CIPS Level 5 Advanced Diploma

in Procurement and Supply

Module title: Managing Teams and Individuals [L5M1]

Leading global excellence in procurement and supply

 Learning Outcome 3: managing work groups or teams

3.3 Assess the characteristics of effective work groups or teams

❖ The characteristics of an effective work group

❖ Perspectives on team roles
❖ The stages of group dynamics and development
❖ Self-managed work groups/teams
❖ Virtual teams and remote working
❖ The benefits of cultural diversity

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Leading global excellence in procurement and supply

• In today’s organizations, more and more work is carried out by teams
and groups of people working together towards a common objective.
Making teams and groups work effectively is a challenging task for the
manager.
• Figuring out is the team is effective or not remains a challenge yet
interesting element to managing teams. For an individual it may be
less complicated than assessing team effectiveness.
• For individuals we may do an analysis of knowledge, skills, abilities,
competencies, behaviors
• However, for teams we can use the input-process –outcome model
(IPO) to analyze ‘to what degree a team is effective.
input-process –outcome model (IPO)
Input-Process –Outcome model (IPO)
• The Input-Output Model of Team Effectiveness is a theory that explains
how inputs help or destroy team performance and ways they can maximize
their performance.
• Input is described as organizational context, team task, and team
composition. Team output is described as productivity, innovativeness, and
team member well-being. It has been shown that input variables
contribute to process variables.
• Team processes is described as norms, communication, coordination,
cohesiveness, and decision making., process variables contribute to output
variables.
• Output variables contribute to input variables, and input variables
contribute to output variables.
• Team inputs consist of organizational contexts. In this area, they have
reward systems, training systems, physical environment, managerial
support, and technology. By providing training it allows the team to
better understand the job.
• The training on the job will help improve interactions between the
team members. Better interaction will have better success rates.
Teams have a higher success rate when there are rewards involved.
Team inputs also consist of team task.
• The team performance also depends on the task at hand. The better
the task, the better the performance. Teams look at the task and can
determine whether it is a task they believe will have the best possible
outcome.
• team inputs have a lot to do with team composition. Each member
provides a valuable skill, ability, experience, and personal
characteristics to the team. Each person has an important part in the
team. It is best to put people in teams that share some of the same
skills and abilities but also have differences. When differences are
incorporated it can teach others new skills.
• Team processes consist of norms. Norms are described as rules about
behaviors that may be informal. Some informal rules are unethical
behaviors, dress code, and punctuality. It is important for team
members to know and understand the norms. Productivity is
important in teams because if members are not productive, then
there is no point of a team. Norms impact a lot when it comes to
teams. Team processes also consist of communication and
coordination.
• Teams must effectively communicate with their team members. If
there is not enough communication, then the team fails. Coordination
is important in teams because it allows you to obtain information and
work with it together. Cohesion is when group members want to
continue to work together to obtain a team goal. High cohesion
teams are more stable then low cohesion teams. Higher cohesiveness
is a skill that many groups should have, as it provides the group with
better outcomes. Team performance depends on cohesion. Conflict is
less likely to happen if the group is cohesive.
• Team outputs consist of team performance. Team performances
benefit the business side of the job. This includes sales revenues,
units produced, and customer service. The teams to think cognitively
will benefit the group with their performance.
• Sometimes an individual may have the highest decision-making ability
than a team would. Tasks should be carefully picked when giving to a
team. The more diverse a team is the better and more creative
decisions. It is also important for a team to have clear innovation
goals. Teams work better when they have innovation.
• Intrinsic motivation is linked to innovative performance. If the team
members are treated with respect and are comfortable with each
other than there will be more team satisfaction and positive team
well-being.
Characteristics of effective teams
1. Size
2. Complementary roles
3. Common purpose
4. Interdependence
5. Collective responsibility
6. Sense of membership and responsibility
7. Accountability
8. Conflict resolution
Perspectives on team roles
• The composition of a team is more than just the knowledge, skills and
abilities that individual team members possesses. What managers really
require is an understanding of how people are likely to behave in a team,
and note that the behaviour of people is not fixed: it is influenced by
context and the behaviour of others.
• Meredith Belbin’s theory (1981) of team roles is popular and influential so
