Chapter 5 - Leaders Facilitate Teamwork
Overview of Teamwork in Restaurant and Foodservice Operations
Definition of a Team: A group of people working together to complete a task or reach a common goal.
Necessity of Teams: No single person possesses sufficient knowledge, creativity, and experience to tackle modern, complex business problems alone.
Definition of Teamwork: The act of cooperating and working together.
Managerial Imperative: Managers must learn to direct and coordinate effective team behavior and team results to ensure the organization is successful and enduring.
Advantages and Pitfalls of Teams
Advantages of Teams
Greater productivity: Accomplishing more work in less time.
Standards Consistency: Greater assurance of meeting required standards consistently.
Resource Efficiency: More effective use of limited resources, including time and money.
Innovation: Closely working teams benefit from increased creativity and great ideas.
Work Environment: Creation of a positive work environment.
Communication: Open communication channels.
Employee Support: Establishing employee support systems.
Diversity: Promoting workplace diversity.
Customer Impact: The quality of teamwork relates directly to the quality of the customer experience.
Pitfalls of Teams
Decision-Making Latency: Taking too long to make a decision.
Mishandling Disagreements: Failing to stay focused on project issues rather than personalities.
Inefficiency: Using a team when it is not the right strategy to complete a task.
Avoiding Responsibility: Team members failing to take ownership.
Required Team Member Skills
Teams do not require every member to perform every task, provided the group collectively covers all requirements. Members should have complementary skills in three areas:
Technical abilities: Proficiency in specific job-related tasks.
Problem-solving skills: Ability to analyze and resolve issues.
Interpersonal skills: Ability to work well with others (people skills).
Common Types of Restaurant and Foodservice Teams
Employees are often members of multiple teams simultaneously, such as the overall restaurant team, a department team (e.g., food production or dining-room service), a work-shift team, or specific workstation teams.
Table of Basic Team Types
Functional Team:
Description: A team from the same area or department performing routine tasks in their job description.
Example: Servers on an evening shift performing pre-opening duties, guest service, and closing duties.
Problem-solving Team:
Description: A temporary team selected to solve a specific problem.
Example: A dining room manager selecting servers to suggest service improvements for a large group reservation on a slow night.
Cross-functional Team:
Description: Employees from different departments considering problems impacting their areas and the operation as a whole.
Example: A team consisting of a nutritionist, restaurant managers, food-production personnel, and a marketing director planning new healthy menu items.
Self-directed Team:
Description: A small group managing daily issues within their functional team with minimal supervision.
Example: Training managers planning for training needs and monitoring progress through weekly update meetings, briefing the training director periodically.
The Five Stages of Team Growth and Development
Dr. Bruce W. Tuckman, an educational psychologist, developed a theory half a century ago that divides team development into stages.
1. Forming
Description: Members get to know each other and learn what is required to reach goals.
Feelings: Excitement, optimism, pride in being selected, wonder about personal roles, and questioning why they were selected.
Behavior: Friendly, agreeable, deciding how to accomplish tasks, determining acceptable behavior, and information gathering.
Leadership Style: Directing.
2. Storming
Description: The reality of the team's expectations becomes clearer, leading to potential conflict.
Feelings: Resistance to different approaches, attitude changes, questioning work assignments, increased tension, jealousy, and loss of interest.
Behavior: Arguing, choosing sides, perceived "pecking order," power struggles, and lack of progress.
Leadership Style: Coaching.
3. Norming
Description: Members settle differences and develop trusting relationships.
Feelings: Constructive criticism, membership acceptance, relief, and understanding member contributions.
Behavior: Sense of common purpose, attempts to get along, avoiding conflict, establishing and monitoring team rules, and expressing ideas.
Leadership Style: Supporting.
4. Performing
Description: Members depend on each other and effectively analyze and solve problems.
Feelings: Satisfaction with progress, trust, close attachment, and enjoyment of work.
Behavior: Flexibility, humor, ownership of results, changing behavior to fit the team, and working through problems.
Leadership Style: Delegating.
5. Adjourning
Description: This occurs when the team has achieved its purpose and members move on. Functional teams in a permanent establishment typically do not go through this stage unless the business closes.
