Organization and Management
Team Lectures
Team Psychology
and Performance
Over Time
Henry Moon, Ph.D.
Tuckman Model

Five Stages





Forming highest level
of uncertainty
Storming highest level
of team conflict
Norming highest level
of team cohesion
Performing reveals a
fully functional group
Adjourning wrapping
up
Punctuated Equilibrium

Gersick Model of Punctuated Equilibrium


Groups tend to demonstrate a “punctuation” of activity revolving
around the mid-point of the team’s lifespan
The mid-point is a critical “paradigmatic shift” where high
performing teams engage in a “concentrated burst of activity and
adopt new perspectives”
Gersick 1988, 1989; Jehn & Mannix, 2001
Punctuated Equilibrium:
A Field Example
Humphrey, Moon, Conlon, and Hofmann

The accident rate for a large California highway
construction company
Construction doesn’t get harder
over time, but at the midpoint,
workers are more productive
and less focused on safety
0.7
0.6
# of Accidents

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Level of Completeion
70%
80%
90%
Rhythmic Sonata Model


Successful teams follow the natural rhythms
of team development
Consistent with the historic views of Tuckman
and Gersick, teams experience three unique
and relatively independent stages:



Commitment early stage
Productivity middle stage
Resolution final stage
Rhythmic Sonata Model

Using the structure of a sonata There are 3 primary stages
of team development
Introduction
Productivity
Relevance
Commitment
Exposition
Time
Codetta
Consolidation
PHASE I
The introduction
through
Commitment
The sonata will begin with an
introduction which is generally slower
than the main movement
Lack of Role Clarity




Organizational Role Theory (Katz & Kahn, 1978)
 “Roles are a set of prescriptions that define the behaviors required of an
individual member who occupies a certain position”
Marbry & Barnes (1980)
 “Formal roles are prescribed to members and are critical to the effective
organization and potential effectiveness of a team”
Kahn et. all (1997)
 “In an interdependent team environment…a lack of clear understanding
of the task…has a parallel role in ambiguity—lack of clear information
associated with a particular role in a group”
Bandura (1997)
 Role ambiguity may serve to undermine role-related efficacy (perceived
capability in performance); in turn…the impairments associated with
weaker efficacy expectations—decreased effort, persistence, and
ineffective performance—could also be expected”

Bray, Steven and Brawley, Lawrence. "Role Efficacy, Role Clarity, and Role Performance
Effectiveness.“ Small Group Research 33:2 ( 2002): 233-253.
Basketball Team Study and
Role Clarity
PHASE II
The Exposition through
Productivity
The exposition presents the primary
thematic material for the movement –
bridged by a transition
1.Social Loafing


Refers to the phenomenon that people make less
effort to achieve a goal when they work in a group
than when they work alone
Solutions to Social Loafing




Identify individual performance
Explain importance or work
Use punishment threats
Form smaller work groups
Social Loafing and Tragedy of the Commons

Social Loafing may be explained by Tragedy of the Commons







In 1944, 29 reindeer were moved to St. Matthew Island
The reindeer thrived by "exploiting" their rich "commons"
The island had no natural predators to keep the reindeer population in
check, so the population swelled to 6,000 animals during the next 19
years
Suddenly the commons was depleted and the population crashed until
only 42 animals remained alive!
The reindeer could have avoided the crash by keeping the population
within the carrying capacity of the island, but reindeer politics couldn't
manage it
In his 1968 classic, "Tragedy of the Commons," Garrett Hardin
illustrates why the reindeer crashed and why communities everywhere
are headed for tragedy—it's because freedom in the commons brings
ruin to all
Social loafing is like a commons where the individual feels he can
exploit the productivity of the commons by neglecting to do his share
Can individuals actually cooperate?

Threat of Punishment

Relates to Prisoner’s Dilemma research has
demonstrated that multiple encounters with the
same players over time will lead to cooperative
Person A Cooperate
Defect (tell all
behaviors
(say nothing)
to police)
Cooperate
(say nothing)
A: +3
B: +3
A: +5
B: -2
Defect (tell all
to police)
A: -2
B: +5
A: 0
B: 0
Person B
Clearly each player is better
off NOT cooperating in a
single encounter, but over
time, a fear of punishment
changes the outcome
What is the critical difference
between tragedy of the commons
and the prisoners dilemma?
What is the critical difference between tragedy
of the commons and the prisoners dilemma?

Individual Accountability


Members of a team must commit to a clear plan of
action
Even the most focused and driven people avoid
calling out their peers on actions and behaviors
that seem counter-productive to the team
2. Conflict
Effects of Conflict



Important to consider conflict over time; not a
static construct
In the long term, teams characterized by conflict
are low performing teams
It has demonstrated a consistent, albeit relatively
small relationship with physical and emotional
well-being (Spector & Jex, 1998)
A temporal distinction exists between task
conflict that occurs during the productivity stage
and relationship conflict that tends to spike near
project deadlines (Jehn & Mannix, 2001)
Obstacles to Resolution
Distribution
Task Conflict- differences in opinion relating to a group task
**Failure to build trust in the “Commitment
**It is important
phase” sets up a fear of conflict because
to resolve conflict
team members are incapable
that arises during the
of engaging in unfiltered
resolution phase before moving to
and passionate
a new project because it will cause a
debate of
atmosphere characterized by tension and disrupt
ideas
team networks in the long term; spend time to heal
open wounds before seeking new projects and teams
Relationship Conflict- interpersonal incompatibilities
Time
How to Have a Good Fight!
Maintain high levels of social capital
The trading of “favors” and affective related events
Create common goals
These higher level goals help to focus the group beyond intragroup differences
Maintain multiple mind-sets
Role playing, encouragement of assumed roles beyond
functional responsibilities, force different team-members to take
different roles
Enforce a level of psychological safety
The conflict has to be de-personalized and the successful team
manager manages feelings of safety before and after the conflict
PHASE III
Codetta through
Consolidation
Transitions to the recapitulation where
the thematic material returns to the
tonic key – the movement may
conclude with a coda
The after action review
Historically militaries concluded their training
sessions by having every participant
reconvene to go back over the entire exercise.
At this point, information exchange and
learning occurred at team levels – and new
knowledge was codified for future sessions.