it is important that you know about it.
• Belbin proposes that if it was possible to build a team in which the
members exhibit all nine types of behaviour, this would increase the
likelihood of performance.
• By ensuring a balance of behaviors or ‘roles’ there is a greater likelihood
that the team will perform well.
Belbin’s nine team roles
Each role has both positive and negative aspects. The nine roles are:
• The implementer, who turns ideas into practical actions. Implementers
may be inflexible, however, and may have difficulty in changing their well-
thought-through plans.
• The coordinator, who clarifies goals and promotes decision-making.
Coordinators often chair a team. They can sometimes be manipulative and
delegate too much work to others.
• The shaper, who has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles, and
‘shapes’ others to meet the team’s objectives. Shapers may challenge
others and may be aggressive at times.
• The plant, who solves difficult problems. Often creative and unorthodox, a
plant will come up with ideas but may have difficulties communicating
them.
• The resource investigator, who explores opportunities and develops
contacts. However, initial enthusiasm may not be maintained to the end of
the project, and detail may be overlooked.
• The monitor evaluator, who observes and assesses what is going on and
seeks all options. Often working slowly and analytically, monitor evaluators
come to the ‘right’ decisions but can be cynical and dampen the
enthusiasm of others.
• The teamworker, who listens, builds relationships and tries to avoid or
reduce conflict between team members. Considered to be the ‘oil’ that
keeps the team running smoothly, team workers are good listeners and
diplomats. They can smooth conflicts but may not be able to take decisive
action when necessary.
• The completer finisher, who searches out errors and omissions and
finishes on time. Often perfectionists, completer finishers are self-
motivated and have high standards. They can worry about detail and can
be reluctant or refuse to delegate work.
• The specialist, who provides knowledge and skill. Specialists can be
passionate about gaining knowledge in their field. However, their
contribution to the team may be narrow and they may not be interested in
matters outside their own field.
Belbin roles can be categorized into three groups:
• Action-oriented roles
• People-oriented roles
• Thought-oriented roles
Action oriented-roles
Shaper: This role is usually fulfilled by extroverts who are
confident in challenging other members of the team to
improve. Shapers don’t mind questioning the status quo to find
the best solutions to problems and embrace the chance to
shake things up.
•Strengths: Problem solving, ambition
•Weaknesses: Potential to cause friction
Implementer: The implementer is a doer: someone who
doesn’t mind getting their head down and working hard to
complete the task that’s been set for them. They thrive when
turning plans into action, using methodical systems to get the
job done efficiently.
•Strengths: Task completion, dedication
•Weaknesses: Resistant to change
Completer-finisher: Perfectionists by nature, completer-
finishers are the gatekeepers of quality within a team, ensuring
that each job is completed in a timely and professional manner.
They’re meticulous about avoiding error, and sticklers for
meeting deadlines.
•Strengths: Meeting deadlines, quality assurance
•Weaknesses: Over-worrying, reluctant to delegate
People-oriented roles
Coordinator: The role of coordinator is similar to that of a
traditional leader. With a strong grasp of the team’s overall
goals and a talent for delegating tasks to the right people,
coordinators guide their team toward the objective in a
controlled and proficient way.
•Strengths: Project management, effective delegation
•Weaknesses: Avoiding responsibility
Team worker: A catalyst for collaboration and unity within
groups, the team worker excels in helping colleagues to
overcome differences and avoid conflict while striving towards
a common goal. Their mission to create a supportive work
environment means team workers are often popular figures.
•Strengths: Perceptiveness, mediation
•Weaknesses: Indecisiveness
Resource investigator: This role is associated with people who
find it easy to build contacts and get what they need from
others. Resource investigators are often extroverts and adept
negotiators who work with external suppliers to achieve great
results for their team.
•Strengths: Wealth of contacts, negotiation
•Weaknesses: Overly optimistic
Thought-oriented roles
Plant: Plants produce interesting and original ideas for the
benefit of the team. They’re typically introverted, preferring to
work alone when developing new ideas and coming up with
solutions to problems.
•Strengths: Creativity, innovation
•Weaknesses: Sensitive to criticism, may ignore constraints
Monitor-evaluator: Thoroughly analyzing and strategically
evaluating ideas is the monitor-evaluator’s calling. They enjoy
gathering data and evidence to consider the advantages and
disadvantages of every option.
•Strengths: Analysis, strategy
•Weaknesses: Poor leadership
Specialist: A master in their chosen field, the specialist prides
themselves on their knowledge and expertise in a given subject
area. They use their specialism to aid the team, acting as the
authority on all technical and practical considerations relating
to their topic.
•Strengths: Subject-specific expertise

