Improving Software Support through Leadership, teamwork, and effective communication skills.

Ehab AbuShmais University College University of Denver MOTM 4901: Capstone Project August 10, 2006

_____________________________ Evans Mehew Capstone Advisor _____________________________ Jason Wyrick Academic Director, Master of Technology Management Upon the Recommendation of the Department

_____________________________ James R. Davis Dean

Improving Software Support Service ii Abstract When all things are equal in software products from vying providers, customers look for what makes one provider exceptional. With so many providers competing for each customer, customer tolerance for poor software support service is at an all-time low. The need for better software support services is greater now than ever before because of competition in outsourcing. The goal of this capstone project is to establish the critical skills that are required of an individual to become an effective member of the software support team. This capstone project establishes that an increase in individual skills in the areas of leadership, teamwork, and communication through training measurably improves the effectiveness of software support services. Organizations that invest in people skills will gain competitive advantage.

The implications of these findings for improving software support are discussed.

Improving Software Support Service iii Table of Contents

Introduction................................................................................................................................ 1 Literature Review ..................................................................................................................... 6 Research Methodology ......................................................................................................... 12 The Leadership Skills of Fred Smith ............................................................................... 13 Leadership Practices ......................................................................................................... 13 Leadership skills learned from Fred Smith............................................................... 18 Teamwork Skills...................................................................................................................... 28 Creating High-Performing Teams ................................................................................ 28 Characteristics of High-Performance Teams ........................................................... 32 Team Development Stages ............................................................................................ 35 Leadership Supporting Team Development............................................................. 38 Understanding Group Dynamics................................................................................... 43 Communication Skills ........................................................................................................... 46 High-performing teams.................................................................................................... 47 Conflict management........................................................................................................ 48 Decision-making and problem solving....................................................................... 51 Team dynamics ................................................................................................................... 53 Effective team communication...................................................................................... 54 Conclusion: Results and Discussion................................................................................ 60 References ................................................................................................................................ 74 Appendices.................................................................................................................................... 76 Appendix A: Situational Leadership Development Level Flow............................................... 76 Appendix B: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team ....................................................................... 77 Appendix C: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player ...................................................... 78 Appendix D: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork ............................................................ 79 Appendix E: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader ........................................................ 80 Appendix F: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership................................................................ 81 Appendix G: Team Communication Feedback......................................................................... 82 Appendix H: Team communication plan.................................................................................. 84 Appendix I: PrOACT-model..................................................................................................... 86

Improving Software Support Service 1

Introduction The world is a vastly changed place. The challenges and complexity software support services face are of an entirely new order of magnitude. Being effective as an organization is no longer merely an option; survival in todays world requires it. But in order to thrive, innovate, excel, and lead, organizations must build on and move beyond effectiveness. Accessing the higher levels of human genius and motivation in todays new reality requires vast change in thinking: a new mind-set, a new skill set, a new tool set in short, a whole new norm. Software support is a service that provides information and assistance to users. The mission of software support is to troubleshoot problems with software and solve specific problems with a product while maintaining customer satisfaction. Organizations provide software support through various channels, including email, Web applications, live interaction, and, most commonly, telephone support. Customer satisfaction is the primary goal of the software support organization. With the demand for information technology (IT) on the rise, today's businesses are challenged with selecting the right mix of tools to link problems and service requests to product specialists and the right mix of services to maintain effective service levels, team productivity, and customer satisfaction.

Improving Software Support Service 2 On top of these challenges, in the new economy, the factor of budget limitations has been introduced into the support equation, restricting IT staffing levels, while customers have raised expectations for immediate, high-quality, and error-free support. In short, support organizations are being asked to do much more with much less. Given this set of factors, the best avenue for improving software support services is to employ effective leadership skills to create an environment that fosters high-performing teams. The need for better software support services is greater now than ever before because of competition in outsourcing. IT workerswho are already suffering from shrinking wages, a scarcity of jobs, and layoffs due to the weak economyare alarmed by the shift of jobs to other countries. Cheap labor leads to lower costs, but this is the only significant advantage of outsourcing. The disadvantages outweigh this single advantage when carefully viewed: An unreliable workforce with differing philosophies, challenges in communication and difficulty in ensuring quality of service, and concerns with intellectual property rights are only a few of the more serious disadvantages. Organizations cannot afford to provide average-quality technical support services because that would make the outsourcing alternative desirable, which would ultimately have a detrimental effect on the company, the customer, and the economy. In the end, outsourcing could cause the U.S. to lose its long-held position as the world leader in high tech.

Improving Software Support Service 3 The technology revolution is forcing corporations to re-evaluate the way they do business, with many investing in enabling, improving, and securing the software that helps them compete more effectively. With the tremendous benefits of powerful software solutions comes the need to continuously and effectively support those tools and their users. However, in todays economy, average- to low-quality software support has become more noticeable with all those challenges. The most detrimental effect is that low-quality support ultimately affects the quality of the product: low expectations for resolution of problems or requests for improvement yield less customer feedback that is usually the impetus of software enhancements. Dissatisfied customers are investigating any strong claim by the competition to offer better software support. As a result, the company loses market share and revenue. Poor quality software support is due to a lack of attention by leadership and a lack of effective systems in place to promote effective software support services. After 12 years of working in software support services, findings confirm that the support organization is a critical and integral part of a successful software company. The software support organization is the first point of contact with customers who are indirectly testing the companys commitment to its product. The results of this interaction can produce a satisfied customer who wants to invest more with the corporation, or a dissatisfied customer who seeks alternatives.

Improving Software Support Service 4 The goal of this capstone project is to establish what critical skills are required to provide effective software support. The project does not focus on policies and procedures to conduct traditional software support for an organization; rather, it focuses on the skills necessary for an individual to become an effective member of the software support team. The findings of this project show that skill training on leadership, teamwork, and communication measurably improves the effectiveness of software support services. This project targets the problem of low-quality software support services due to the organizations lack of training programs and efforts to increase employee awareness. It will provide a solution to the problem of low- or average-quality software technical support that results in poor software performance, dissatisfied customers, and decreased revenue for the organization. The approach to this project will be to start by utilizing the leadership success example of Fred Smith, founder of FedEx, to deliver a superior service in the package shipping service. This capstone project will take the concepts that worked for Smith and incorporate in the analysis of what makes a service offering more successful utilizing this real-life example. Next, this capstone will research new and old literature in the areas of teamwork, leadership, problem solving, and customer service, exploring the latest trends and fundamental success concepts for the purpose of developing the best qualities and effective skills for technical support

Improving Software Support Service 5 employees. Last, the capstone will develop the training manual for technical support professionals. The intended benefit of this project is to provide a system that will improve the quality of software technical support services. By providing exceptional technical support service, organizations keep customers coming back, time after time. Organizations sell more profitably since it costs more to attract a new customer than to keep an existing customer, and in the process avoid the alternative to outsourcing.

Improving Software Support Service 6 Literature Review The research will start by analyzing the leadership skills of Fred Smith. Frederick W. Smith, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Federal Express Corporation, conceived the idea of an overnight delivery business while an undergraduate at Yale University. Fred Smith is also the founder of Federal Express Corporation, incorporated in 1971, officially beginning operations on April 1, 1973. Fred Smith has taken the leadership principles to the next level, as evidenced by the countless awards that are presented to both Smith and the FedEx organization by the industry quality and performance agencies. Smith is widely regarded as an icon of American business. Much has been penned regarding his success, leadership style, and vision, and represents an excellent starting point for this project because it provides a basis for understanding his leadership success from a practical, real-life example. The purpose of researching Smith is to find what worked for him and integrate it into this project. The crucial challenge in business and public life is to find ones own voice and inspire others to find theirs. Leadership strongly influences any organizational change, and in the case of support teams, it strongly influences team performance, thereby increasing team member satisfaction as team goals are achieved. Strong team leaders can positively influence team behavior and performance in numerous ways. Team leaders, through effective mediation, can strengthen interpersonal relationships, which

Improving Software Support Service 7 secondarily strengthens the climate of trust within the group. Several authors have established some guiding principles for people attempting to succeed at team leadership. Maxwell (1998) has identified 21 laws of leadership. Everything rises and falls on leadership, says Dr. John C. Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, but knowing how to lead is only half the battle. Understanding leadership and actually leading are two different activities. The key to transforming oneself from someone who understands leadership to a person who successfully leads in the real world is character. Leader character qualities activate and empower their leadership ability or stand in the way of their success! Dr. Maxwell says, Part of any leaders development comes from learning the laws of leadership, for those are the tools that teach how leadership works. But leaders are effective because of who they are on the inside. To go to the highest level of leadership, you must develop these character qualities from the inside out. Kouzes (2003) explores five practices of exemplary leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. All five practices are important and equally contribute to a successful and effective software support service team.

Improving Software Support Service 8 A high-performing support team must possess certain qualities, just like any other team, to ensure its success. Those qualities are not just limited to the team members, but also to its leadership. Maxwell (2002) explored the 17 essential qualities of team player. All the qualities are equally important, but here is an emphasized subset of those qualities specific to high-performing support team players: Competent, communicative, collaborative, committed, adaptable, honest, forwardlooking, and inspiring. Team leadership in a support organization would be most effective with education and training about the different team disciplines. Katzenbach (2001) explores two disciplines: Single-leader discipline and team discipline. He defines single-leader discipline as the sum of separate, individual contributions directed and managed by a single leader. Team discipline demands shared leadership and mutual accountability. Those disciplines will be explored in depth in this project. A software support organization is a collection of subteams that collectively make the large support team in the organization. If the team is not functioning with shared goal and purpose, it will not be an effective team and may sometimes become dysfunctional. Many factors contribute to the making of dysfunctional teams. Lencioni (2002) explores and explains the five dysfunctions of a team: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results. It is

Improving Software Support Service 9 important to understand those dysfunctions and make them well known to everyone in the support organization in order to take corrective action as soon as they arise and not allow them to grow. This will ensure easier management and resolution at early stages of the dysfunction. When the team is dysfunctional, it delivers no business value and can significantly impact an organizations strategic and tactical direction. Lencioni (2002) uncovers the natural human tendencies that derail teams and lead to politics and confusion in so many organizations. According to Lencioni (2002), teamwork remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. He makes the point that if you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time. That is exactly what the support organization needs to understand, improve, and be effective at practicing. Maxwell (2001) developed the 17 Laws of Teamwork to describe a framework for corporate and industrial teams to effectively operate. These laws are guidelines; however, failure to acknowledge their merit and subsequent failure to implement a compliance with these laws weakens the effectiveness of any team, regardless of each team members knowledge, skills, and abilities. The most important guiding principle to use when applying these guidelines is that no single law is the most important. They

