TEAM DYNAMICS AND SITUATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Set the framework for you, your organization and your team with the 5XR model!

More time for core tasks when collaboration is calm.

  • Higher professionalism through a constructive feedback culture

  • Better utilization of team skills and resources

  • Greater well-being and less stress in the team

  • Better results in task performance

Helping your team(s) become functional and high-performing takes attention and conscious work, but it's always worth the investment. A systematic way to work with development is by using the 5XR model. The model provides an overview of the most important things that need to be in place in a team, so you can see what you need to work on and where you are already doing well.

The 5XR model covers the themes: Relationships, Direction, Rules, Roles and Frameworks.

By going through the model as a team, you can clarify where you agree and where you need to discuss and decide.

Frameworks are the team's powers and the context in which it should work. The framework is about your physical location, finances, resources, skills and time. It should be clear to all team members what framework they are working under. The direction is your common goal for the work you deliver. The purpose of the team's work and the different core tasks should be clear so that you can work in the same direction.

Rules apply to the enforcement of already stated rules, such as legislation, policies and procedures, as well as informal team rules. The informal rules, which you decide yourself, are about behavior, meeting agreements and communication in the team and should be written down so they are binding. Roles are based on what tasks you have to deal with and how they should be distributed between you in the team. The distribution should be based on skills and resources, and it should be clear and articulated who has which roles and tasks in the team.

Relationships are the mutual relationships, trust in the team and the communication the team wants to have together. Good relationships are the foundation for aspects such as tolerance, helpfulness, cooperation, job satisfaction and development, which thus have a great impact on how your team solves a task.

As a leader, you need to be able to step back and understand the different phases of the team.

Kilde: Bruce Tuckman

LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR AROUND THE TEAM

Read here about the 5 stages that Tuckman's theory suggests you should be aware of when leading a team - and a team goes through 

Phase 1 
Proper onboarding
Distribution of roles 
Clarify competence levels
Alignment of expectations
Task distribution individually and in teams
Time optimization and structure in everyday life
PITFALL: You have the impression that things are going well, but you typically forget to actively deal with it.
Phase 2
Focus on inclusivity and embracing diversity 
Create peace of mind
Cultivate transparency between managers and employees  
Conflict resolution
Uncover ground rules in the workplace and create a clear framework
PITFALL: Lack of energy to be present. You become ambiguous in your communication and dictate instead of asking what is needed.
Phase 3 
Give peace and space
Make it clear what works in the team 
Focus on team spirit 
Keep a fixed work structure
Phase 4		 
Cultivate FLOW
Match tasks with skill level
Strengthen skills and development
PITFALL: You change everyday life and the way you work to create a feeling of too much change. You create a focus on everything that doesn't work. 
PITFALL: Becomes "home blind" and overlooks in Flow that the team can be "lazy" and lack skills to avoid stagnation. Forgets to stay focused on the goal
Phase 5
Make room for vulnerability
Talk about change and the future
Show inclusiveness and energy
Talk about uncertainties 
PITFALL: Forgetting to acknowledge feelings and insecurities. Forgetting to make space to cultivate collegiality. Underestimating the impact the change can have on the team.

Watch and learn about Tuckman's 5 team phases and Belbin's team roles!

Various challenges are faced both in terms of team building - evaluating progress alignment, problem solving, planning, and decision making. According to theorists Allan Drexler and David Sibbert, they consider these team challenges to be predictable to some extent. The model shows recurring challenges and indicators that tell whether the team has been successful in dealing with them.

Indicators consist of:

Experiences and investigations of where the team is at - are they settled or unsettled. When in the renewal phase, it's important to harvest learning and prepare a new process based on learning.

Think about:

  • What points of attention should you have as a manager when working with your team?

  • When have you been challenged on the road to developing a high-performance team?

Situational leadership

When talking about situational leadership, it is assumed that based on the employee's development level, it is possible for the manager to assess which leadership style is most appropriate to use depending on the employee. To take an example, if you're faced with an employee with low competence, there will typically be a need for instructional leadership. Based on the manager's assessment, you can help employees with the right and most appropriate management style. From this, employees also have a better opportunity to develop their skills, as the management style is adapted to them and their development level.

Conversely, an employee with an adequate level of competence will have less need for instructions to solve a given task, but will instead need something else. Support from the manager will even be more necessary for an employee struggling with engagement than an employee with high engagement, as they will typically not have a high need for support from the manager.

The four levels of development

A person's ability to solve a given task can be conditioned by many factors. When it comes to situational leadership, the focus is on the person's development level. The development level is drawn by an employee's competence and commitment to the task. Competence is defined as the person's knowledge and skills related to the task. Competence will therefore be highly dependent on experience in the field. Engagement, on the other hand, is defined as a combination of the person's self-confidence and motivation to complete the task. Competence and engagement can fluctuate depending on the task at hand.

The four development levels look like this:

  1. U1: Low competence - high engagement

  2. U2: Low to some competence - low engagement

  3. U3: Moderate to high competence - fluctuating engagement

  4. U4: High competence - high engagement

Example:

Imagine an employee is given a task. The employee has no experience with this type of task and will therefore, in most cases, remain engaged and enthusiastic (U1).

They start the task and realize it's harder than expected, which causes their confidence to plummet (U2).

The employee will then try to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to complete the task that has been given. In such a situation, they will be considered to possess moderate-high competence, but lack a little confidence and still feel insecure in the task (U3).

This is where you as a leader come in. If you make sure to read the employee and the situation with the knowledge you have about situational leadership, you can guide them in the right direction. In this case, the employee will be able to use support from you as a leader, which will at best end up increasing their confidence - and thus end up having high competence and high engagement (U4).

Kenneth H. Blanchard & Paul Hersey

Watch the videos below, based on psychologists Kenneth H. Blanchard and Paul Hersey's theory of situational leadership, and expand your knowledge on the topic!

The four leadership styles

Instructive, the autocratic leader:

The employee doesn't have the skills to solve the task they have been given by the manager. On the other hand, they are highly engaged and therefore the manager needs to give instructions, while not much support will be needed.

Coaching, the democratic leader:

The employee finds that the task is more difficult than first thought. As a result, engagement also decreases. Here, it's the manager's job to provide instructions and support so that the employee acquires skills and feels comfortable with the task at hand.

Supportive, the democratic leader:

The employee has the skills to complete the task, but is unsure of their own abilities. Therefore, it's not the manager's job to instruct, but to support the employee so that he or she gains confidence in the task.

Delegate, leave it to the leader:

The employee has the skills to complete the task and they believe in their own abilities. Therefore, the manager needs to focus on giving them the peace of mind to complete the task on their own without interfering.

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