# Managing Groups and Teams/Which attributes are fundamental to team cohesion?

## Introduction

Much has been written about the most effective ways to form team
cohesion. The purpose of this chapter is to offer concrete ideas for
team leaders on how they can develop team cohesion amongst group member
in an organizational setting.

Some of the ideas are inspired by researchers such as Patrick Lencioni,
however, many of the ideas within this chapter have been compiled from
the collective experiences of its authors and other research.

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![](Team_Cohesion_Star.jpg "Team_Cohesion_Star.jpg")

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Five concrete ideas for building team cohesion will be presented
including: Appreciation, Incentive, Relevance, Performance Measurement
and Interpersonal Relationships.

A model has been created to help the reader recall these points. The
model is presented as a star with each point representing one of the
five attributes fundamental to building team cohesion.

## Appreciation

It has been said that there are only two types of people in the world
who benefit from gratitude and sincere appreciation -- men and women[^1]
Indeed, all humans have a basic need to feel appreciated, respected and
valued. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, esteem is recognized as a
fundamental human desire which must be fulfilled in order to achieve
self-actualization (Maslow's hierarchy of needs).[^2] The effective team
leader can utilize appreciation as an important tool to fill this esteem
need for individual team members and work to create and maintain a
culture of appreciation within the team to insure that a team is
cohesive.

In a 2003 study by the US Department of Labor on employment, the number
one reason given for why people decided to leave their jobs was a lack
of appreciation. Just as an underappreciated employee is more likely to
leave a job, an underappreciated team member is more likely to leave a
team. Without feeling valued as contributors within the context of the
team and its objectives, individual team members are much more apt to
feel disconnected and isolated from the team. To maintain a cohesive
team, all members need to feel some degree of appreciation for their
efforts. On a group level, a team which is not esteemed and recognized
for their contributions has little chance of remaining cohesive,
functional and successful.

To view it in a more positive way, a team is much more likely to be
unified, collaborative and ultimately successful in a culture that is
built on appreciation and recognition of the contributions of each
individual, as well as the unique contributions of the team.
Demonstrations of gratitude, acknowledgements of effort, words of
congratulations and other actions of appreciation function as the glue
which binds a successful and cohesive team together. As the French
philosopher Voltaire put it, "Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It
makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well." For a team
leader to succeed, he must take the unique contributions of each team
member and forge them into a combined team identity, and appreciation is
fundamental to this endeavor.

### Creating a Culture of Appreciation

Creating and maintaining a culture of appreciation within a team
requires a concerted focus by the team leader (and team members) on
certain behaviors and characteristics. Below we have identified 6
guidelines related to the principle of appreciation which team leaders
can use as they work on building a strong and cohesive team. Of course
this is not an exhaustive list, but it provides a strong foundation on
which a culture of appreciation can be built.

#### 1. Praise Individuals and Teams

:   Appreciation is a principle which applies to individuals within a
    team and to the team itself. For a team to be cohesive, the leader
    must concentrate on both areas. Without individual recognition, a
    team member may feel his/her individual contributions are
    irrelevant, unimportant and invisible. Without team recognition,
    cohesion is much more difficult to maintain, as the focus is
    directed away from the team's accomplishments. Finding a balance
    between team and individual appreciation is not an exact science,
    and may vary with the unique dynamics of a particular team. However,
    both individual and team praise must be present to maximize the
    potential for team cohesion.

#### 2. Praise in Private and in Public

:   Acknowledging and recognizing accomplishments should be done both in
    the private and the public spheres. Expressions of appreciation are
    reinforced when shown in multiple venues. A team's willingness to
    put in significant extra time to complete a project by the deadline
    could warrant a personal thank you to each team member by the team
    leader, as well as a team celebration lunch. Going one step further,
    the team leader could send an e-mail to select upper management
    detailing the extra effort put in by the team (make sure to Cc the
    team members). Of course the specific actions are limitless. The
    point here is to reinforce the appreciation message and, through
    public and private usage, cause it to permeate throughout the
    different strata of the individual, team and organizational culture.

