This document discusses factors that contribute to a constructive climate for groups, including providing structure, clarifying norms, building cohesiveness, and promoting standards of excellence. It explains that structure gives members direction and stability, norms establish rules of behavior, cohesiveness builds unity and participation, and standards of excellence communicate performance expectations. The document also provides examples of how leaders can shape these elements to maximize group effectiveness.

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Chapter Objectives
• Understand the concept of constructive
climate.
• Review factors considered to establish
constructive climate.
• Explain the process for providing constructive
feedback to employees.

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• How important is structure to group
success?
• How can you promote group cohesion
as a leader?

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• Climate refers to the atmosphere of a team or
an organization.
• Related to climate are the rituals, values,
procedures, and underlying assumptions of a
group.
• A constructive climate provides an atmosphere
that promotes group members’ satisfaction and
achieving their personal best.

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• In establishing a constructive climate,
leaders need to:
1. Provide Structure
2. Clarify Norms
3. Build Cohesiveness
4. Promote Standards of Excellence

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• Providing structure gives people a sense of
security, direction, & stability.
o They know where they “fit in.”
o They have an “architectural drawing” that
gives form & meaning to their activities.
• Group work without structure is more
difficult for everyone involved.

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• Telling people the goals of the group
o Gives a clear picture of assignments &
responsibilities
o Gives group members a sense of direction
• Identifying the unique ways that each member
can contribute to the group
o Synergy
o Challenge: to find how each individual group
member can contribute to the group’s mission

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Discuss
• How would you go about finding out the
unique ways that each member can
contribute to the group’s mission?

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• Norms are the rules of behavior that are
established & shared by group members.
o What is appropriate/inappropriate, right/wrong, &
allowed/not allowed in groups
o Develop early in a group & are difficult to change
o Ex.: Matt Smith coaching brother’s baseball team
• Leaders need to try to shape norms that will
maximize group effectiveness.

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Discuss
• How have you experienced leaders trying to
shape group norms?
• How effective were they?
• Why are norms sometimes difficult to
change?

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• Cohesiveness is the sense of “we-
ness,” or the esprit de corps, that exists
within a group.
• Allows members to:
o Express their personal viewpoints, give and
receive feedback, accept differing opinions,
& feel free to do meaningful work (Corey &
Corey, 2006)
o Appreciate the group & to be appreciated
by the group

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• Increased participation and better
interaction among members
• Group membership is more consistent
• Group exerts strong influence on
members
• Member satisfaction is high
• Members are more productive

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• To Build Cohesiveness:
o Create a climate of trust.
o Invite members to be active participants.
o Encourage passive members to become
involved.
o Listen and accept group members for who
they are.

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• To Build Cohesiveness, cont’d:
o Help group members achieve their goals.
o Promote the free expression of divergent
viewpoints.
o Share leadership responsibilities.
o Foster and promote member-to-member interaction.
o Ex.: group raising funds for Special Olympics

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• Standards of Excellence are the
expressed & implied expectations for
performance that exist within a group or
organization.
• Standards of excellence indicate:
o What group members need to know
o What skills group members need to
acquire

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• Standards of excellence indicate, cont’d:
o How much initiative and effort they need
o How group members are expected to treat
one another
o The extent to which deadlines are
significant
o What goals they need to achieve
o What the consequences are if they fail to
achieve goals

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• LaFasto and Larson (2001) identified several
ways that leaders can influence performance
and promote standards of excellence
1. Require results
2. Review results
3. Reward results
• Based on studies of more than 600 team leaders
& 6,000 team members
• Ex.: The Upjohn Company

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• Leaders need to articulate their concrete
expectations clearly for team members.
o Groups must establish mutual goals & identify
specific objectives for achieving results.
o This is the first critical step in managing
performance.
• Without expectations, members are
uncertain about what is required of them &
flounder.

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• Leaders must give constructive feedback &
resolve performance issues.
• Constructive feedback is honest, direct
communication about member performance.
o Not mean-spirited, nor is it overly nice or patronizing
o Lets group members know how to maintain or
improve
• Resolving performance issues is critical for
effective leadership.

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Discuss
• What are some of the challenges in giving
constructive feedback to an employee?
• To a coworker?

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• Effective leaders reward group members for
achieving results.
• Rewarding results is a practical process that
every leader can do.
o Includes paying attention to members, offering
encouragement, & giving personalized
appreciation
o Can be in dramatic or simple actions
• Members feel valued & there is a greater
sense of group identity & community spirit.

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Leadership Snapshot, Meg Whitman
• Fourth CEO of HP, Whitman took over a company in HP
that was described as a complete mess.
• Graduate of Princeton and Harvard universities.
• Took eBay from $86 million in sales to $7.7 billion a
decade later.
• She is described as blunt, folksy, and persistent.
• Intent on reviving the integrity, innovation, and loyalty in
HP.
• Removed barbed wire that separates parking between
employees and executives and moved all VPs including
herself to cubicles from large offices.

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Leadership Snapshot, Meg Whitman
• Whitman is a team builder focused on the
myriad of small problems facing HP rather than
looking for one big solution or miracle.
• Her philosophy is “Run to the fire, don’t hide
from it”.
• Hasn’t brought HP out of the woods yet; says
turnaround will take five years.
• Likes being CEO of HP and intends to revive an
iconic company.

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Case Study: A Tale of Two Classes
• In establishing a constructive climate for his or her
class, what kind of structure has each professor put
in place?
• How would you describe the group norms for each
class?
• What actions has each professor taken to establish
cohesiveness in the classes?
• What standards of excellence has each professor
established for the courses?
• Which class atmosphere would you do best in?
Why?

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Summary
• Setting the tone is a complex process that
involves a great deal of work on the leader’s
part.
• Leaders who set the tone in positive ways will
find payoffs in remarkable group
performance.