Michigan State University Blake Sports Apparel Case Study Discussion This is the case for my course. Please strictly follow the rubric . Briefly, reading the HBS reading and answering the questions in case study assignment. It is limited to two single-spaced pages. Please use bullet points in each answers. I already post the PDFs. I think those PDF can help you to complete this case. I will post additional attachments later Build a Tower Build a Team
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Marshmallow Challenge
• 5 person teams, 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 yard of string, strips
of scotch tape, and one marshmallow
• 18 minutes to build the tallest structure possible that will
support the marshmallow
40
Business Students
30
Lawyers
20
Average
Kindergarteners
Architects and Engineers
CEOs
10
CEOs and Executive Admins
0
Anthony, S. (2014). Innovation leadership lessons from the marshmallow challenge. Harvard Business Review, August 25.
Wujec, T. (2010). Build a tower, build a team. Ted2010. https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower
Takeaways
• Architects and Engineers are the best. They have specialized
skills for building.
• CEOs with Executive Administrators are better than CEOs
alone. They have specialized skills regarding
facilitation/managing team processes.
• Takeaway 1: Specialized Skills + Facilitation Skills = Success
• Takeaway 3: Incentives + Low Specialized Skills = Failure
• Takeaway 2: Incentives + High Specialized Skills = Success
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Team
Process
Strong
Structure:
Right Mix
of Skills
Supportive
Context:
Reward
System
Team
Performance
• Stakeholder
Satisfaction
• System
Viability
• Member
Fulfillment
• Reinforces lessons from our other readings.
• Having the right mix of skills is critical (here the skills involve
building skills and facilitation skills)
• A supportive context reward system enhances team
performance too, but only if the team has the right mix of
skills.
Developing Team Leadership
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Takeaways
• The discussion with Coach K article was assigned to
help us to see that what makes Coach K an effective
team leader is totally consistent with team research
and the “Discipline of Teams” and “Secrets of Great
Teamwork” articles.
• Coach K works to create a (1) compelling direction,
(2) strong structure, (3) shared mindset, and (4)
supportive context.
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Meaningful
Common
Purpose
Specific
Performanc
e Goals
Mix of
Compleme
ntary Skills
Compelling
Direction
Team
Process
Team
Performance
Commitme
nt to How
Work Gets
Done
Shared
Mindset
Customer/
Stakeholder
Satisfaction
Mutual
Accountabil
ity
Supportive
Context
System Viability
Member
Meaning/
Fulfillment
Strong
Structure
Secrets of
Great
Teamwork
Discipline
of Teams
1. Compelling Direction
Dimension
Example
Explicit, Challenging,
and Consequential
Goals
• It wasn’t just me putting on them something that I believed
in. It was me asking them “What do you guys believe in?”
• You know we have the best talent . We’re playing for the best
country. So no excuses.
2. Strong Structure
Dimension
Example
Right Mix of Skills
• We wouldn’t continue to recruit a kid who we felt wouldn’t “get
it” because his great talent could turn out to be destructive
The Right Roles
• Once you become more secure as a leader, it becomes easier to
share leadership, to empower others
• We had a walk-on… (and) guys listened to him more than
anybody because he had established himself
• I had my assistants do the technical things. I talked to four to six
guys every day about (non-basketball) things
Clear Norms
• One of our standards is to show strong face
• With the Olympic team, we had a great meeting in which we
came up with 15 standards
3. Supportive Context
Dimension
Example
Reward System
• Leadership is not just to let the star produce, but to be a
friend to the star, to motivate the star.
Education and Training
• A team member can get sidetracked and he might be a
derailer… so I counsel him individually and face-to-face
• Clearly a great deal of your coaching focuses on your
individual players—helping them to excel, but also helping
them learn to help their teammates
Material Resources
• One thing that blocks good ideas is that it would cost too
much, we don’t have the money. I addressed that issue by
raising money on our own so we can put in place what we
need to succeed
4. Shared Mindset
Dimension
Common Identity
Example
• There are a lot of different dynamics right now in our sport. The
one thing we do know is that we’re going to make sure our own
culture is the same.