#### 3. Be Specific

:   Make sure you really get to know each team member so that you can
    tailor your appreciation message to each individual as needed. Take
    time to learn about a team member's family, hobbies and interests,
    preferences, and values. This will allow you to give praise,
    recognition and appreciation that will be personally valuable to
    each team members. In recognizing or praising a team member, do not
    speak in generalities. Instead of, "great job, Amir," the team
    leader could say, "Amir, your contribution to the finance meeting
    this morning was excellent. I was particularly impressed with your
    grasp of the division's key drivers." The latter statement
    acknowledges specific attributes and provides Amir with specific
    feedback on what his unique contribution was. Similarly,
    appreciation at the Team level should be specific and should
    demonstrate the team leader's interest in and knowledge of the
    team's purpose and accomplishments.

#### 4. Be Sincere

:   As the cliché goes, flattery will get you nowhere. When people get
    the sense that words of praise or acts of acknowledgement are not
    coming from the heart, trust is quickly eroded. A team leader should
    never follow up a complement with a "but" or bring up a mistake that
    was made by the team or team member. There is a time and place for
    that, and it is not during an expression of appreciation.

#### 5. Frequency

:   When it comes to appreciation, more is more. As long as the
    appreciation is sincere and specific, it is nearly impossible to
    show appreciation too much. Whether it is a personal thank you note,
    a short recognition speech in front of the team or an e-mail to top
    management on a team's accomplishment, appreciation must become a
    cultural norm. Consistency is the key. Just one of many ways in
    which a team leader can think about frequency is to create three
    divisions: day-to-day, informal and formal.[^3] Appreciation must be
    demonstrated often for it to become a part of a team's psyche.

#### 6. Develop an Appreciation Plan

:   With the tools above, a team leader should put pen to paper, so to
    speak, and develop a written appreciation plan. This will function
    as a blueprint to creating and maintaining a culture of
    appreciation. Ideas for the structure of this plan are many and
    varied. A few examples of appreciation/recognition plans from the
    corporate world can be found in "Rewarding Teams: Lessons from the
    Trenches" by Glenn Parker, Jerry McAdams and David Zielinski.[^4]
    "The Carrot Principle", by Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick also
    provides insights into creating a detailed recognition plan[^5] and
    Whether your plan includes weekly awards, team highlights in the
    company newsletter, taking a team member out to lunch, all or none
    of the above, the plan should integrate the principles previously
    described: namely individual and team praise, private and public
    praise, being specific, being sincere and a high degree of
    frequency. A written appreciation plan will provide the impetus to
    take the above concepts and make them a reality.

### Remarkable Results

In a scene from the movie Remember the Titans, based on the true story
of a high school football team which overcame many potentially divisive
challenges and obstacles to come together and win the 1971 Virginia
State Football Championship, Coach Herman Boone takes his team to the
site of the United States Civil War battle of Gettysburg. There, with a
morning mist hanging over the once bloody battlefield, he delivers an
impassioned plea for team unity and cohesion.

"You listen...take a lesson from the dead," directed Coach Boone. "If we
don't come together, right now on this hallowed ground, we too will be
destroyed...just like they were."

"And I don't care if you like each other or not. But you will respect
each other."[^6]

Coach Boone then went about creating a culture of appreciation, by
demanding it from his staff and his team, and living it himself. The
results were remarkable.

Each team leader faces unique challenges and obstacles to in maintaining
a cohesive team. Among these challenges is creating a culture where the
basic human need of appreciation is met for each team member and the
team as a whole. When a team feels appreciated and recognized, and each
individual within that team feels likewise, the team is free to come
together as a cohesive unit and to create, collaborate and succeed.

## Incentive

As we continue to explore the contributing factors to team cohesion,
recognizing the importance of incentives is fundamental to team success.
While developing organizational success through incentives is a topic of
much attention and misunderstanding amongst business leaders,
interpreting the various factors that encourage people to perform at
high levels of personal success leads to insights of how they might
perform in a team setting. As good leaders are in constant pursuit to
improve the processes and successes of their projects through the use of
teams, proper implementation of incentives and rewards should be
emphasized and understood.

