Team Leadership in Managing

Work Related Stress

 Defining Project Success Continued Changes Until Maturity
Reached in terms of Unique Users’
Acceptability Proposition
Human inefficiencies

Quality problems
Lack of
Commitment,
Problematic Case: Team Synergy,
Production begins
Risk Prone Coordination,
Project Cost

Users’
Confidence Communication,
Processes not in
Consensus,
control Users’ Collaboration
Customers’ Satisfaction
Acceptance
Design changes
Mature Product Organizational
Symptoms
Unstable design Production begins
Processes in
control
Immature technology Commitment,
Proven reliability
Team Synergy,
Coordination,
Mature
Stable design
Successful Case Communication,
Begin a technology
Customized Consensus,
program Risk Managed Collaboration

Project Time Parameter

 Team Effectiveness Criteria
1. Does the team’s output meet the standards
of those who have to use that output?
2. Does the team experience enhance the
capability of the members to work together
in the future?
3. Does the team experience contribute to the
personal well-being and development of the
members?
Designing & Managing a Team
• Setting and communicating the agenda
• Determining the type of teamwork needed
• Choosing the right mix of people
• Shaping the team’s culture
• Coaching the team and providing feedback
• Managing the team’s boundaries
 A Team’s Actual Performance Does
Not Always Equal its Potential
Performance

Actual Potential Process Process

Performance = Performance + Gains - Losses

Potential performance: The level of performance that one would expect

given the capabilities of the individual members
Process gains: Increases in performance resulting from effective
coordination and motivation
Process losses: Performance difficulties that a group experiences due to
coordination and motivation problems (e.g. social loafing)
 Factors Affecting Team
Effectiveness
External Context
•reward system
•organization structure
•org. culture and politics Task
•time pressures
•physical resources

Team
Membership Team Outcomes
•personalities Process •Performance
•motivation levels •norms •Satisfaction of Members
•skills and knowledge •conflict
•conformity
•development

Team
Structure
•size
•diversity
•Roles
•cohesion
 Common Characteristics of
Effective Teams
• Agreed-Upon Goals and Clear Group Identity
• Shared Responsibility and Accountability
• Open and Two-Way Communication
• Participative Leadership and Decision Making
• Encouragement and Acceptance of Dissent
• Explicit Attention to and Management of Process
• Flexible Procedures and Use of Resources
 Group Cohesiveness
FACTORSTHAT
FACTORS THAT HIGH CONSEQUENCE
CONSEQUENCEOF
OFHIGH
HIGH
INCREASECOHESIVENESS:
INCREASE COHESIVENESS: COHESIVENESS:
COHESIVENESS:

• •Homogeneous
HomogeneousComposition
Composition • •Goal Accomplishment (+)
Goal Accomplishment (+)
• •Mature
MatureDevelopment
Development • •Personal Satisfaction of Members (+)
Personal Satisfaction of Members (+)
• •Relatively
RelativelySmall
SmallSize
Size • •Increased Quantity and Quality of
Increased Quantity and Quality of
• •Frequent
FrequentInteractions
Interactions Interactions
Interactions (+)
(+)
• •Competition/External
Competition/ExternalThreat
Threat • •Groupthink (-)
Groupthink (-)
• •Success
Success • •Norm Adherence (+/-)
Norm Adherence (+/-)

GROUP
GROUP
COHESIVENESS
COHESIVENESS
FACTORSTHAT
FACTORS THAT CONSEQUENCE
CONSEQUENCEOF
OFLOW
LOW
DECREASECOHESIVENESS:
DECREASE COHESIVENESS: COHESIVENESS:
COHESIVENESS:
•Difficulty
•DifficultyininAchieving
AchievingGoals
Goals (-)
(-)
• •Heterogeneous
HeterogeneousComposition
Composition
• •Increased Likelihood of Disbanding (-)
• RecentFormation
Formation Increased Likelihood of Disbanding (-)
• Recent • •Fewer Interactions (-)
• LargeSize
Size Fewer Interactions (-)
• Large • •Individual Orientation (-)
• Physical Dispersion Individual Orientation (-)
• Physical Dispersion •Conflict
•Conflict (+/-)
(+/-)
• •Ambiguous
AmbiguousGoals
Goals
• •Low Norm Adherence (+/-)
Low Norm Adherence (+/-)
• •Failure
Failure
LOW
 Immature
ImmatureTeam
Team Mature
MatureTeam
Team

