Chapter 3
Building A Team
Tuckman’s 1960s Team Stages:
Forming: Team gets together, starts working.
Storming: Conflicts arise as members assert themselves.
Norming: Team establishes norms, works more cohesively.
Performing: Team functions efficiently to reach goals.
Still widely used as a benchmark for team building.
Choosing Team Members:
Friends/similar backgrounds ease the early stages.
Best for multidisciplinary projects: choose people with different backgrounds & interests.
Avoid romantic partners: they can cause awkwardness or distraction.
Collaborators can be both support and obstacles.
Key Steps Before Starting:
Clarify qualifications of members (knowledge, skills, abilities, personality).
Knowledge/skills: engineer → engineering, accountant → finances, etc.
Personality: consider social/outgoing vs. careful/listening vs. studious. Psychological safety = essential for risk-taking and comfort.
Define roles (general purpose) and responsibilities (specific tasks).
Example: sports analogy – position = role, play = responsibility.
Common Team Roles:
Leader/Coordinator: organizes, ensures smooth progress.
Monitor: tracks decisions, potential problems.
Recorder/Secretary: keeps notes/minutes, records agreements.
Shaper: big ideas, drives group forward.
Investigator/Researcher: conducts research.
Specialist/SME: expert in a specific area.
Editor: revises for clarity, style, and unified voice.
Designer: manages graphics/design for documents/presentations.
Responsibilities & Planning:
Assign work, create a schedule, and anticipate obstacles.
Use shared online documents/folders.
Team-plan document may include:
Key dates & deadlines
Tentative outline
Formatting agreements
Individual assignments
Style/word-choice preferences
Minimum work distribution guidelines:
Equal writing contribution
Equal research/note-taking
Early brainstorming/outlining can be done individually, then compared in a group.
Encourage input from quieter members.
Scheduling:
Set recurring meeting times; prepare agendas.
Include:
Review of progress
Draft discussions
Style guide updates
Use the project schedule to track key phases & meetings.
Anticipating Problems & Conflicts:
Workload imbalance: track hours, evaluate periodically.
Team members lacking skills: assign simple but essential tasks.
Disappearing members: have a plan to remove/report them if necessary.
Disagreements: plan dispute resolution (vote, coin flip, mediator, escalate).
Inconsistent writing styles: create/update a style guide; final edit by one person for consistency.
Communication:
Decide on communication channels (text, email, app).
Include all members in messages to avoid miscommunication.
Group projects are evaluated on deliverables, not individual effort.
Address slacking issues early; contact the instructor if unresolved.
Completing the Project
Schedule regular reviews of drafts and the final document.
Combine sections into one draft; revise for consistent tone & style.
Divide the finish-up work fairly among members.
Final Thoughts
College grads often lack teamwork skills; professional life requires collaboration.
Success depends on helping others focus, communicate, and collaborate.
Tips for Effective Groups:
Assign a project manager for leadership, not control.
Make fair assignments; respect all ideas.
Be positive, generous, and collaborative.
Clarify evaluation criteria, due dates.
Draft a project management plan:
Roles & responsibilities
Task steps & timeline
Anticipated problems & solutions
Maintain journals/logs for contributions; use a wiki if helpful.
Peer evaluation is important.
Group work may take longer, but it can achieve synergistic results if well-organized.