"In economics and sociology, an incentive is any factor (financial or
non-financial) that enables or motivates a particular course of
action."[^7] Types of incentives include cash bonuses, merit increases,
promotion, leadership opportunities, as well as recognition. As it
should be safe to say that everyone likes to be rewarded for their
efforts or actions, Frank LaFasto states "good effort needs to be
recognized."[^8] Whether individuals recognize them as incentives or
rewards, funneling these driving factors in a manner that increases
productivity and success can be very beneficial to the team environment.
Robert Henneman notes the importance of group recognition by stating
"group incentives have a stronger influence on productivity than
individual incentives yielding increases of 13%, but more importantly
they reinforce the concept of teamwork."[^9]

In order to ensure that incentive tools are used in the most beneficial
and influential manner for the team as a whole, the team leader needs to
properly identify and integrate the teams objective. As the team leader
"ensures that rewards and incentives are aligned with achieving the
team's goals", team members feel a sense of accomplishment through an
association to the group process.[^10] By doing so, individual team
members will achieve a higher sense of team worth through their
collaboration and contribution. By keeping rewards "fair", LaFasto
states that individual members of a team will internally channel the
feelings of a reward as if it is a "burden of proof."[^11] A method of
reward permits individual members to identify with the teams objective
and feel a sense of camaraderie through such achievement. This in turn
has an incredible sense of value that can create strong bonds of trust
and commitment to team establishment.

As managers devise methods of assuring proper channels of recognition
and incentive, it is important to note that financial and non-financial
methods can both be equally impactful. As Robert Henneman explains
"Recognition can exert a powerful impact on an employee's performance
and may influence organizations effectiveness as much as financial
incentives do."[^12] This is a strong point for managers to remember as
they strive to build their team members moral on an individual basis as
well as on the team level. Even though incentive and reward have a
financial connotation, it is important to note the impact that simple
recognition can have on a team.

One of the driving factors that contribute to the success of incentives
and rewards toward developing team cohesion is the continual impact this
has on the individual. For example, if a team is given the opportunity
to choose future projects and make certain decisions based on their
ability to achieve success and elevated results as a team, more emphasis
and importance on team interaction will be seen. Team members that are
task oriented react very responsively to opportunities or incentives
that will give them more initiative or influence on future decisions.

Because of the tremendous impact that meaningful incentives have on team
projects and goals, long-term behaviors begin to form with the team.
Eventually, teams are able to collaborate their individual "personal,
financial, and psychological rewards to their group goals."[^13] Simple
incentive programs that are relevant to the overall teams goals and
objectives create a more focused approach to how the team members
interact and respect each of their individual duties. Whether or not
each of the team members have an equitable position in the physical
process at hand, each member feels a sense of placement and share of the
team when recognition is given to the team as a whole.

One of the greatest effects of team incentives that provide evidence of
the formation of long term team cohesion is the development of
organization standards. As more and more incentives are implemented that
are in line with the individual teams objectives, there is an increase
of reward and visibility within the organization as a whole. This
creates an atmosphere of creativity and success which over time develops
into what is understood as organizational or team standards. As LaFasto
states "a reward should be a celebration of standards."[^14] Over long
periods of time, these recognized successes which have become standards
are what ultimately shape an organization's or team's culture. For
example, if a team is highly motivated to be the industry's leading
organization for a certain product and achieves that result and is
ultimately recognized for that, a lasting expectation of highly notable
success is eventually adopted. This is one of the very reasons why
incentives are very effective for not only short term projects but also
for the long-term well being of the organization or team.

Through proper alignment of team objectives and motivations, team
leaders have a tremendous opportunity to build team cohesion through the
proper and strategic use of incentives. Individual team members as well
as the team as a whole require the recognition and reward that should be
demonstrated when high levels of success are achieved and lasting
standards are devised. Whether it is a team bonus for devising a merger
deal or a trophy that is presented in front of the entire organization
to each of the winning team members, "excellent results must be
recognized" and are developed by strategically aligned incentives that
drive upward success.[^15]

## Relevance

Perhaps one of the most challenging aspects of leading a team of
individuals is making each member of the team feel relevant. What does
this exactly mean? Consider the following excerpt from the 1949 World
War II movie 12 O'ClockHigh. The script picks up after General Savage
asks Lt. Jesse Bishop how he feels about the bombing run the team had
just accomplished.

:   **Lt. Bishop**: Well sir, that\'s hard. I don\'t know how I feel.
    That\'s kind of the trouble.

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:   **General Savage**: What is?

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:   **Lt. Bishop**: The whole thing sir, everything. I can\'t see what
    good we\'re doing with our bombing. All the boys getting killed.
    Just a handful of us, it\'s like we\'re some kind of guinea pigs,
    only we\'re not proving anything. You\'ve got to have confidence in
    something, then when you find something you\'ve got confidence in,
    then everything changes. It just doesn\'t make any sense. I just
    want out.