Improving Software Support Service 10 all have integrative properties, which means that several laws depend on others to be present in order to work as a whole. So far, this research project has focused on teamwork and leadership evidence to improve software support services. But, there is an important, and most of the time ignored, factor that plays a large role in software support service, and that is simply the communication. This section of the research focuses on communication within the software organization and the decision-making process. Bazerman (2006) explains biases in human decision-making, specifically cognitive biases, as the culprits preventing the ability to accentuate the positive potential in people. Some of the cognitive biases that could affect decisions in software support organization include: Anchoring, Status Quo, Confirmation Trap, and Framing. The only way to exert control over ones life is through decisionmaking; the rest just happens. Making good decisions is one of the most important factors that determines how well teams meet their responsibilities and achieve their personal and professional goals. Learning how to make good decisions is therefore a fundamental life skill. A process developed by Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa (2002) in Smart Choices is called PrOACT, which offers an approach to deciding on a smart choice. PrOACT stands for: defining the Problem, defining Objectives, investigating Alternatives, understanding Consequences, and making Tradeoffs. In addition, Hammond,

Improving Software Support Service 11 Keeney, and Raiffa (2002) incorporate the uncertainty, risk tolerance, and linked decisions into the smart choices approach of PrOACT. Learning how to approach all types of decisions with a simple set of tools can enhance the support professionals decision-making skill. Blanchard (2000) defines seven essential characteristics of highperforming teams that organizations must first identify in order to develop high-performance teams. He also composed a list of characteristics to observe in teams. This list is, in essence, part of team measurement and maintenance. Managers and team leaders should always measure those team dynamics attributes. The seven essential characteristics are: 1. Purpose and Values 2. Empowerment 3. Relationships and Communication 4. Flexibility 5. Optimal Performance 6. Recognition and Appreciation 7. Morale

Harris and Sherblom (2005) effectively integrate real-world examples, hypothetical situations, social-science theories, and scholarly research into a unified discussion of a teams communication. This evidence, Small Group and Team Communication, uses systems theory as a basic orientation to

Improving Software Support Service 12 describe small group and team communication as open and complex systems. It goes into team communication to the business world, showing the importance of group and team communication to the success of the organization, through the use of multiple examples. Research Methodology This purpose of this study is to uncover and describe the relationship of individual skills and its impact on a better more effective software support organization. The research started with the question of how to improve software support service. This inquiry led toward understanding the influences of organizational and individual skills on the performance, relationships, and effectiveness of all people involved in a software support organization. The particular focus is oriented toward three primary skills addressed in three research questions: What leadership skills could be taken from the successful Fred Smith model that enables software support organizations to be successful? How do effective teamwork skills and processes look in a highperforming software support organization? What communication skills are involved in effective dynamics within successful software support organization?

Improving Software Support Service 13

The Leadership Skills of Fred Smith Like all people, Fred Smiths values were influenced by his experiences, and none of his experiences were more influential than his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. Smith said, The Marine Corps is the best when it comes to teaching people how to lead other folks. Smith made the most out of his military training, which was a foundation for his ultimate success at shaping and maintaining FedEx. This Marine influence has molded Smith into the leader he is today. Leadership Practices What People look for and Admire in their Leaders: (Kouzes, 2003) Honest Forward-Looking Competent Inspiring Intelligent Fair-minded Broad-minded Supportive Straightforward Dependable 88% 71% 66% 65% 47% 42% 40% 35% 34% 33%

Improving Software Support Service 14 What does it mean? The top four attributes are clearly demonstrated by Smith. Honesty: Smith is truthful, ethical, and principled in all his dealings. Forward-looking: he had the ability to envision the future from his early college days. Competent: Smith demonstrates competent leadership in his track record of successes and the ability to get things done. Inspiring: enthusiastic, energetic, and positive about the future are accurate descriptions of how Mr. Smith lives his life. A leaders willingness to place the welfare of those in his charge before his own, prompts others to do the same for other members of the organization, thereby taking actions proactively that keep the leader out of trouble, and pledging their loyalty and willingness to follow. Mr. Smith embraces this principle through the development of progressive Human Resources programs that reward and recognize the contributions of his team at every level in the organization. The rewards and benefits account for 50% of FedEx spending. Those rewards include (FedEx 2005): Salary Increases - Salary increase based on individual performance Variable Pay - Incentives to reward individual and team contribution Tuition Assistance - Subsidy for continuous learning and education Paid Time Off and Vacation Includes paid leave for marriage, maternity, and paternity Retirement Scheme - Financial security in retirement Health Insurance - Healthcare

Improving Software Support Service 15 Life and Accidental Death Insurance - financial protection for beneficiaries Reduced Shipping Rate - Exclusive discounts for personal shipping Discounted Travel Discounted airfares Jumpseat - Free travel on FedEx aircraft

And many special awards to recognize employees performance: Bravo Zulu - award for outstanding performance beyond normal job expectations. Golden Falcon - award for exceptional customer service. Humanitarian Award - Recognition for human welfare above and beyond work or community standards Star/Superstar Award - A lump-sum, merit-based award for top performers Five Star Award - The highest award for enhancing service, profitability, and the spirit of teamwork

When the founder of FedEx e wrote a paper proposing an overnight delivery service while a student at Yale,his professor commented, The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a C, the idea must be feasible. Little did the professor know that Smiths idea would later become a $25 billion company with 240,000 employees and

Improving Software Support Service 16 operations in 215 countries, that virtually invented an entire industry, transformed other sectors as diverse as manufacturing, retail, and transportation, and heightened expectations of globalization that reaches all over the world. By starting his vision with a clear theme, Smith was able to envision a unique and profitable future with multiple possibilities. Smith has a willingness to perform above and beyond the call of duty and share hardship. This is true no matter how intricate or inconsequential the task. His willingness ripples throughout the entire organization, inspires higher levels of performance at all levels, and creates an undeniable credibility for the leader through actions, not words. Smith demonstrates this every day that he is at the office. He is a hands-on manager who takes an active role in every aspect of the operation. Smith has performed every function in the company and is willing to do so at anytime. A never-ending commitment to recruiting, training, and mentoring develops, at all levels, confident, aggressive leaders who have initiative and integrity that drive success. Feedback is clear, constructive, candid, and regular; guidance is specific, thoughtful, individually tailored, and intended to help the recipient grow both personally and professionally. A challenge Smith faced was how to share these values with all FedEx employees. One of the first things he did at FedEx was sit down and record these core values and the lessons learned in written form. These writings became the FedEx Manager's Guide, which has been a mainstay for all FedEx

Improving Software Support Service 17 managers for decades. The Manager's Guide is noteworthy because through the written word, Smith has been able to establish a common culture and leadership philosophy across his global organization. The importance that all FedEx managers attribute to it is impressive; it is the de facto authority on leadership-related issues at the company. values and actions. The LEAP program is a prime example of Mr. Smiths commitment to leadership development at every level of the organization. LEAP, Leadership Evaluation and Awareness Process, was implemented to improve leadership effectiveness and retention within FedEx. LEAP is compulsory for any employee who wants to progress to management-level positions within the company. The purpose of LEAP is to evaluate a candidate's leadership potential and ensure that the individual carefully considers his or her interest in, and aptitude for, leadership. This ensures that all management levels are properly prepared to lead and understand the companys position. Kotter (1996) emphasize that challenging with a purpose drives change, establishing a sense of urgency, creating a guiding coalition, and developing a vision and strategy will draw people closer to a common goal. Then communicating the change and empowering others to remove obstacles will benefit all as it did in FedEx. To keep the momentum, small wins must be identified, and recognizing and rewarding those who made the wins possible is critical. Mr. Smith tells his employees: You're delivering the This represents the alignment of

Improving Software Support Service 18 most important commerce in the history of the world. You're not delivering sand and gravel. You're delivering someone's pacemaker, chemotherapy treatment for cancer drugs, the part that keeps the F-18s flying, or the legal brief that decides the case. Leadership skills learned from Fred Smith In the following section, the focus will be researching the leadership skill of enabling others to act. Smith used this skill to effectively lead his organization to success and competitive advantage. When enabling others to act, a leaders job is not to push, inspire, challenge, manage, compel, celebrate, but it truly is to get out of the way and let people act. Fred Smith and FedEx are consistently recognized for progressive and innovative policies, programs, benefits, and stimulating working environments. The culture fosters an environment where a person's performance is what counts and productivity is highly rewarded. Federal Express under the guidance of Fred Smith has been named the Top Corporation of the Decade by Fortune magazine (Dumain, 2004). Smith was determined to make employees an integral part of the decision-making process, due to his belief that when people are placed first they will provide the highest possible service and profits will follow. Resulting from this principle is the FedEx corporate philosophy: People-Service-Profit. These three corporate goals form the basis for all business decisions. The people priority acknowledges the importance of employee satisfaction and

Improving Software Support Service 19 empowerment to create an environment where employees feel secure enough to take risks and become innovative in pursuing quality, service and customer satisfaction. There are several key elements that have been defined by Kouzes & Pousner (Kouzes, 2003) as prerequisite for enabling others to act. These include the following elements: Always say we Create interactions Delegate Focus on gains Involve people Keep people informed Provide opportunities to be autonomous Be accessible

The following section will discuss these key elements in greater detail. Always say we People who know Smith view him as an excellent communicator and a naturally gifted speaker. His opinions on fast-breaking news are frequently solicited by CNN reporters. When Smith gets an award, he accepts it on behalf of the employees of FedEx, not as Fred Smith. When he returns to headquarters, he tells employees that their great service is what maintains

Improving Software Support Service 20 the company's reputation. Mr. Smith exemplifies the we concept in speech and in action as demonstrated from a FedEx state of union speech on December 7th, 2004. We must all do the best job we know how to innovate, to collaborate and to synthesize toward our ultimate goal of keeping our companies quick and nimble in a world marketplace that continues to operate at break-neck speed. Ours is a hard job but a great job, and I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts on it with you today. Delegate In Smiths own words, I've yet to see one person do it alone. You cannot do it alone so you must work well with others to put your plan into action. To the extent that you believe in yourself, you must also believe in other people. Mr. Smith believes success for FedEx is the result of the collective effort of teamwork and that he could not have been able to do it alone. This means hiring the right people and trusting them to do their jobs once you hire them. This also means persuading, motivating, and even inspiring those people. Delegating authority is a result because you will not be able, or perhaps even qualified, to make all the decisions. This is the fundamental theme at FedEx, and it begins from the very top. Manage the Managers FedEx implemented a Survey Feedback Action (SFA). This is an annual employee survey that provides a statistical measurement of

Improving Software Support Service 21 employee satisfaction, as well as subordinates' opinions of management's leadership performance. Each April, every employee is asked to participate in the on-line survey. Results are tabulated, and managers then hold feedback sessions with their employees to discuss the survey findings and identify problems within and outside of their department. As a group, they develop formal, written action plans for solving these problems. Groups usually review plans throughout the year to determine whether problems were solved satisfactorily. SFA has become a problem-solving tool that operates throughout the organization. If employees still have a complaint with management, they can take advantage of the respected and benchmarked grievance system, Guaranteed Fair Treatment (GFT). The program provides three levels of managerial review and appeal for employee grievances, including an ultimate review by Smith and other top corporate officers. Recognition and Reward Program Smith believes success is understanding the importance of keeping employees happy and promotes and rewards actions taken by employees to improve quality and customer satisfaction. A couple of the most popular programs at FedEx include: Bravo Zulu: (U.S. Navy semaphore signal for well done). Managers reward employees for outstanding efforts and achievement on the spot.

