Author Archives: Dave Daly

Strategies to Achieve Successful Team Performance

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As team-based work becomes an increasingly common and important part of modern organizations, it’s important to ensure that teams use the most effective strategies to maximize performance.

There are two important aspects of team-based work that teams must manage to improve their performance: task-work and teamwork.

  • Task-work deals with how teams accomplish work tasks.
  • Team-work deals with how teams work with each other and with other teams.

Managing both task-work and team-work requires that teams invest time into planning these activities before starting work on the task at hand. Often, teams consider planning activities to be low-priority, but in reality, putting time into these activities up-front can lead to significant performance gains and reduced process loss in the long run.

Team Charters

A team charter lays out the plans for how the team will manage various teamwork activities, or in other words, an operation plan that will guide the team through the work process. Team charters have several purposes, including:

  • Clarifying roles and expectations for team members
  • Determining the team’s strengths, as well as areas that may require additional development
  • Identifying stakeholders and opportunities that may aid in accomplishing the team’s goals
  • Specifying how the team will make decisions if conflicts arise (e.g. through voting vs. consensus)
  • Setting up feedback mechanisms and processes for performance evaluation.

The team charter can be developed either by the team as a whole, or by the team leadership or other managers. However, it’s important that all team members agree to the terms of the charter before work begins, so that everyone is “on the same page.” Step-by-step resources about how to develop a team charter are abundant online; a search using the term “team charter” will provide many examples.

Performance Strategies

Performance strategies explicitly delineate what the team intends to do and how they intend to accomplish the required tasks. This includes:

  • Prioritizing goals and objectives (short-term and long-term)
  • Delineating a plan of action that will address each of the required tasks
  • Defining the specific tactics that will be employed to achieve the team’s goals
  • Contingency planning and developing alternative strategies to task completion

As with the team charter, make sure that all team members are “on board” with the performance strategy in order to increase commitment and performance.

Teams as dynamic entities

Like living beings, teams can be thought of as having a life cycle with a beginning, middle, and an end. Similar to living creatures, events that take place early in a team’s life can have a profound impact on how it functions later in life. By establishing structured team-work and task-work patterns early on, teams can promote effective functioning for the future. Some components of high-quality planning include:

  • Having an orientation toward the future
  • High levels of interpersonal interaction between team members
  • Accurate knowledge about team strengths and weaknesses
  • Clearly-defined roles for team members
  • Adequate and accurate resource allocation

Teams that establish a quality charter and performance strategies early in the process will be able to concentrate efforts on performance rather than dealing with administrative issues, mistakes, duplication of work, miscommunications, or other process-loss issues – ultimately leading to higher levels of performance.

Practical Advice

There are several ways to promote increased team-work and task-work among work groups.

  • Team-work.Encourage teams to develop charters that are both complete and consistent.
    • Rather than stating that “group meetings will be held as necessary,” a complete charter might lay out a schedule for meetings as well as details on when and where the meetings are to be held and what topics are to be discussed.
    • A consistent charter will match team members’ skills and expertise to their assigned tasks.
  • Task-work.Performance strategies should be as specific as possible.
    • Teams should develop performance outcome goals for the future (e.g. yearly, 5 year) in terms of return on investment, revenues, net income, etc.
    • Performance strategies should identify key markets and outline plans to target those markets through pricing, brand image, advertising budget, product line breadth, etc.

The best performance outcomes are a result of a combination of sustained high-quality team-work and task-work. Although the initial time investment into these planning activities is significant, the performance gains that result can be substantial.

Interpretation by:

Michelle Toelle

DeGarmo Group

This was a summary of the research and practice implications from: Mathieu, J.E, & Rapp, T.L. (2009). Laying the foundation for successful team performance trajectories: The roles of team charters and performance strategies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94 (1), 90-103.

How CEO Values Affect Company Performance

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Top organizational leaders receive the highest compensation, because the direction they provide is largely responsible for the success of companies. One of the primary ways that CEOs (Chief Executive Officers) affect the way their companies operate is by sharing the different sets of values they possess.

A person’s value set includes his or her beliefs regarding acceptable modes of conduct in particular situations, acting as principles which guide behaviors.

A CEO’s values set the stage for the culture of the organization, which in turn influences its growth, efficiency, and member behavior. Through the strategic decisions they make, CEOs impress their values upon the culture of the organization.

How Culture Is Affected by Values

The way organization members enact, or articulate, their personal values help to create a shared meaning which forms the culture of an organization. An organization’s culture can be seen through its norms and rituals.

Three frequent types of culture consistently seen across organizations are:

  • Innovative: demonstrated through entrepreneurial, creative, and risk-taking behaviors.
  • Bureaucratic: seen through an emphasis on rules, consistency, and structure.
  • Supportive: seen in trust, encouragement, and collaborative relationships.

Each type of culture is associated with a different set of CEO personal values. Because CEOs are primarily accountable for the success or failure of an organization, they are responsible for making sure the organization’s culture is able to keep up with the changes to the organization’s environment.

The way CEOs are able to modify an organization’s culture is likely to echo pieces of their own personal value systems.