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:   **General Savage**: Do you think it will be any better in another
    group?

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:   **Lt. Bishop**: It isn\'t a question of that sir; I don\'t want to
    fly anymore. I want to transfer to another branch.

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:   **General Savage**: Doesn\'t it mean anything to you that we hit the
    target today with no losses?

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:   **Lt. Bishop**: Yes sir\....I suppose so\...in a way, but I just
    want out.

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:   **General Savage**: well, that\'s a pretty tough request from a
    medal of honor man. Sure we\'re guinea pigs Jesse, but there\'s a
    reason. If we can hang on here now, one day soon somebody\'s gonna
    look up and see a solid overcast of American bombers on their way to
    Germany to hit the Third Reich where it lives. Maybe we won\'t be
    the ones to see it, I can\'t promise you that, but I can promise you
    that they\'ll be there if only we can manage to make the grade now.

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:   **Lt. Bishop**: I\'d like to believe you sir. I just don\'t have
    confidence in anything anymore.[^16]

This exchange between General Savage and Lt. Bishop illustrates what
happens with many members of group or teams. Often, members of the team
feel much like Lt. Bishop when, even after achieving the desired result,
can't see what good they are doing. In other words, they feel that the
work they are doing is irrelevant to the overall goal and objective of
the team or organization.

In his book Three Signs of a Miserable Job, Patrick Lencioni cites this
idea of irrelevance as being one of the main signs of a miserable job.
For our purposes, we can also say that irrelevance is a main sign of a
team member feeling miserable within the group. Lencioni states that,
"everyone needs to know that their job matters, to someone. Anyone.
Without seeing a connection between the work and the satisfaction of
another person or group of people, an employee simply will not find
lasting fulfillment. Even the most cynical employees need to know that
their work matters to someone, even if it's just the boss." [^17]

Now that we've flushed out this idea of irrelevance, how do team leaders
ensure that each one of the team members feels fulfillment in the role
that they are playing within the group? This chapter has cited other
topics that lend to helping a team member feel relevant. Ideas such as
incentives and measurement can all assist in making group members feel
fulfilled, however there are a few important points that team leaders
must touch on to avoid feelings of irrelevance amongst team members.

### Focus on the Goal

Kevin Eikenberry, Chief Potential Officer of Kevin Eikenberry Group
explains, "Teams don\'t have to be aligned with the goals of the
organization. Teams can work on what they believe to be the right
things. They can work diligently on creating the results they think
matter. They can be completely committed to success from their
perspective." [^18]

Often, teams operate in this manner to the extent that although the team
is working towards goals they believe are important to the team, those
goals may be totally opposite of the strategic goals of the company. In
the end, although the team may have accomplished much, team members fail
to see how their work mattered in the grand scheme of the organization's
goals.

The result of the team not aligning its goals with what the organization
needs results in the team operating in a vacuum. Eikenberry goes on to
say, "sometimes the vacuum is caused by a far more pervasive problem -
no clear organizational goals, objectives or strategies exist to align
to. Leaders must create clear strategies and they must create a clear
line of sight throughout the organization, so people and teams can
connect their work to the important strategies of the organization."
[^19]

One would think that business leaders might have an easy time in
assisting teams to align its goals with the overall goals of the
organization, however, many times business leaders may neglect to
clarify goals to the team or simply forget to share the goals with them.
In the end, it is the responsibility of the business leaders to align
the team's goals. The question becomes, how do leaders accomplish this
task? The following illustrates some steps that Eikenberry gives as ways
to connect the team's work to organizational goals:

**Start At The Beginning:** Do not communicate the goals of the
organization until those goals are set. Changing the goal midway through
the group's work may derail the team. Once the goals are set,
communicate these goals clearly in the early stages of the team's
development. Lastly, make sure that you clearly connect the work the
team is doing to the organization goal(s).

**Generate Conversation:** The delivery method of the goal to the team
is extremely important. Do not deliver the organization's goals in an
email or a packet, but rather present the goal verbally to the team and
ask for feedback from the team and how their work will fit into these
goals.

**Get The Team's Help:** Get the team's input and give them a chance to
come up with team goals and objectives that align with the
organizational goals. This will create ownership and allow for a higher
level of agreement between team members.

