Henry Tam and MGI Team

Henry Tam and MGI Team Learning Objectives Launching a team Managing Diverse members Diagnosing team processes Intervening to improve a dysfunctional team Evaluating team effectiveness

Case Questions: Henry Tam and the MGI Team 1.

a) Wha Whatt is your your evalu evaluat ation ion of of the MGI MGIss team team proce process sses es? ? b) What were the root causes of the problems?

2.

a) What What were were the stren streng gths of the MGI team? team? How How woul would d you have evaluated the MGI team on paper that is, before their first meeting?

3.

Were ere the the diff differ eren ences ces among among tea team m membe members rs a liab liabili ility ty or or an asset?

4.

What What cou could ld Henry Henry have have don done e earli earlier er to to avo avoid id the the team teams problems

5.

At the the end end of the case case,, what what action actionss could could Henry Henry ha have tak taken en to increase the team team s effectiveness

6.

Was the the MGI MGI Team eam ef effecti ectiv ve

Q1. What is your evaluation of the MGI M GIss team processes? What were the root causes of the th e problems? (definition) Team process refers to: team members behaviours and interactions, occurring over-time; over-time; it describes how a team work together to get its work done

Team processes processes include all the interactions interactions among team members, for example, example, including those in pairs or sub-groups, outside of whole group meetings MGI suffering from: Ineffective Ineffective Decision-making processes; Unhealthy Conflict;

Q1 (b) What were the root causes of the problems? Team Composition: Multiple Differences among Members  ±  ±  ±  ±

Functional Diversity Demographic Diversity Personality Diversity Differences in Prior Relationships

Unclear Goals, Roles and Leadership  ±  ±  ±

Unclear, unshared team goals Unclear individual roles Unclear leadership

Why Unclear Goals, Roles and Leadership - impressio impression n forma formation tion processe processess - thre threat atss to iden identi tity ty - lack of interpe interpersona rsonall congrue congruence nce

Q2. What were the strengths of the MGI team? How would you have evaluated the MGI team on paper that is, before their first meeting? Diverse skills High creativity and idea generation Passion Passion about product Good connections Prior relationships and open interaction Clear timeline and high autonomy

Q3. Were the differences differences among team members a liability or an asset? (think about) How team diversity as an advantage or disadvantage?

Potential for synergy v potential for disruption (Paradox of diverse teams) Task complexity increases the need for diversity and task interdependence increases the need for integration. Problem of balancing balancin g integration and differentiation. differentiation. Diversity a double-edged sword. It offers skills, perspectives and expertise but can also create misunderstanding and conflicts (need to) put in place conditions under which diversity is likely to benefit rather than harm team functioning, for example:  ±  ±  ±

High interpersonal congruence Integration and learning perspective Group culture that emphasises shared goals

Q4. What could Henry have done earlier to avoid the team teamss problems

Team launch Impression formation formation Norm formation

Q5. What actions could Henry have taken to increase the teams effectiveness

Shape teams informal norms

Restructure the way members coordinate their work

Q6. Was the MGI Team effective? On the one hand MGI took second place in the business plan contest, winning winning cash, services and generating generating publicity and exposure exposure to several people in the investment community On the other hand, Henry and Dana left the team after the contest (in part because of difficulties experienced working with the founders). MGI had spent considerable time and energy bringing in additional members who produced a business plan that was not followed

Learning

(Take-Aways) (T ake-Aways)

Diverse teams have several advantages over homogeneous teams but also several potential disadvantages Team members who look good on paper and during interview often fail to get along when the real work begins. Team leaders and members need to guide and shape members initial i nitial interactions to set in place productive norms from the beginning Launching a team requires thorough introductions and discussion about desired norms for working together. together. Discussion Discussio n should set the stage for agreement on team goals and individual individu al roles in a way that capitalises on diversity Team members should conduct ongoing on going diagnosis of o f team processes to ensure that members are working together. together. When dysfunctional conflict and ineffective decision-making decision-makin g impeded the teams teams progress, team members should consider intervening to improve team functioning with the aim of a) changing informal norms and interactions or b) restructuring interactions among team members Multiple criteria should be used to evaluate team effectiveness: whilst the MGI team achieved a good outcome in the business plan contest, they did not improve their ability to work together in the future or meet members individual needs A teams teams diversity, launch activities and a nd ongoing processes are interrelated and they work together to influence team effectiveness. Team Team leaders and members should attend to all of these elements an and d their interrelationships, when guiding their teams activities