1. Feedback mechanism poor

poor excellent
excellent

2. Decision-making methods dysfunctional

dysfunctional functional
functional

3. Group loyalty/cohesion low

low high
high

4. Operating procedures inflexible

inflexible flexible
flexible

5. Use of member resources poor

poor excellent
excellent

6. Communications unclear
unclear clear
clear

7. Goals not
notaccepted
accepted accepted
accepted

8. Authority relations independent

independent interdependent
interdependent

9. Participation in leadership low

low high
high

10. Acceptance of minority views low

low high
high
Team Leader Roles
 Hersey and Blanchard’s
Situational Leadership Model
Situational Leadership is based on an interplay
among
(1) Amount of guidance and direction a leader
gives (Task Behaviour)
(2) Amount of Socio-emotional support a leader
provides (Relationship Behaviour)
(3) The readiness level that followers exhibit in
performing a specific task
 The Evolution of Work
The nature of work has evolved over the last 20 years

Physical Mental

Physical Injury Psychosocial illness

The Product Development Environment has Changed:

- Complex patterns of Techno-Commercial relationships
- Empowerment
- Individual responsibility
- Greater accountability
- Increased workload
 Pressure / Performance Curve

Motivates Frustrates
Challenges Angers
Focuses Tires

Optimal
performance Overload

Fatigue, poor judgment

Performance

and decision-making

Exhaustion / onset
of serious health
problems
Rust-out Burnout
Demands or Pressure
 How does stress affect people??
Certain level of stress in our lives is healthy as it motivates
to succeed and be competitive.

However, at some point we achieve our optimal performance

and no longer have the ability to cope effectively. At this
point our performance begins to drop, our mental and/or
physical wellness may be at risk.
Stress can alter the way people think, feel and behave and
can produce physiological functions. When stress in intense
and chronic the effects can lead to longer term health
problems.
Work can have cumulative effect.
 Stress Busters Objectives
 Raise awareness of the causes and effects of stress
 Encourage and support the use of good practice and
preventative measures by Team Leaders and employees
 Develop and understand how to recognize signs of stress in
self and others and ensure the correct intervention in taken
 Identify supporting materials, resources, networks,
training, etc
 Stress Management Strategy
Raised Awareness
1. Understanding • Better understanding & creating a safe environment to report
• Identification; who, where, when, what, why

Taking targeted measures based on identified stressors

2. Prevention • Mgt practices and work conditions
• Function, Team and individual ownership

Programs to assist staff in understanding and coping with stress /

3. Personal improving resilience and tools to look after individual health and well-
being
Coping Strategies
• e.g. Training, Personal Health Assessments, Exercise, Relaxation tools

Intervention to facilitate recovery / access treatment

4. Intervention /
• HR, Occupational Health, EAP (employee assistance programs)
Issue Treatment Counseling, Medical treatment)

Incident
poor morale DAFWC / sick leave permanent health damage nervous breakdown suicide
 Preventative Plan

 Educate yourself on what causes stress in the

workplace and actively work to minimize those
things within your control

 Fulfill your personal commitment to staff

Lead by example
Have an open and understanding attitude
Set the team culture
Give regular feedback on good/not so good
 Preventative
Find out if stress could be a problem for anyone
in your team
 Team Assessment
What’s causing high and long-lasting levels of
stress
What are you doing to prevent harm
Review assessment periodically, especially
when significant changes occur

 Check your assessment by involving the team

What are the three best/exciting and the three
worst aspects of the job and whether these put
the staff under excessive pressure.
 Prevention
 Work to eliminate or manage internal issues
that are affecting your team member and
causing them anxiety

 Understand your own physiological response

to stressors and work to change your reaction
to a proactive stance
Research has found that support at work, particularly from
Project Managers for their Team Members, has a protective
effect – front line prevention by the organization is better than
third party cure.
Key to Effective Leadership: Trust
• Integrity
– Honesty and truthfulness
• Competence
– Technical and interpersonal knowledge and skills
• Consistency
– Reliability, predictability, and good judgment
• Loyalty
– Willingness to protect and save face for a person
• Openness
– Willingness to share ideas and information freely

Five Dimensions of Trust: Key to Stress

Deterrence
Thank You!