Subject Managing People and Organisations

Segment Managing Groups

Topic Team Performance

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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Judging Team Success
3. Organisational Context
4. Four Factors of Context
5. Analysing and Solving Team Problems
6. Solving Team Performance Problems
7. Self-Assessment
8. Summary

1. Introduction
How do you decide if a team is successful? What makes effective and ineffective
teams? In this topic, you will learn about the environmental factors necessary to
create high-performing teams; you will also learn how to solve team problems by
analysing contextual factors.
Objectives: Team Performance
Upon completion of this topic, you should be able to
 describe the three measures of team performance
 explain how the four factors of organisational context affect team
performance
 describe the four-step approach to solving team performance problems

2. Judging Team Success

The success of a team can be measured in three ways: task completion, individual
contributions and team member commitment. Depending on your perspective – a
team leader, team member or executive sponsor – you may emphasise one area
more than another when measuring a team's success.
Click the tabs below to learn more about each area of measurement.

Measuring the Success of a Team

 Task completion
Most teams are created to address a specific task, solve a problem, or deliver
a product or service. When the success of a team is measured by task

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

completion, consider both the quality of the work and the timeliness of the
work.
 Individual contribution
To perform effectively, individuals need to make strong contributions to the
team. If some team members do not produce as much work as others, or
their work does not effectively further the team's success, the team is using
the time of its members inefficiently. Successful and efficient teams maintain
team member motivation by making sure that individuals contribute their
best.
 Team member commitment
The team's survival is also a measure of its success. Keeping team members
committed to the team's task is an important factor contributing to the team's
performance. This is especially true during team development when turmoil is
a natural phenomenon. Successful teams, with committed team members,
can continue to attract new members and support.

You will want to keep these measures in mind as you learn how to diagnose and
solve team problems. In the end, your efforts to lead, participate and work with
teams will be judged by these three criteria.

3. Organisational Context
Various factors enable teams to succeed. These factors should be considered when
establishing a team and when analysing the success or failure of a team after the
fact. These factors can be grouped into three categories: context, set-up and
operations. All three contribute to a team's success.
 Context describes the team's environment – an environment that may or may
not support the team.
 Set-up describes how the team leader adapts to the team's context and
establishes effective processes.
 Operations describes how the team functions, which must be monitored and
changed if you identify team performance problems.
Reflection: Organisational Context
Consider this scenario: you lead a team of stellar performers, yet nothing seems to
get done. You need four departments to work together to address a quality issue, yet
they cannot seem to fix the problem. Your design approval process takes too long to
complete, yet those involved cannot seem to streamline it. What can you do to get
more from your teams?
To perform well, effective teams require more than proper set-up, more than
productive team members, and more than the ability to work well together. None of
this, in fact, guarantees team success. The best team will fail if it is operating in a
context that does not support it.
Organisational context refers to the conditions, or environment, in which a team
operates. Context factors affect how the team operates, how it accomplishes its
tasks, what happens once it completes its job and, ultimately, its success or failure.
Although it is difficult for team members to change the context in which the team
operates, being aware of the context and influencing it when possible will help the
team avoid problems it may encounter as it strives to achieve its goal. Those who
create teams should be aware of how the context will affect teams, establish teams

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

in a supportive context such as assigning members, tasks and positions, and then
provide resources for the team carefully.

4. Four Factors of Context

As introduced in the topic “Teams”, context includes four factors.
 "Task" or "mandate" describes the team's project.
 "People" describes those assigned to the team.
 "Formal organisation" describes the way the team fits into the company's
formal structure and any formal guidelines describing how the team will work.
 "Informal organisation" describes the way the team fits into the company's
culture and political structure.
These four factors play a significant role in how well or how badly a team performs.
For instance, the team may
 be assigned work that is more efficiently performed by an individual
 include the wrong mix of personnel
 lack the necessary resources, eg, time, money, information
 work in a type of corporate culture that discourages taking time away from
day-to-day responsibilities to devote to team responsibilities
Team leaders and members must be able to identify problems caused by the context
and solve them to ensure their team's work leads to a positive outcome.

When you think of your team's context, picture your team as a circle within a circle.
The outer circle influences everything about the team's context. Knowing how that
outer circle will affect your team is key to your team's success.
Click the link below to view an animation that provides an overview of team context
and how it relates to the team context wheel.