Improving Software Support Service 22 Rewards include quick cash bonuses, theatre tickets, dinner gift certificates, and other gifts of similar value. Golden Falcon Award: Results from a complimentary report from a customer praising employee efforts above and beyond the call of duty. The award consists of 10 shares of Federal Express stock and a congratulatory visit or phone call from a senior executive. Involve people Another principle Smith applied at FedEx was to make sure every employee felt they could share in the success of the company. FedEx managers are carefully trained to ensure respect for all employees, and their performance is monitored. Mangers are evaluated annually by both bosses and workers to ensure good relations between all levels of the company. Smith believes that fair treatment inspires company loyalty and that company loyalty pays off. The short definition of leadership is getting discretionary effort out of people. You don't want employees thinking about the minimum amount of effort they have to put in to keep from getting fired. You want them thinking about the best possible job they could do if everybody was giving 100% of their effort. Keep people informed According to Mr. Smith, the key to getting successful effort is communication and feedback. Workers want to know what's expected of them and how they're doing. They have to have report cards, similar to

Improving Software Support Service 23 school grading system. FX-TV, a closed circuit television station, broadcasts live corporate meetings and briefings as well as periodic performance data and training courses worldwide. The FedExaminer is a Web-based newsletter that shares company and industry news, and provides another source for communication. Additionally, all results of the SFA annual surveys are posted online, so the entire company can see the progress of corporation as a whole. Be accessible Smith has implemented an Open Door Policy throughout FedEx which promotes accessibility. This policy allows employees to submit questions or put forward a complaint about matters of corporate policy such as benefits, hiring, seniority, or vacation. An employee submits the complaint or questions in an open-door forum, which is routed by employee relations to the management person best able to respond to the issue. The person receiving the open door enquiry must respond within 14 calendar days. Mr. Smith is a true advocate and a leader in enabling others to act. He feels that a manager is not a person who can do the work better than his employees, but a person who can get his employees to do the work better than he can. This dedication has kept FedEx on the top 100 companies to work for over the past decade. The next section covers examples demonstrating Mr. Smiths commitment to leadership in more detail.

Improving Software Support Service 24 Commitment to leadership Search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve. FedEx supports innovation at every level of the business and challenges associates to find a better way to improve the company than its competition. Smith backs up this use of innovation with his progressive human resources policies and has created a culture that insists on innovation, embraces change, and does not fear failure. This speaks volumes for the agility of the organization and shows why FedEx is a leader in the overnight business. Find your voice by clarifying your personal values Smiths values were shaped by his experiences in business as well as his life experiences in the Marines. Smith has created an organization in FedEx that understands the corporate culture based on his beliefs. These personal values, and thus the climate, can be summed up as follows: Customer Obsessed: Meet and exceed needs of customers to ensure loyalty Trust Honesty: Integrity, ethics, and accountability coupled with a freedom to perform Team Spirit: Understand that the corporation is a team and all must participate to succeed Relentless Achievement: Setting the bar higher for self and teammates Innovation: Embrace change, challenge the status quo

Improving Software Support Service 25 Zeal: Passion for business and commitment to the team These values are shared, understood, and embraced in the organization. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values There are countless examples where Smith has walked the walk in support of the values he holds so dear. A good example of this alignment can be found at the FedEx Institute of Technology. FIT was established as world class research facility used to solve real world business problems as well as provide a world class recruitment pool for professionals. This organziation shows Smiths commitment to innovation and achievement as well as pressing the boundaries to find an even more superior solution to solving world business problems. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations Smith is considered a keynote speaker not only in business and legislative concepts but also in leadership: when he speaks, many listen. However, he credits himself as being a good listener as well. This is evident by the credit he gives his past chief information officers throughout the years. He credits them with constantly having a vision that FedEx should have real-time business processes and making that information available to their customers, which allows them in turn to have more efficient business processes. Experiment and take risks while learning from mistakes

Improving Software Support Service 26 More evidence shows that a great part of success is not fearing failure. Mr. Smith launched Zapmail, a program to electronically transmit documents between FedEx offices. Mr. Smiths idea was to put a fax machine in every FedEx office would radically reconfigure the center of their network, thus slashing costs. The idea was a costly failure: two years and hundreds of millions of dollars later, FedEx pulled the plug on Zapmail, allowing it to vanish without a trace. I'm not afraid to take a swing and miss, said Smith in an interview (Smith, 2002). Smith feels it is important to groom an employee team thats willing to take smart risks. He goes on to add that if your organization is extensive with internal turf battles, bureaucracy, lackadaisical customer service, and a lack of accountability, your people will have no motivation to innovate. However, if you reward innovative behavior from the top down and bottom up, and if you give recognition and financial rewards, you encourage risk-taking throughout the organization. You have to dedicate sufficient resources to innovation, including training and empowerment of your entire team. Foster collaboration by prompting cooperative goals and building trust Fred Smith believes that you have to surround yourself with people who will tell you the truth. If you don't, as your organization gets bigger, you'll fall out of touch with what's going on. Smiths top leadership is comprised of many individuals who have been CEOs of other companies and have been groomed through the FedEx ranks. Smith encourages these

Improving Software Support Service 27 players and key staff to hash out any conflicts among themselves and rarely intervenes. Smith trusts his people and expects more from this team than outsiders. Smith has created a style that participants describe as straight shooting with no second-guessing. Through the aggressive use of emailing, he has tried to prevent the development of closed-loop communications. In the next section, the focus is on exposing and enhancing teamwork skills, including creating high-performing teams, team development stages, team leadership, and team dynamics.

Improving Software Support Service 28

Teamwork Skills Creating High-Performing Teams More and more organizations are using various forms of work teams to meet the increasing demands of global competition, changing economic realities, and diverse markets and customers. Work teams perform a variety of functions from testing products and delivering services to assembling components and designing new systems to manage emergencies or entire businesses. While it is possible for some self-managed teams to enhance productivity and performance, very few organizations are effective at making the transition towards true highperforming, team-based organizations. Teams often fail to meet expectations when it comes to designing and implementing innovative solutions. There are several reasons for this: First, very few managers and professionals receive the training, or experience required to perform effectively in a team-based organization or on true high performance work teams. Second, few organizations are willing find the right kind of high-performance team approach that fits their culture and operating style. Third, most organizations focus on how to make the people on the team fit together with the right skill mix, rather than focus on creating the conditions that challenge the team to reach higher levels of performance. Fourth, as with all major

Improving Software Support Service 29 organizational change, creating a team-based organization involves sustained top management support. If the management team does not function effectively or has not learned the rules of effective teamwork, it will not be able to lead a team-based organization. Finally, there is a need to learn from our mistakes. The importance of building high-performance organizations is stressed. Human capital and the development of organizational capabilities and core competencies are fundamental to creating highperformance organizations in today's highly competitive business environment. Peak-performing teams within an organization know how to take charge of situations and make positive things happen. As a result, dynamic teams attract the voluntary commitment of members, energize them, and allow them the ability to transform their organizations into entities with great potential for survival, growth, and excellence. There are many reasons for an organization to develop high-performance teams. Some primary reasons for the increased emphasis on highperformance teams include: Leaders extent of control is increasing - In the highly competitive global economy, organizations had to become more productive. As managers become more occupied with overseeing larger groups, it becomes clear that employees must form self-directed work groups.

Improving Software Support Service 30 Customer expectations continue to grow - Contributing to the need for peak-performing teams has been the growing role of customer expectations in influencing business decisions. The competition for customers is so great that organizations have given more attention to understanding the needs of customers and anticipating their expectations. Technology creates an informed, educated workforce - The lightning speed with which technology has evolved has made it possible to do more, faster and better than in the past. The advent of e-mail, voice mail, teleconferencing, and the Internet have allowed for greater information flow to all employees, making them better equipped to perform their jobs in a more efficient, productive manner. In addition, as technology becomes more entrenched in production processes, laborers too are more educated, informed and involved.

In order to develop high-performance organizations, many of the traditional bureaucratic approaches to management need to be discarded and replaced by approaches that move information, knowledge, power, and rewards to employees. To be truly effective, leaders styles must change and adapt to the skills and commitment of the people they want to influence. Organizations need a strategy that identifies the kind of performance that is

Improving Software Support Service 31 needed, and to communicate the need for that performance to highperforming teams through mission and values statements. They can only do this well if they have a good understanding of teamwork laws, team player qualities, and leadership principles. The overall purpose of the teamwork skills section of the research is to provide software support organizations with the knowledge and skills to develop high-performance teams. This involves an active exploration of those factors that promote and hinder the development and management of high-performance teams. The following team development plan provides the organization with the strategy to develop high-performance teams: 1. Characteristics of High-Performance Teams 2. Team Development Stages 3. Leadership and Supporting Team Development 4. Understanding Group Dynamics The word manager is often used interchangeably for the word leader, even though the two words dont have the same meaning. Managers are those who possess managerial authority, whereas leaders are those who are able to influence others. Managers are leaders, but leaders are not necessarily managers. Managers can be trained and developed to be effective leaders. This requires the organizations support and commitment in addition to personal commitment to continuous self-improvement by managers who strive to be effective leaders.

