L C8 QnA -- Building and Leading High-Performing Teams

Leadership Chapter 8 Building and Leading High-Performing Teams

1. Discuss the characteristics of an effective team.

Ans: Team members should have skills that complement rather than duplicate each other although teams may develop some of the required skills after the team forms. All members need to recognize and accept mutual as well as individual accountability for the team’s work products. The size of the team matters and affects accountability since a team that is too large will end up dividing into sub-teams and the work can become so diffused that accountability gets lost. Finally, the team must have a commitment to specific goals, a purpose that is important to the organization, and a common approach to the work.


2. What four areas should always be addressed in a team charter? Why is it a good idea to create a team charter?

Ans:
a. Project purpose and goal
b. Team members’ roles and responsibilities
c. Team ground rules
d. Communication protocol
A team charter is an opportunity to create ground rules and clarify the expectations concerning the function and methods of the team. These ground rules serve as a reference point as conflict may arise and often limit conflict.


3. Explain the four types of internal conflict that teams usually encounter.

Ans:
a. Analytical – Constructive disagreement over a project issue or problem.
b. Task – Concerns around team goal, work process, or deliverables.
c. Interpersonal – Issues of personality, diversity or communication styles.
d. Roles – Struggles around leadership, responsibilities, or power.


4. What are the three overarching approaches for addressing issues of conflict within a team? Describe a time that you have used (or would use) each of these approaches.

Ans:
a. One-on-one
b. Facilitation
c. Team
Answers will vary as to application of the approaches.


5. Explain three different approaches for creating documents and presentations as a team.

Ans: The product of a team’s labor is often in the form of a document or presentation, and developing this end product can be the most difficult task a team will face. The team may choose to divide the labor; in the end, style and tone will have to be edited to create a cohesive product with a single voice. A team may also elect to have a single scribe, but often this approach results in an unbalanced workload and the writer must be as knowledgeable as the “experts” of each topic. In another situation, a team may choose to use multiple writers, yet this approach requires more time, and it is difficult to align the writers’ styles. Clearly, no approach is perfect, each with its own issues. Each team will need to decide which method will work best for its situation.


6. Discuss the five steps (the Five A’s) that are useful to follow in most conflict situations. Apply the Five A’s to a personal experience with team conflict. Were these steps followed? How would the results have been better if the Five A’s had been followed?

Ans:
a. Assess – Step back and consider the situation.
b. Acknowledge – Try to understand the other party’s concerns.
c. Adjust Attitude – Remain as flexible and objective as possible.
d. Action – Reinforce a positive outcome through verbal and non-verbal communication.
e. Analyze – Check in with everyone and end with a clarification of decisions and next steps.
Personal experiences will differ, but often if teams are unable to get beyond the Acknowledge or Adjust Attitude steps, they will find that they are unable to resolve the situation and develop the next steps of Analyze.


7. What are some of the challenges that a virtual team might face?

Ans:
a. Much of the context of communication can be lost, particularly if the team never or rarely meets in person.
b. Cultural difference can be amplified and personality conflicts more pronounced.
c. The discussion of complex information, such as diagrams, balance sheets, are more difficult to manage.


8. At a minimum, what does a virtual team need to be successful?

Ans:
a. Shared beliefs
b. Credibility and trust
c. A shared work space