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

Team Context Wheel

Team Context Wheel

Picture a team as a circle within a circle. Every action the team makes is influenced
by the outer circle, the team's context. Knowing how that outer circle affects the
team is key to the team's success.

Task: The task describes the team's overall assignment, or objective. Tasks are
assigned to the team before it begins, so they are a part of its context. It is
important to acknowledge the contextual elements in the assigned tasks. Some tasks
lend themselves to the team approach and some do not. For example, a task that
can easily be addressed by an individual, or a task that needs immediate action,
should not be assigned to a team.

People: Teams are usually assigned specific members when they are created. Team
members are appointed to the team before it begins, so they are also part of its
context. A careful analysis of the team task should reveal what kinds of team
members a task requires. Also, the company must have the human resources
available to meet the needs of the team.

Formal Organisation: Formal organisation describes the formal support the team
receives from the company and includes the support from upper management and
the allocation of resources. It also includes the team's location within the
organisational structure, and any policies, roles, responsibilities, and rewards
established for the team.

Informal Organisation: The informal organisation in which a team operates refers to

the company's political and cultural environment. There are aspects of the
organisational culture that affect team performance, such as whether the culture
favours collective or individual efforts. It is often difficult for teams to deal with the
informal organisation of a company, because the issues operating below the surface
are often hard to identify.

Tasks

Teams usually form in an attempt to accomplish specific goals. Remember that a

defining characteristic of a team is mutual accountability for common goals. Certain
tasks are ideal for a team approach. For example, teams often lead re-engineering
efforts in which they analyse existing structures and strategically realign them to

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

improve efficiency and cut costs. Working with a team is an effective way to launch
new products, respond to a crisis, monitor and improve quality and set policies.
Teams are especially suited for complex tasks that require
 multiple types of expertise and sources of information such as cross-
functional projects and highly-technical projects
 acceptance from employees throughout the organisation which can be
obtained by team members from different functional areas
 mutual interaction to accomplish a goal, as opposed to independent work to
achieve a goal, eg, surgery with a surgical team as opposed to assembly on
an assembly line
However, tasks that one person can easily do or tasks that require immediate action
should be assigned to an individual. Teams generally perform better when a task is
well defined and clearly stated.
Click the link below for more information about defining tasks.

Are Most Teams Given a Clearly-Defined Task?

Are Most Teams Given a Clearly-Defined Task?

Teams responding to international disasters, such as hurricanes or earthquakes,
have clear goals and marshal their resources to aid victims as quickly as possible.
However, all tasks are not that easily defined.
Many teams have a much more ambiguous goal because they are dealing with
complex issues or are operating in highly political situations. For example, teams
formed after a merger, acquisition or downsizing often have both stated and
unstated goals. In this kind of politically charged context, it is often not clear what
hidden agendas may be in place, if the team's task is to make decisions, or if the
team was formed to give advice.

Click the link below for more information about team members and diversity.

Can a Team Be Too Diverse?

Can a Team Be Too Diverse?

Research shows that diverse and homogeneous teams may be better suited to
different kinds of tasks. Moran and Riesenberger (1994) state that, "Diverse groups
are better suited for specialised tasks, whereas homogeneous groups are better
suited for routine repetitive tasks". Many other researchers have found that culturally
diverse teams can produce higher-quality decisions and more creative work than
teams whose members are similar.
Cross-functional teams usually represent a range of different perspectives and skills
that can be brought to the task. In a manufacturing company, employees from sales,

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

finance, research and development, production, and customer service often differ in
their perspectives. Integrating these views when reviewing the product development
process or deciding whether to enter into a new market helps identify a range of
issues up front. In today's increasingly global market, teams should reflect functional
and multicultural diversity.
References
Moran, R.T. and J.R. Riesenberger. The Global Challenge: Building the New Worldwide Enterprise. London: McGraw-Hill
Ltd., 1994.

People

Teams are usually assigned specific members when they are created. Members are
often appointed to the team before it begins, so this is a part of the team's context.
It is important, though often difficult, to find the right mix of employees to
accomplish the team's task.
Click the tabs below to learn about the important considerations when assigning
members to a team.

