Teamwork & Team Developer
Dr. Jack McGourty
Columbia University
Why Teams?
Respond to multi-functional challenges
 Enhance communication
 Bring together complementary skills and
experiences
 Respond to change with swiftness and
flexibility
 Provide unique social dimension
 Have more fun!
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Team-Based Organizations
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Common Objectives
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Flexibility
Speed
Customer focus
Continuous improvement
Innovation
Balance between process and people
Stages of Team Development
Forming
 Challenging
 Accepting
 Collaborating
 Self-Managing
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Forming
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Common behaviors
• attempts to define tasks
• determining acceptable
behavior
• floundering as to where
to begin
• dependence on leader
• unequal participation
• diving into “solutions”
• everyone is “polite”
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Common feelings
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anticipation
confusion
anxiety
impatience
fear
Challenging
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Common behaviors
• arguing among members
• defensive & competitive
• establishing unrealistic
goals
• questioning credibility of
leader/members
• choosing sides
• passing the blame
• not so “polite”
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Common feelings
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resistant
rebellious
defensive
angry
suspicious
jealous
Accepting
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Common behaviors
• attempts to achieve
harmony by avoiding
conflict
• expressing opinions
more openly
• sharing of information
• less resistance to team
tasks
• learning the best way to
work together
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Common feelings
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“we-ness”
cooperative
enthusiasm
relief
tentative
Collaborating
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Common behaviors
• balanced contributions
• focused on goals &
results
• solving problems
collectively
• able to reach consensus
& closure
• encouraging criticism &
conflict
• sharing accountability
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Common feelings
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satisfaction
energetic
motivated
close affiliation
confident in each other’s
abilities
• invulnerable
Self-Managing
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Common behaviors
• pushing for higher
standards
• following through on
commitments
• challenging the way
things are normally done
• stressing continuous
improvement
• meeting only when
necessary
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Common feelings
• increasingly motivated
• sense of self-fulfillment
• excitement about new
challenges
• fear of adjournment
Team Performance Model
How do you accelerate team effectiveness?
Forming—Skills
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Communication
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• proactively listens
• conveys interest
• restates to show
understanding
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Self-Management
• identifies purpose &
goals
• defines priorities
• suggests ways to
proceed
Decision-Making
• solicits participation
from other members
• discourages rushing
to conclusions
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Collaboration
• reinforces
contributions of
others
• encourages
opposing ideas &
opinions
Challenging—Skills
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Communication
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• articulates ideas
clearly
• clarifies to ensure
understanding
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Self- Management
• clarifies roles &
responsibilities
• creates action plans
& timetables
Decision Making
• suggests new
approaches to
solving problems
• accepts change
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Collaboration
• helps reconcile
differences of
opinions
• accepts criticism
openly
Accepting—Skills
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Communication
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• gives compelling
reasons for ideas
• wins support from
others
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Self-Management
• monitors progress
• places top priority on
getting results
Decision making
• generates new ideas
• solicits information
from “outside” the
team
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Collaboration
• involves others in
decisions that affect
them
• frequently polls
others for opinions
Collaborating—Skills
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Communication
• shares information
openly
• encourages
communication with
people outside the team
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Self-Management
• reviews team process
frequently
• focuses on building
required skills
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Decision Making
• challenges the status quo
• plays “devil’s advocate”
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Collaboration
• shares accountability
• works towards “win/win”
solutions
Self-Managing—Skills
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Communication
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• provides continuous
feedback to team
• proactively
communicates across the
organization
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Self-Management
• pushes for higher
standards
• stresses continuous
improvement
Decision Making
• focuses on creativity &
innovation
• anticipates problems &
develops contingency
plans
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Collaboration
• resolves external
issues/barriers affecting
performance
Ways for Team Members to Foster
Team Effectiveness
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Share all relevant
information willingly
Disagree openly with
team members
Invite
questions/comments
Avoid cheap shots and
other distractions
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Expect all team
members to participate
Make decisions by
consensus
Conduct self- and teamcritiques
Others?
Ways for the Team Leader to Foster
Team Effectiveness
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Create conducive team
culture
Ask for solutions rather
than problems
Facilitate problemsolving and
brainstorming
Support and reward
team behaviors
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Address counterproductive team
behaviors
Rotate leadership role
of team meetings
Be a resource to teams
and a role model
Others?
Critical Success Factors
Specific & challenging goals
 Clarified roles and responsibilities
 Complementary skills
 Dynamic working agreement
 Shared accountability
 Supportive external environment
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Team Developer
Description and Process
Team Developer
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Computerized survey for multi-source
assessment and feedback
Competency-based: basic team skills and
other engineering-related learning outcomes
Self/peer ratings as to frequency in which
learning outcomes are observed
Provides individual/team/class feedback
Team Developer Screen
Survey Process
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Instructor establishes student teams
Creates survey questions; typically 40 plus items
Best practice is to provide students with an
understanding of learning outcomes in general, and
Team Developer Process prior to administration
Administer 2x per semester; after 3-4 weeks of team
interaction and at the end of the project
Reports distributed after administration
Work with students on action plans for improvement
Survey Administration
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Individual student disks
Short period of time to complete
Reports distributed confidentially
Instructor debriefs class
Multiple administrations per semester
recommended
Feedback Reports
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Students
• individualized report showing comparisons between
self-ratings and aggregate team member ratings
• improvement between interim & final
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Faculty
• aggregate data for teams
• comparison by section/class
Student Report
ITEM RATINGS BY DIMENSION
COMMUNICATION
Helping to sustain and environment where people feel free to speak
candidly, articulating ideas clearly and concisely, listening and
demonstrating an understanding of other’s perspectives.
Active Listener
Listens attentively to other team members without interrupting
Conveys interest in what others are saying
Provides others with constructive feedback
Restates what has been said to show understanding
Clarifies what others have said to ensure understanding
Self
Team
3.8
4.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
3.0
3.8
4.1
3.3
4.1
3.7
3.4
Report Highlights
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Compares self rating to
team’s average rating for
individual
Compares ratings from past
performance when available
Summary & detail item level
results
Developmental suggestions
Action planning guide
Understanding Results
Read feedback as a
“snapshot”
 Compare self- ratings to
team-ratings
 Compare present ratings
with past
 Work from summary
level to item details
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What is Feedback?
Information that lets team members know
whether they are on target in relation to
a specific goal or behavior
Using Results for
Individual Development
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Seek clarification from others
Review developmental
suggestions
Explore additional
developmental activities
Develop action plans
Set realistic goals
Solicit continuous feedback
Using Results for Team Development
Conduct process
discussions
 Develop working
agreements
 Monitor team’s progress
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Providing Feedback
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Focus on issues and behaviors, not person
Avoid being general
Give specific examples of behavior and incidents
Give feedback in a timely manner
Demonstrate relationship between behavior/team
objectives
Provide positive information first
Define expectations in advance
Involve recipient in developing solutions
Receiving Feedback
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Accept feedback as "reality" for provider
Restate to provider what you think has been
said
Probe for additional information
Focus on how it can help solve a specific
Problem
Regularly solicit feedback
Benefits
Self/Peer Assessment
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Students motivated to decrease gaps
between self-assessment and peer
evaluation
Significant increase in skills and behaviors
precipitated by peer feedback
Reinforces criticality of competencies
Prepares for industry assessment practices
Develops self/peer critical evaluation skills
for life long learning
Team Developer
Questions and Next Steps