Team Building & Development Flashcards

A team manager must provide critical negative feedback to a team member in a way that preserves motivation. Which approach is MOST effective?

Answer: Use the SBI model — describe the Situation, Behavior, and Impact specifically

The Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) model provides specific, observable, non-judgmental feedback that is easier for recipients to understand, accept, and act on.

Which of the following describes 'task interdependence' and why it matters for team design?

Answer: The degree to which team members rely on each other to complete their work, requiring coordination mechanisms matched to that level

Task interdependence determines how much coordination a team needs — highly interdependent tasks require intensive communication and shared decision-making structures.

A newly promoted team leader who was previously a peer struggles to assert authority. This is BEST addressed by:

Answer: Transparently acknowledging the role shift, co-creating team norms, and focusing on enabling the team's success

Acknowledging the transition openly reduces awkwardness, while participative norm-setting builds legitimacy through process rather than positional authority alone.

In Lencioni's Five Dysfunctions of a Team model, which dysfunction forms the BASE of the pyramid and must be resolved first?

Answer: Absence of trust

Lencioni's model identifies absence of trust as the foundational dysfunction — without trust, team members will not engage in productive conflict, commit to decisions, or hold each other accountable.

A manager notices that team performance is strong but members are beginning to show signs of burnout. Which intervention addresses the root cause MOST directly?

Answer: Conduct a workload audit to redistribute tasks and establish sustainable work practices

Burnout is primarily caused by chronic work overload; a structured workload audit identifies and redistributes unsustainable demands, addressing the structural root cause.

Which characteristic BEST distinguishes a high-performing team from an average team, according to research by Google's Project Aristotle?

Answer: Equal distribution of conversational turn-taking and average social sensitivity

Google's Project Aristotle found that high-performing teams are characterized by psychological safety, with equal participation and high empathy (social sensitivity) as key behavioral markers.

A manager is selecting members for a high-stakes project team. Beyond technical skills, which factor should receive the MOST weight in team composition decisions?

Answer: Complementary cognitive styles and the ability to collaborate under pressure

Complementary cognitive styles ensure diverse problem-solving approaches, and verified collaboration skills under pressure predict performance on high-stakes, complex work.