Assigning Members to a Team

 Determining skills and resources

The first consideration in assigning employees to a team is getting the right
mix of knowledge, skills, abilities and personal networks necessary for the
team to function effectively. A careful analysis of the task should reveal what
kinds of team members a task requires. Keep in mind that if a team does not
have a clearly-defined task, this is much more difficult. The team must also
have team members with different kinds of strengths who can dedicate
enough time to the task to complete all aspects successfully. This means that
the company must have the human resources available to meet the needs of
the team. If the right employees are not available, it may be necessary to
draw from external resources.

 Creating the right size team

A second consideration is the size of the team. How many members should be
assigned? The team needs enough members to be able to complete the task
in a reasonable amount of time, but not too many or it will become
cumbersome. Large teams are difficult to co-ordinate, work with, or facilitate,
and are more prone to conflict, disorganisation, low motivation and inefficient
operations.

 Balancing diversity with complementary skills

A third factor in assigning team members is the mix of people in terms of
demographics, interactive styles and expectations. Successful teams often
include diverse members with complementary skills. In a diverse team,
however, members may have different expectations and interactive styles
which could lead to conflict. Another potential problem with team membership
occurs when employees involved in a political struggle are assigned to the
same team. If the team is assigned too many members, too few members or

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

the wrong mix of members, you as team leader, must address the problem.

Click the link below for more information on team size.

Can a Team Be Too Big to Function Effectively?

Can a Team Be Too Big to Function Effectively?

Although team size may vary depending on the team's purpose or goals, optimum
team size seems to be less than 10 – you can use seven as a general guideline
(Katzenback and Smith, 1993). Smaller teams are more likely to agree on a plan of
action and work through any conflicts. They also seem to find it easier to agree on a
meeting time and location. Many times, large teams will break into subteams to do
much of the work because it is easier.
References
Katzenback, J. and D. Smith. "The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organization." Harvard Business
Review.
Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1993.

Formal Organisation

The formal organisation refers to the company's structure and policies.

One aspect of organisational structure addresses how the team fits within the
company. For example, does the team exist within one division, or is it cross-
functional? Another aspect of organisational structure describes the managerial level
and political power of the team leader, team members, and the individual who
created the team.
The effectiveness of the team is affected by the context in which it exists within the
organisation’s structure and the policies that support it.
Click the tabs below to learn about how teams may exist within the three types of
organisational structure.

Types of Organisational Structure

 Cross-functional organisation
If the organisational structure is cross-functional, is the team expected to link
the divisions as well as accomplish its assigned task?

Teams can serve as the communication link between divisions, but this

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

requires a great deal of interaction among team members, a strong culture

within the team, and additional time. This role proves effective only if the task
involves extensive interaction among team members. In this type of
organisation, where cross-functional teams link divisions, the company's
organisational structure may appear as follows:

A team's ability to make changes or develop credible solutions for problems is

closely linked to the position of its leader, members and creator within the
organisation. A team sponsored by a manager with enough power to initiate
action has more options available to it, and is more likely to have its
recommendations implemented than a team without that type of sponsor. The
same can be said for the team leader and team members. This is particularly
true when the recommendations involve changes in the organisation.

 Team-based organisation
Some organisations are structured around teams and rely on self-directed or
self-managed work teams to accomplish the tasks traditionally delegated
through a departmental structure. In this type of organisation, the
autonomous cross-functional units are less hierarchical in nature than in more
traditional corporate structures. This type of company's organisational
structure may appear as follows:

This company has the same divisions and number of employees as a

traditionally structured company, such as the one illustrated by the
department-based organisational chart that follows (except with fewer levels).

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

 Department-based organisation
Traditional, division-based organisations may have many more levels and
more or fewer subordinates at each level than illustrated by the following
organisational chart. This structure, or one like it, exists under all division
directors.

Within the framework of a company's policies, teams are created to play a

specific role and achieve specific goals. The team's role and goals need to be
clearly communicated throughout the organisation so all employees
understand the team's purpose and so resources are made available as
needed. Otherwise, others in the organisation may resist or refuse to support
the team. The team must be formally assigned enough resources, such as
time, budget, information, tools and equipment – to perform well in a
reasonable amount of time. The team must also be able to get more
resources, if needed. If teams are assigned powerful team members, they are
more likely to be able to acquire resources as needed. Many teams fail
because they lack the support and resources they need to perform their task.
Over time, they lose their momentum. Another policy issue is authority. A
team must be assigned the authority to make the decisions needed to fulfil its
role and achieve its goals.

