Effective Management of Groups and Teams - Prof. Hastie

Teams are often great in concept, but disasters in practice. Assembling a group of talented individuals to work together does not make them a team, and it is certainly no guarantee of good teamwork. However, with insight and skill, managers can consistently enable their teams to function at high levels, contributing both to organizational success and employee satisfaction.

In this class, we will help you to develop this insight and skill in several ways: 1) by sharpening your understanding of the conditions that promote team effectiveness, and of the disruptive forces that can lead teams off track; 2) by developing your ability to diagnose complex team dynamics and take action to improve team functioning; and 3) by helping you to hone the analytic and interpersonal skills you need to effectively lead teams. Throughout, we will prioritize experiential learning, feedback, and self-examination so as to allow you to experience and identify key team dynamics, and to develop insights that can help you to understand and improve your own approach to teams.