Skills Practice 1.2: Mindmapping − Defining a High Performance Team

Objective

To develop and evaluate your personal team management framework.

Participant(s)

This exercise can be completed on an individual basis or in a group of 3 to 5 people.

Procedure

1. Download the worksheet for this exercise from the text website.
2. Develop a mindmap that reflects the factors that you think are important factors for the success of a work team. Start by writing “High Performance Team” in the middle of the page on your worksheet and draw a circle around it. This is the “center concept” in your mindmap.
3. Now, consider your personal experiences with both good and bad teams as well as the material presented in chapter 1. Brainstorm a list of factors that you feel are important for creating a high performance team (“Team Success Factors”) and document them on your worksheet.
4. Write out your Team Success Factors around your Center Concept, draw a circle around each one of these factors, and then draw a squiggly line from each factor extending to the center concept in your diagram.
5. Now look at each of your Team Success Factors and brainstorm the Team Success Sub-Factors that you feel are relevant. Write out the Team Sub-Factors around their corresponding Team Success Factor, draw a circle around each one of these factors, and then a squiggly line from each sub-factor to its corresponding Team Success Factor. Note that the Team Sub-Factors give you additional detail about the strategies, actions, and tools that are required to address each Team Success Factor.
6. You now have your own personal mindmap for a High Performance Team!

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What does your high performance team mindmap say about what you feel is important for the creation of an effective team?
2. How can you use your mindmap to be a more effective team leader?
3. How can you use your mindmap to be a more effective team member?

Skills Practice 1.3: Teams in the News

• Skills practice worksheet 1.3  

Objective

To examine recent examples of effective or ineffective team management from business news and publications.

Participant(s)

This exercise should be completed on an individual basis but it can be discussed in groups of 3–5 students.

Procedure

1. Download the worksheet for this exercise from the text website.
2. Access an online database that contains business journals and periodicals at your college or university (e.g., ABI Inform) or try visiting one of these websites that include business news:
1. Wall Street Journal – www.wsj.com
2. New York Times – www.nytimes.com
3. Business Week – www.businessweek.com
4. Fortune – www.fortune.com
5. Fast Company – www.fastcompany.com
6. Forbes – www.forbes.com
7. Harvard Business Review – www.hbr.org
3. Conduct an Internet search looking for an article that describes an example of an effective or ineffective team.
4. Find one article that you feel is a good example of an effective or ineffective team.
5. Review the material covered in chapter 1 and identify any team management concepts that were illustrated in your article. 

Critical Thinking Questions

1. Was the team described in the article you selected an example of an effective or an ineffective team? Support your answer using material from Chapter 1.
2. Which team management concepts discussed in Chapter 1 are the most relevant to your article? Why?
3. If you were the leader of this team, what actions would you take to enhance (or to sustain) the effectiveness of the team described in your article?
4. What are the practical takeaways from this exercise for you as a future team leader or team member after graduation?

Skills Practice 1.4: Interview with a Team Leader and a Team Member

• Skills practice worksheet 1.4  

Objective

To evaluate the functioning of an actual work team and to develop an understanding of how the perspectives of leading a team and being a team member may be similar or different.

Procedure

1. Download the worksheet for this exercise from the text website.
2. Identify a work team in your college or university, community, etc. where you can interview the leader of the team as well as one of the team members. Contacting your current or previous employer may be a good way to find an appropriate team. Student organizations can also be used, but be sure that the organization actually uses teams in its operations.
3. Schedule a 30 to 45 minute meeting with the team leader and a separate meeting with a team member. It would not be a good idea to interview the team leader and the team member together.
4. In each interview, ask the questions below:
• What is the name of this team?
• Which work unit or division is this team a part of?
• What is the key function of this team?
• What are the key performance measures that are used to evaluate this team?
• What is the structure of the team in terms of number of members and reporting relationships?
• What are your key duties and responsibilities on this team?
• What are the greatest strengths of this team? Why?
• What are the greatest opportunities for improvement of this team? Why?
• Given your role on this team, what actions could you take to help the team to enhance its effectiveness?
• What barriers might exist if you were to actually attempt to implement the action for enhancing this team’s effectiveness?
• If you are a team leader, what would you like your team members to know about you and your role that could help to enhance the effectiveness of the overall team?
• If you are a team member, what would you like your team members to know about you and your role that could help to enhance the effectiveness of the overall team?
5. Summarize the results of your two interviews and compare and contrast the answers you obtained from the team leader vs. the team member you interviewed.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What are your general reactions to the results of your two interviews?
2. In what ways were the responses from the team leader and team member similar to each other in terms of evaluating the functioning of the team or how to enhance its effectiveness?
3. In what ways were the responses from the team leader and team member different from each other in terms of evaluating the functioning of the team or how to enhance its effectiveness?
4. Which team management concepts from chapter 1 were illustrated in the responses to your interview questions?
5. What are the practical takeaways from this exercise that you can use to be a more effective team leader or team member in a real world organization in the future?

Skills Practice 1.5: Movie Analysis – “Miracle”

• Skills practice worksheet 1.5  

Objective

To analyze and evaluate a case study of a successful team and to identify the practical implications for team management in other types of teams.

Procedure

1. Download the worksheet for this exercise from the textbook website.
2. Rent or purchase the movie, “Miracle” (2004) starring Kurt Russell, Eddie Cahill, and Patricia Clarkson. The running time of the movie is 2 hours and 16 minutes. It is available through Amazon.com, Netflix, iTunes, and other online video streaming services.
3. Watch the movie and enjoy! Whether you like hockey or not, this movie will have you on your feet cheering, especially in the last 15-20 minutes.    
4. Take notes on your worksheet about scenes in the movie that illustrate effective or ineffective teamwork.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. What strategies did Coach Brooks use to build an effective team? Were they effective? Why or why not? Which team management concepts from this chapter were illustrated through the team management style of Coach Brooks? Be specific.
2. What strategies did the various team members use to support the effectiveness of the team? Were they effective? Why or why not? Which team management concepts from the chapter were illustrated through the actions of the individual team members? Be specific.
3. What are the practical takeaways from this exercise that you can use to be a more effective team leader or team member in a real world organization in the future?