To support effective teams, a reward system must encourage, or at least not

discourage, teamwork. Recent research suggests that team-based rewards support
the interdependence of team members and promote a more cohesive working
environment than individual rewards or recognition. If the formal organisational
context of a team is not supportive, then you must adjust or make changes, or your
team cannot succeed.
Click the link below to find out what you can do if the formal organisation does not
support the team.

If the formal organisation does not support the team

If the formal organisation does not support the team

What can you do if the formal organisation does not support the team?

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

Depending on what type of support is lacking, you can

 request more resources from the team's creator if the team does not have
enough time, budget, members, tools or information
 add more powerful team sponsors or members if a team does not have the
support necessary to get resources
 clarify the team's goals, or mandate, or ask the team's sponsor to clarify it
with the rest of the organisation
 convince the team's creator to change the team's task or expand the amount
of time the team has to achieve its goals, if the team is also the link between
departments
 ensure team processes involve interaction if the team is also the link between
departments
 request formal decision-making authority in areas where it is needed
 use the networks of the team sponsor, leader or members to obtain
resources, or promote support for the decisions made by the team

Informal Organisation

Informal organisation refers to the cultural and political environment of the company.
There are aspects of organisational culture that affect team performance, such as
whether the culture favours collective or individual efforts. The way the corporate
culture has treated teams in the past is a good indicator of the type of work it
supports. For example, corporate cultures that have supported teams in the past are
more likely to have teams today with motivated team members who are confident
their work will be accepted and supported by others within the organisation.
On the other hand, some organisations assign work to teams because of a cultural
norm emphasising teamwork. In this environment, the emphasis on teamwork may
overshadow the task; tasks that should be performed by individuals may be assigned
to teams instead. This results in wasted time and frustrated team members. The
expectations and norms of the national culture in which the organisation is located,
and how the national culture views the role of teams, will also affect the team's
performance.
Countries, just like corporations, can be more oriented toward teamwork or more
oriented toward the individual. In the political aspect of informal organisational
context, the team may have to address issues such as team members who are
competing (or have competed) for the same position in the organisation. This
virtually guarantees some conflict, or other problem, for the team.
Other political aspects of informal organisation include a team with a politically-
charged mandate; a task assigned to a team to make upper management appear
team-oriented when, in fact, upper management will make all decisions; or a task
assigned to a team that appears to overlap the responsibilities of a specific
department. In all these cases, employees outside the team may block the team by
withholding resources or undermine its authority whenever possible. When this
happens, the decisions and recommendations of the team will have little chance of

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

being implemented, which wastes time, resources and the dedication of the team's
members. The informal organisational context presents teams with a unique difficulty
– it encompasses the hidden issues that operate below the surface of any
organisation. If the informal organisational context of a team is not supportive, then
you must adjust or make changes, or your team will not succeed.
Click the link below to find out what you can do if the informal organisation does not
support the team.

If the informal organisation does not support the team

If the informal organisation does not support the team

What if the informal organisation does not support the team? Once again, there are
several strategies that can be employed, depending on the circumstances. You can
 ask the team's sponsor to communicate its importance throughout the
organisation
 ask team members to support the work of the team to their constituencies
 add more powerful team sponsors or members, or people with networks that
include powerful employees, to deal with political issues
 appeal to the team's creator to change its membership if two members are in
political conflict
 measure and publish the performance of team members if conflict between
members is impeding team progress
 change the team task from making decisions to advising upper management
if it is clear that upper management will make the decision, and negotiate
acceptance of the new task with the team's sponsor
 change the team's task to avoid overlapping or impinging on the authority of
departments or divisions and negotiate acceptance of the new task with the
team's sponsor
 request that members be assigned to the team from departments that have
responsibility for decisions that overlap the team's mandate

Team Context Affects Team Set-up

A team usually has little control over the context in which it operates. Since context
affects how the team operates and whether it succeeds or fails, what can a team do
to work effectively?
Though context cannot be controlled, the team does have control over its set-up.
The four context factors: task, people, formal organisation and informal organisation,
in which a team operates affect the way the team leader sets up the team's
operation. Knowing how to use the team set-up and changing elements to make the
most of the team context to improve the team's performance will help your team
succeed.
Click each tab to learn how each context affects team set-up.