Improving Software Support Service 32 Characteristics of High-Performance Teams To highlight the importance of high performance team characteristics, one must know characteristics of an ineffective team, which include: High level of negativity and passivity Quick problem solving; lack of clarity about what problem is Lots of win-lose situations among members Strangled information flow; dominance by one or two members; power plays Mistaking silence for support

High-performance teams are characterized by individual and mutual accountability and a sense of common commitment. All members (regardless of whether they are leaders) must take responsibility for the overall team effectiveness and for dealing with the problems that are inevitable. The best teams invest a tremendous amount of time and effort exploring, shaping, and agreeing on a purpose that belongs to them both collectively and individually, and then translating this purpose into specific performance goals. There is no absolute checklist for what makes a team effective. Different situations may call for different approaches. For example, a particular situation may call for one dominant leader, single-leader discipline, while another situation may call for distributed leadership, team discipline. Nevertheless, in general, an effective team is likely to have most

Improving Software Support Service 33 of the following characteristics: A sense of urgency and direction, purpose and goals, a clear set of rules, a clear notion of what the immediate problem is, and demanding performance-oriented tasks and goals. Blanchard (2000) defines seven essential characteristics of highperforming teams that the organization must first identify in order to develop high-performance teams. The seven essential characteristics are: 1. Purpose and Values: The team has a clear commitment to a common purpose and team members know what the teams work is and why it is important. This also means the team has common values and norms promote integrity, quality, and collaboration. The team should make outcome-based goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Aggressive yet achievable, Time-bound). 2. Empowerment: This means that the team has values, norms, and policies, and encourages initiative, involvement, and creativity. It also means that the team has the authority, within understood boundaries, to take action and make decisions. 3. Relationships and Communication: This means different ideas, opinions, feelings, and perspectives from all team members are encouraged and considered. Team members listen actively to each other for understanding, not judgment. Methods of managing conflict and finding common ground are understood. Cultural differences, including race, gender, nationality, and age, are valued and respected.

Improving Software Support Service 34 4. Flexibility: This means that team members share responsibility for team development and leadership. Team members shift from behaviors that provide direction or support as needed. The team is open to exploring different ways of doing things and adapts to change. 5. Optimal Performance: This means that the team constantly produces significant results; the job gets done. The team is committed to high standards and measures for productivity, quality, and service. The team is committed to learning from mistakes and to continuous improvement. Effective problem-solving and decision-making skills overcome obstacles and promote creativity. 6. Recognition and Appreciation: This means that individual and team accomplishments are often acknowledged by team leaders and team members. Team members have a sense of personal accomplishment in relation to task contributions. Team members feel highly regarded within the team and organization. 7. Morale: This means that team members are confident and enthusiastic about the teams efforts and are committed to success. There is strong sense of pride in and satisfaction with the teams work. There is a strong sense of trust and team spirit among team members. Team members have developed supportive and caring relationships and help each other.

Improving Software Support Service 35 Team Development Stages High-performing teams do not magically appear. Instead, it takes time and dedication to nurture team development. Mistakenly, managers are comforted into believing that peak-performing teams can be created by simply recruiting the right people and conducting a few communication briefings. Actually, team development is complex process that goes through four distinct stages according to Blanchard (2000): 1. Orientation, the honeymoon period: Characteristics at this stage include low development level; high commitment, expectations, and enthusiasm; low competence; and anxiety about roles, acceptance, and trust. Needs at this stage include team purpose, group norms, individual roles, and to discover team members characteristics. Issues at this stage include personal well-being, acceptance, and trust. 2. Dissatisfaction and separation anxiety: Characteristics of this stage include moderate development level, lower commitment, some competence, dissatisfaction, arguing, conflict and frustration, and competition for power, authority, and attention. Needs at this stage include redefining team purpose, reestablishing group and individual norms, developing a communication process (such as conflict management), valuing team diversity, and encouragement and reassurance.

Improving Software Support Service 36 Issues at this stage include the struggle for power, the struggle for control, and conflict. 3. Integration, the period of role clarification and team unification: Characteristics at this stage include high development level, variable commitment, high competence, growing trust, cohesion and respect, willingness to share leadership and responsibility, and using we instead of me or I language. Needs at this stage include integrating team goals with roles and norms within the team structure and continued skill development (problem-solving, decision-making, communication, and trust). This stage also includes shared responsibility for leadership and functioning, recognition and celebration of successes, and focus on increased productivity. Issues at this stage include sharing control and avoiding conflict. 4. Production, the stage of team maturation: Characteristics at this stage include outstanding development level; high commitment; high competence; satisfaction; clear team purpose, goals, roles, and values; and high morale and enthusiasm. Needs at this stage include adding new challenges, continued focus on productivity, decisionmaking autonomy within boundaries, and individual acknowledgment. Issues at this stage include new challenges and continued growth and learning.

At Stage 1, the leader must provide structure for the team by giving a high level of direction with very little support. At Stage 2, the leader needs

Improving Software Support Service 37 to assist the team in resolving issues with a high level of direction and support. At Stage 3, the leader should collaborate with team members and give them support, but allow them to direct their own efforts. Finally at Stage 4, the leader should provide validation to the teams efforts while allowing the team to provide its own direction and support. The following chart, from Blanchard (2000), shows group development stages by comparing competence to commitment at each of the four development stages. In this context, competence is knowledge and skill, while commitment is confidence and motivation.

D4 High

D3

D2

D1 Commitment

Competence Low
From "Leadership and The One Minute Manager"

The process of team development varies in length, but in general it takes a long time. Managers and team members may experience a period of exhilaration as well as tough times resulting primarily from interpersonal conflict. The reward from reaching the production stage extends beyond the team sense of achievement and satisfaction. The organization and its customers benefit from the increased productivity and synergy of the team. Effective team managers understand the five stages of development and

Improving Software Support Service 38 work to ensure the team works its way through the process in a healthy, productive manner. Leadership Supporting Team Development Leadership is critical in supporting team development; leadership is the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. (Roach and Behling, 1984). For a team to effectively and efficiently work its way through the stages of team development, the manager must provide leadership through meaningful measures. The manager, along with senior managements support, must set a clear vision, influence and empower team members to take responsibility and play a role in the decision-making process, and provide measurements. Blanchard (2000) explores the leadership role in four leadership styles in his Situational Leadership II system. Situational Leadership II is a proven training curriculum that maximizes the performance of the people who work for leaders adopting it and dramatically increases employee satisfaction. It is designed to increase the frequency and quality of conversations about performance and development between managers and the people they work with so that competence is developed, commitment is gained, and talented employees are retained. Appendix A has a flow diagram that illustrates the four stages of leadership styles in relationship to the development style, but first an

Improving Software Support Service 39 understanding of why an organization should adopt the Situational Leadership II model: 1. Managers diagnose the development levels of their employees and choose the appropriate leadership style. 2. Managers increase the frequency and quality of conversations about performance and development among themselves and their direct reports. 3. Managers create a communication model for all levels of the organization to support cultural change and move toward a highperformance organization. 4. Managers become flexible leaders who are highly skilled at goal setting, coaching, performance evaluation, active listening, feedback, and proactive problem solving. 5. Managers increase individual and organizational accountability by linking goals and planned intentions to an action plan. 6. Managers identify the frequency with which they use specific leader behaviors in one-to-one situations with people they lead. In addition, employee satisfaction is measured to indicate the appropriateness of those behaviors. The following section explains each development stage with its appropriate leadership styles. Styles 1 through 4 are referred to as S1-S4, and development stages 1 through 4 as D1-D4. An example of each style is

Improving Software Support Service 40 provided. Note that you cannot skip a style when deploying Situational Leadership II styles. However, the stages of development are iterative: regression is common and rough stages are inevitable, but managers should deal with it as part of the journey toward productivity. The important thing to remember is that being fully aware of ones own behavior helps move the team through its developmental stages. S1/D1: Directing (Structuring): High directive and low supportive leader behavior - The leader defines the roles of followers and tells them what, how, when, and where to do various tasks. Problem solving and decision-making are initiated solely by the leader. Solutions and decisions are announced, communication is largely one-way, and the leader closely supervises implementation. Example: The Directing style of leadership could be applied to assigning a task to a new member. This individual is probably unfamiliar with the team goal and purpose, and would need a lot of direction to complete the task. S2/D2: Coaching/Resolving: High directive and high supportive behavior - The leader still provides a large amount of direction, but also attempts to hear the follower's ideas, suggestions, and opinions. While two-way communication and support are increased, control over decision-making resides with the leader.

Improving Software Support Service 41 Example: The Coaching style of leadership could be applied to a beginner member who has a lot of good ideas, but does not possess the maturity or the motivation to carry the ideas from start to finish. S3/D3: Supporting/Collaborating: High supportive and low directive behavior - The focus of control shifts from leader to follower. The leader now provides recognition and actively listens and facilitates problem-solving/decision-making on the part of the follower. The follower has the ability and knowledge to do the task. Example: The Supporting style of leadership could be applied to a group of highly motivated team members with a great new idea and the means to implement it. The leaders role would be to keep the team motivated to complete the task. S4/D4: Delegating/Validating: Low supportive and low directive - The leader discusses the problems with followers until joint agreement on problem definition is achieved. Decision-making is handled by the subordinate. They can run their own show. Competence and commitment are both high. Example: The Delegating style of leadership could be applied to more senior members who demonstrate a high degree of maturity and knowledge. The leader provides the big picture and guidance when required. When the team reaches the Delegating development stage, there must be continuous maintenance to support the Delegating stage over the long

Improving Software Support Service 42 term. This is where an effective leader begins to manage the journey to group empowerment. Maintenance is an implied stage that focuses on developing, measuring, and maintaining the groups effectiveness and cohesiveness. As team members take on more accountability and decision making responsibilities, it becomes essential that measurements of success be clearly defined. Then progress must be systematically and regularly assessed. The measurement results will enable the team to gauge the effectiveness of its actions and make adjustments accordingly. How can managers help their team members increase their development level? Explain to them what they want done. Provide any guidance they might need before they start. Give them the opportunity to complete the task on their own. Give them a lot of positive encouragement.

How can managers help their followers through the development stages? Be clear about the teams goals and tasks. Determine the stage of development of the group in relation to that task. Monitor the morale and productivity of the group.

