Predicting Perceptions of Team Process Using Optimal Distinctiveness Theory

There are conflicting findings in team diversity research on whether it is better for an individual on a team to be similar to or different from the rest of the team. This lab study with undergraduates completing a critical thinking and decision-making task uses optimal distinctiveness theory to examine the idea that finding a balance between these two states for team member personality will result in positive perceptions of team process. Our results supported this such that participants had the most positive perceptions of team process when optimally distinct from the rest of the team in terms of personality.

Multilevel analysis of evolution of team process and their relation to performance in semi-professional soccer

The aim of the study was to examine the evolution of players' perception of group variables (leadership, motivational climate, cohesion, and collective efficacy) and to determine whether the intercept and growth trajectory differed as a function of whether expectations have or have not been met in a sample of semi-professional Spanish football players. The results show that the levels of the variables (except for autocratic leadership and coach-created ego climate) decrease over the season. Furthermore, the mean scores of the “fully meets expectations” group were significantly higher in positive leader characteristics, coach-created task climate, cohesion and collective efficacy. Also, rates of decline were significantly greater in the “does not meet expectations” group. The results indicate the importance of establishing reachable expectations by coaches and players because to achieve or to miss the expected goals can affect psychological group dynamics.

Effect of chief executive officers as servant leaders on team project performance: A social learning perspective

This study explored the mechanism through which chief executive officers' (CEOs) servant leadership style affects team project performance. We established a multilevel mechanism through which servant leadership exerts an indirect influence on team performance via team goal clarity and team process clarity. Participants comprised 100 CEOs matched with 572 middle managers, working at intelligence intensive companies. Our results show that CEOs' servant leadership, through its effect on team goal clarity, team process clarity, and team knowledge creation, had an indirect influence on team project performance. Thus, leadership selection and training programs should be developed for CEOs, and top leaders should stimulate employees' understanding of team goals and work processes.

Shared Leadership

Shared leadership refers to an emergent, collective team process where leadership is distributed among and stems from team members, rather than a single designated leader. While shared leadership has gained considerable attention in the literature in recent years, it has received little attention in information systems (IS) project teams. In this study, a theoretical moderation framework in IS project teams that portrays the positive relationship between shared leadership and IS project success is presented. Moreover, project-centered moderators (i.e., project complexity and project task interdependence) and team-centered moderators (i.e., team autonomy and team supportive culture) have been proposed to influence the shared leadership-IS project success relationship. This study proposes that this relationship is stronger when projects are more complex and more interdependent, and when teams have a higher level of autonomy and supportive culture.

How the Team Norm of Information Exchange and Team Information Processing Affects Team Performance in Software Development Projects?

This study examines how the team norm of information exchange and team information processing affects team performance. Data were collected from 354 project teams from software development companies in Thailand. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. The results of the study revealed that team norms of information exchange (TNM) has a significant relationship with team information processing (PRO). Team information processing positively influences team performance (TPM). Software development organisations could adopt such norms and this team process to improve software development projects performance and recognise team processes, which is essential for long-term sustainability and competitiveness.

The Dual Effect of Transformational Leadership on Individual- and Team-Level Performance: The Mediational Roles of Motivational Processes

Using matched four-stage data from 477 team members and their 132 team leaders in Chinese companies, we examined a cross-level model in which group- and individual-focused transformational leadership (TFL) and their influence on team and member performance from the perspective of multilevel model of motivation in teams. The results indicated that group-focused TFL exerts positive effects through sequential mediation of team efficacy and team process whereas individual-focused TFL has a positive effect on team members' performance through sequential mediation of followers' self-efficacy and individual regulation process. In addition, we also find significant cross-level mediation effects demonstrating that group-focused TFL was positively related to self-efficacy through the mediator of team efficacy, team efficacy was positively related to the individual regulation process through the mediator of the team process, team process was positively related to individual performance through the mediator of the individual regulation process. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.

A Communication Audit Exercise to Enhance Virtual Team and Individual Communication Skills

This article outlines a unique student activity designed to close the gap between students’ perceived and actual communication and team behavior during virtual group meetings. The Communication Audit exercise requires that students record an online small group meeting and then review the recording while categorizing each verbal remark into observable behaviors aligned to the instructor’s learning objectives. The audit delivers objective data to students concerning their team habits and leads to excellent discussions of opportunities to improve team dynamics and individual contributions to a team process.

Understanding how team process-sequences emerge over time and their relationship to team performance

Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore the team process-sequences executed within and across performance episodes and their relation to team performance. In doing so, this effort responds to the call for examining the temporal and dynamic aspects of teams. Design/methodology/approach Data (i.e. observations and audio recordings) was collected from the stand-up meetings of three high-performing Scrum teams across six points in time during two consecutive performance episodes (i.e. beginning, midpoint, end). After content coding the data, lag sequential analyses was used to examine patterns of executed team processes to determine whether particular process-sequences occurred significantly different from others. Findings Teams shifted between transition and action phase processes during performance episodes. During and across performance episodes, process-sequences primarily consisted of transition processes. When teams executed process-sequences consisting solely of action phase processes, their focus was on monitoring processes. Research limitations/implications This study hopes that the findings here will serve to spur researchers to more fully investigate the relationship between process-sequences and team performance across various team types. However, limitations (e.g. small sample size, unknown point of teams’ life cycle and focus on explicit team processes) should be taken into account when building on the present findings. Originality/value This study contributes to a better understanding of the temporal and dynamic nature of team processes by analyzing how the team process and process-sequences occur across time. In addition, this study moves beyond most studies that assess team processes as static retrospective perceptions and consider their natural ordering.