Impact of Context on Team Set-Up

 Task

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

The task assigned to the team affects decisions about how to use team
members as well as how to segment the task in to achievable goals. If the
task assigned is ambiguous or overly broad, the team needs to clarify it
before assigning work to team members. If the task is complex, the team
needs to break it down into discrete units before proceeding.

 People
The composition of the team will influence how the team approaches its work.
If team members lack interpersonal skills, are from opposing factions within
the organisation, or are from different cultures, team building may be an
integral part of team set-up.

If team members have diverse backgrounds and expectations, it may be

better to use a structured process for generating ideas and making decisions
to ensure everyone is heard, including minority opinions.

 Formal organisation
Management's support and resource allocation affect how the team
approaches its task. With management's support, team members can
dedicate more time to the team and accomplish more than would otherwise
be possible. With adequate resources, the team can focus on the task, not on
how to get by with less than adequate support. Before beginning team set-up,
it may be better to ensure your team has management's support and
adequate resources.

The team's location in the formal structure of the organisation affects the
processes the team should use. If the team is the link between different
divisions, then the team needs to approach its work in an interactive manner
so team members get to know, trust and share information with each other.

 Informal organisation
The cultural and political environment in which the team operates influences
team assignments, the rules and roles developed by the team, and the
expectations the team has about its success. Depending on the corporate
culture, team set-up must address issues, such as how team members are
rewarded, how tasks are assigned, how the team's accomplishments and
needs are evaluated and how performance expectations are addressed.

The team is created within a context that team leaders and team members
cannot control. They can influence it, however, in two ways – by addressing
context issues as they arise and by setting up the team in a way that is suited
to the team's corporate context.

Exercise: Four Factors of Context

The following exercise is designed to help you identify context factors in a company
setting. In this exercise, Point-E manufactures handheld computer devices and
accessories. Because the company has recently lost market share, senior
management has decided it needs a fresh approach to product development.
Because innovative features are critical to successfully competing in this market,
senior management has decided to use a team approach to determine what new
features to include in its next big product. To that end, management has formed a

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

cross-functional team and has given the team the task of identifying what product
features to include.
Click the link below to begin the exercise.
Exercise: Target Context Game

Exercise: Target Context Game

In this exercise, you will read about a new product development team at a high-tech
company. As you read the scenario, try to determine which context factors are
influencing this team.
This exercise is meant to help you diagnose which areas of context you tend to focus
on and which you tend to think about less. There is some interpretation in any
answer, so some people may believe that one particular fact reflects a "task" issues,
whereas others may believe that it reflects a "formal organisation" issue. You may
interpret facts by focusing on the aspects of context that are already familiar to you.
You may be less knowledgeable about or attentive to some aspects of context. This
tool will help you identify those areas.
The scenario is described below. Identify the sentences you believe are context
factors.
Scenario
To date, management has assigned more than 40 employees to this team. Of the 40,
32 come from the marketing department. Senior management did not designate a
formal leader. Senior management also did not identify to whom the team should
report, nor how the team's work will be evaluated. In the past, Point-E has
emphasised individual performance, recognising and rewarding individual efforts
while allowing collaborative efforts to usually fall apart.
At its first meeting, because no one volunteered, the team took a vote and named
Lucy and Max co-team leaders, responsible for conducting all team meetings. Today,
the team begins its fourth meeting. As usual, Lucy and Max look to each other to
decide where to begin, something they've done at the previous three meetings.
Because this requires some discussion, the meetings never start on time. At least
five people come in late, also typical, and three or four team members will
undoubtedly leave before the meeting ends. It doesn't help that the team meets in a
different location every time, but it has been hard to find a room large enough to
accommodate the team, especially on short notice.
As usual, Lucy and Max forget to ask someone to take notes, and no one volunteers.
In fact, few team members volunteer anything or even appear interested in
contributing to the team's task of making product design recommendations. Of
course, one team member, Robert, may be partly responsible. Robert is the director
of the new product development department. Point-E employees, both on and off the
team, are wary of expressing opinions that differ from those of Robert because he
has been known to block promotions and make life difficult for those who disagree
with him. If anyone does volunteer a comment, it usually requires calling Jack in
manufacturing or Liz in research and development for more information or some
clarification.
Privately, many team members wonder if the team is even necessary. Most of the
work is being done by two team members. Although senior management created the

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

team with the express purpose of identifying new product features, everyone knows
that the real decisions will continue to be made by management.

