Ineffectiveness of Team at Decision Tech - Term Paper Example

Five Dysfunctions Table of Contents Ineffectiveness of Team at Decision Tech 3 Behavioral Norms 5 Team Formation 6 Forming 6 Storming 7 Norming 7 Performing 8 Seven Tools Used 9 Task Facilitating Role 10 Relationship Building Role 10 Blocking Role 10 Works Cited 11 Ineffectiveness of Team at Decision Tech Teams are being utilized in numerous applications in the present times by variety of organizations. The significance of work teams is becoming more apparent as the jobs are getting larger, organizational structures are becoming more complex and greater number of companies are becoming multinational in terms of their scope. In the contemporary times, it is observed that the teams and not the single individuals are responsible for the success of the organization. When the companies reorganize themselves, go for cut-back strategies and reinvent themselves, the new roles that are created in the organization tend to be team oriented. Most of the jobs and the projects are becoming quite complex which is making it highly difficult for any one person to operate a particular job or project. Therefore, it is for this purpose the modern business organizations make use of the teams in order to function effectively (Stanford University, “Characteristics of Effective Teams”). The most significant attribute of effective teams is that they generally possess inter-dependent members. One of the most significant attributes of a team is to assist its members to be quite effectual at working collectively instead of working alone. An effective team tends to operate in a proper way and thus generate their own fascination. Effective teams might not always possess the similar leaders. When the team is effective, the members of the team are found to care for one another. They have members who applause and strengthen the leaders and vice versa. Furthermore, they have a greater degree of trust among the members (Stanford University, “Characteristics of Effective Teams”). In the context of Decision Tech, the first issue recognized was related to absence of trust among the members of the organization. It has been observed that Mikey was not capable of trusting her teammates which was a grave issue in the organization. The other issue related with dysfunctional team was inattention to results. Apart from the other members in the company, it was found that, Mikey was not much focused towards the attainment of the results which might hamper the effectiveness of the overall organization. It has further been recognized from the case scenario that the team members did not care for the other team members. There was lack of commitment among the team members at Decision Tech (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). It can be stated that the team members themselves were most responsible for the ineffectiveness of Decision Tech. For instance, if the members would have trust among each other, the team could have performed effectively and thus goals of the organization could have been attained. Behavioral Norms At the initiation of the company, there were five people in the team, known as Decision-Tech team. The team consisted of effective group of managers. It was because of this reason, the company was considered to be successful as people loved to work at this company. Customers used to like it very much and the vendors and the investors loved to have transactions with this company. However, after few months the company faced tremendous difficulties. The company was incapable of keeping promises to its stakeholders and the morale of the employees started to decrease. CEO of the company Jeff Shanley was accused for the decline by the board of directors. The board of directors made the decision to make the CEO leave the job and downgraded him into managing the sales department. It was noted that there was lack of communication among the members of the organization. When the process of communication slows down, it gives rise to conflicts which was apparent in the company. There was problem in top to bottom communication process. Kathryn, the new appointed CEO noted the fact that the senior leadership members of the company did not act as a team. Furthermore, it was found that there was undeniable tension among the members of the team. However, the company did not make any attempt to resolve the tension surrounding the members of the team. The leadership team was not capable of making decisions swiftly. A few of the members of the organization such as Mikey who had been the Marketing Director of the company was abhorred by her co-workers. Furthermore, it was noted that Martin assisted in establishing Decision Tech but was not interested in the process of decision making. Jeff Rollins was the leader in the sales department and used to agree to what others stated to him. However, he did not work properly in the organization. A few of the members of the team were highly qualified but their job responsibilities in the company were limited since the work of the company was sputtering (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). Team Formation Team formation comprises of four stages such as forming, storming, norming and performing. It has been apparent that the company, Decision Tech went through all the stages of the team development. Forming Forming is the first stage in the team development. Kathryn conducted a short meeting with the team members of the organization in order to introduce people with one another. She discussed regarding the potential problems that the company is facing and the method in which the problems can be resolved. It is at this stage when it becomes quite significant to develop relationship and establish trust among the members of the organization. Kathryn initiated the conversation where the members were supposed to tell their personal histories. It was found that the members of the team became quite cohesive within an hour (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). Storming Storming is the stage during the creation of the team where conflicts are quite high. It is observed that when Kathryn decided to expose the political nature of the executive team, most of the members of the organization felt that it was not prudent for Kathryn to make such sort of evaluation soon after joining the company. Such disagreements can be detrimental for the company and can hamper the effectiveness of the group to a great extent. Furthermore, in one more occasion, the members of the company demonstrated conflicts. Kathryn tried to minimize the conflicts and tried to invite the members to complete the off-site by determining the over-arching objective of the year (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). Norming In case of norming stage, it is often noted that the rules are created and the members by then have learnt to work in cohesion. It was observed that most of the conflicts had been resolved in the company by Kathryn and targets were set by Kathryn where she stated the common objective of the company which would be acquisition of the customers (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). Performing Performing is the stage when the groups tend to become a functional team. It becomes capable of diagnosing, resolving problems and is capable of making decisions as well. After the decision to attain new customers was set by Kathryn, it was found that most of the group objective had been attained by the members (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). . Seven Tools Used The seven ways through which team leaders’ credibility can be created needs to be identified. It is significant for the team leader to demonstrate integrity, represent authenticity and display congruence. They are supposed to be clear and consistent about what they want to attain. They need to develop positive energy by being more optimistic and complimentary. Team leaders are supposed to create a base of agreement among the members prior to moving on with an adequate focus on accomplishing the tasks. They need to manage the agreement and the disagreement facets among the team members by making use of one sided and two sided agreements. A team leader is considered to be effective if he/she is capable of encouraging and coaching the team members to assist themselves in improving the performance. Finally, a team leader builds credibility within the team members by sharing information about the team itself, offering views from external sources and encouraging involvement of the members. It can be stated that among the above listed seven tools, Kathryn created credibility with her team members by being clear and consistent regarding what she wanted to attain. After thorough assessment she noticed the fact that despite the company possessing experienced and talented executive team as well as board of directors than its competitors, it was behind two of its competitors in terms of revenue and customer growth. She stated to the members clearly that her main objective was to create an effective team. The company was not functioning as a team which was a grave issue (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). . Task Facilitating Role It can be observed that Carlos Amador, who was quite an occupied and considerate contributor at Decision Tech and who was in-charge for product quality can be recognized as playing a task facilitator role. The reason behind this is that he took the accountability to perk up the quality of the products. He was found to offer information on significant issues. Carlos Amador identified the fact that in spite of the company making progress, the big issues were not being paid due attention to (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). Relationship Building Role Jeff Shanley, who had been the former CEO of the company and presently was working as the head of business development can be defined as play a relationship building role. As he was a natural networker, through which relationship with the other members of the company could be established (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). Blocking Role Michele “Mikey” Bebe, who was the head of marketing, and most popularly known as a ‘brand building genius’ can be recognized as playing blocking role in the organization. She was found to remain passive most of times and used to ignore involving herself in the tasks within the team (Lencioni, P. M., “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable”). . Works Cited Lencioni, Patrick M. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable John Wiley and Sons, 2010. Stanford University. “Characteristics of Effective Teams”. May 08, 2012. Classes, 2012. Read More