Week 8

Question 1

What is a team?

Answer 1

A small group of people (6-8 people).
They cooperate in such a way that they accomplish more then the sum of the individuals.
This is known as synergy.

Question 2

Besides leader, what are the three essential roles that a successful team needs.

Answer 2

• Doer
• Thinker
• Carer

Question 3

What is a ‘doer’?

Answer 3

• Action oriented, constantly urging the team to get on with the task in hand.
• Tend to be totally conecerned with the task (the what) often at the expense of the process (the how).
• Impatient with ‘waffle’ and tend to swing into action without thinking things through carefully enough or considering alternatives.
  
  • Always want to be active.
  • Is prepared to get involved to help others.
  • Wants to see progress and adherence to plans.
  • Gets bored with too much discussion.
  • Hates time wasting.
  • Works hard to finish the task.

Question 4

What is a ‘thinker’?

Answer 4

• People who are good at producing carefully considered ideas and weighing up idea from other people.
• They rarely have the most to say; in fact they are amongst the quietest members of the team.
• When they do speak they are the sort of people who come up with a winning idea, as long as it is listened to.
  
  • Collects and analyses information.
  • Listens to what is being said and watches what is going on.
  • Is sometimes quiet before contributing ideas.
  • Thinks through the problem.
  • Sees solutions anticipates problems.

Question 5

What is a ‘carer’?

Answer 5

• People oriented.
• Tend to be alert to relationship issues within the team and to be good at cheering people up, easing tensions and maintaining harmony.
• Carers therefore help the leader to counterbalance the doer and thinkers in the team who both tend to be task, not people oriented.
  
  • Is concerned that everybody is fitting in.
  • Contributes humour and builds bridges around the team.
  • Works to develop a team spirit.
  • Is keen to get everybody to agree.
  • Watches out for others feelings and attitudes.
  • Eases tension and fosters a positive spirit.

Question 6

John Adair introduced the principle of the Functional Approach, which provides an objective way of increasing effective leadership in organisations. According to Adair, what are the three areas in which a leader must work?

Answer 6

• Achieving the TASK.
• Building and maintaining the TEAM.
• Developing the INDIVIDUAL.

Question 7

What are the Traditional Leadership styles?

Answer 7

• Autocratic / Directive.
• Persuasive / Co-operative.
• Consultative / Participative.
• Democratic / Self-Directive.

Question 8

How is an Autocratic / Directive leadership defined?

Answer 8

• The leader dictates what does on, takes all the decisions himself and does not involve his staff, nor seek their views.
• The task in hand is the only real concern of the leader, and the style involves very close direction and control by the leader.
• It is sometimes referred to as the “Tell” style of leadership.

Question 9

How is an Persuasive / Co-operative leadership defined?

Answer 9

• The leader attempts to sell his ideas to his staff, once she has taken a decision.
• This begins to be two-way communication where the leader is concerned with his team’s views and opinions.
• This is sometimes known as the “Sell” style.

Question 10

How is an Consultative / Participative leadership defined?

Answer 10

• The leader discusses issues with his or her staff.
• After considering their views the leader will still make the decision themselves.
• In this participative style, working relationships feature much more strongly.
• Employees are made to feel that their contributions count for something, and that their views are important.

Question 11

How is an Democratic / Self-Directive leadership defined?

Answer 11

• The leader accepts full involvement of his staff, and everything is shared.
• This style involves maximum delegation of authority.
• Employees are often left on their own to “get o with the job” without any real direction from the leader.

Question 12

How is a style derived for a particular team?

Answer 12

• Organisational philosophy (Formal vs informal).
• Employees’ competence.
• Employees’ attitudes.
• Employees’ expectations.
• Nature of the task.
• Group’s ability to work together.

Question 13

What are the hallmarks of a good team?

Answer 13

1. Has a high success rate
2. Agrees, clear, challenging objectives (everyone in the team contributes to, shares understanding of, and is committed to the objectives).
3. Has a leader who adjusts the leadership style from participative to autocratic in the light of the circumstances.
4. A mix of people who contribute in different but complementary ways thus achieving synergy i.e. the team produces more than the sum of the equal parts.
5. Operates in such away that a balance is struck between concern for the task (what) and concern for the process (how).
6. Creates a supportive atmosphere where people are happy to accept risk, say what they really think, develop one another’s ideas, and commit to an agreed course of action even though there may be differences of opinion.
7. Learns from experience, both successes and failures, by reviewing its processes and thus constantly improving its own performance.
8. Works hard and plays hard, i.e. its members not only enjoy achieving challenging objectives but enjoy themselves as they do so inside and outside work.

Question 14

The development of teams is an evolutionary process. Left to its own devices, a team will generally go through different stages. Describe these stages using a three stage model.

