Browsing by Subject "Team Performance"
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Item The Functionality of Focus: An Investigation into the Interactive Effects of Leader Focus and Team Interdependence(2012-07-16) Harris, ThomasTeam leadership research has largely relied on traditional dyadic models (i.e., those capturing one-on-one relationships between a leader and follower) to explain team-level phenomena. Despite recent advancements, much of this research falls short of addressing the complexity inherent to teams. One promising alternative to the traditional perspectives, functional leadership theory, moves beyond the constraints of dyadic models and instead advances a needs-based approach for understanding team leadership (i.e., effective leaders are those that meet any and all team needs). Although intuitive, the ambiguous nature of simply meeting team needs does not provide sufficient specificity as to how exactly leaders meet team needs. In an effort to address this issue, I introduce a multi-dimensional construct, called leader focus, to explain how leaders meet team needs by focusing their efforts on teamwork or taskwork (i.e., person-task focus) as well as different relational entities in the team (i.e., entity focus). In total, I propose six unique foci of team leadership: individual task-focus, team task-focus, subgroup task-focus, individual person-focus, team person-focus, and subgroup person-focus. Next, using social interdependence theory, I hypothesize that individual-focused leadership is most effective when task interdependence is low, whereas team- and subgroup-focused leadership are most effective when task interdependence is high. Further, person-focused leadership is hypothesized to influence team effectiveness by way of interpersonal processes; task-focused leadership is argued to influence team effectiveness via task-related processes. In a sample of 89 firefighting crews, partial support is found for the multi-foci model of team leadership. Team task-focused leadership influences team task performance indirectly through task processes; team person-focused and subgroup person-focused leadership influence team helping behaviors through interpersonal processes. Moreover, the relationship between individual task-focused and subgroup task-focused leadership on team processes is contingent on task interdependence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Item The influence of team mental models and team planning on team performance(2009-06-02) Leiva Neuenschwander, Pedro IgnacioSince Cannon-Bowers, Salas, and Converse (1993) introduced the concept of mental models (MMs) to team performance research, theory and research have supported the idea that common cognitions among team members facilitate team performance. One of the processes that contributes to MM similarity is team planning. In this study, the influence of two planning approaches on MM similarity and team performance are compared for teams that have engaged in different teamwork and taskwork experiences. The purpose of the present study was threefold. First, I investigated the influence of team members' experience on their pre-planning teamwork and taskwork MM similarity. Second, I assessed the influence of pre-planning teamwork and taskwork MM similarity and two planning approaches on post-planning MM similarity. Third, I examined the influence of post-planning teamwork and taskwork MM similarity on team performance. I tested these relationships with 172 three-person ad hoc teams performing a problem-solving execution task in a lab setting. I employed a 2 (type of planning: casebased versus generative) x 3 (type of experience: teamwork, taskwork, combined teamwork and taskwork) fully crossed randomized between-subjects factorial design. Although none of the hypotheses were supported, experience significantly interacted with pre-planning taskwork and pre-planning teamwork MM similarity to influence post-planning MM similarity. Also, team performance was significantly influenced by post-planning teamwork MM similarity for teams assigned to the casebased planning and teamwork experience conditions. Speculations as to why the hypotheses were not supported and suggestions for future research examining the influence of experience and planning on MM similarity and team performance are provided.