Teamwork
Exercises

Company
Profiles

Resources for Professors

Team Motivation by Peter Grazier, Teambuilding, Inc. "What are the ingredients or characteristics of teams that seem to sustain high levels of motivation?" In answering this question, the author first explores more basic questions: "What makes us do anything?" (safety, recognition, belonging, etc,) and "Why be part of a team?" ("Is it a topic that interests me?" "Who will be on the team with me?" etc.) Then, the remainder of the article covers the factors that influence team motivation:

• Clear purpose, focus or mission – and how it aligns with personal wants or needs.
• Challenge as a motivator in and of itself.
• Camaraderie: team members who enjoy working together and maintain positive relationships
• Responsibility – along with the authority to carry it out and the security to make mistakes without excessive negative consequences.
• Growth: team members "learning new concepts, adding to their skill base," etc.
• Leadership: helping team members achieve the team's goals and meet their personal needs.

Characteristics of High Performing Teams by Robin Reid, Reid Moomaugh & Associates. Approximately fifteen items listed, such as "Value synergism and interdependence" and "Reward individual performance that supports the team."

Xtreme Teams by Cheryl Dahle, Fast Company, November, 1999. Read the stories of three "extreme teams"—who operate under severe deadlines and long hours to produce extraordinary results: a production group from Industrial Light & Magic, an international adventure-racing team, and a group of NASA engineers. Their profiles offer insights into the key qualities of the best teams, such as allowing team members the freedom to choose the best way of meeting challenges and getting priority support from the company for any resources they need.

Team Building: Developing a Productive Team by Arnold Bateman, University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension. A compilation of lists that define effective teams. Among the key factors of productive teams: high degree of interdependence among team members, willingness to take risks and feeling on the part of team members that their contributions matter. Also included is a questionnaire for evaluating the effectiveness of your team.

The Importance of Goals to the Success of Work Teams by Greg Hendrix, University of North Texas. "This paper will examine team goals, starting with a discussion of goals, what they are and what they do. We will look at the broad goal setting process, from the goals established by executives, down through management, and the final goals established by the teams. A look at the influence of the individual team members have on goal setting, and finally, we will see how goals can be used as a yardstick to determine of the measure or failure of the team."

The Apollo Syndrome a reference to "Management Teams - Why They Succeed or Fail," by Meredith Belbin (1981). An interesting analysis of the problems experienced when teams consist of members "who had sharp, analytical minds and high mental ability." The article continues with a few of the qualities of a successful team and its leader.

Team Learning by Dr. Dick McCann, Team Management Systems. Team Learning means that teams identify the business problems faced by the organization through a defined process of asking the right questions and then finding answers. This article covers the process of team learning in detail: methods for identifying and defining a problem or challenge, maximizing the diversity of talents and insights of group members and ensuring that communication among team members is effective.

Is Your Performance Appraisal System Team-Friendly? by Jack Zigon, Zigon Performance Group. This article covers:

• Statistics on the growth of teams in American companies.
• Reasons why most appraisal systems do not work well with teams, such as their traditional emphasis on individual performance.
• Four methods by which appraisal systems can become effective for teams, such as tying team results to organizational goals and measuring both team and individual performance.
• Five suggestions for changing your company's current appraisal system to make it more compatible with teams.

Assessing the Team by Will Mays, The SDWT Page. While teams readily accept the deciding and acting, they often overlook assessing as a regular step in their work. The author cover the importance of team assessment for ensuring ongoing effectiveness and the contexts in which it should and should not be used. For example, the article recommends avoiding team assessment to determine pay and promotions of team members. Also included is an example of a team assessment.