Activity 1: Team Effectiveness

Critical Functions of Team Effectiveness

Performance and development are the two critical functions of team effectiveness (Northouse, 2018, p. 375). Performance is described as
“task accomplishment” and as Northouse (2018) states, “refers to the quality of the outcomes of the team’s work” (p. 375). Development is described as “team maintenance” and measures the connectedness of the team, as well as team member satisfaction of their individual needs, while relating and working well with team members (Nadler, 1998). When teams manage these two things: 1) performance and 2) development well they become accomplished in “getting the job done and maintaining a cohesive team” (Northouse, 2018, p. 375).

After doing a study on different teams LaFasto & Larson (2001) found 8 characteristics consistently associated with excellent teams. These characteristics are the following: 1) clear, elevating goal, 2) results-driven structure, 3) competent team members, 4) unified commitment, 5) collaborative climate, 6) standards of excellence, 7) external support and recognition and 8) principled leadership (Larson & LaFasto, 1989).

In the current team I am working on in the context of Christian ministry I have seen evidence of three of LaFasto & Larson’s (2001) characteristics: 1) clear, elevating goal, 5) collaborative climate and 6) standards of excellence.

Clear, Elevating Goal

Hackman (2012) describes this characteristic as “A compelling purpose [that] energizes team members, orients them toward their collective objective, and fully engages their talents” (p. 437). Team goals need to be clearly laid out so team members know if their objective has been reached (Northouse, 2018, p. 376).

The organization my team works for has a reputation for having a high vision and clear mission. We want to “help people know Jesus and experience his power to change the world.” This vision has been energizing and motivating for my team members and I, because we truly believe that Jesus changes everything. We know Jesus can change and transform a life and as a result, that person can make an impact in the world. I have had the privilege of seeing evidence of this vision and mission happen already in my ministry. I have seen people come to know Jesus and as a result help others around them know Jesus. They have even gone and shared how Jesus has changed their life with family and friends in other countries.

Another thing I appreciate about our team is that we aim to try to set measurable goals and objectives on projects we do. In a ministry context, when you are working with people, it is hard to see tangible results like in a business context. Therefore, setting measurable goals and objectives that fit our context helps team members feel some sense of accomplishment in a job that does not easily show results.

Collaborative Climate

The collaborative climate characteristic is the ability of the team to relate and work together towards team effectiveness (Northouse, 2018, p. 377).  There is freedom for risk taking, an attitude of helping each other, members staying focused on a problem, as well as listening and understanding one another (Northouse, 2018, p. 377).  Larson and LaFasto (1989) point out that this kind of environment first involves building trust by having “relationships based on honesty, openness, consistency and respect.”

On my team I see this characteristic of collaborative climate because though we have two teams that work in different areas of the city, we meet every Monday to pray and plan together. During these meetings we collaborate on major events or projects we host throughout the year. We all usually take up different roles on these major initiatives, that are assigned and monitored by the key leader and we all work together. We like to try new ideas, encourage each other to take risks, and aim to understand and listen to each other. One area we could grow in is staying focused on a problem. We find this difficult, because we encounter many problems in our particular area of work and it is hard to know which ones to focus on. These problems are complex and difficult to understand because they involve understanding people and a rapidly changing culture. We are aiming to improve in “focusing on problems”, by planning to do research to understand these particular problems and tackle it.

Standards of Excellence

The characteristic of standards of excellence means people on a team know how to function and behave, and they have an understanding of the team’s code of conduct (Hackman, 2012). Performance is regulated and there is a certain pressure to perform at their highest level with clear and concrete standards (Hackman & Walton, 1986). Expectations need to be clear and feedback consistently given for this characteristic to take place (LaFasto & Larson, 2001).

In the last five years on my team I have appreciate how we have applied this characteristic by having a document we go through a couple times a year to remind us of team expectations and team functioning. The document has grown in size, but has really good team norms and appropriate behaviour in planning and communication. One example is we say, “your failure to plan, does not constitute an emergency on someone else’s part.” An example is, if a team member who is in charge of something asks another team member to do something last minute, the person being asked has the freedom to say no. This creates an environment where we value well-executed planning that encourages quality work ethic and results.

Our team could grow in learning how to give clearer expectations and regulating performance, but one thing I appreciate is how we evaluate and give feedback on every project or event we do. We do this so we can improve and we always keep those documents for the next person who plans a similar initiative.

Principled Leadership

Zaccaro et al. (2001) describes principled leadership as “the central driver of team effectiveness, influencing the team through four sets of processes: cognitive, motivational, affective and coordination.”

In the cognitive process a leader is aiming to help their team understand the problems they are facing (Northouse, 2018, p. 379). The motivational process is the leader setting their team up to “become cohesive and capable by setting high performance standards and helping the team to achieve them” (Northouse, 2018, p. 379). The third process, affective, is about the leader’s ability to help their team deal with stressful situations through “providing clear goals, assignments, and strategies” (Northouse, 2018, p. 379). Lastly, coordination is the process of a leader organizing team activities and roles to match team members skills. As Northouse (2018) states, “providing clear performance strategies, monitoring feedback, and adapting to environmental changes” (p. 379).

In regards to the cognitive process, this summer the ministry organization I serve with decided to make some significant cultural, structural and financial changes. I am one of the area leaders and so the national leaders took time aside after our staff conference in the summer to help the area leaders cognitively process the reality of the problems we are facing as a ministry, based on research they had done. During these meetings they helped us understand why we need to change so drastically, both internally and in how we understand and relate externally. I appreciated that they emphasized the need for why we have to change and the reality of the issues we are facing. These meetings motivated me to go beyond the mediocre and explore and take risks. After the meetings, I had a clearer picture of the problems we were facing, but no clear direction of how to solve them. Our national leadership encouraged and equipped us to go learn about and better understand our specific local context, so that we could tackle the problems of our rapidly changing culture.

References

Hackman, J.R. (2012). From causes to conditions in group research. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 33, 428-444.

Hackman, J.R. & Walton, R.E. (1986). Leading groups in organizations. In P.S. Goodman & Associates (Eds.), Designing effective work groups (pp. 72-119). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

LaFasto, F.M.J., & Larson, C.E. (2001). When teams work best: 6000 team members and leaders tell what it takes to succeed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Larson, C.E., & LaFasto, F.M.J. (1989). Teamwork: What must go right/what can go wrong. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.

Nadler, D.A. (1998). Executive team effectiveness: Teamwork at the top. In D.A. Nadler & J.L. Spencer (Eds.), Executive teams (pp. 21-39). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Northouse, P.G. (2018). Leadership: theory and practice (8th ed.). Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

Zaccaro, S.J., Rittman, A.L., & Marks, M.A. (2001). Team leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 12, 451-483.