**Provide a Connection:** Teams need someone from outside the team to
act as a liaison between the team and organization. This usually comes
in the way of a team sponsor who doesn't necessarily sit on the team but
provides support and keeps the team from feeling alone.

**Make Them Accountable:** Once team goals properly align with
organization goals, then it is easier to have accountability within the
team. Not only does this improve the team's results, but can also
improve overall team dynamics.[^20]

Ensuring that the team's goals align with organizational goals allows
for team members to easily connect their work back to a larger
objective. By clearly providing this connection, team member will feel
that the work that they do both as a team and as individuals make a
difference far beyond just the immediate members of the team.

### Focus on Personalities:

There really isn't just one way to resolve the issue of team member's
feelings of irrelevance or the feeling that the work they do goes
unnoticed. Perhaps, one way to solve this problem is to properly
understand the many personalities that comprise the team. There are
about a million different personality tests on the internet that can be
taken, of which the most popular is Myers-Briggs.

How does understanding the personalities of team members assist team
leaders in making members of the team feel relevant? Many of us easily
see personality traits in one another. It is fairly easy for us talk
about certain personality traits. We may hear other people tell us that
we are energetic or that we are sensitive, however, what do these types
of personality traits mean within the context of the team? More
importantly, by completely understanding team member's personalities,
team leaders can use techniques to assist them in making the team
member's work feel relevant and valued.

As mentioned, Myers-Briggs personality test is the most popular
personality test, however, one personality profile that is useful in our
context is called the SELF Quiz and can be found at
<http://www.nationalseminarstraining.com/selfquiz/indexHP.cfm>. By
answering and scoring a series of questions, team members can find out
which of the four interaction styles their personality mirrors. The test
reveals whether you are a Social, an Efficient, a Loyal, or a Factual. A
complete analysis of what each style means is provided. The test is free
and takes only minutes to complete. [^21]

Perhaps the most interesting information we can pull out of this is the
style definition for each of the four categories. For example, someone
who falls into the Social category, according to the style definition,
is motivated by opportunities and friendship. People who fall into the
Efficient category are motivated by success, control and recognition.

These kinds of insights are important for team leaders and can assist in
helping make each team member feel that their work is important and
relevant to the team and the organization. A team leader dealing with
someone belonging to the Efficient category may find that giving that
person control over certain aspects of the work may make that team
member feel all the more relevant. Likewise, the team leader may try to
ensure that someone belonging to the Social category has enough
opportunity to connect with people on the team and in the organization
in order to go beyond professional relationships and form friendly
relationships as well.

The idea of analyzing team members' personalities may be somewhat of an
unconventional method of making members feel relevant within the team.
However, understanding personalities goes far beyond just understanding
how individual personalities may affect team dynamics. Personalities
should be leveraged appropriately to ensure that the needs of each
member are met to the best of the team leader's capabilities.

### Focus on individual responsibilities:

Many times team leaders don't have the option of choosing which members
will make up the team. Regardless, each member will have individual
responsibilities within the team. Often, team leaders may give certain
responsibilities to team members according to their expertise or
strengths in particular areas. Other times, the team leader may ask a
team member to be responsible for something outside of that person's
expertise in order to gain new perspectives, ideas, or insights.

At any rate, it is important that the responsibilities given to team
members allow them to feel fulfilled. For example, a team member may not
feel comfortable performing high level quantitative analysis but will
still accept the responsibility. Days later that team member may begin
to feel frustrated and may feel that the work he/she is doing is subpar
and therefore somewhat worthless to the team.

The point here is that no team dynamic is the same. Team leaders have
the responsibility to ensure that individual responsibilities assigned
to team members allow the individual to have the success needed in order
to avoid feelings of irrelevance within the team.

Finally, there are many ways to ensure that team members feel relevant
within the team. Aligning team members' work to organization goals,
understanding how personalities play a role, and ensuring that
individual responsibilities allow for team members to feel fulfilled are
just three ways that will help team leaders create feelings of relevance
among team members.

## Performance Measurement

One element key to maintaining morale within a group is the measurement
of performance. It is not sufficient to simply measure whether or not
the main task was accomplished. There will be times that in spite of
superior effort by the group and the individuals within it, they may not
achieve their goal. If a group is marked as a failure in these cases,
team members are demoralized and are not inspired to participate in the
future. In addition, it is important to measure the performance of
individuals within the group to motivate each group member to put forth
their best effort. Individual performance measurement will also benefit
the organization as a whole in that new strengths (and weaknesses) may
be discovered as the group works together.