•Weaknesses: Too focused on technicalities

How can leaders and managers use Belbin’s team
roles to improve performance?
• Leaders and managers can use Belbin’s model to create balanced
teams with a complementary mix of personalities and skills to fulfil
the different roles described above. In smaller teams, each individual
may need to adopt several roles for the team to achieve optimal
results.
• Take stock of the people within your team, their personalities and
skills. What can each team member bring to the table, and which
roles might suit them best?
For example, let’s say your team includes:
•Alex, a detail-obsessed extrovert who’s good at thinking
outside the box
•Janette, an organized leader who gets along with everyone
•Hussein, an IT expert with an analytical mind
•Dee, a quiet creative whose ideas have previously won major
contracts
•Edmond, a well-connected and diligent worker

Between them, these five personalities can potentially cover all

nine of Belbin’s team roles:
•Alex: Shaper, completer-finisher
•Janette: Coordinator, team worker
•Hussein: Monitor-evaluator, specialist
•Dee: Plant
•Edmond: Implementer, resource investigator
A team like this has all the skills and assets required to be
successful but will still need to be managed effectively in order
to achieve great results.
• The weaknesses of Belbin’s framework are that people’s behaviour
and interpersonal styles are influenced by context: that is, the other
people in the team, the relationship with them and by the task to be
performed.
• Moreover, research into the validity of Belbin’s nine roles has shown
that some are not easily distinguishable from one another and that
the roles fit more easily into the more conventional framework of
personality traits (Fisher et al., 2001).
• However, Belbin’s framework has been very influential on
organizational and managerial thinking about team building and
development (although it is not the only one). Such frameworks are
helpful in guiding the composition of a balanced team. When, as a
manager, you have no control over the composition of a team it is
important to discuss with team members their strengths and
weaknesses and preferred working styles.
A different perspective on team roles- the
wheel links behaviour
• Margerison McCann Team Management Profile?
• The Margerison McCann Team Management Profile is a model that is
designed by Dr. Charles J. Margerison and Dr. Dick J. McCann, based
on the work of Carl Jung (Psychological types), and has a trademark
by TMS Development International.
• It is created intending to assess the working and individual
preferences of team members, but it can additionally be used to
evaluate individuals’ and organizations’ working preferences and
types of work.
How it works:
• The Margerison McCann Team Management Profile assesses eight
different types of roles to which team members can adapt. It is
important to note that all roles are required in a team for a successful
collaboration and for achieving team results that go beyond
expectations.
• Team members are given the opportunity to choose their preferred
team members-In order to identify working preferences, they are
expected to fill in a questionnaire of the Margerison McCann Team
Management Profile, and based on the results, the working
preferences are more in detailed described.
• The result can next to identifying the working preferences also be
used for identifying elements for professional development.
• According to the model, if team members can work in their working
preferences, the organization is most like going to benefit from the
results. Because every member can focus on their strengths, while
maintaining their weaknesses, the team achieve the best results.
• It does not mean that weaknesses should not be improved, but
because an individual has the chance to focus on its strengths, their
weaknesses will gradually develop without compromising other work.
• After the completion of the questionnaire, participants tend to
demonstrate one of the following eight roles: reporter-adviser,
creator-innovator, explorer-promoter, assessor-developer, thruster-
organizer, concluder-producer, controller-inspector, or upholder-
maintainer.
• The model also includes one central activity that integrates the roles.
All roles will be described more in detail in the next section!
A different
perspective on
team roles- the
wheel links
behaviour
Appropriate blend of skills
• Katzenbach and Smith (1993) argued that instead of focusing on team
roles, it is important for the team to have the appropriate blemd of
skills.
• They offer three categories of skills that teams need;
1. Technical and functional skills
2. Problem-solving and decision-making skills
3. Interpersonal skills
Stages of group dynamics and development
• Relationships are important. They are an inevitable part of life, and
yet can be a potential source of tension in organizations. In the
workplace, performance, delivery and efficiency are required, often
from a team of mere acquaintances.
• To achieve high performance, teams need to operate on trust and a
solid foundation of good working relationships.
In 1936, a man named Kurt Lewin wrote a simple equation that changed
the way we think about habits and human behavior. The equation makes
the following statement: Behavior is a function of the Person in their
Environment.