Improving Software Support Service 43 Determine which style of the Situational Leadership II styles fits the stage of the teams development and use it. Remember, effective leaders adjust their style to provide what the group cant provide for itself Blanchard (2000). Understanding Group Dynamics Effective team leaders must understand group dynamics in order to ensure that group resources are being used effectively. Team dynamics are the patterns of interactions that emerge as groups develop. . Team norms develop spontaneously as group members interact. Clear understanding and practice of healthy group dynamics is essential to maintaining a highperformance team This section contains a discussion of team dynamics, including team dysfunctions. The following list contains items to observe in teams, according to Blanchard (2000). This step is in essence part of team measurement and maintenance. Managers should always measure these team dynamics attributes: Communication and participation Decision-making Conflict Leadership Goals and roles Group norms

Improving Software Support Service 44 Problem solving Group climate Individual behavior The most important objective in understanding team dynamics is to avoid dysfunctional teams. Many factors produce dysfunctional teams. Lencioni (2002) explores and explains the five dysfunctions of a team: Absence of Trust, Fear of Conflict, Lack of Commitment, Avoidance of Accountability, and Inattention to Results. A detailed list of the five dysfunctions is available in appendix B. It is important to make sure that those dysfunctions are well known by everyone on the team, and that as soon as a dysfunction surfaces, it raises a red flag to take action before it is allowed to grow. This ensures easier management and resolution at early stages of the dysfunction. When the team is dysfunctional, it delivers no business value and can significantly impact an organizations strategic and tactical direction. Lencioni (2002) uncovers the natural human tendencies

that derail teams and lead to politics and confusion in so many organizations.. The single most important factor in building high-performance teams is the expectation of high performance. If there is a performance demand that can only be met by the collaborative effort of people to produce a product together that no one of them can produce alone, teams will form to produce that product. But if there's no need for a team, there won't be a team. If the

Improving Software Support Service 45 performance challenge is not there, no amount of team building or facilitation or exhortation will result in high-performance teams. The next section focuses on the third skill required of team members: the communication skill necessary to sustain a successful and effective group.

Improving Software Support Service 46

Communication Skills Teams are the fundamental building blocks of any organization. Teamwork can be exciting, ego-enhancing, and creative. It can also be boring, demeaning, and extremely frustrating. This section of the research project is about developing communication strategies that help make teamwork more satisfying, effective, and successful. Strategies will be defined, strategies that help produce teams that are enjoyable in which to work and that generate outstanding results. Communication is the foundation for all functioning teams. It requires that all team members cooperate to establish ongoing communication with each other for the sole purpose of developing an integrated plan that addresses each aspect of team process. Without effective team communication, teams will fail. Teams often fail to meet expectations when it comes to designing and implementing innovative solutions. In order to develop high-performance teams, organizations of many of the traditional bureaucratic approaches to management need to be discarded and replaced by approaches that move information, knowledge, power, and rewards to employees. To be truly effective, leaders styles must change and adapt to the skills and commitment of the people they want to influence. Organizations need a strategy that identifies the kind of performance that is needed, and to communicate the need for that performance to high-

Improving Software Support Service 47 performing teams through mission and values statements. They can do this well only if they have a good understanding of teamwork laws, team player qualities, leadership principles, and most importantly all aspects of the team communication process. High-performing teams High-performing teams stages were discussed in the previous section and more details about each stage are available in appendix D. Team development stages help describe the essential issues raised by team communication processes. During the four phases, norms are established and reinforced. Knowing what is expected from the group helps the group succeed. Communicating team development stages to the team minimizes the chances of surprises and conflicts that might result from the early stages. Leadership and teamwork laws are important skills to master, by both team members and leaders. Many scholars have written about those topics. A selected summary list is available in appendix A, B, and C from Maxwell, that synthesizes the skills that should be mastered to effectively create and maintain a high-performing team through teamwork laws, qualities of team player and leader. Norms, roles, cohesiveness, and the potential of groupthink all present challenges to effective team communication, decision-making, and problemsolving. According to Harris and Sherblom (2005), a team can improve its

Improving Software Support Service 48 chances of being effective by including the following three actions in their discussion: 1. The team must be conscious of the way it develops group norms and should explicitly review and discuss them, asking how effective they are for achieving group social emotional and task needs. 2. The team should discuss the roles that need to be performed by team members. Before assigning roles, the team should clarify the role expectations and when and how tasks need to be accomplished. Then through team discussion and negotiation, the group should match members to appropriate, desirable, and compatible roles. 3. The team should discuss team cohesion. How can the team maintain the social emotional cohesiveness to work effectively together, while still maintaining the critical differences in perspective necessary to withstand the threat of groupthink? Maintaining this balance can be difficult, but it is imperative to maintaining long-term harmony, productivity, and effectiveness. Conflict management Conflict evokes images of winning and losing, with one or both of the parties ending up frustrated and demoralized by the situation. Conflict, however, is inevitable in teams. When handled skillfully within a team communication processes, conflict can be constructive and beneficial, leading to high-quality outcomes, cohesion, increased group morale, better

Improving Software Support Service 49 perspective-taking skills, and enhanced relationships. Conflict is an important part of the team process. It is easy to surrender to anger, frustration, resentment, hurt feelings, or any number of other personal emotional reactions in the heat of conflict. It is in these instances that practice and learned conflict management behavior can be most useful. Several particular communication strategies help assure constructive conflict management. The following strategies were produced by Harris and Sherblom (2005): Maintain a commitment to the importance of positive group relationships. State positions directly and honestly. Listen attentively to diverse opinions. Accept responsibility for ones own thoughts and feelings. Address the issues, not the personalities. Communicate understanding of the other persons and their perspectives. Use supportive, rather than defensive, communication strategies. Look for areas of agreement that underlie the disagreement. Focus on particular aspects of the issues, rather than on hardened positions. Generate as many alternatives as feasible before coming to final resolution.

Improving Software Support Service 50 Insist that solutions be based on predetermined objectives and standards.

The list presents an excellent strategy to conflict management, and it is one that this research highly recommends to team members and management. This strategy should be part of the team member skill-building exercise and it should be validated periodically (typically, every 6 months) to ensure its vividness in the brain. Difficult as the process of managing conflict may be, the only way around it, is through it. When conflict is managed constructively using the strategies in the list above, it resolves the issues under dispute and leads the process further ahead, and it contributes to the creativity and synergy of the team. When handled destructively, it undermines the teams best efforts. The principal task of team leaders is that of assuring that the team process moves toward a solution for either team conflict or the problem at hand. Constructive feedback is necessary to minimize the circumstances for conflicts. Constructive feedback includes positive and negative feedback. Feedback requires the giver to pay compliments as well as to note the need for improvement. Constructive feedback is given with attention to context and caring, reviewing the actions and decisions that led to the moment. The giver must pay attention to what he or she is doing while giving feedback. This promotes a two-way exchange with responsive and meaningful

Improving Software Support Service 51 communication. Allow ample time for discussion and be sure there is privacy. Decision-making and problem solving Decision-making and problem solving involves making choices. A problem means there is a gap between the current situation and a desired solution. Problem-solving involves the generation of alternatives aimed at movement from an existing state to a preferred state. Decision-making is making a choice among two or more alternatives to solve the problem. Both processes end in an act of choice, even if the choice is not to make a choice. A synthesized version of the Hammond, Keeney, and Raiffa (2002) PrOACT process (listed in Appendix G) in the following list to present a strategy of good fundamental keys to effective decision-making: 1. Work on the right decision problem - define the problem. 2. Specify your objectives. 3. Create imaginative alternatives. 4. Understand the consequences. 5. Assertively analyze your trade offs. 6. Clarify your uncertainties. 7. Think hard about your risk tolerance. 8. Consider linked decisions. When going through the decision-making process in the list above, awareness of psychological traps is very helpful in reaching a more rational

Improving Software Support Service 52 decision. We need to avoid some of the tricks our minds can play on us when we are in the process of making a decision. Some examples include neglecting relevant information, which is often referred to as the anchoring trap. Whatever their source, anchors often prejudice our thinking in ways that prevent us from making good decisions. Because anchors have the effect of establishing Anchoring Trap initial data will almost always anchor subsequent thoughts, regardless of their accuracy. Neglecting the status quo trap is another cognitive bias that affect human decision making. Bazerman (2006) established that people find the status quo comfortable, and avoid the stress of having to make a decision. Ill rethink this later. But later is always later. In fact, most decision makers display a bias towards alternatives that perpetuate the current situation. Experiments have demonstrated that the status quo is stronger when the numbers of alternatives increases, people are more likely to stay with their current situation when they have five alternatives than if they have one alternative. Last, seeing what you want to see, which is referred to as the confirming evidence trap. The main decision-making skills to instill in team members are to be proactive, take charge of decision-making by practice, and strive to make good decisions and develop good decision-making habits. Teams whose members can master these skills are rewarded with fuller, more satisfying teamwork relationships.

Improving Software Support Service 53 Team dynamics Gaining competence in team communication is a lot like engaging in a physical exercise program. In order to gain strength and body tone, we have to work out using exercise and techniques designed for the particular muscle groups we want to strengthen and tone. The better we understand the process and functions, and the more regularly we exercise according to these principles, the more we feel confident, successful, and effective in our mission. We need instruction in an overall exercise plan and discipline in carrying it out, in order to measure our progress and achieve our goals. For teams to know that they are effective, they must have some means of evaluating their success or failure. During the team process, members must decide what specific activities should be continued, stopped, or altered. Just completing a project on time does not make a team successful. The process of the team must be evaluated, as well as the shortand long-term consequences of implementing its solutions. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Systematic feedback is the key to successful group processes. Team member scales and ratings, and individual assessment for each member, are an excellent means of focusing on specific areas for improvement. These techniques allow a broad range of analysis of concepts ranging from individual actions to leadership. Feedback systems provide one the best ways to get a direct assessment of what is working and what is not in team communication that allows for effective team skills development.

Improving Software Support Service 54 Appendix E presents one of those assessment tools for team communication feedback that is effective. Measurement tools can be developed and customized for specific teams. Those tools must have some of the important basic attributes to measure team dynamics and communication. One list of team dynamics attributes to measure and maintain effective teams was developed by Blanchard (2000). The list will serve as a fundamental road map for developing feedback tools: Communication and participation Decision-making Conflict Leadership Goals and roles Group norms Problem-solving Group climate Individual behavior

Effective team communication In a perfect communication system, a sender transmits or sends a message that is accurately received by a recipient. There are at least three points of possible error: the sender may fail to send a message; the message may be sent, but is inaccurate or distorted; or, an accurate message is sent but it is distorted or not received by the recipient. The

Improving Software Support Service 55 purpose of this section is to analyze the evidence available about teamwork and team communication for the purpose of producing effective communication and common understanding. Team communication is a transaction between and among people whereby all the parties are continually and simultaneously sending and receiving information that involves two or more people. What happens in the communication process is that thoughts, messages, or information is exchanged by verbal communication such as speech or nonverbal communication such as signals or writing. To appreciate the importance of good communication we should realize and accept that poor communications can be harmful to internal team cohesiveness. An important objective of good, effective team communication is synergy. Synergy results from two or more people working together, sharing ideas with open minds and mutual respect, and managing conflict in ways that empower all members. The whole of the team is greater than the sum of its parts, which is the advantage of working in a team. The team process creates an outcome that is different from and often superior to, what any of the team members might have generated on their own. Something that happens as a group allows one persons ideas to stimulate anothers thoughts during the discussion, causing a third person to think of something totally new. This new idea is refined by the first person, incorporated within a new idea by the second, extended further by the third.

