Matrix Teams

As a leader, you might need to form a matrix team, lead one, or simply be part of one. Matrix teams include work groups, cross functional teams, task forces, problem solving teams, committees, special project teams, etc. They are normally composed of a small number of people from different departments, functions, or organizations who have banded together to solve a common problem or achieve a goal through collaboration. And as Growing a Team indicated, what differs a team from a group is the ability to accomplish much more through the use of knowledge and skill sharing.

Some organizations have working groups that call themselves teams, but their work is produced by a combination of individual contributions. Teams produce work that is based on collaboration and collective effort.

Katzenbach and Smith (1986) defined a team as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and a common approach that they hold themselves mutually accountable:

  • The small number normally ranges from 2 to 25 members, with somewhere between 5 and 9 as normally the most manageable and optimal. If the number goes above 9, communication tends to become centralized because members do not have an adequate opportunity to speak to each other. If the group size is below 5, then the collective experience, skill, and knowledge base could be inadequate.
  • Complementary skills provide synergy when the team is diverse and various ideas and multiple skills are combined. If the team is composed of like-thinking individuals, a congenital group-think often sets in that limits the number of solutions for creative problem solving.
  • Common purpose is the driving force of teams. The team must develop its own purpose that must be meaningful and have ownership by all individuals. A team needs to periodically revisit its purpose in order to make it more relevant as the team develops (often called an agenda). This type of agenda is open. On the other hand are hidden agendas that select individuals try to push forth. Hidden agendas prevent the group from turning into a true team due to the emotions and motives that are hidden under the discussion table.
  • Performance goals are the acting, moving, and energizing force of the team. Specific performance goals are established, tracked, met, and evaluated in an ongoing process.
  • Common approaches are the means in which members agree on how they will work together. Teams should develop their own charter or set of rules that outline the expected behaviors of its members. Members often assume roles, such as the Questioner or Devil's Advocate, Historian, Time Keeper, and Facilitator, to keep the team processes moving and on course.
  • Mutually accountability is the aspect of teamwork that is normally the last to develop. It is the owning and sharing of the team's outcomes, both successes and failures.

The Knowledge Tug-of-War Game

One of the main inhibiters of a team obtaining its goal optimally is knowledge hoarding rather than knowledge sharing. There are many cultural factors that inhibit knowledge transfer. The most common of these frictions include (Davenport & Prusak 1998):

  • Lack of trust
  • Different cultures, vocabularies, & frames of reference
  • Lack of time and meeting places; narrow idea of productive work
  • Status and rewards go to knowledge owners
  • Lack of absorptive capacity in recipients
  • Belief that knowledge is prerogative of particular groups
  • Not-invented-here syndrome
  • Intolerance for mistakes or need for help
A basic tenet of communication theory states that a network's (team) potential benefit grows exponentially as the nodes it can successfully interconnect expand numerically. For example, if two team members share information, both gain information and gain linear growth. And if both then share their new knowledge with other team members, and in turn get questions, amplifications, and modifications, then the benefits become exponential.

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning

Tuckman (1965) discovered that teams normally go through five stages of growth: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and finally Adjourning.

Forming

In the this stage, team members are introduced. They state why they were chosen or volunteered for the team and what they hope to accomplish within the team. Members cautiously explore the boundaries of acceptable group behavior. This is a stage of transition from individual to member status, and of testing the leader's guidance both formally and informally.

Forming includes these feelings and behaviors:

  • Excitement, anticipation, and optimism
  • Pride in being chosen for the project
  • A tentative attachment to the team
  • Suspicion and anxiety about the job
  • Defining the tasks and how they will be accomplished
  • Determining acceptable group behavior
  • Deciding what information needs to be gathered
Activities include abstract discussions of the concepts and issues; and for some members, impatience with these discussions. There is often difficulty in identifying some of the relevant problems as there is so much going on that members get distracted. The team often accomplishes little concerning its goals. This is perfectly normal.

Storming

The team's transition from the "As-Is" to the "To-Be" is called the Storming phase. All members have their own ideas as to how the process should look, and personal agendas are often rampant. Storming is probably the most difficult stage for the team. They begin to realize the tasks that are ahead are different and more difficult than they previously imagined. Impatient about the lack of progress, members argue about just what actions the team should take. They try to rely solely on their personal and professional experience, and resist collaborating with most other team members.

Storming includes these feelings and behaviors:

  • Resisting the tasks
  • Resisting quality improvement approaches suggested by other members
  • Sharp fluctuations in attitude about the team's chance of success
  • Arguing among members, even when they agree on the real issues
  • Defensiveness, competition, and choosing sides
  • Questioning the wisdom of those who selected the project and appointed the members of the team
  • Establishing unrealistic goals
  • Disunity, increased tension, and jealousy
These pressures mean that team members have little energy to spend on progressing towards the intended goal. But they are beginning to understand each another. This phase can often take 3 or 4 meetings before arriving at the next phase.

