BYU Managers Toolbox

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Whether a team
is seasoned or simply working together on a
temporary project, there are concepts and tech-
niques that can improve how the team functions,
thus improving the quality of its output.
Two factors that infuence a teams success are
diversity and self-awareness. Diversity in experi-
ence and perspective generates deeper thinking
and analysis on teams. Having team members
who assume a variety of roles can serve to chal-
lenge, stabilize, and facilitate team effectiveness
and development. Effective teams are also self-
aware. They are conscious of their own effec-
tiveness and they take time to talk about it. The
responsibility for dealing with dysfunctional be-
havior belongs to all team members, not just the
leader or facilitator.
Roles
In all groups, individuals assume roles that allow
the group to function. Each role presented
below can either have a positive or negative
infuence on group performance. When
individuals fall into roles that are less productive
for the team, effective managers will coach the
individuals and team away from dysfunctional
behavior. For example, if you see your group
reaching consensus too quickly on a decision,
ask a team member to play the role of devils
advocate during your discussion. This may be
particularly effective when you assign team
members roles that are contrary to their typical
or natural roles.
During your next meeting, encourage team
members to identify the roles they assume in the
group. What are the positive roles and what are
the negative roles they assume in their interac-
tion with the team? Then discuss the roles as a
group. What roles contribute to and what roles
detract from the teams effectiveness?
When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confdence, excellence becomes a reality.
- Joe Paterno, Football Coach, Penn State University
Group Dynamics
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Devils Advocate
Takes a position contrary to what the group
thinks. This can generate deeper thinking on is-
sues but can be frustrating to other group mem-
bers because this person never seems to agree
with the group.
Listener
Listens carefully to the thoughts and opinions
of others in the group. Their ideas tend to be
well thought out. They often remain quiet so the
group cannot beneft from their ideas.
Idea Generator
Generates ideas constantly on a variety of sub-
jects. They are able to help move a group towards
creative and meaningful solutions by submitting
ideas for the team to build upon. The team may
get frustrated when they are ready to move to-
wards a decision and the idea generator is still
presenting options.
Helper
Aware of team dynamics and helps the team to
improve its overall effectiveness. Helpers may be
unwilling to disagree with the facilitator or other
team members when they should.
Clarifer
Asks questions or seeks additional information
on behalf of the team to make sure assignments,
roles, or decisions are clearly understood by ev-
eryone.
Mediator
Smoothes out conficts and maintains positive
relationships between team members. The me-
diator may be more relationship-oriented and
less task-oriented.
Joker
Is fun and lighthearted but can also be a distrac-
tion and cause the team to lose focus.
Sniper
Shoots down ideas. Some ideas need to be shot
down while others may deserve further consid-
eration.
Decision Maker
Drives the group to make decisions and act. They
are an essential component of a well functioning
team. They may not give enough time for plans
to develop or the process to work.
Dominator
Can provide good leadership in a group discus-
sion but can also make it diffcult for other team
members to participate.
Problems and Solutions
Teams experience very similar problems.
Chances are that you have experienced most of
the problems listed below at some point in your
career. Review the descriptions of the common
problems teams face to identify any needs on
your current team. Then get your team talking
about solutions.
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Group Dynamics
Overemphasizing process or productivity
Teams are driven to produce and never consider
the process they use. Or, they focus exclusively on
interpersonal relationships and team processes
and ignore production. Ignoring one over the
other will lead to the same result decreased
productivity. Both process and productivity are
essential to highly effective teams.
As a team, ask yourselves two key questions
with an eye towards balancing process and
productivity.
What keeps this team from being as effective as
it needs to be?
What changes do we need to make in order to
be more effective?
Groupthink
Team members wont disagree with each other.
They are too nice and rarely express disagree-
ment. Discussions and decisions have become
too homogeneous. A non-confrontational atmo-
sphere can often be just as crippling as a hostile
one. A major advantage of the team process is
the varied input that team members can provide.
Less effective teams struggle with the problems of
groupthink or indecision. Constructive confict is
important for good teams.
Constructive confict occurs when team mem-
bers feel safe to voice their opinions. Make it
safe for people to contribute dissenting opin-
ions. Encourage open participation by asking
team members who may be holding back their
ideas to speak up.
Stimulate discussion by assigning a team mem-
ber to play the role of devils advocate or idea
generator.
Diffcult decisions deferred to the leader
When a team struggles with a diffcult decision or
problem, they rely on the leader to make the fnal
decision. The leader should not feel compelled to
make the fnal decision but should encourage the
team to continue with the issue.
Focus the team on moving forward instead of
on their differences by reviewing the goal or
points of agreement.
Pay attention to group dynamics. Are all team
members participating in the discussion? Are
there any team members that are dominating
the discussion?
Assign people the task of agreeing or disagreeing
with a certain position during the discussion.
No follow through on decisions
A team makes decisions that are then forgotten
or ignored. Team members may leave meetings
unsure about what decisions were made and who
is responsible for their execution.
Assign a team member the role of note keeper
during team meetings. They should record all
decisions made during the meeting and who is
responsible for what and when. Review the list
at the end of each meeting and send out meet-
ing minutes with the same summary after the
meeting.
Have a team member play the role of clarifer.
After each decision is reached, have the clari-
fer review the decision with the team to make
sure each person understands the task and as-
sociated responsibilities.
Unequal group participation
The same team members dominate the discus-
sion. Others rarely voice their opinions and when
BYU Managers Toolbox
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they do they are ignored. As a result, some team
members may have more infuence over decisions
than others.
Assign more dominating team members the
roles of listener, helper or clarifer. Assign more
passive team members the roles of devils advo-
cate, idea generator or mediator.
Ask team members to write down their idea for
a particular problem then present their idea to
the team.
Thank dominators for their participation and
then explain how it would also be benefcial to
hear from the rest of the team.
Things to do
Spend some time as a team talking about
your group dynamics.
Ask yourselves four questions.
1. What would this team be like if every-
thing went as we wanted it to?
2. Where do we stand on each item on a
scale of 1 to 5?
3. Why do we rate the items the way that we
do?
4. What are the teams priorities for im-
provement?
Bottom-line
A well functioning group is interested in con-
tinually improving their processes and behaviors.
When they get off track they have the ability to
self-correct and get back on track.
Group Dynamics