Known today as Lewin's Equation

Kurt Lewin as an explanation of what determines behavior.

• In 1958, Dr. Will Schutz formally introduced a theory of interpersonal
relations called FIRO-B (Fundamental Interpersonal Relations
Orientation) B= behaviour. The theory presented three dimensions of
interpersonal relations posited to be necessary and sufficient to
explain most human interaction
• FIRO theory provides the foundation for understanding how to
develop sustainable, high-trust, collaborative relationships.
• The theory suggest that behavior is motivated by self-concept, which
develops at the very core of our being.
• Our self-concept represents how we feel about ourselves, and how
we feel about ourselves informs how we feel about others.
• These self-feelings correspond at the interpersonal feeling level with
our desire to feel significant, competent and likable.
Fundamental Interpersonal Relation
Orientation
FIRO-B offers us a scientific lens through which we can gain a clearer
perspective and understanding of the dynamics of human behavior, our
own and others. This view enables us to gain increased knowledge,
awareness and compassion for ourselves and others.
In any interaction with other we have three needs;
• Affection/openness
• Control
• inclusion
• This model help individuals and teams to understand what your inner
personal needs are and those are the people the work with
• By creating environments that invite people to feel significant,
competent and likable, you reduce the level of fear and create
environments that are more conducive to honesty, collaboration,
accountability and fun!
• It is in these environments where people bring their best to the
workplace and productivity soars in an atmosphere of trust.
Benefits of FIRO-B model
• The FIRO-B assessments are ideal for a wide range of applications, including the
following:
• Team building—to accelerate the team formation process and allow members to
overcome barriers and progress to higher levels of performance
• Leadership and executive development—to identify leadership styles and help leaders
unlock greater team performance by meeting the interpersonal needs of managers,
peers, and direct reports
• Relationship building—to ensure that employees get the most out of working
relationships by helping them understand how to meet the interpersonal needs of
customers and stakeholders
• Professional development—to increase employees’ self-awareness for better
understanding of how their positive behavioral changes boost morale, productivity, and
engagement
• Conflict management—to improve skills for assessing different types of conflict and
applying emotionally intelligent strategies
• Creates an opportunity to effect behavioral change quickly by
providing specific insights into people’s interpersonal needs
• Identifies existing communication and interpersonal dynamics that
affect leadership success – helping people overcome or prevent issues
• Details strengths and development recommendations for improving
leadership performance
• Supports effective leadership development, one-on-one coaching,
communication and team effectiveness and performance
Five-stage ABCDE model of relationship
development
• How relationships grow and improve over a period of time
Levinger's (1983) model of relationship development assumes an
ABCDE sequence of relationship development where
• A stands for Acquaintance/initial attraction,
• B for build-up,
• C for continuation of the relationship,
• D for deterioration or decline, and
• E for ending.
Self managed work groups/teams
• Self-management is not a new concept. Some sources say it has been
around since as early as the 1950’s! But today, more and more
companies are leaning into the momentum created by the massive
shifts in our work environments (virtual work!)
• A self-managed team, also called a self-managing team, is a group of
employees within an organization who share the responsibility of
planning and executing their work, without the supervision of a
manager. They work collaboratively to complete a project or reach a
defined outcome with little to no direct supervision from a boss.
Self managed work groups/teams
• Under this model, team members take ownership of their workflow,
processes, schedules, roles, and more.
• Even without hierarchy, leadership and accountability still exist in self-
managed teams.
• Self managed teams run on the principle that when you let a kid go
on his on he learns to master the bicycle !
• However, it starts with an element of team formation and providing
the means and being clear with what the outcomes are. External
Team leaders should be able to step it where there are interruptions
and respect team members contributions
Added value benefits of self-managed teams
self-management has many advantages;
• Decisions based on technical knowhow
• Team processes
• Everyone is a leader
• Information flow
Shifting from the traditional managerial hierarchy to self-managed teams
isn’t a simple task.
It requires employee and leadership buy-in, resources and time. But when
developed correctly, these teams can inspire innovation, enrich company-
wide relationships and put your organization on a fast track to reaching your
goals.
Virtual teams and remote working
• The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift, with the number of
remote employees
• This dramatic shift presents challenges to the leaders of these now remote
teams. To remain productive in virtual working arrangements, business
leaders must apply team building, communication, organizational and
other skills to foster successful team cultures.
• One of the fundamental challenges of leading virtual teams is fostering
team unity when employees work apart. Studies show that teams working
in separate locations experience lower levels of trust and higher levels of
conflict than employees working together. Many remote working issues
stem from communication hurdles.
• These issues can result in incomplete projects, missed performance goals,
lost sales, stress and low morale
Benefits of Virtual teams (remote working)