Information Sharing • With the Olympic team, we had a great team meeting. Each of
the guys put their hands up; they took ownership. It wasn’t just
their talent; now it was the things they said.
The Discipline of Teams
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Takeaways
• The most cited article on teams in history.
• A team’s essential discipline comprises 5 characteristics: (1)
meaningful common purpose, (2) specific performance goals,
(3) mix of complementary skills, (4) commitment to how the
work gets done, and (5) mutual accountability.
• Once the 5 characteristics are in place, teams that make
recommendations, make things, and run things face different
critical challenges.
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Team
Process
Team
Performance
Meaningful
Common Purpose
Commitment to
How Work Gets
Done
Customer/
Stakeholder
Satisfaction
Mutual
Accountability
System Viability
Specific
Performance
Goals
Mix of
Complementary
Skills
Member
Meaning/
Fulfillment
5 Characteristics of Team Discipline
1. A meaningful common purpose that the team helped shape
• The essence of a team is common commitment.
• A common commitment requires a common purpose in
which team members can believe.
• Most teams receive their initial mandate from outside the
team, but to be successful, the team must “own” it’s
purpose and put its own spin on it.
2. Specific performance goals that flow from the common
purpose
• Specific goals help define the required work, pull the team
together, and reduce differences in title or status
5 Characteristics of Team Discipline
3. A mix of complementary skills
• Technical or functional expertise
• Problem-solving skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Successful teams rarely have all the needed skills at the
outset—they develop them as they learn what’s required.
4. A strong commitment to how the work gets done
• Teams must agree on who will do what jobs, how
schedules will be established, and how decisions will be
made.
• On real teams, all members, including leaders, do roughly
equal amounts of the work.
5 Characteristics of Team Discipline
5. Mutual accountability
• Trust and commitment cannot be coerced.
• The process of agreeing on goals serves as the key
mechanism through which members build accountability
to each other—not just to the leader.
3 Types of Teams: 3 Different Challenges
1. Teams that recommend things
• Challenge 1: Make a fast and constructive start
• Challenge 2: Provide a clear hand-off to those who will
implement the recommendations.
2. Teams that make or do things
• Challenge 1: Keep the specific performance goals in sharp
focus
3. Teams that run things
• Challenge 1: Distinguish the activities that require a real
team approach from that that don’t.
HRLR 311
Applied Organizational Leadership
Case Study Assignment 6
1. On a scale of 1 (terrible) to 5 (terrific) rate the Blake Sports Apparel Executive Team’s
performance using the following criteria.
a. The overall quality and quantity of team outputs.
b. The overall quality of team functioning.
c. The overall quality of team member fulfillment
What is your average team performance rating? Why did you rate the team as you did? Use
specific examples from the case to support your answers.
2. On a scale of 1 (terrible) to 5 (terrific) rate the Blake Sports Apparel Executive Team on the
four conditions for team effectiveness.
a. Compelling Direction: Does the team have a common goal that is clear, challenging, and
consequential?
b. Strong Structure: Does the team have the right number and mix of members? Are people
responsible for tasks from beginning to end? And, does the team have clear norms for
acceptable conduct?
c. Supportive Context: Does the team have the resources, information, and training it needs?
Does the team have appropriate rewards for success?
d. Shared Mindset: Does the team have a strong common identity? Does the team
effectively share information with each other and understand each other’s contexts?
What is your rating for each of the four conditions? Why did you rate the team as you did?
Use specific examples from the case to support your answers.
3. Based on your analyses, identify two steps that that Barker should take to enhance his team’s
effectiveness.
Build a Tower Build a Team
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Marshmallow Challenge
• 5 person teams, 20 sticks of spaghetti, 1 yard of string, strips
of scotch tape, and one marshmallow
• 18 minutes to build the tallest structure possible that will
support the marshmallow
40
Business Students
30
Lawyers
20
Average
Kindergarteners
Architects and Engineers
CEOs
10
CEOs and Executive Admins
0
Anthony, S. (2014). Innovation leadership lessons from the marshmallow challenge. Harvard Business Review, August 25.
