36- Teams and Groups - Part 2 - Teams versus Groups

Key Takeaways

Hello. In part two, we will focus on group cohesion, collective efficacy, social loafing, and team dynamics. These concepts help explain why some groups perform well, and others struggle. One, cohesion. Cohesion is like the social glue of a group. It reflects how much group members like each other, enjoy working together, and feel attached to the group. Highly cohesive groups act almost like a single unit, forming a collective identity. Cohesive groups are typically more productive and more rewarding experiences for members. They share values, goals, and norms and usually maintain structured patterns of communication. Factors that increase cohesion include one, similarity. People naturally bond with those who are similar in age, skills, attitudes, or values. Two, stability. Groups that stay together longer develop stronger cohesion. Familiarity builds trust. Three, size. Smaller groups tend to be more cohesive. Four, support, coaching, and encouragement from leaders or peers strengthens cohesion. Five, satisfaction. When members are pleased with each other's performance and behavior, cohesion increases. Benefits of cohesive groups. Buffers against stress and improves well-being. Members attend regularly and actively participate. Members take responsibility and persevere through challenges. Group cohesion can have negative consequences as well. Here are some potential downsides of excessive cohesion. Pressure to conform. Members may avoid disagreement to fit in. Conflict avoidance. Avoiding difficult discussions can harm decision quality. Group collectivism. Strong group identity may lead to seeing outsiders as inferior. Group think. Highly cohesive groups may make flawed decisions by suppressing dissending opinions. In conclusion, cohesion alone doesn't guarantee organizational performance. If a group is cohesive but its goals are misaligned with the organization, the group may perform poorly. Two, collective efficacy. Collective efficacy is a group level concept similar to self-efficacy, which is an individual's belief in their ability to succeed. Definition. It is a group's shared belief in its ability to achieve its goals. A group can have members with high self-efficacy but low collective efficacy if they do not work well together. Conversely, even if individual members doubt their abilities, a group can have high collective efficacy if they believe they can succeed together. Collective efficacy is a strong predictor of group performance because it reflects the group's confidence in its joint capabilities. Three, social loafing. Social loafing is the tendency for individuals to put in less effort in a group compared to when working alone. This effect was first studied by Ringleman who found that as more people pulled on a rope, the total effort was less than the sum of individual efforts. Causes include O feeling that one person's effort is insignificant. O believing others are not contributing equally. O assuming that no one will notice individual effort. Reducing social loafing. Ensure perceived fairness. Members contribute more when they believe effort is recognized. Provide feedback and accountability. Four, teams versus groups. Why do we work in teams if social loafing exists? Teams are a specific type of group with higher cohesion, shared goals, and mutual accountability. Team members press each other to contribute, reducing social loafing. Teams create synergy, meaning the group's combined output exceeds individual contributions. Key properties of effective teams. One, collaborative action. Members depend on each other's tasks. Two, shared rewards. Outcomes, and recognition are based on the team's performance. Three, reduced internal competition. Members prioritize team goals over individual gain. Five, task interdependence. Team performance depends on how tasks are structured. There are three main types of task interdependence. One, pulled interdependence. Members work independently. Outputs are combined at the end. Efficient but less creative. Two, sequential interdependence. One person's output becomes another's input. Moderately effective. Allows some collaboration. Three, reciprocal interdependence. Work and ideas are shared back and forth continuously. Highly effective but requires more coordination. Six, team roles. Research identifies three categories of team roles. One, task roles. Focus on completing tasks and achieving goals. Two, social roles. Maintain relationships and team cohesion. Three, boundary spanning roles. Connect the team with external resources, advice or stakeholders. Roles are flexible. A single person may temporarily play multiple roles or the team may collectively handle them. Seven types of teams. Teams can also be categorized by purpose and structure. Task force. Temporary team formed to solve a specific issue. Product development team works to design or develop a product ends when product is delivered. Cross-functional team members from different departments collaborate on tasks needing diverse expertise. Example, a marketing, engineering, and design team working together to launch a new product. Teams often experience multiple types of tasks over time depending on their goals and projects.