Building and Maintaining Effective Teams
Principles of Team Building
Communicate clearly and effectively.
Select the leadership style matching the team's current development stage.
Conduct team-building exercises to help members understand the process.
Clearly explain the role of the team.
Apply management skills to support the team's efforts.
Characteristics of Effective Team Leaders (Supervisors)
Act as first-rung managers directing entry-level employees.
Possess strong interpersonal skills.
Empower team members to make decisions.
Support goal contribution and progress measurement.
Request feedback on productivity and improvement strategies.
Connect the team with necessary external managers and resources.
Improve morale, reduce turnover, and use resources wisely.
Share the operation's mission statement and set clear expectations.
High-Performance Teams
These teams have an intense interest in making decisions and developing plans to reach goals. Members exhibit:
Setting performance goals.
Developing work procedures to attain goals.
Accountability to the manager.
Strong work ethic (the set of values based on the idea that work strengthens character).
Self-direction and the proposal of challenging goals.
Mutual trust, respect, and support.
High motivation.
Willingness to help one another.
Giving and asking for solicited advice.
Sincere interest in improving teamwork and output.
Conflict Management Strategies
Managers can use five basic strategies to handle team conflict:
Direct Approach: The manager identifies the problem and resolves it as they see fit.
Bargaining: A "give and take" approach; however, this often leads to all parties being equally dissatisfied.
Enforcement of Team Rules: Used when a member won't participate fully; may involve moving the individual to a different team.
Retreat: Avoiding or working around the problem. This is only appropriate for minor issues.
Conflict Management as a Team: Team members address the conflict together to develop an agreed-upon plan.
Setting Team Goals
Importance of Goals
Goals provide clear direction and a benchmark for success. They should follow the SMART criteria (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound).
Types of Team Goals
Team-building Goals: Getting to know members, learning to work together, setting ground rules, and using decision-making processes.
Information Goals: Updating progress, learning about tools, and communicating with other employees/teams.
Work-related Goals: Developing procedures, understanding tasks/responsibilities, identifying business needs, and identifying resources.
SMART Goal Example
"Team members will review the proposed changes to the operating procedure and make any suggestions for improvement at the group meeting on January ."
Managing and Evaluating Team Projects
Planning Projects
Link goals to business needs and ensure they are SMART.
Gather ideas for reaching goals and determine resources.
Ensure plans are practical and identify training needs.
Communicate plans to the manager for approval.
Implementing Projects
Monitor progress and provide support during the forming, storming, and norming phases.
Redirect efforts to minimize conflict.
Maintain consistent project updates.
Evaluating Projects
Goal Assessment: Determine if goals were met (easier if they are measurable).
Functionality Assessment: Evaluate how well the team worked together.
The Debrief Meeting: A session after project completion where the leader asks members to evaluate performance, team interaction, what to repeat, and what to change.
Technology Integration: Digital surveys provide safe, anonymous spaces for feedback. Technology also tracks Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and automates reporting.
Recognition: Leaders must celebrate the success of the team and individual members.
Table Turn Rate Example
Definition: Table turns are the number of times a table is used during a specific meal period.
Weak Goal: "We will speed up table turns."
Strong SMART Goal: "We will increase our table-turn rate to by December ."
Knowledge Check Questions & Discussion
Teamwork Importance: What is the primary role of teamwork in achieving operational success?
Development States: Describe the importance of understanding stages of team development in managing a team.
Alignment: How does aligning team goals with managerial objectives contribute to success?
Team Types: What are the four types of teams and their primary functions?
Cross-functional Application: Give an example of a cross-functional team in a restaurant setting.
Self-directed Concepts: Describe the activities of a self-directed team.
Tuckman's Theory: What are the five stages of development? What defines the forming stage?
Storming Challenges: What are common challenges in the storming stage, and how should managers address them?
Leadership Evolution: How does leadership style evolve as a team reaches the performing stage?
Development Speed: What factors influence the time a team needs to move through developmental stages?
Goal Setting: Why are goals important at every stage of development? How does member input benefit the team?
Goal Challenges: What challenges arise during goal setting, and how can managers address them?
Technology: How is technology used to streamline communication during implementation?
Debrief Benefits: What is the key benefit of conducting a debrief meeting?