### Determining what to measure

To maintain morale, the factors being measured must have relevancy not
only to the individuals within the group, but also to the organization
to which the group belongs. These factors will vary from group to group
and from organization to organization. The factors may be specific to
the task at hand, e.g. an engineering group may be assigned to design a
child safety seat which meets or exceeds government standards. In some
cases the organization may also have larger goals in mind, e.g.
individuals from engineering and marketing may be assigned to accomplish
a task and one of the goals the organization has, in addition to
designing a safety seat, is also to improve communication and
cooperation between the departments within the organization.

In The Journal for Quality and Participation, Jack Zigon notes, "It is
not always obvious what results should be measured. Most teams will use
the obvious measures without asking what results they should be
producing and how they will know they\'ve done a good job. Even if you
know what to measure, it is often not clear how the measurement should
be done. Not everything can be easily measured with numbers, thus teams
give up when faced with measuring something like \"creativity\" or
\"user-friendliness.\" [^22]

### Performances that can be measured:

-   Achievement of objective -- While this is obviously important and
    still needs to be measured, unfortunately in many cases it is the
    only element measured.
-   Achievement of milestones -- Since many projects are complex and may
    take years to complete, measuring milestones not only provides
    occasional motivation for members of a group but also helps track
    the group's progress.
-   Effort of the group as a whole -- Inevitably there will be some
    tasks assigned to groups which are not completed, such as finding a
    cure for a particular disease. To encourage future participation in
    other efforts or even in the same effort, management needs to, when
    appropriate, reward the efforts of a group. In addition, monitoring
    and measuring the groups' effort will help determine the wisdom of
    utilizing certain individuals or the group as a whole for future
    projects.
-   Individual's team contribution -- Participation in team meetings,
    volunteering for projects, the number of ideas contributed and
    whether other team members believe them to a valuable part of the
    team are all areas that can be measured.[^23]
-   Individual behavior - How well the individual works with other team
    members, communicates in a constructive way, cooperates with other
    team members and participates in group discussions and decision
    making are important behaviors to measure.[^24]
-   Group behavior -- This includes running effective meetings,
    communicating well with each other, allowing opinions to be shared
    and coming to a consensus on decisions.[^25]

### Understanding from the beginning

It is important that from the beginning the team members understand the
following:

1.  Their performance will be measured
2.  Why the measurements are important
3.  Who will be measuring their performance
4.  How the measurements will be measured
5.  Which performances will be measured
6.  The potential rewards or consequences of the measurements, if any
7.  Whether any of the performances have priority over others

Having this understanding from the beginning will allow team members to
recognize what, besides accomplishing the task, is important to the
organization; in addition these measurements can help guide the team as
they work on the task.

### Periodic check-ups

If the task is going to take a considerable amount of time to
accomplish, periodic measurements should be taken and feedback shared so
that the team can have a clear understanding of their performance along
the way and can make adjustments as necessary. It will also give team
members a formal method to bring up concerns. An additional benefit is
that team members can be encouraged throughout the process and will be
reminded that how they are performing their task is a matter of on-going
interest to the organization.

### Feedback system

Jack Zigon also emphasized the importance of creating a feedback system.
The system consists of the documents and procedures used to collect and
summarize the data. He suggests the following steps to design the
feedback system:

1.  Decide what data to collect for each performance standard. The data
    should be relevant to the standard and specific enough to allow the
    team to know what was right and wrong compared with the standard.
2.  Decide which source the feedback should come from. Possibilities
    include the job itself, a team member, the team leader, or other
    people who receive the team\'s work.
3.  Decide whether all data or just a sample should be collected.
    Collect all the data if the measure is very critical and needs to be
    tracked each time it occurs, or if the accomplishment is performed
    infrequently. Sample the performance if the accomplishment is
    performed so frequently that it is not practical to collect all
    data.
4.  Determine when to collect the data. When possible, collect it
    immediately after completing the work.
5.  Determine who should collect the data. When possible the team should
    collect the data unless gathering the data disrupts the work flow
    and takes too much time or the completed work is seen only by
    another person.
6.  Determine who, other than the team, needs to receive the data.
7.  Review existing reports for possible use as feedback reports. They
    can be used if the information is relevant to the standard, is
    specific enough, is frequent enough to be of value, and is not
    cluttered with useless information.
8.  If possible, modify existing reports to meet the criteria.
9.  Create your own feedback tables or graphs where necessary.
10. Decide whether it would be of value to summarize the data. If the
    data covers a short period of time daily, for example-summarizing is
    probably appropriate.
11. Create the forms.[^26]