The four elements of team context: people, task, formal organisation and informal
organisation, all play a role in the effectiveness of any team. Too often, a team or a
company will focus on one aspect and ignore the effect the others might be having
on a team. Keeping all four aspects in mind will help you, as a team member and a
team leader, get the most from your team and the most out of your team
experience.

5. Analysing and Solving Team Problems

Team leaders and members must be able to identify problems caused by the
context, and solve them, to ensure their team's work leads to a positive outcome.
Solving problems and improving a team's performance is easier once you consider
the contextual, set-up and operational factors that make a team a success. In
thinking through context issues, it is critical to consider the complexities of the team
environment, formal and informal, as well within the team and within the
organisation. If you do not consider all the possible causes of team problems, you
may not be able to create fully effective teams. There are so many factors that affect
teams that it is often confusing for team leaders and members to figure out how to
resolve problems.
When team leaders and team members do not take the time to go through a detailed
problem-solving process, they run the risk of reaching the wrong conclusions. This
could lead to a solution that addresses symptoms of the problem rather than the root
causes of the problem, or solutions that have unforeseen consequences. It is
appropriate to learn something about applying a systematic problem-solving process
to team performance problems in this topic.
Using the following process, team leaders and team members can identify a team
performance problem, identify its causes, and identify ways in which to solve it.
Implementing the change required to resolve the problem may involve thoughtful
discussion with the team, the executive sponsors, and potentially, other employees
and support staff.
Click on each tab to learn more about the steps to solving team problems.

A Process on Solving Team Problems

 Step 1: Identify performance gaps - compare present performance to

desired goal
To identify a performance problem, compare what the team is actually
accomplishing to what it is supposed to accomplish.

For example, suppose you are the team leader of your company's quality
improvement team. You notice that the team addresses some quality issues
some of the time, but not all and certainly not on a regular basis. That is the
team's performance gap – the difference between expectations and actuality.
If this occurs from time to time, it may not be a problem. But if it occurs
regularly, it indicates a performance gap.

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

Most performance gaps reflect outcomes that are lower than expectations;
deadlines are missed, projects contain errors, or products do not meet
specifications. Sometimes, however, teams perform exactly as expected, but
the team's goals are too low. This type of performance problem is called an
"opportunity gap". The team could create work that is higher quality, more
effective, or more efficient than what is expected of it. Once you have
identified the performance or opportunity gap, you can proceed to the next
step, which is analysing the cause.

 Step 2: Analyse the factors that could be causing the problem

When analysing the factors that could be causing a performance problem,
consider

• the context in which the team exists – the people and task assigned to the
team, and the team's location in the formal and informal organisation.

• the way the team was set up, the way the tasks are divided among team
members, the way individual work is integrated, and the formal and informal
organisation within the team itself.

• how the team operates – any processes that do not function effectively.

Without considering all factors, you may incorrectly conclude, for example,
that a team experiencing people problems must have unmotivated team
members. The fact may be that team members are doing their best, but the
problems you are seeing result from other factors, such as the task, the
composition of the team, the interdependency between the team and the
organisation, the team set-up, or how the team operates.

To help identify the cause, ask the following questions about context, set-up
and operation of the team.

Context of the team. Does this task warrant a team approach? Is the
team composed of employees with the right knowledge, skills and
perspectives to perform this task? Do team members understand the team
mandate? Do others in the company understand it as well? Has the team
been given enough time, money, information, support and other resources to
perform well? Does the organisation's culture support the team approach?

Setup of the team. What kinds of norms and values were put into place
when the team was set up? How was the task divided and assigned to team
members? What kinds of roles and processes were established when the team
was set up? How are the knowledge, skills and connections of team members
being used?

Operation of the team. Does the team operate efficiently and without
excessive conflict? Is the team limited by too much consensus? Are all team
members contributing?

