
6. At the hamburger chain, Five Guys, each member of the top-management team wears khaki pants
and a polo shirt with the Five Guys logo. What impact do you think this practice has on teamwork?
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actions. Uniforms might also carry the suggestion that status differences in the group are low.
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 team
8. What is your opinion of the value of experience in team sports for becoming a good team player in
the workplace?
Most people see a carryover from team play in sports to team play in the workplace. When polled
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
programs are unethical.
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: 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?
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2. What can Ashley do to get her team more interested in functioning as a team?
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
The role play provides an opportunity to practice teamwork development. As suggested in the role
play, observers should look to see if Ashely attempts any particular team-development tactic, rather
than merely holding a meeting to discuss teamwork. Playing the role of team-play resistors should be
amusing.
Leadership Case Problem B: Should We Dump the Open–Plan Office?
This case illustrates a significant challenge in the modern business world: attempting to foster
collaboration through an open-plan office while at the same time respecting the rights of workers
who prefer and need some privacy.
1. How might CEO Jason make better use of office space to promote teamwork?
Jason has received both positive and negative feedback at the open-plan office. Although the
2. To what extent are the workers opposed to the open-plan office simply being inflexible?
Complaints about open-plan offices are frequent enough as reported in the business press, that
3. Identify several rules Jason might introduce that would make the open–plan office more
conducive to effective teamwork.
A few possible rules are as follows: (a) Avoid disturbing other workers with small talk. (b)
Associated Role Play
This group role play might be the high point of the course, particularly if dog lovers are the
Chapter 9: Developing Teamwork
office for a few minutes to engage in independent creative thinking.