When group members have a clear vision of not only what they are to
accomplish but also the importance of their individual contribution and
how that will be measured, it will help unify and motivate them
throughout the experience. It also helps management recognize the
importance of the individual within the organization. A common
understanding among team members and by management of what is expected
helps facilitate the fulfillment of those expectations and aids in the
accomplishment of their goals.

## Interpersonal Relationships

Groups can be a very effective tool in solving problems and
accomplishing tasks. The combined intellects, efforts and creativeness
of a group of individuals provides a better outcome than could come from
one individual or even from the same individuals working solo on the
same tasks. The combination leads to more satisfying outcomes and
efficient work.

However groups and teams have their drawbacks. Effectively aligning the
differing views of the members of the group can lead to disagreements
and has the potential for conflict. It is therefore important to
encourage the positive aspects while eliminating the negative aspects of
a team in the workplace environment. This section looks at how to
increase the positive while mitigating the negative aspects of the
interpersonal relationships.

### What are Interpersonal Relationships?

A team, in the business context, is a group of people that have been
placed together to complete a task or solve a problem. They share a
common purpose and are interdependent on the other members of the team.
The interdependence of the members of the team creates interpersonal
relationships. An interpersonal relationship is an association between
two or more people.

### How are Interpersonal Relationships Beneficial?

One of the greatest assets that a group or team can have is good
interpersonal relationships with each other. A team that feels
comfortable working together can have an energy that creates a positive
environment and work ethic that can lift a team, making it more
effective. This positive environment can make team members work harder,
more efficiently and more productively. Teams that work well together
have been shown to be more effective. In fact, how well teams achieve
goals is directly related to how effective the team is at working
together. "Healthy team relationships are characteristic of unusually
successful teams."[^27] Conversely, interpersonal conflict is the most
destructive force to a team's success. A team that cannot work
effectively together will not work effectively at all.

There have been arguments that a team does not have to have a good
interpersonal relationship in order to be effective. But consider the
fact that a team in which the members rely on and trust each other is
not putting forth additional effort to manage conflict, hurt, and bias
or trying to guess what the "opposition" is doing. They are able to
focus their efforts more effectively. Time and energy are directed at
the common goal and not at resolving conflicts within the group dynamic.
They are all able to put forth 100% of their efforts to the project at
hand, confident in the fact that each member is doing the same, not
worrying about what the other participants may be thinking or doing.

Just imagine two different working scenarios. In the first one, those
involved in their particular project are energized and excited about
coming in to work. They enjoy the association and sense of
accomplishment from working within their group. The other group members
despise getting up in the morning knowing they have to come in to work.
They hate what they do and those that they work with.

It's pretty obvious which group is going to be more effective at
completing their project.

### Interpersonal Conflict

Whenever you put a group of individuals together there is the potential
for conflict. These interpersonal conflicts tend to arise due to
personal differences between individuals. This conflict is damaging to
the team and their environment. It degrades the effectiveness of
achieving the highest outcomes. A team is made up of individuals. Each
individual has their own thoughts, ideas, and personality. Consequently,
these don't always align, nor should they. A team made up of clones,
would destroy the whole purpose of putting a group of individuals
together in the first place. A team is not formed for the sole purpose
that "many hands make light work," but because they each have skills and
talents specific to the individual. Therefore, each member adds to the
group in a different way.

As organizations change their structures to be flatter, the team has
become the predominant entity within the company. Teams are used to
complete projects, solve problems and many other functions within the
organization. However the team structure creates an environment in which
managers rely on peer relationships to accomplish tasks. In groups where
team members have a similar objective and where there is a friendly
atmosphere, especially if they have been working in conjunction for a
while, the team will work well together and there will be fewer
conflicts. "Inevitably, though, no matter how harmonious the group or
how structured the organization, conflicts are bound to occur. Some
conflicts may feel unproductive, even destructive."[^28]

You can take a group of skilled, intelligent and competent individuals
and put them together and their success in a group will come down to
whether or not they can work together. The amount of brain power, skill
and potential to solve problems will matter little if they cannot work
in harmony. If contention, feelings of spite, betrayal, or disloyalty
arise than it will undermine the work of each individual to the point
that nothing can be accomplished. For this very reason one of the most
important tools that a team must have is a good working relationship.