Norming

The Norming phase is when the team reaches a consensus on the "To-Be" process. Everyone wants to share the newly found focus. Enthusiasm is high, and the team is often tempted to go beyond the original scope of the process. During this stage, members reconcile competing loyalties and responsibilities. They accept the team, ground rules, roles, and the individuality of fellow members. Emotional conflict is reduced as previously competitive relationships become more cooperative.

Norming includes these feelings and behaviors:

  • An ability to express criticism constructively
  • Acceptance of membership in the team
  • An attempt to achieve harmony by avoiding conflict
  • Friendliness, confiding in each other, and sharing of personal problems
  • A sense of team cohesion, spirit, and goals
  • Establishing and maintaining team ground rules and boundaries
As team members work out their differences, they have more time and energy to spend on the project.

Performing

By now the team has settled its relationships and expectations. They can begin performing by diagnosing, problem solving, and implementing changes. At last, team members have discovered and accepted other's strengths and weakness. In addition, they have learned what their roles are. Performing includes these feelings and behaviors:
  • Members have insights into personal and group processes
  • An understanding of each other's strengths and weakness
  • Constructive self-change
  • Ability to prevent or work through group problems
  • Close attachment to the team
The team is now an effective, cohesive unit. You can tell when your team has reached this stage because you start getting a lot of work done.

Adjourning

The team briefs and shares the improved process during this phase. When the team finally completes that last briefing, there is always a bittersweet sense of accomplishment coupled with the reluctance to say good-bye. Many relationships formed within these teams continue long after the team disbands.

Factors Separating Teams from Groups

Roles and Responsibilities

Within a group, individuals establish a set of behaviors called roles. These roles set expectations governing relationships. Roles often serve as source of confusion and conflict. While on the other hand, teams have a shared understanding on how to perform their role and perceive the other team members' roles.

Identity

While teams have an identity, groups do not. It is almost impossible to establish the sense of cohesion that characterizes a team without this fundamental step. A team has a clear understanding about what constitutes the team's mission and why it is important. They can describe a picture of what the team needs to achieve, and the norms and values that will guide them.

Cohesion

Teams have esprit that shows a sense of bonding and camaraderie. Esprit is the spirit, soul, and state of mind of the team. It is the overall consciousness of the team that a person identifies with and feels a part of. Individuals begin using "we" rather than "me."

Facilitate

Groups have a tendency to get bogged down with trivial issues. Ask yourself, "How much time gets wasted in meetings you attend?" Teams use facilitators to keep the team on the right path.

Communication

While members of a group are centered upon themselves, the team is committed to open communication. Team members feel they can state their opinions, thoughts, and feelings without fear. Listening is considered as important as speaking. Differences of opinion are valued and methods of managing conflict are understood. Through honest and caring feedback, members are aware of their strengths and weaknesses as team members. There is an atmosphere of trust and acceptance and a sense of community.

Flexibility

Most groups are extremely rigid. However, Teams maintain a high level of flexibility, and they perform different task and maintenance functions as needed. The responsibility for team development and leadership is shared. The strengths of each member are identified and used.

Morale

Team members are enthusiastic about the work of the team and each person feels pride in being a member of the team. Team spirit is high. To be a successful team, the group must have a strong ability to produce results and a high degree of satisfaction in working with one another.

Encouraging Great Ideas

All too often, creativity gets stifled when everyone follows the rules or arriving at solutions the same old way. Teams often become so task-oriented that they narrow down their focus much too soon by choosing the first likely solution, rather than adequately investigating the situation and its possibilities by brainstorming.

References

Davenport, T. & Prusak L. (1998). How Organizations Manage What They Know. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Bodwell, D. (1996, 1997). High Performance Teams

Katzenbach, J. & Smith, D. (1986). The Wisdom of Teams. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review Press.

Margerison, C. & McCann, D. (1985). How to Lead a Winning Team, MCB University Press.

Quinn, J., Anderson, P., Finkelstein, S. (1998). Managing professional Intellect. Harvard Business Review on Knowledge Management. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Tuckman, B.W. Developmental Sequence in Small Groups. Psychological Bulletin, vol. 63, 1965, pp. 384-399.

Wellins, R., Byham, W., Wilson, J. (1991). Empowered Teams: Creating Self-Directed Work Groups That Improve Quality, Productivity, and Participation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Team Checklist

Goals

Clear mission statement

Measurable objectives

Prioritized objectives

Goals set in all key task areas

Roles

Clear roles, relationships, and accountabilities

Appropriate leadership style for team tasks

Individuals competent to perform their key tasks

Appropriate mix of roles for team tasks

Procedures

Effective decisions reached

Effectively shared information

Key activities coordinated

High quality products and services

Conflict managed effectively within the team

Internal Relationships

No areas of mistrust

Constructive feedback

Supportive and competitive relationships

External Relationships

Good interactions with other key groups

Key external relationships built and monitored

 

Notes

For author and copyright information, see the About page.
Created May 11, 1997
Updated September 3, 2008

 

A Big Dog, Little Dog and Knowledge Jump Production.
Contact: donclark@nwlink.com