Virtual teams (remote working)

• This has increased as advances in technology, such as the cloud, e-sharing,
asynchronous messaging or synchronous online meetings have
transformed the workplace.
• Can work closely together on task objectives despite being separated by
geography and time zones.
• Can share expert knowledge, specialist skills and capability from across the
organization by using virtual systems.
• Can lead to greater levels of ‘satisfaction, idea generation and customer
service’.
• Enables organizations to utilize their worldwide workforce to operate
around the clock, creating a capacity to respond to customers wherever
they are
Drawbacks of Virtual teams (remote working)

• Drawbacks of remote working can lead to the following.

• Poor performance management
• Information exchange insecurity
• Timeliness issues caused by operating across time zones.
• Interpersonal issues such as group mistrust, miscommunication, lack
of cohesiveness and detachment from team goals.
Key research themes in virtual team literature
Kirkman et al. (2012) identified four key research themes in Virtual
Team literature- see pg 192
• Effects of communication medium/ technology
• Relational demography(e.g cultural values, country of origin)
• Individual differences
• Task type/characteristics
Key Factors for an Effective Virtual Team
• For your business to succeed in today’s environment, you need to learn
how to get your virtual teams right. Metro Offices explains how you can
create and lead an effective virtual team through the right team
composition, leadership, touchpoints, and technology.
• Team Composition
• It all starts with getting the right people for the job and putting them in
groups of the right size. Your virtual team members need to have a few
things in common. They should be independent and resilient, along with
having high emotional intelligence and good communication skills.
• The most effective virtual teams have fewer than 10 people. For
complicated tasks, assemble sub-teams that focus on one specific job.
Leadership
• There are some key behaviors you can practice to lead your virtual
team to success. You need to foster trust within your team by
showing respect and empathy. Once you have established trust,
encourage open dialogue. Promote constructive criticism and
recognize people when they improve communication and
collaboration.
• Lastly, make it clear that multitasking during team calls is not
acceptable.
• Touchpoints
• Virtual teams also need to meet in person during critical stages during
a project. Meeting face-to-face during the initial meeting sets
expectations for trust and candor and clarifies team goals and
behavioral guidelines. For the same reason, it is also advisable if
virtual teams meet in person whenever a new member joins.
• Finally, the team needs to meet when celebrating their achievements
or solving tough problems. This improves teamwork and makes your
team more engaged.
• Technology
• Finally, you need the right technology for your team. Our virtual office
in Washington DC can deliver.
• virtual office packages features such as administrative and
technological support to improve reliability where for example, Your
team can perform conference calling, direct calling, and discuss issues
in virtual team rooms.
• By following these practices, you can improve collaboration, increase
innovation, and enhance your virtual team’s productivity.
Learner activity

leaners to individually consider the teams in their organization.

• Are they all based in one location, or are people in the same team in
different locations, either based in other offices, or home workers?
• How does this affect your relationships with those colleagues?
• What challenges does this present?
• What practices are used to mitigate/minimise the challenges (consider
regular team meetings, use of technology to keep each other updated, etc.)
• Learners to work in small groups to describe the situation within their
organization and share three examples of practices that mitigate the
challenges, or successes of virtual teams.