University of Applied Sciences and Arts

M.A. International Business Managing Diverse Markets

TEAMWORK ON THE FLY

A quick look on a scientific paper by Amy C. Edmondson

Presented by
Rahul Singla, Sahil Sharma and Clemens Doerr

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

Table of content
1. Definitions

4. The Software

2. From Teams to Teaming

5. Challenges bring benefits

3. The Hardware

6. Discussion

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

1. Definitions
Culture = act of developing by education, discipline, social experiences, training or refining the moral and intellectual

faculties
Cross-cultural teamwork = interaction of people from different backgrounds in the business world
Teaming/Teamwork on the fly = way to gather experts in temporary groups to solve problems theyre encountering

for the first and perhaps only time

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

2. From teams to teaming

A traditional team at Simmons Bedding Company achieved in 2000 a major turnaround by driving waste
out of operations, energizing sales, and building better relationships with dealers
Each role in the team was clearly defined.
BUT: lack of reasonably stable customer preferences, purely domestic operations, and no significant
boundaries that had to be crossed to get the job done.
Challenges of teaming:
people must get up to speed quickly on brand-new topics, again and again.
It requires people to cross boundaries, which can be risky.
Experts from different functions operating with their own jargon, norms, and knowledge often clash.
Time zone differences and electronic correspondence can give rise to miscommunication.
It involves technical and interpersonal challenges.
Leaders need to plan and execute in a complex and changing environment (=Hardware)
Leaders need to foster collaboration in shifting groups that will be inherently prone to conflict (=Software)

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

3. The Hardware
First step: Scoping.
Leaders need to search through the hierarchy of a company to identify people with relevant expertise.
Leaders need to draw a line in the (shifting) sand by

scoping out the challenge,

determining what expertise is needed,
tapping collaborators,

outlining roles and responsibilities.

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

3. The Hardware
Second step: Structuring.
Figurative scaffolding. The objective of structuring is to make it easier for teaming partners to coordinate and

communicate.
Structuring can help a group to establish boundaries and targets.
Scaffolding in a teaming situation can include:

A list of team members that contains pertinent biographical and professional information

A shared radio frequency, chat room, or intranet

Visits to teammates facilities
Temporary shared office space

E.g.: Motorola/Roger Jellicoe

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

3. The Hardware
Third step: Sorting.
Prioritizing of tasks according to the degree of interdependence among individuals.
Three forms of interdependence in teaming:

Pooled tasks that need no input from others small tasks that can be done and monitored by your own
Sequential - tasks that need input (information, material, or both) from someone else (e.g. assembly line)
Reciprocal tasks that call for back-and-forth communication and mutual adjustment. It is the most critical interdependence for a
successful teaming. These tasks tend to become bottlenecks. They should therefore be prioritized.

E.g.: The leaders of the National Aquatics Center divided the entire project into volumes (separable parts) on the

basis of areas of interdependence and assigned subteams to carry them out. In this way, the project saved
materials, costs, and headaches.

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

4. The Software
Emphasizing purpose.
Leaders of teaming need to articulate for motivation whats at stake.
A clear purpose answers the question why we (this company, this project) exist,.
E.g. the 70-day rescue operation of 33 Chilean miners in 2010. The leader of the complex rescue constantly

reminded the dozens of engineers and geologists teaming with him about the human lives they were trying to save.

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

4. The Software
Building psychological safety.
In cross-cultural teams its not always easy for people to share relevant information about their ideas and expertise

because

some worry about what others will think of them.

some fear that they will be less valuable if they give away what they know.
some are reluctant to show off.

How to give psychological safety as the team leader:

asking thoughtful questions,
acknowledging ignorance about a topic or area of expertise, and
conveying awareness of ones own fallibility.
E. g.: The leader in Chile shielded every team member involved from the media, asked questions and listened

carefully to members regardless of rank, and demonstrated deep interest in new ideas about how to save the
miners.

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

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4. The Software
Embracing failure.
Teaming necessarily leads to failures, even on the way to extraordinary successes.
Teaming leaders must ensure that all participants get over their natural desire to avoid the embarrassment and loss

of confidence.
Announcement of fully support in case of failure: e.g. Failures help to learn from them.

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

4. The Software
Putting conflict to work.
In cross-cultural teams progress-thwarting conflicts are common.
How to put conflict to good use. All parties must be pushed

to consider the degree to which their positions reflect especially their personal values and biases.
to explain how they have arrived at their views.
to express interest in one anothers analytic journeys

A useful discipline for leaders to prevent conflicts is to force moments of reflection, asking themselves and then

others, Is this the only way to see the situation? What might I be missing?

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

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5. Making use of Hard- and Software

become
nimbler and
more
innovative

develop
automatically
broader
knowledge,

are able to
solve complex
and crossdisciplinary
problems

know to
manage
unexpected
events
Organizations that
learn to team well

Individuals
participating on
teaming

deliver a wide
variety of
products and
services

align divisions
and
employees by
developing
stronger
corporate
cultures

Understand
better their
company and
cultural
differences

achieve better
interpersonal
skills

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

6. Discussion
Further help to manage cross-cultural teamwork: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV15JvPwOOE

Do you agree to Mrs. Edmondsons ideas on Teaming?

Do you have something to add?

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"TEAMWORK ON THE FLY" - FH Dortmund - Singla, Sharma, Doerr

Source: Edmondson, A., (2012): Teamwork on the fly. [online]. Available from: <https://hbr.org/2012/04/teamwork-on-the-fly-2>. [Accessed 7th of December, 2014]

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