Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou
diordan@otenet.gr
Department of Communication, Media and Culture
Panteion University, Athens Greece
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Collaboration and Teamwork
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
What is it?
 Collaboration and teamwork is the ability to
work cooperatively with others and create
group synergy in pursuing collective goals.
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Collaboration and Teamwork
in action
People with high C&T
People with low C&T
 Enjoy working with others
 Prefer to work alone
 Participate actively in building
the capacity of the team
 Withhold information from other
team members
 Take shared responsibility for
team results
 Enjoy team accomplishments
and shared rewards
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
 Engage in win-lose competition
 Avoid conflict resolution with other
team members
TEAM video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9mdHMtxOjY
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
The 3Ps of teamwork
People
Purpose
Who?
Why, What, When
Process
How?
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Stages of team formation
(Tuckman 1965)
 Forming
 Storming
 Norming
 Performing
 Adjourning or transforming
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
STAGES
INDIVIDUAL
NEEDS
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
TEAM NEEDS
TASK NEEDS
Team synergy
The knowledge, skills, information, creative thinking,
personality traits, and efforts of individuals can be
combined effectively within a team and lead to better
outcomes than the sum of the outcomes of the same
people when they act individually.
“The whole is stronger than the sum of its parts”
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
10A: Survival “Lost at sea”
(pdf file “lost at sea”)
OBJECTIVE: To give participants a first-hand experience of group processes such as
communication and synergy.
ESTIMATED TIME: 1 hour
MATERIALS: A flipchart
DESCRIPTION:
1. Provide a ‘lost at sea ranking chart’ for every member of your group.
2. Ask each person to take 10 minutes to decide their own rankings, and record the choices
in the left-hand Step 1 column.
3. Invite everyone to get into teams of 4- 5. Encourage the group to discuss their individual
choices and work together to agree on a collaborative list. Allow 20 minutes for this section.
Record the group rankings in the second column (team rankings).
4. The correct answers were suggested by the US Coastguard. Display the ‘expert’ rankings
on a PowerPoint presentation, whiteboard or photocopy. Compare your individual and
group answers with the correct answers and determine a score.
5. For each item, mark the number of points by which your score differs from the Coastguard
ranking and then add up all the points. Disregard plus or minus differences. The lower the
total, the better the score.
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Lost at sea - Results
Teams
Team score
1
2
3
4
5
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Average of
individual scores
Best individual
score
Team synergy
A team produces a better result than
the sum of the individual results of its
members
A team improves even its best
member’s result
1 + 1 > 2
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
A model of team effectiveness
Team Design
• Task characteristics
• Team size
• Team composition
Organizational
and
Team Environment
Team Effectiveness
Team Processes
• Team development
• Team norms
• Team cohesiveness
• Team trust
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Team Roles
(Belbin)
A role is a tendency to behave contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way.

Innovators They tended to be highly creative and good at solving problems in unconventional ways

Monitor Evaluators was needed to provide a logical eye, make impartial judgements where required and to

Co-ordinators were needed to focus on the team’s objectives, draw out team members and delegate work
weigh up the team’s options in a dispassionate way.
appropriately.

Resource Investigators provided inside knowledge on the opposition and made sure that the team’s idea
would carry to the world outside the team.

Implementers were needed to plan a practical, workable strategy and carry it out as efficiently as possible.

Completer were most effectively used at the end of a task,to “polish” and scrutinise the work for errors,
subjecting it to the highest standards of quality control.

Teamworkers helped the team to gel, using their versatility to identify the work required and complete it on
behalf of the team.