Going into a group environment and believing that conflict will never
occur is naive. Team leaders and team members should be mindful that
conflict *does* and *will* arise. The goal is to effectively resolve the
conflict and get the team back to working effectively.

Team members should never ignore conflict within the group when it
surfaces. They should not just hope that it will go away or resolve
itself. They must not assume that if they don\'t bring the problem up
that the group can still function without resolving the issues at hand.
Problems that are ignored and continue to fester will just cause
ineffectiveness in the team. A problem that is ignored may also explode
at a most inconvenient time and destroy the group altogether. Conflicts,
especially interpersonal conflicts, need to be dealt with as soon as
they are discovered, in an appropriate manner, so that the team can get
back to work and effectively meet its goals.

There are generally considered two types of conflicts that arise in a
group. The first is task conflict and the second is relationship
conflict. Task conflict is described as disagreements on how to proceed,
or a disagreement on what tasks should be preformed to meet the end
goal. Relationship conflicts are personal issues that arise between
members. They revolve around personal disagreements or dislikes between
individuals in a team and rarely have much to do with the actual
project.

Task conflicts are generally beneficial. These conflicts may be
discussions on "how to improve a process, make the product better,
provide a better service, or improve client relationships."[^29] These
types of conflicts are considered productive and discussions on such
topics generally lead to the most constructive outcomes. "What usually
results from productive conflicts are better, new, or different
solutions to the concerns and issues the conflicting parties are
having." [^30]

If task conflicts are not monitored and mediated by a team leader, these
conflicts can become relationship conflicts. Care must be taken to
ensure that task conflicts remain about the issues and don't become
personal. Relationship conflicts arise from a disagreement or conflict
involving "personality, work style, or differences in beliefs or
values." [^31]

John Crawley described business conflict within a team as "a condition
between or among workers whose jobs are interdependent, who feel angry,
who perceive the other(s) as being at fault, and who act in ways that
cause a business problem."[^32] He also describes a workplace conflict
as containing each of the same following elements:

1.  They are interdependent
2.  They blame each other
3.  They are angry
4.  Their behavior is causing a business problem[^33]

Gary Topchik, in his First-Time Manager's Guide to Team Building, states
that when team members become "critical of another team member's
actions, behaviors, or appearance, this is unproductive conflict that
must be resolved very quickly. If not, the team will become
self-destructive."[^34]

### What can you do?

It is improbable that anyone will go through their life without having
to deal with conflict in one form or another. The same can be said of a
team; eventually every member of a team will face a disagreement,
differences or conflict. So the question is what to do. "The productive
resolution of conflict usually strengthens relationships, whereas
destructive confrontation, e.g., blaming, name calling, usually destroys
relationships, or at the very least, detracts from their satisfaction
and usefulness. Thus it is very important how you confront the conflict
once you have decided to do so."[^35]

In When Teams Work Best, the authors describe first the questions and
then the answers to "building and sustaining collaborative team
relationships." They begin by describing the "four underlying
characteristics of good relations" as:

1.  They are constructive
2.  They are productive
3.  They embrace mutual understanding
4.  They are constructively self-correcting[^36]

Next they offer four questions that "form the basis for assessing the
degree to which an interaction contributes to building a good
relationship."

1.  Did we have a constructive conversation?
2.  Was the conversation productive enough to make a difference?
3.  Did we understand and appreciate each other's perspective?
4.  Did we both commit to making improvements?[^37]

Which leads to what they call the CONNECT model.\
**C** Commit to the relationship\
**O** Optimize Safety\
**N** Narrow the discussion to one issue\
**N** Neutralize defensiveness\
**E** Explain and echo each perspective\
**C** Change one behavior each\
**T** Track it![^38]\
![](CONNECT_Model.jpg "CONNECT_Model.jpg"){width="1000"}[^39]

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[^16]: 12'O Clock High. 1949. Twentieth Century- Fox Film Corporation

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