Team Roles on a Personal Level

In this week’s MSLD520 blog I reflect on task-facilitating and relationship-building for enhancing team performance as described in Whetten & Cameron (2011) and how I perceive them to enhance team performance. I will also reflect on how I perceive myself as a team member, how I engage my team to accomplish tasks and how I might improve team cohesion and collaboration.

Task Facilitating

Whetten and Cameron (2011) list 10 task facilitating roles in teams. Let’s explore each.

1.     Direction Giving

Providing a path to achieve an objective in a direct manner. Commonly referred to as “giving orders”. In a team setting giving direction should be reserved for getting the team / team member back on track. To much direction giving will stifle team creativity, so striking a good balance is important in team achievement outcomes.

2.     Information Seeking

The information seeking role is one that asks questions and probes for information. Information seeking skills are a very critical component of teams. Without this skill, the depth and breadth from which a problem is analyzed could be shallow and narrow vs. deep and wide. Also the accuracy of the information could suffer. In short, the absence of a team member with good information seeking skills will hamper / degrade team effectiveness.

3.     Information Giving

Someone who disseminates information. This could be a team member (including the leader) who has specific knowledge who shares this knowledge with others. Information giving could also be performed by the information seeker. This is why trust among team members is so important because information is power and people are can be reluctant to share power with others, especially ones they do not trust.

4.     Elaborating

Every team should have a good elaborator. Elaborators are able to take information and put into a context that all team members can relate to, whether it be in a story or in a personal example. When the entire team understands the concept in the same manner, then everyone is on the same page and is more cohesive.

5.     Urging

Urging…well, I think what Whetten & Cameron are trying to convey is you need someone that can connect emotionally to the other team members in an inspirational way. Almost like a football coach would at halftime down 21-0. “Come on guys, one play at a time. Just execute your responsibilities and we’ll get back in this thing!”

6.     Monitoring

Monitoring is also a critical function that ensures team members continue making progress to achieve the team goal. I currently use earned value software to monitor team progress and any deviations in progress are identified before they become problematic. Nice tool.

7.     Process Analyzing

Process analyzing is needed when monitoring shows progress is not meeting expectations at which point team processes are reviewed to ensure efficiency and timeliness.

8.     Reality Testing

Reality testing in my mind would be done by someone playing the role of a devil’s advocate. Groupthink when ideas are sound and good is not nearly as dangerous as Groupthink when ideas are poorly grounded. It’s the devil advocate’s job to ensure groupthink isn’t the cause of team failure.

9.     Enforcing

Enforcing rules and agreed upon procedures. The longer a team is together, the more likely they are to need an enforcer who will step up and remind the rule breakers and the procedures gone awry to get them back inline. Enforcing, direction giving and urging roles seem to be roles that are natural fits with each other.

10.  Summarizing

Taking ideas, concepts and accomplishments and packaging them into a conclusion that team members can understand and relate to.

Relationship Building

Whetten and Cameron (2011) list 8 relationship building roles in teams. The relationship building role has many parallels to supportive leadership.

1.     Supporting

Supporting roles help keep the motivation high. They provide praise, they acknowledge other’s contributions and promote a friendly atmosphere. The supporting role builds trust and camaraderie among team members and promote an overall healthy work environment. Also a key element of empowerment. “A fourth technique for helping others experience empowerment is providing them with social and emotional support.” (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, pp. 454-455).

2.     Harmonizing

Harmonizing roles are peace making roles. Peace makers help team members with dispute find resolution. Sometimes it takes a third party to zoom out and take an objective look at a dispute. I really enjoyed what the Whetten & Cameroon (2011) text had to offer as an example “I hear the two of you essentially saying the same thing.” (p. 515).

3.     Tension Relieving

Tension relieving seems to be closely related to harmonizing with this distinction; Humor is involved. This approach can be risky if he parties involved don’t find humor in what is said.

4.     Confronting

Confronting is closely related to enforcing with the distinction of confronting is focused on correcting disruptive or unproductive behavior and enforcing is focused on rules and agreed upon procedures (not necessarily due to behavior issues).

5.     Energizing

Energizing roles are filled by team members who are passionate, who show enthusiasm. The passion and enthusiasm are contagious and often can provide the necessary stimulus to energize the rest of the team. “Of all the emotions that will move you audience to embrace you point of view, enthusiasm is the most important” (Whalen, 2007, p. 21). Although Whalen 2007 refers to “audience” in his assertion, I believe that it would be reasonable to apply this assertion to teams.

6.     Developing

Developing roles are filled by team members that are “teachers” and “coaches”. Whetten & Cameron describe developing in this manner “Assisting others to learn, grow and achieve, orienting and coaching members of the team.” (p. 514).

7.     Consensus Building

Consensus building is “helping build solidarity among team members, encouraging agreement, and helping interactions to be smooth”. (Whetten & Cameron, 2011, p. 514). While consensus building can help build solidarity and a cohesive team, it is one of the elements of team relationship building that could lead to groupthink if not kept in check.

8.     Empathizing

Empathizing in genuine ways when a team member needs support, will build trust and team unity. Can be the glue that keeps a team together. Showing to a team member who needs it, communicates to them they matter and they are important.

Which Roles Are Roles I Would Naturally Gravitate To?

All of the task-facilitating roles. Why? Well I have been in leadership roles almost my entire adult life and I thrive in leadership roles because I like to make a positive impact on people’s lives. My leadership style is one of an interactive supportive leader, so my tendencies are to enjoy more the coaching and teaching roles, although I recognize the importance of enforcement and monitoring. Not afraid to be corrective if need be. What does this mean in context of being in a team environment? #1, I wouldn’t have a problem assuming any of the roles. #2, I would capitulate the enforcement and monitoring roles to someone who is a more natural fit in that area.

References:

Whalen, J. (2007). The professional communications toolkit. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications

Whetten, D. & Cameron, K., (2011). Developing management skills. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.