Answer 14

1. The chaotic stage.
2. The formal stage.
3. The skillful stage.

Question 15

Describe the chaotic stage of the evolutionary process for a team.

Answer 15

• No time given to setting clear objectives that everyone subscribes to.
• Inadequate time given to planning how to tackle the task.
• If a leader is appointed, no thought is given to clarifying the leader’s role.
• It is likely the appointed leader will try to impose his or her authority on a group who will not consent.
• Ideas will be voiced but not listened to and developed or rejected because the level of interrupting and over speaking will be inefficiently high.
• The success of the group will be patchy and certainly not definite; sometimes despite the chaos, it will get by; sometimes it will fail.

Question 16

Describe the formal stage of the evolutionary process for a team.

Answer 16

• Eventually a group will react against the chaotic stage by tightening up and becoming more formal.
• It is likely to overreact and introduce formal procedures that may be too restrictive.
• However, these formal prodcudures mayb be necessary to impose some kind of order on the group.
• Effectiveness may still be low but the group is working towards a synergistic team.

The characteristics are:

• Rigid, step-by-step, procedures for agreeing objectives and plans.
• The need for strong leadership is frequently emphasised. ‘Strong leadership’ is something which the whole team must be involved in.
• Different people in the group will be given specific roles such as time keeper, secretary, and there will be explicit rules of behaviour, considering one idea at a time, recapping frequently from the secretary’s minutes and so on.
• The sucess of the group will improve if time and patience is given over for all the formalities.

Question 17

Describe the skillful stage of the evolutionary process for a team.

Answer 17

Characterised by:

• All procedures are agreed in the light of the task to be done and the situation, rather than a set of rules (The procedures are therefore flexible rather than rigid).
• The leader is less directive and more participative.
• Team members, in whatever role, share equal responsibility for the success of the team.
• The atmosphere in the teams is trusting and co-operative.
• The team is more successful in achieving challenging objectives.

Question 18

What are the nine separate team roles that Belbin identified?

Answer 18

• Co-ordinator.
• Shaper.
• Plant.
• Monitor-Evaluator.
• Implementer.
• Resource investigator.
• Team Worker.
• Completer-Finisher.
• Specialist.

Question 19

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was “Plant”. Explain this role.

Answer 19

• The team’s source of original ideas, suggestions and proposals.
• Most likely to start searching for a completely new approach to a problem.
  • Innovators.
  • Creative.
  • Unorthodox.
  • Independent.

Question 20

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was “Resource Investigator”. Explain this role.

Answer 20

• The member of the team who goes outside the group and brings information, ideas and development back to it.
• Does not have the radical originality that distinguishes the Plant.
• But quick to see the relevance of new ideas.
  • Enthusiastic.
  • Extroverted.
  • Good communicators.
  • Natural negotiators.

Question 21

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was “Shaper”. Explain this role.

Answer 21

• Only results can reassure this role. Their drive has a compulsive quality.
• Gives shape to the team’s efforts.
• Unites ideas and objectives into a single feasible project.
  • Highly motivated
  • Need for achievement
  • Strong drive
  • Like to challenge and win

Question 22

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was “Co-ordinator”. Explain this role.

Answer 22

• Clarifies the groups objectives and sets its agenda.
• The leader of the team.
  • Delegate readily.
  • Cause others to work towards shared goals.
  • Command respect.
  • Good interpersonal skills.

Question 23

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was “Monitor-Evaluator”. Explain this role.

Answer 23

• Likes to be given time to mull things over.
• Provides measured and dispassionate analysis.
• Assimilates, interprets and evaluates large volumes of complex material.
  • Prudent.
  • Think everything through.
  • Not rushed into decisions.
  • Seldom wrong.

Question 24

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was “Team Worker”. Explain this role.

Answer 24

• Team stabiliser.
• Good and willing listener
• Communicates freely and well within the team.
• Helps and encourages other to do the same.
• A promoter of unity and harmony.
  • Sociable.
  • Concerned about others.
  • Diplomatic.
  • Adaptive.

Question 25

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was "Implementer". Explain this role.

Answer 25

- The practical organizer. - Give this person a decision and they will produce a schedule. - Concerned with what is feasible. - Self control and self-discipline. - Loyal - Hard workers - Systematic

Question 26

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was "Completer-Finisher". Explain this role.

Answer 26

- Never at ease until they have personally checked every detail and made sure that everything has been done and nothing has been over-looked. - Compulsive meeter of deadlines and fulfiller of schedules. - Great attention to detail. - Unlikely to start something they can't finish - Introverted.

Question 27

Belbin identified nine separate team roles. One of them was "Specialist". Explain this role.

Answer 27

- Provides knowledge and technical skills. - Driven by the pursuit of knowledge and information. - Strength in specialised knowledge. - Maintains professional standards. - Pride in their own subject. - Makes decisions on knowledge and experience.