The sets of personal values that correspond most closely with the three types of organizational culture are:

  • Self-direction – making one’s own choices, expressing free thought, and having independence.
  • Security – having stability, preserving order, and maintaining predictability.
  • Benevolence – having concern for others, attending to their needs, and establishing supportive relationships.

It follows then that the three value sets correspond to the cultural types in this way:

  • CEOs who value self-direction, tend to lead highly innovative organizations.
  • CEOs who value security, tend to lead highly bureaucratic organizations.
  • CEOs who value benevolence, tend to lead highly supportive organizations.

Organizational Outcomes Related to CEO Values

An organization’s culture (influenced by the CEO’s values) contributes to different performance outcomes. The particular outcomes experienced depend on the values a CEO impresses upon its organization’s culture.

  • CEOs valuing self-direction, who lead innovative organizations, tend to experience outcomes such as high sales growth.
  • CEOs valuing security, who lead bureaucratic organizations, tend to experience outcomes like efficiency, though sometimes elicit negative employee satisfaction.
  • CEOs valuing benevolence, who lead highly supportive organizations, tend to experience outcomes like greater employee satisfaction.

The relationships between the sets of CEO values, organizations’ cultures, and likely performance outcomes are straightforward. Other potential combinations between the value dimensions, cultural aspects, and performance outcomes are not as likely.

For example, bureaucratic organizations that emphasize stability and predictability are unlikely to foster creativity and risk-taking. Likewise, organizations with a strong focus on the needs of its employee’s are likely to have difficulty promoting other incompatible organizational goals, like sales growth.

Practical Implications:

In order for the links between the values, culture, and likely outcomes to be fully understood, CEOs must increase awareness of their value systems. Identifying how one’s values fit with different cultural aspects can help CEOs find the appropriate balance between their own values and the needs of the organization’s culture in order to achieve desired outcomes.

For example, organizations needing to invigorate themselves to remain competitive might choose to enact a more innovative culture that is counter to the CEO’s preference for security and stability. In such instances, the CEO may choose to depend on the (more culturally compatible) values of other executives for leading the organization in a new direction.

Interpretation by:

Kathleen Melcher

DeGarmo Group

This was a summary of the research and practice implications from: Berson, Y., Oreg, S., & Dvir, T. (2008). CEO values, organizational culture, and firm outcomes. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 29, 615-633.

Reduce Turnover and Hire Better Performers with the CFI and CASH

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DeGarmo Group will be hosting two informational webcast sessions on the Collections Fit Index (CFI) and    Collection Agent Simulation for Hiring (CASH).

The Collections Fit Index is designed specifically to reduce employee turnover and improve person-job fit for Collection Agents!

Its web-based interface allows for efficient applicant assessment on-site and remotely, with immediate access to test results following the assessment.

Collection Agent Simulation for Hiring (CASH) is a web-delivered simulation that realistically depicts a typical day in the life of a Collector and accurately predicts future job performance. CASH lets applicants “test-drive” the Collections job and experience what it’s like to interact with customers and perform job activities.

Each 1 hour session is designed to provide attendees with information on the CFI and CASH, and how they can be used to improve retention and performance among new hires. The sessions will also include live question and answer with attendees.

CFI and CASH Overview & Demo

Tuesday, June 8th, 11:00AM – 12:00 PM ET

Register Now!

Thursday, June 10th, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET

Register Now!

Achieving Value Fit Through Socialized Charismatic Leadership

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Person-organization fit focusing on values has become a hot topic recently. Values are personal beliefs about what is important and what actions ought to be done (or not done). These beliefs help shape personal goals and the behaviors directed towards achieving those goals. Value fit occurs when organizations and their employees share similar values and is associated with several important work outcomes, such that greater fit is related to higher performance and less turnover.

However, because basic values are deeply rooted and difficult to transform, leaders can have an arduous time trying to align employee values to be consistent with organizational change initiatives. Recent research indicates that a particular type of leadership, called socialized charismatic leadership, can affect the success leaders will achieve in developing new values in their subordinates.

What is “Socialized Charismatic Leadership”?

Socialized charismatic leadership (SCL) is a type of leadership characterized by a leader’s altruistic intent and helping others internalize his or her values. SCL is part of the broader concept of transformational leadership, which involves leaders inspiring their followers and acting as ideal figures after which others can model themselves.

The Role of Occupations in Value Fit

As mentioned above, values are deeply rooted and have a strong influence on behavior. An example of the influence of values on behavior is occupation or career choice. People are attracted to and stay in occupations that are driven by values that are similar to their personal values. For example, people who strongly believe in helping others are more likely to become therapists, social workers, nurses, or doctors. People who strongly value competition are likely to seek out jobs in industries where those values can be pursued, such as sales or marketing.

SCL and Organizational Change

The key to understanding how successful changes in organizational values will be transmitted to employees is knowing that failure will result if the new values are in conflict with deeply held employee values. Leaders high in socialized charisma are better able to align new values with employee-held values than are leaders low in SCL.  Socialized charismatic leaders may be good at achieving this alignment because they frame the organization’s values in such a way that they are consistent with or complement employee values. Framing values in this way can help followers be more accepting of change than they otherwise might be.