Improving Software Support Service 56 As the team process continues, something emerges that is new, creative, and unique to this particular team and interaction. In such an interactive building process, it becomes impossible and irrelevant to attribute the final solution or even any set of ideas to a particular individual. For effective communication, team members must understand the factors affecting communication. Those factors include age, gender, ethnicity, and function. Similarity in these factors results in increased communication. Groups with variations in gender and race tend to perceive their teams as less effective as those of homogeneous teams. Team members can tend to communicate easier with their functional group, rather than with the cross-functional team. Too much external communication can have a negative effect on cohesiveness of the team. This can be improved by training and team building exercises; the team leader should guide communication and encourage internal communication. The effectiveness of teams lies in the dynamics of the decision-making process. Because members bounce ideas off each other, and parts of many ideas may be recombined and come together to form new and different ideas, the result is frequently something entirely new and unexpected. This process of team decision-making is similar to the chemical reaction that produces water from hydrogen and oxygen. The water is an entirely new substance, having properties not easily explained by the characteristics of hydrogen and oxygen molecules alone. This synergistic reaction is what

Improving Software Support Service 57 makes teamwork such a potentially powerful decision-making tool. Appendix F presents a team communication plan. What do good relationships and communication characteristics look like in a team? That different ideas, opinions, feelings and perspectives from all team members are encouraged and considered. That team members listen actively to each other for understanding, not judgment. That methods of managing conflict and finding common ground are understood. That cultural differences, including race, gender, nationality, and age, are valued and respected. Some barriers to effective communication and teamwork at the team level include: Lack of a clearly stated, shared, and measurable purpose. Lack of training in interdisciplinary collaboration. Role and leadership ambiguity. Team too large or too small. Team not composed of appropriate professionals. Lack of appropriate mechanisms for timely exchange of information. Listening and feedback are vital team communication skills. We are not naturally proficient at either of these. Hearing and listening are not the

Improving Software Support Service 58 same thing. To learn to listen, we must understand the process. There are four components to listening: 1. Sensing, which involves understanding the roles of selective attention, external and internal noise, and short and long term memory. 2. Interpreting, which means assigning specific meaning to what we paid attention to. 3. Evaluating, which involves placing importance on certain issues. 4. Responding which involves providing feedback. The most significant area in determining team success or failure will be the quality of the communication, both verbal and nonverbal. It is through that interaction that group and personal meanings are established. Verbal communication allows team members to order the tasks, understand the process, and develop symbolic meaning through a group narrative. Traditionally, misunderstanding has been blamed on the way language was used to establish the teams job. When teams use humor and engage in specific types of group talk, they often increase their chances of success. Nonverbal communication includes all behaviors, other than verbal communication, that are assigned meaning by one or more of the participating parties. Among other things, it includes facial display, paralanguage (the set of nonphonemic properties of speech, such as speaking tempo and vocal pitch, that can be used to communicate attitudes

Improving Software Support Service 59 or other shades of meaning), body language, proxemics (the study of the cultural, behavioral, and sociological aspects of spatial distances between individuals), and chronemics (the study of the way we use time to communicate). Effective team members understand the importance of both verbal and nonverbal communication.

Improving Software Support Service 60

Conclusion: Results and Discussion Before discussing the findings, it is valuable to highlight the importance of effective and high-performing software support that differentiates the organization from others. High-performing software support has the following characteristics: Improves an organizations overall margins by fostering the kind of increased repeat business that lowers the overall cost of sales. Highly leverages the performance of the organizations marketing programs by consistently creating word-of-mouth referrals. Enhances the organizations product development efforts by connecting the company more closely to what its customers need and want. Protects the companys investment in sales and marketing by ensuring that new customers have a reliably positive experience with the companys business.

Many software support organizations and service providers lecture about how to technically enable their support organization by doing the same thing that all other support organizations are doing. A subset of those monotonous objectives includes: Improve first-call resolution rates by up to x% Reduce call-handling times by up to x% Increase customer satisfaction up to x%+

Improving Software Support Service 61 It all sounds good and must be part of software support metrics, and it helps the technical support organization, but how does it help the customer if all of those are internal measures? Instead, it makes the customer confused because there is no industry reference point to which one can compare those statistics. The above objectives alone cannot contribute to the effectiveness of a software support team or gain competitive advantage if the organization doesnt invest in its people. The objective to train and educate software support people in nontechnical skills is the initiative in which a company needs to invest to differentiate itself and gain that competitive advantage. The reason for focusing on nontechnical skills is that we make the assumption that the software organization has hired the best technical resources for the job and has ongoing technical training programs in place. Even the best technical skills can turn into an asset only if the resource is skillful in communicating his or her knowledge to the customer in a way that helps the customer be successful. The project focus is on people as the asset and as a resource for executing the strategy as a set of actions designed to achieve the organizations vision, mission, and strategic objectives. The core strategy should address customer value competitive advantage. Core strategy is effective when it: Delivers customer value. Builds on strengths to the customer and the company.

Improving Software Support Service 62 Captures opportunities to help the customer be successful while increasing revenue. Is sustainable over time.

All that is possible with skillful people working in the software support organization. To accomplish this strategic initiative of creating an effective, high-performing software support team, the following common steps must be understood and in place: a common language and understanding, a common process and protocols for accomplishing tasks, a process control to achieve a singular methodology, and a benchmark and feedback system to monitor process improvement, leading to continuous improvement of software support. The research project thus far validated the conviction that Fred Smith is both a successful businessman and an effective leader. Smith offers an excellent model of leadership style. Much learned from the success of Fred Smith and FedEx can be applied to building a successful and effective software support organization. Leadership is a process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals. Organizations seeking effective, high-performance teams must have a leadership development plan. Many books and training manuals are available on the subject of leadership that could be deployed in this development plan. Smith displays many leadership qualities, skills that

Improving Software Support Service 63 helped him guide FedEx toward accomplishing its goals. John Maxwells findings about leadership are clear and concise, and apply just for that purpose. Two books by Maxwell on leadership are a must for an effective software support leadership development plan: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. A list of the 21 laws is in appendix F and a list of the 21 qualities is in appendix E. One finding of this research project is that rewards and incentives recognizing an employees performance build the employees confidence and increase his or her desire to contribute more. Smith has a willingness to perform above and beyond the call of duty and share hardship. This contributed to his success to lead and be viewed as part of the team and willing to do what others are doing for the same objectives. For effective leadership in a software support organization, there must be a feedback system. This provides a means to enhance processes that are not effective and maintain continued improvement. Feedback must be clear, constructive, candid, and regular; guidance is specific, thoughtful, individually tailored, and intended to help the recipient grow both personally and professionally. Challenging with a purpose drives change, establishing a sense of urgency, creating a guiding coalition, and developing a vision and strategy draws people closer to a common goal. Then communicating the change and empowering others to remove obstacles will benefit all, as it did in FedEx.

Improving Software Support Service 64 Smith was determined to make employees an integral part of the decisionmaking process. The people priority acknowledges the importance of employee satisfaction and empowerment to create an environment in which employees feel secure enough to take risks and become innovative in pursuing quality, service and customer satisfaction. Commitment to software support leadership starts by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve. To lead successfully, software support group managers should always promote the language of we, conduct regular survey feedback, deploy recognition and reward programs, and empower support people to participate in the decisionmaking process by keeping them informed. Other important leadership lessons learned from the example of Fred Smith and FedEx include: Find your voice by clarifying your personal values. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations. Experiment and take risks while learning from mistakes. Foster collaboration by prompting cooperative goals and building trust.

Why is teamwork so important to effective, high-performing software support? Because customers view the business as a single unified entity. They are looking for a specific result and a high level of performance relative to their expectations, and could not care less about the support providers

Improving Software Support Service 65 internal politics or organization. To achieve the kind of end-to-end proficiency that constitutes effective, high-performing software support, every member of the support team needs to be working toward the same goals. Research shows that difficult and specific goals are more effective at increasing performance than do your best goals. High-performance teams dont just happen! Team leaders must be willing to become aware of certain characteristics and recognize the stages that develop in the growth of a team. By becoming skilled at recognizing these situations and applying the correct leadership approach, team leaders can fine-tune their teams performance and finish first in the race for successful teamwork. Organizations depend on positive, effective leaders at all levels to perform the mission of creating a high-performance team. There is no single leadership style that is appropriate in every situation; therefore, for leaders to be effective they need to learn all styles and learn to understand their environment, their situation, and the circumstances to help them act accordingly. The success of the teams manager as a leader depends on his or her assessment of the situation and his or her ability to communicate what he or she wants in such a way that others will do as the leader wishes, to produce and maintain high-performance teams. The performance demand can be internal or external. External performance demands can come from high expectations on the part of

Improving Software Support Service 66 management or from a real threat to the continued well being of the organization from the business environment. Internal performance challenges come from a sense on the part of the team leader or team members that they want to show what they can do, show what is possible, turn around an apparently hopeless situation, or turn a threat into an opportunity. While the existence of the performance challenge may lead to people getting together to try to help each other, it does not necessarily result in a high-performance team. Many things can go wrong. Katzenbach and Smith define a team as a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable. Implied within this definition are the basics of team performance. Maxwells (2001) book ,The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork (listed in appendix D), and Maxwells (2002) book, The 17 Essential Qualities Of A Team Player (listed in appendix C), are two fundamental team skills building tools that are essential to the development plan of a high-performance team. The successful team has all the needed skills (or at least the talents needed to develop the skills) and the willingness to work to develop them; a stated, inspiring performance aspiration or vision that forms the common purpose of the group; translation of the aspiration into measurable, achievable performance goals; commitment to a common

Improving Software Support Service 67 approach for working together; and a willingness to hold themselves individually and collectively accountable for the production of mutual work products that will achieve the performance goals. Without these basics, even a solid and well-understood performance challenge will not result in team performance. Some teams adopt these behaviors naturally. They have knowledge, either from study, experience, or intuition, of what it takes for a group of people to work together. But too many teams, possibly the majority of teams, overlook these performance basics. The role of the organization is to help the team find and recognize its performance challenge and carry through on the team basics. The performance ethic and standard practices that exist in the organization can either reinforce or tear down the attempts to build a performance challenge and a focus on team basics. While most organizations claim to have a performance focus, there are two different ways that this focus can manifest itself: as a performance ethic or as a control focus. A performance ethic is evidenced by empowering workers and work groups and expecting results. Many organizations have a control focus: The way they try to achieve high performance is by expecting conformance to work procedures and job descriptions and documentation standards. In these control-based organizations, the expectation is safety and risk avoidance, not high performance. The normal business expectations in these organizations are individual accountability and reward; total task orientation; having minimal

