The Leadership Process

collective intelligence

the ability of a team to perform well across a range of tasks

team building

a collaborative way to gather and analyze data to improve teamwork (begins when someone notices an actual or potential problem with team effectiveness)

team or group dynamics

the forces operating in teams that affect the ways members work together

role

a set of expectations for a team member or person in a job

role ambiguity

occurs when someone is uncertain about what is expected of him or her

role overload

occurs when too much work is expected of the individual

role underload

occurs when too little work is expected of the individual

role conflict

occurs when someone is unable to respond to role expectations that conflict with one another

intrasender

the same person sends conflicting expectations

intersender

different people send conflicting and mutually exclusive expectations

person-role

occurs when a person’s values and needs come into conflict with the role’s expectations

inter-role

occurs when the expectations of multiple roles held by the same person become incompatible, such as the conflict between work and family demands

role negotiation

a process for discussing and agreeing on what team members expect of one another

distributed leadership

shares responsibility among members for meeting team task and maintenance needs

task activities

contribute directly to the performance of important tasks

maintenance activities

support the emotional life of the team as an ongoing social system

disruptive behaviors

harm the group process and limit team effectiveness

norms

rules or standards for the behavior of group members

performance norm

sets expectations for how hard members work and what the team should accomplish

cohesiveness

the degree to which members are attracted to a group and motivated to remain a part of it

rule of conformity

the greater the cohesiveness, the greater the conformity of members to team norms

inter-team dynamics

occur as groups cooperate and compete with one another

decentralized communication networks

members communicate directly with one another; good for complex and nonroutine tasks that involve uncertainty and require creativity

centralized communication networks

link group members through a central control point; work is divided evenly and this is usually for routine tasks

restricted communication networks

link subgroups that disagree with one another’s positions; subgroups contest each others positions and restrict interactions with one another

proxemics

involve the use of spaces as people interact (e.g workplace architecture can affect teamwork)

consensus

a group decision that has the expressed support of most members (consensus doesn’t require unanimity)

groupthink

the tendency of cohesive group members to lose their critical evaluative capabilities

nominal group technique

involves structured rules for generating and prioritizing ideas