Implications for Practice

Some suggestions for how to utilize the concepts of SCL and value fit for organizational change include:

  • Consider value fit in recruitment and selection. Employees are attracted to jobs and organizations that match their values and withdraw from those that don’t. Be upfront about your organization’s values in order to attract those with the greatest likelihood of staying and thriving in their jobs. Also, consider using validated selection measures to hire those applicants who best fit with the organization’s core values.
  • Understand the values underlying each position. In order to successfully screen based on values, it is first necessary to understand what values are associated with the work in question. Determine if the work is associated with helping others, getting ahead of others, accumulating wealth, creating new innovations, etc.
  • Don’t promote values that contradict commonly held employee values. Understanding employees’ underlying values is also important when organizational change initiatives are being developed. Conflict may be reduced or preempted by framing company values in such a way that they are likely to be regarded as complementing those held by employees.
  • Identify organization change leaders. In times of change, it is important for the organization to have champions that can build support for the needed transformations (i.e., leaders high in SCL). Have systems in place for identifying, mentoring, and grooming such champions so that they can be in positions of leadership to best move the company forward through transition periods.

Achieving value alignment between leadership and employees can be difficult in times of change. An organization can help maximize its success by having policies in place that bring the best fitting employees on board and develop internal charismatic leaders to make current and future changes to the status quo go as smoothly as possible.

Interpretation by:

Don Johnson

DeGarmo Group

This was a summary of the research and practice implications from: Brown, M. E., & Trevino, L. K. (2009). Leader-follower values congruence: Are socialized charismatic leaders better able to achieve it? Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 478-490.

Managers Who Care

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The workplace can be thought of as a living organism, in which each employee is a ‘cell’. In the same way that an organism can only function properly if all cells are working correctly, a workplace needs all employees to function in order to succeed. Negative emotion is an often overlooked problem that can hinder the functioning of an employee.

Negative Emotions in the Workplace

Stress, anxiety, and tension resulting from work and home life can lead to negative emotions, and these negative emotions can dramatically impair the functioning of an entire organization. Employees experiencing negative emotions often perform work less efficiently and with more errors, which can cause productivity problems for others. Additionally, these individuals can have a negative attitude towards others, causing negative emotions in others, thus, spreading an epidemic.

Changes in Views on Negative Emotions

For many years emotions at work were hidden, as people would rather walk around with a blindfold than see people having emotional problems and try to intervene. In fact, not only was there an unwillingness to help, but the mere act of showing negative emotions was taboo.

Fortunately for employees and employers alike, recent changes in society and views of the workplace have led to a paradigm shift. Now, employees experiencing negative emotions at work may receive assistance from a coworker or supervisor, which can help enable employees and organizations to maintain high levels of performance.

Who Will Help

While it is clear that some people provide counsel more than others, how do we know who is more likely to help?

One indicator of an individual’s propensity to help is positive affect, or the amount of ‘good emotions’ a person possesses. Those with more positive affect are more likely to help. People with high levels of positive affect often:

  • Are happier
  • Enjoy and seek out social contact
  • Are more sensitive and attentive to others
  • Are more overtly friendly
  • Can pass their positive emotions to others

Another important factor in whether people are likely to help others experiencing negative emotions is self-monitoring, or the extent to which a person monitors and controls himself based on his surroundings. Individuals who self-monitor are more likely to help. Some characteristics of self-monitors include:

  • Holding back negative thoughts
  • Responding to the emotional states of others
  • Trying to lift the spirits of others
  • Attentively noticing others’ emotions
  • Adjusting behavior to match the situation

Individuals who have more positive affect and are high self-monitors are more likely to engage in, and be successful in, helping others.

However, there is one other, very important piece to the pie as it relates to the workplace: the individual must not feel ‘hand-cuffed’ by the organization’s rules. Particularly in management positions, people can feel hesitant to help if they feel the organization will frown on it. This hesitation can be based on an unwritten organizational culture that does not embrace emotional support or on specific rules that advise managers not to intervene when employees are experiencing negative emotions.

The solution is, of course, to let management know that it is acceptable to help others experiencing negative emotions. Some companies may be more or less accepting of helping behaviors; therefore this should be addressed within the human resources department before taking action to determine the most acceptable behaviors at your organization.

Take Home Points

  • Negative emotions can be toxic to the workplace
  • High levels of positive affect and self-monitoring make it more likely that people will help others and be successful in the process
  • Organizations should make it clear through management trainings and organizational policies that it is acceptable to help others experiencing negative emotions
  • People who act as ‘emotion helpers’ provide an invaluable service to the company by increasing productivity

It is important to remember that, just as cells are vital to the functioning of a living organism, employees are also vital to the success of any organization, therefore, it is important that managers help employees deal with negative emotions to keep the organization productive and successful.

Interpretation by:

David Daly

DeGarmo Group

This was a summary of the research and practice implications from: Toegel, G., Anand, N., & Kilduff, M. (2007). Emotion helpers: The role of high positive affectivity and high self-monitoring managers. Personnel Psychology, 60, 337-365.