Improving Software Support Service 68 meetings and enforcing quick, agenda-driven meetings when they do occur; and machine-like performance. These expectations all drive out the intuitive understanding of what it takes for people to work together. The role of leadership is critical in developing high-performance teams. While the focus in this section is on answering the question of how organizations develop high-performance teams, this will not be possible if organizations do not invest in enhancing the skills of their leaders. Leadership involves research to determine when, where, and how to accomplish something. It involves skills of understanding leadership situations and influencing others to accomplish group goals. It involves rational, explicit, rule-based methods of assessing situations and determining actions and emotions that inspire actions. Communicating with customers is unlike other forms of communication to which people are accustomed. In almost any other communication situation, if one party is unsure of what the other party is saying, she or he will probably ask for clarification. Customers, by contrast, are often unwilling to admit that they dont understand something. Rather than ask for an explanation, these customers simply leave and go elsewhere. Despite what you may have heard, communication is not a two-way street, at least not in a customer care environment where we are trying to deliver software support. All of the responsibility for effective communication rests on software support people. Software support people communicate to

Improving Software Support Service 69 customers, and whether that communication is in person, by chatting online, on paper, or by email, it must be clear and understandable. Successful team communication depends on the willingness and ability of each member to share in the responsibility for that interaction and communication. Ultimately, the success or failure of any communication interaction depends on the individuals involved and their ability to balance the dynamic of unique interaction patterns. Effective team communication strategies can help assure favorable outcomes, with members feeling empowered by having participated in creative problem-solving. Poor communication strategies frequently predispose a group to unfavorable outcomes and a dissatisfied membership. Effective communication relies on listening, explaining perceptions, acknowledging, and discussing the differences and similarities in views, recommending appropriate treatment, and negotiating agreement. In our increasingly diverse workplaces, language and cultural barriers can exist among members of a team. These barriers can make it difficult for one member to understand the finer points in the meanings, intentions, and reactions of other team members. Our cultural heritage, our sex, our class, and our stage of life all of these influence our use of language and our perception of others. Some degree of cultural competency must be in place for team members to effectively communicate with one another.

Improving Software Support Service 70 Decision-making and conflict resolution are also components of the communication process that must be acknowledged by teams. Establishing a planned process for decision-making is essential, and the process must also take resolution of conflicts into account, because conflict is inevitable. The group process must integrate openness and confrontation, support and trust, cooperation and conflict, sound procedures for solving problems and getting things done, and good communication. For a team to reach its full potential, members must be able to say what they think, ask for help, share new or unpopular ideas, and risk making mistakes. This can only happen in an atmosphere where team members show concern, trust one another, and focus on solutions, not problems. Communication, when it is friendly, open, and positive plays a vital role in creating such cohesiveness. Friendly communications are more likely when individuals know and respect one another. Team members show caring by asking about each other's lives outside of work, respecting individual differences, joking, and generally making all feel welcome. Open communication is equally important to a team's success. To assess work performance, members must provide honest feedback, accept constructive criticism, and address issues head-on. To do so requires a trust level supported by direct, honest communication. Positive communication impacts the energy of a work team. When members talk about what they like, need, or want, it is quite different from wailing about what annoys or frustrates

Improving Software Support Service 71 them. The former energizes; the latter demoralizes. To enhance team communication, leaders can provide skill training in listening, responding, and the use of language as well as in meeting management, feedback, and consensus building. One of the main objectives of software support is customer satisfaction, but how would effective software support ensure customer satisfaction? It would do so by: Responding to customer calls within targeted guidelines. Providing ongoing communication regarding customer problem status through problem resolution. Taking ownership of customer calls for support. Providing a defined escalation process when management assistance is needed. Maintaining customer commitment to continuous improvement of software support service processes.

One of the reasons that building an effective, high-performing software support team can be so tricky is that almost everyone is in the organization has a vested, narrow-minded interest in not taking care of the customer. This doesnt mean that they are bad people or even that they are bad employees. In fact, they are more than likely earnest, well-disposed people

Improving Software Support Service 72 who are trying to do the right thing, but are operating from a perspective that is different from the companys leadership. Having explored and synthesized the importance of improving software support people skills in the areas of leadership, teamwork, and communication, it became obvious that outsourcing software support services makes it impossible for any software organization to improve those skills and be successful. Outsourcing software support creates a disconnect relationship within the organization and presents the company with people challenges that it doesnt have direct control over. For example, leadership will not be contiguous within the same organization when outsourcing. Teamwork loses one of its main objectives to keep its dynamic, unity, bonding and focus towards the same organizational goals. Communication with outsourcing becomes a huge obstacle due to many fundamental factors such as culture, ethics, and in many cases language. Outsourcing does not cater to the customer to provide customer satisfaction, which is the goal of a high-performance support team to gain competitive advantage; rather outsourcing is about helping the company's balance sheet, at the expense of the customer experience, in most cases. The only place in the organization that has the perspective to truly appreciate the long-term value of the customer is at the top, where leadership sits. It is the only place where the positive impact of a commitment to effective high performing software support is clear and

Improving Software Support Service 73 unambiguous. If employees have been indifferent to customer care issues in the past, it is not necessarily that they are mediocre or second-rate. It is more likely that they are intelligent and conscientious, but simply are not in a position to see the broad, long-term issues that foster an appreciation for the value of customer care. Software support is one area in a software company that deserves the lions share of the organizations time and attention. A focus on that area will generate a healthy, tangible return on investment and it will enhance the effectiveness of everything else the organization do. That focus on software support translates to customer care. Support suggests a deeper, ongoing relationship. If we support and care for our customer, then we are preempting the competition. Effective, high-performing software support deploys a combination of strategies and techniques to ensure customer satisfaction and loyalty that will result in many benefits to the organization.

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References Academy of Achievement. (1998, May). Induction of Fred Smith. Retrieved July 15, 2005 from http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/smi0int-1. Blanchard, Ken. The One Minute manager Builds High Performing Teams. New York, N.Y.: William Morrow, 2000. Bazerman, M. H. (2006). Judgment in managerial decision making (6th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons. Fishman, Charles. (2001, June).Face Time With Fred Smith. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 10 2006 from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/47/facetime.html. FedEx Compensation and Rewards, FedEx.com. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 10 2006 http://www.FedEx.com/cn_english/careers/compensation.html Goodall H.L. Jr. and Godall Sandra. Communicating in Professional Contexts: Skills, Ethics, and Technologies, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Holly J. Allen, 2006. Harris Thomas E and Sherblom John C. Small Group and Team Communication, 3rd ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 2005. Hammond, J. S., Keeney, R. L., & Raiffa, H. (2002). Smart choices: A practical guide for making better decisions. New York, NY: Broadway Books. Holstein, Bill. The Teachings of Fred Smith. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 10 2006.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4070/is_199/ai_n6121141

Katzenbach Jon & Smith Douglas (2001). The Discipline Of Teams. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Kouzes, Posner (2003). Leadership The Challenge (3rd Edition). San Francisco, CA: Jossy-Bass. Kotter J.P. (1996). Leading Change. Boston: Harvard Business School Press

Improving Software Support Service 75 Lencioni, Patrick (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of A Team. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Maxwell, John C. (2002). The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player: Becoming the Kind of Person Every Team Wants. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Maxwell, John C. (2001). The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork. Thomas Nelson, Inc.: Nashville, Tennessee Maxwell, John C. (1999). The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Maxwell, John C. (1998). The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow them and People will Follow You. Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Pellet, Jennifer. Finding the Secret Sauce for Success: The Recipe, Says FedEx's Fred Smith, is Equal Parts Savvy and Intuition. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 10 2006.
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m4070/is_202/ai_n8576053

Roach, C. F. and O. Behling. "Functionalism: Basis for an alternate Approach to the Study of Leadership," Leaders and Managers: International Perspectives on Managerial Behavior and Leadership. Edited by J. G. Hunt et al. New York: Pergamon, 1984. Smith, Fred. (2002, October). How I delivered the goods, Retrieved from the World Wide Web on June 10 2006 http://www.pbs.org/wsw/opinion/fredsmithessay.html Wood, Julia T. Interpersonal Communication. Belmont, CA: Holly J. Allen, 2004.

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Appendices Appendix A: Situational Leadership Development Level Flow

Situational Leadership II
The Four Leadership Styles (High) Supportive Behavior S3 S2 Supporting Coaching

S4 Delegating (Low) Directive

S1 Directing Behavior (High)

High Moderate Low D4 D3 D2 D1 Developed Developing Development Level of Followers

From "Leadership and The One Minute Manager"

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Appendix B: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team Lincioni (2002) guidelines for team leaders who find themselves with a dysfunctional team: Dysfunction 1 Absence of Trust Demonstrate vulnerability first Must create an environment that does not punish vulnerability Ensure displays of vulnerability by the team leader must be genuine; they cannot be staged. Dysfunction 2 Fear of Conflict Promote healthy conflict without harming team members Must demonstrate restraint when conflict occurs, must allow team to resolve the conflict themselves Must personally model appropriate conflict management behavior Dysfunction 3 Lack of Commitment Must be comfortable with the prospect of making a wrong decision Must push team for closure around issues Cannot place too high a premium on certainty and consensus Dysfunction 4 Avoidance of Accountability Allow the team to be the primary accountability mechanism Must be willing to be the first arbiter of discipline Dysfunction 5 Inattention to Results Must set the tone for a focus on results Must be selfless and objective Must reserve rewards and recognition for those who make real contributions to the achievement of group goals.

