Truth 40, 41, 42
When creating a team, there are usually two major reasons why you invite people to be members. One is that you need high quality decisions and outcomes and their expertise is critical for success. A second reason is that you need their cooperation for successful implementation of decisions or plans of action. So the next question is this: How do you ensure a positive group experience? How do you handle "social loafing? Should you have team based performance rewards?
I try to ensure a positive group experience by creating work designs that allow freedom. I try to assign tasks that will allow the employee to problem solve and be creative. Social loafing does happen often and the best thing to do is redirect the group as soon as it happens. For example, on Tuesday nights we receive a 25 pallet truck of dog food, cat food, lives stock and supply items. Usually my staff works well together, but last Tuesday some of them were joking and laughing while other staff members put away the pallet. As soon as I saw this I separated the group, making each person work on their own individual pallet. In some situations I think team based performance rewards would be a positive experience. I think in my situation, some of my staff would take advantage of the hard workers and receive the performance reward when it was not deserved.
Truth 43
This truth is related to the classic group issue known as Groupthink. When group members are hesitant to speak their opinion or offer suggests because it may be different from the group norm or the "leader" of the group, then the final outcomes are diminished. Several major disasters throughout history have been attributed to this phenomena. It is especially prevalent when you have a dominant leader or someone who has position power with high rank involved in the group deliberations. People will simply say whatever the boss wants to hear. This defeats the purpose of a group. As a manager of a team, how will you prevent such behavior which inhibits group performance? What can you do to be sure group decisions actually involves all group members?
This is actually an area that I struggle on at my store. Most of my employees are “yes” employees that will agree with you no matter what you say. Usually when this happens I try to say something like, “No, I’d really like to hear your opinion if you have another perspective.” That usually helps, though not always. I like to give projects to a few of my full-time staff where I do not give a recommendation on how to complete the project or if there is a right answer. They will usually come to me a few times to ask what I think about their project so far. Typically I do not answer their responses, giving them the opportunity to learn from themselves.
Truth 44
An HR manager friend of mine once said he would not hire anyone unless they had played team sports. How else can you tell if someone will be a team player? What selection predictors can you use? How can you develop people into team players?
You can do different exercises during the interview process to tell if someone will be a team player. For example, you can role play, give scenarios or even give out group interviews. When using selection predictors, employers can look at a candidate’s history. Were they in any group activities after school? Were they in any clubs? Do they volunteer? An employer can develop a person into a team player by training, coaching and rewarding.