 Step 3: Consider the options to solve the problem

After you have analysed the causes of the problem, consider the options
available to solving it. For example, if the team's performance problem is

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

caused by inadequate access to information and resources, the team leader

may clarify the team's mandate with the rest of the organisation so their
requests for information are honoured. Or, if the team's performance problem
involves a lack of participation by certain team members, the team leader
may improve team discussions by developing ground rules for meetings for
the team to follow. Once the performance problem has been identified, there
are several ways the problem can be addressed.

 Step 4: Identify the changes that will increase performance

Some changes may be harder than others to implement, and identifying
which changes will increase team performance is easier than implementing
the changes. For example, a team leader might address a performance
problem by promoting the discussion of different opinions. The resulting
conflict, however, may be difficult to effectively manage.

Click the link below to read about the international considerations in solving team
problems.

International Considerations

International Considerations
The different personalities, interests and work styles among the members of any
team present a challenge for team members and managers alike. When the
international environment is the team's setting and cultural differences come into
play, the challenges intensify. Add different cultural values and norms to different
personalities, interests and work styles, and teamwork becomes even harder to
achieve. Being aware of some of the challenges associated with cultural differences
will help you be able to understand and address them.
Click the tabs to learn about some of these challenges.
Cross-cultural teams
In a global economy, teams are often composed of members from different cultures.
Trying to make these cross-cultural teams work is not always easy. One thing
managers can do to help these teams succeed is to select members who are
homogeneous in ability but diverse in cultural background. This can help facilitate
communication between team members who have a broad set of viewpoints.

6. Solving Team Performance Problems

Performance problems come in many forms and can be addressed in many ways. As
a team leader, you may have to address a performance issue. Before deciding how
you will address a particular performance problem, you will want to identify the
potential ramifications of your decision. This will help you determine the best, though

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

not perfect, way to improve the situation. Failing to consider the consequences of
your decision may leave you with more of a problem, not less.
The following exercise allows you to practice solving performance problems.
Exercise: Solving Team Performance Problems
In the following exercises, you will read about two teams experiencing a number of
performance problems. As you address one problem, you will see the effect that
decision has on the members of the team. With each decision, you can increase or
decrease the team's performance.
You are not required to complete both exercises, but you may find it helpful to do so.
Complete at least one of the two exercises before proceeding to the assessment.
Click the links below to begin the exercises.
Exercise: Trillonium Publishing

Exercise: Trillonium Publishing

In this exercise, you will assist a team manager in making decisions about how to
manage a team through a series of four situational rounds. You will be able to
monitor how each decision affects each team member's quantity of work, quality of
work, and conflict behaviour.
In each situation, you may perform as many actions as you want or none at all. Your
goal is to make good decisions so that the team will make progress towards its goal,
which is also monitored.
As the exercise progresses, you may encounter special situations that are triggered
when certain conditions are met. For example, if a certain team member's
performance becomes particularly bad, a special situation will ask you what should
be done to help that team member.

Exercise: Ostrander Toys

Exercise: Ostrander Toys

In this exercise, you will assist a team manager in making decisions about how to
manage a team through a series of four situational rounds. You will be able to
monitor how each decision affects each team member's quantity of work, quality of
work, and conflict behaviour.
In each situation, you may perform as many actions as you want, or none at all.
Your goal is to make good decisions so that the team will make progress towards it's
goal, which is also monitored.
As the exercise progresses, you may encounter special situations that are triggered
when certain conditions are met. For example, if a certain team member's
performance becomes particularly bad, a special situation will ask you what should
be done to help that team member.

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Subject Managing People and Organisations
Segment Managing Groups
Topic Team Performance

7. Self-Assessment
Now, try the self-assessment questions to test your understanding of the topic. Click
the following link to open the Self-Assessment in a new window.
Self-Assessment

8. Summary
This topic covered the following main points:
 The success of a team can be measured in three ways: task completion,
individual contributions and team member commitment.
 In the organisational context, factors such as context, set-up and operations
are important for team performance. Teams perform better when a task is
clearly stated, when there is careful selection of people in the team with the
right mix of skills and when the formal and informal organisation supports the
team.
 There are four steps in analysing and solving team problems: compare
present performance to desired goal, analyse factors that could be causing
the problem, consider options to solve the problem and to identify the
changes that will increase performance.
References
Ancona, D. and D. Caldwell. "Compose Teams to Assure Successful Boundary Activity." In The Blackwell Handbook of
Organizational Behavior, edited by Edwin A. Locke, 199-210. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 2000.

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