Shapers provided the necessary drive to ensure that the team kept moving and did not lose focus or
momentum.
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
10B: Belbin Self Perception
Inventory
 OBJECTIVE:
 To help participants become aware of the roles they tend to play
during group interaction.
 ESTIMATED TIME: 30-40 min.
 MATERIALS: Paper and pencil, a flipchart
 DESCRIPTION:
The Belbin SPI consists of eight sections and each section
contains 10 statements. Within each section, you have to
allocate points to the statements based on how you feel they
apply to you; the sum total of points for the section must be 10.
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Belbin Self Perception Inventory
 http://www.belbin.com/content/page/5671/Belbin%20I7%20SelfPerception%20Inventory%20(UK)%202013.pdf
 http://www.belbin.com/content/page/6308/BELBIN(uk)-2012SPI-AnswerGrid.pdf
 http://www.belbin.com/rte.asp?id=93
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Brainstorming
A group process by which efforts are made to find a conclusion for a specific problem
by gathering a list of ideas spontaneously contributed by its members
Rules
•
Speak freely - Express even the craziest ideas
•
Provide as many ideas as possible - Quantity produces quality
•
Don’t criticize others’ ideas
•
Build on the ideas that others have presented
 Remember
Ideas are more easily managed than created
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Electronic brainstorming
 A recent form of brainstormingthat relies on networked
computers to submit and share creative ideas
 After receiving the question participants enter their ideas
using special computer software
 The ideas are distributed anonymously
 Team members vote electronically on the ideas presented
 Face to face discussion usually follows
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
10C: Brainstorming Session
 OBJECTIVE:
To learn and practice the rules of an effective brainstorming session.
To develop teamwork skills
 ESTIMATED TIME: 20-30 minutes
 MATERIALS: Paper and pencil
 DESCRIPTION:
As a team, try to come up with as many as possible uses of:
Toothpaste and a Pencil
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Brainstorming process
1. One coordinator is appointed and clarifies the goal of the
team
1. Each member thinks for 1-2 minutes
2. Ideas start to be expressed
3. The coordinator records the ideas in brief and urges the
participants to express more ideas
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
New forms of team development
 Virtual teams
 Multicultural teams
 Startup teams
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Virtual teams
Groups of geographically,
organizationally and/or time dispersed
workers brought together by
information and telecommunication
technologies to accomplish one or
more organizational tasks
(DeSanctis & Poole, 1997; Jarvenpaa & Leidner,1999)
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Virtual teams
 More than 60% of employees in professions are
members of a virtual team
 Information technologies and knowledge-based
work make virtual teams possible and globalization
make them necessary
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
10D: Pros and cons of virtual teams
OBJECTIVE: To discuss and exchange views about new forms of
teamwork such as virtual teams.
ESTIMATED TIME: 20-30 minutes
MATERIALS: Paper and pencil
DESCRIPTION:
Virtual teams are groups of geographically, organizationally and/or
time dispersed workers brought together by information and
telecommunication technologies to accomplish one or more
organizational tasks.
Ask participants to form teams of 4-5 members and discuss about
the advantages and disadvantages of virtual teams (10 minutes).
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Virtual teams
Advantages
 More productive
 Have no timetable
 Work on a 24hour basis
(global virtual teams)
 Less costly
 Travel expenses
 Labor costs
 Outsourcing
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Disadvantages
 Poor communication
(e.g. non verbal)
 Building cohesion and trust
 Team leadership (virtual manager)
 Responsible members
Virtual teams
Effectiveness characteristics
1.
Focus on the international environment
2.
Common mission, responsibility, sense of
ownership
3.
Open culture, trust, authenticity
4.
Mechanisms for early conflict resolution
5.
Effective function (meeting deadlines etc.)
and communication systems and procedures
6.
Virtual distance reduction - “Together we
can” culture
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
10 basic principles for leading virtual teams
1. Get the team together physically early-on
2. Clarify tasks and processes, not just goals and roles
3. Commit to a communication charter
4. Leverage the best communication technologies
5. Build a team with rhythm
6. Agree on a shared language
7. Create a “virtual water cooler”
8. Clarify and track commitments
9. Foster shared leadership
10. Don’t forget the 1:1s
http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/06/making-virtual-teams-work-ten/
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Startup teams
 In classrooms, as well as in startups, the best
ideas in the hands of a B team are much worse than
a B idea in the hands of a high level team
Steve Blank
 Heterogeneous teams (business and engineering
background)
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Multicultural teams
Leaders of multicultural teams experience many diversity-based
challenges such as communication barriers and trust. To facilitate
effective team performance, the leader must understand how cultural
differences affect team dynamics
4 obstacles to overcome:




way of communication
language
relation to the hierarchy
decision making models
Brett, Behfar & Kern (2006)
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Team decision Making
Some constraints





Time constrains “Committees keep minutes and waste hours”
Evaluation Apprehension
Groupthink
Polarization
Pressure to Conform
Experiment with lines
The team members were shown two lines one slightly longer than the
other and were asked to choose the longer one. Before the experiment
the researchers secretly asked the first two members of the team to
purposely choose the wrong line. And as a result, the rest of the
members also chose the wrong line against their better judgment
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
10E: Experiential activity – Shaping the
Organization
 OBJECTIVE: To help participants communicate effectively and
coordinate their efforts towards the group task under challenging
circumstances.
 ESTIMATED TIME: 25-30 min.
 MATERIALS: A long rope, 5 blindfolds
 DESCRIPTION: A blindfolded group of 5 is asked to make a perfect
square (equal sides, equal angles) from a circular rope in 12 min.
 Brief: In this activity we will be shaping the organization (indicated by
the pile of rope). As individuals we all have a mental picture of what the
organization should look like but we are often blind to one another’s
vision. All the individual visions should be openly expressed so that the
organization is shaped into a square.
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Team Building Experiential Activities
Building trust
Blind geometry
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University
Dr. Dimitra Iordanoglou, Panteion University