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Appendix C: The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player by John C. Maxwell (2002) 1. Adaptable If you will not change for the team, the team may change you. 2. Collaborative working together precedes winning together 3. Committed There are no half-hearted champions. 4. Communicative A Team is many voices with a single heart. 5. Competent If you cannot, your team will not. 6. Dependable Team members go to go-to-players. 7. Disciplined Where there is a will, there is a win. 8. Enlargening Adding value to teammates is invaluable. 9. Enthusiastic Your heart is the source of energy for the team 10. Intentional Make every action count 11. Mission conscious The big picture is coming in loud and clear 12. Prepared preparation can mean the difference between winning and losing 13. Relational if you get along, others will go along 14. Self-Improving to improve the team, improve yourself 15. Selfless there is no I in team 16. Solution-Oriented make a resolution to find the solution 17. Tenacious never, never, never quit

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Appendix D: The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork

The 17 Laws of Teamwork by John C. Maxwell (2001) 1. The Law of Significance One is too small a number to achieve greatness 2. The Law of the Big Picture The goal is more important than the role 3. The Law of the Niche all players have a place where they add the most value 4. The Law of Mount Everest as the challenge escalates, the need for teamwork elevates. 5. The Law of the Chain the strength of the team is impacted by its weakest link 6. The Law of the Catalyst winning teams have players who make things happen 7. The Law of the Compass vision gives team members direction and confidence 8. The Law of the Bad Apple rotten attitudes ruin a team 9. The Law of Countability teammates must be able to count on each other when it counts 10. The Law of the Price Tag the team fails to reach it potential when it fails to pay the price 11. The Law of the Scoreboard the team can make adjustments when it knows where it stands 12. The Law of the Bench great teams have great depth 13. The Law of Identity shared values define the team 14. The Law of Communicate interaction fuels action 15. The Law of the Edge the difference between two equally talented teams is leadership 16. The Law of High Morale when you are winning, nothing hurts 17. The Law of Dividends investing in the team compounds over time

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Appendix E: The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader: Becoming the Person Others Will Want to Follow by John C. Maxwell (1999) 1. Character: Be a Piece of the Rock 2. Charisma: The first Impression Can Seal the Deal 3. Commitment: It Separates Doers from Dreamers 4. Communication: Without It You Travel Alone 5. Competence: If you Build It, They Will Come 6. Courage: One Person with Courage Is a Majority 7. Discernment: Put an End to Unsolved Mysteries 8. Focus: The Sharper It Is, the Sharper You Are 9. Generosity: Your Candle Loses Nothing When It Lights Another 10. Initiative: You Wont Leave Home Without it 11. Listening: To connect with Their Hearts, Us Your Ears 12. Passion: Take This Life and Love it 13. Positive Attitude: If You Believe You Can, You Can 14. Problem Solving: You Cant let Your Problems Be a Problem 15. Relationships: If You Get Along, Theyll Go Along 16. Responsibility: If You Wont Carry the Ball, You Cant Lead the Team 17. Security: Competence never Compensates for Insecurity 18. Self-Discipline: The First Person You Lead Is You 19. Servanthood: To Get Ahead, Put Others First 20. Teachability: To Keep Leading, Keep Learning 21. Vision: You Can Seize Only What You Can See

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Appendix F: The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership The following is a list of Maxwell (1998) twenty-one laws of leadership: 1. The law of the lid individuals who do not develop and refine their leadership competencies will find a metaphorical lid placed on their career growth. 2. The law of influence leaders are only as effective as their ability to influence team member behaviors. 3. The law of process leadership is not the finish line, leaders focus on continuous improvement. 4. The law of navigation leaders are visionaries, they know when the team is not moving in the right direction. 5. The law of E F Hutton because leaders are influential, people listen. 6. The law of solid ground leaders who develop and maintain a climate of trust build the solid foundation for team success. 7. The law of respect leaders earn their team members respect. 8. The law of intuition leaders develop keen insights from wisdom developed from years of experience. This allows them to filter information, acting only on what is relevant. 9. The law of magnetism leaders naturally attract people like themselves. 10. The law of connection leaders attempt to connect with team members at a personal level. 11. The law of the inner circle leaders develop a circle of confidantes who they trust and willingly seek advice. 12. The law of empowerment leaders recognize their shortcomings, they empower team members to accomplish tasks. 13. The law of reproduction leaders develop new leaders. 14. The law of buy in before a leaders work can begin the team must acknowledge the individual as the leader. 15. The law of victory leaders find a way to win. 16. The law of big Mo only leaders can create momentum. 17. The law of priorities leaders are able to prioritize the teams activities. 18. The law of sacrifice leaders subordinate their goals for the goals of the team. 19. The law of timing leader time their activities for the most appropriate moment. 20. The law of explosive growth leaders grow the teams competencies and capabilities by growing more leaders. 21. The law of legacy leader understand that their personal accomplishments are measured by the accomplishments of the team.

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Appendix G: Team Communication Feedback Observer Feedback Guidelines from Harris and Sherblom (2005). When you are asked to provide individual written or oral feedback, observe the following guidelines: 1. Avoid generalizations such as well done. The more specific the feedback, the better 2. Focus on behaviors that can be changed. 3. Dont debate or argue with the group you are evaluating. Your evaluation is meant to be useful to the group. This is not a forum for your ideas or analysis. Provide your observations, insights, or opinions, but do not demand that the group accept them. 4. Dont micromanage the team process. As an observer, your job is not to go over every detail of the process. Choose specific areas and develop them well. In general, a full analysis of two or three items will be much more useful than covering everything. 5. Remember your role. An evaluator should function as a facilitator and developer. What will your comments do to enhance the group process? How can the individuals utilize the comments? Avoid statements that say I didnt like without providing specific explanations regarding the value of the liking. 6. Accentuate the positive aspects. Always star with the positive and try to spend most of your time finding things the group did right. 7. End with specific suggestion for improvement. 8. Be clear and concise if you present your ideas orally or in writing. 9. Compliment in public and criticize in private is an accepted practice in almost all professional settings. This rule of thumb definitely applies to team settings. 10. In an organization setting, developing positive relationships during the feedback process will repay itself time an again. The goal is not to find fault, blame individuals, or criticize the effort. Your job is to help the team develop.

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This is a feedback instrument designed to help your team. Instructions: Indicate your assessment of your team by circling one of the numbers 1-7 in each area. 1. Gals and Objectives There is a lack of commonly Understood goals and objectives. 1 2 3 2. Utilization of Resources All member resources are not recognized and/or utilized. 1 2 3 3. Trust and Conflict There is little trust among member and conflict is evident. 1 2 3 4. Leadership One person dominates and leadership roles are not carried out or shared. 1 2 3 5. Control and Procedures There is little control, and there is a lack of procedures to guide team functioning. 1 2 3 6. Interpersonal Communication Communication among members is guarded and closed. 1 2 3 7. Problem-solving/Decision-making The team has no agreed-on approaches to problem-solving and decision-making. 1 2 3 8. Experimentation/Creativity The team is rigid and does not experiment with how things are done. 1 2 3 9. Evaluation The group never evaluates its functioning or process. 1 2 3 10. Opportunity to Speak Never had a chance to speak 1 2 3 4 There is a high degree of trust among members and conflict is dealt with openly and worked through. 5 6 7 There is full participation in leadership; leadership roles are shared by members. 5 6 7 There are effective procedures to guide team functioning; team member support these procedures. 5 6 7 Communication among members is open and participative. 5 6 7 The team has well-established and agreed-on approaches to Problem-solving and decision-making. 5 6 7 The team experiments with different ways of doing things and is creative in its approach. 5 6 7 The group often evaluates its functioning and process 5 6 7 All the opportunity to talk that I wanted 5 6 7 4 Member resources are fully recognized and utilized. 5 6 7 4 Team member understand and agree on goals and objectives. 5 6 7

Improving Software Support Service 84 Appendix H: Team communication plan Defines the Who, What, How and When Who: Team Identification & Contact Information, Roles and Responsibilities, Location What: Meeting minutes, reports, etc. How: Email, phone calls, etc. When: Timing and frequency Explain Good Team Communication Benefits Improved Decision-making Better Individual Outlook Fosters Peer to Peer Communication Promotes Open and Honest Dialogue Removes the Fear Factor Improves Product Quality Identifies Risks/Issues Early Increases Likelihood of On Time and Under Budget Delivery of Projects Understand and embrace the diversity of your team Where are you and where is your team? What cultures are represented, both business and ethnic? What is the experience level of the team? Which team members are leaders? Lay the foundation for communication Be Flexible Verbal telephone/video conference, one-on-one, sub-project groups Written email, reports, documentation Behavioral etiquette, approach, talking patterns, gestures, local vernacular Define a fixed recurring pattern of communication Weekly Meetings Status Reports Physical Visits (if possible) Promote ad-hoc communication Small Group Meetings One-On-One discussions Water cooler discussions Teach them to communicate: C ommitment O pen Minded M eaningful M anageable U nambiguous N on-threatening I terative C omplete A ccurate T imely E FFECTIVE

Improving Software Support Service 85 To provide effective, coordinated care, a team must have an efficient mechanism for exchange of information. At the simplest level, this requires the time, space, and regular opportunity for members to meet and discuss patient cases. An ideal system for interdisciplinary team communication includes: A well-designed record system. A regularly scheduled forum for members to discuss patient management issues. A regularly scheduled forum to discuss and evaluate team function and development, and to address related interpersonal issues. A mechanism for communicating with the external system (e.g., hospital administration) within which the team operates. Build bridges between different perspectives and cultural understandings. The following list summarizes many of the communication skills that accomplish this goal.

Communication Bridges and examples: Listen with the goal of understanding Example: Help me understand Demonstrate concern for the interests and needs of others Example: How can I help you accomplish your goals? Respect the perspective of others, even if we dont agree Example: I value your opinion Clarify the meaning of statements instead of jumping to conclusions Example: let me see if I understand correctly Relate to others with an attitude of humility Example: I certainly could be wrong here Manage the stress we bring to the situation Example: Its not you today, Im just tired Prevent issues of pride and ego from getting in the way of building relationships Example: Im sorry if I let my stubbornness get in the way of resolving differences Understand that our unintentional messages may at times overshadow our intentional messages Example: Let me clarify what I mean because I dont think its coming across clearly Communicate openness to feedback, avoid getting defensive Example: I appreciate your comments. What else do you think we could do? Create an emotional climate of safety, trust, and respect Example: I want you to know you can talk to me without being attacked.

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Appendix I: PrOACT-model Smart Choices (2002)

Problem Objectives Alternatives

Define your decision problem to solve the right problem. Clarify what youre really trying to achieve with your decision. Make smarter choices by creating better alternatives to choose from. Describe how well each alternative meets your objectives. Make tough compromises when you cant achieve all your objectives at once.

Consequences Tradeoffs

+ Uncertainty, Risk profiles, Linked decisions

Even Swaps elimination process of alternatives Carry out even swaps that make: a) Alternatives dominated (attribute-wise) There is another alternative, which is equal or better than this in every attribute, and better at least in one attribute b) Attributes irrelevant Each alternative has the same value on this attribute These can be eliminated Process continues until one alternative, i.e. the best one, remains