Wujec, T. (2010). Build a tower, build a team. Ted2010. https://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_build_a_tower
Takeaways
• Architects and Engineers are the best. They have specialized
skills for building.
• CEOs with Executive Administrators are better than CEOs
alone. They have specialized skills regarding
facilitation/managing team processes.
• Takeaway 1: Specialized Skills + Facilitation Skills = Success
• Takeaway 3: Incentives + Low Specialized Skills = Failure
• Takeaway 2: Incentives + High Specialized Skills = Success
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Team
Process
Strong
Structure:
Right Mix
of Skills
Supportive
Context:
Reward
System
Team
Performance
• Stakeholder
Satisfaction
• System
Viability
• Member
Fulfillment
• Reinforces lessons from our other readings.
• Having the right mix of skills is critical (here the skills involve
building skills and facilitation skills)
• A supportive context reward system enhances team
performance too, but only if the team has the right mix of
skills.
Developing Team Leadership
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Takeaways
• The discussion with Coach K article was assigned to
help us to see that what makes Coach K an effective
team leader is totally consistent with team research
and the “Discipline of Teams” and “Secrets of Great
Teamwork” articles.
• Coach K works to create a (1) compelling direction,
(2) strong structure, (3) shared mindset, and (4)
supportive context.
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Meaningful
Common
Purpose
Specific
Performanc
e Goals
Mix of
Compleme
ntary Skills
Compelling
Direction
Team
Process
Team
Performance
Commitme
nt to How
Work Gets
Done
Shared
Mindset
Customer/
Stakeholder
Satisfaction
Mutual
Accountabil
ity
Supportive
Context
System Viability
Member
Meaning/
Fulfillment
Strong
Structure
Secrets of
Great
Teamwork
Discipline
of Teams
1. Compelling Direction
Dimension
Example
Explicit, Challenging,
and Consequential
Goals
• It wasn’t just me putting on them something that I believed
in. It was me asking them “What do you guys believe in?”
• You know we have the best talent . We’re playing for the best
country. So no excuses.
2. Strong Structure
Dimension
Example
Right Mix of Skills
• We wouldn’t continue to recruit a kid who we felt wouldn’t “get
it” because his great talent could turn out to be destructive
The Right Roles
• Once you become more secure as a leader, it becomes easier to
share leadership, to empower others
• We had a walk-on… (and) guys listened to him more than
anybody because he had established himself
• I had my assistants do the technical things. I talked to four to six
guys every day about (non-basketball) things
Clear Norms
• One of our standards is to show strong face
• With the Olympic team, we had a great meeting in which we
came up with 15 standards
3. Supportive Context
Dimension
Example
Reward System
• Leadership is not just to let the star produce, but to be a
friend to the star, to motivate the star.
Education and Training
• A team member can get sidetracked and he might be a
derailer… so I counsel him individually and face-to-face
• Clearly a great deal of your coaching focuses on your
individual players—helping them to excel, but also helping
them learn to help their teammates
Material Resources
• One thing that blocks good ideas is that it would cost too
much, we don’t have the money. I addressed that issue by
raising money on our own so we can put in place what we
need to succeed
4. Shared Mindset
Dimension
Common Identity
Example
• There are a lot of different dynamics right now in our sport. The
one thing we do know is that we’re going to make sure our own
culture is the same.
Information Sharing • With the Olympic team, we had a great team meeting. Each of
the guys put their hands up; they took ownership. It wasn’t just
their talent; now it was the things they said.
The Secrets of Great Teamwork
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Takeaways
• Focuses on Hackman’s model of team performance
and 40 years of research
• Teams are changing due to increases in the 4Ds—
diverse, dispersed, digital and dynamic
• Despite these changes, the fundamentals of team
performance haven’t changed
• There are fundamentals: (1) compelling direction, (2)
strong structure, (3) supportive context, and (4)
shared mindset
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Compelling
Direction
Team
Process
Team
Performance
Shared Mindset
Customer/
Stakeholder
Satisfaction
Strong Structure
System Viability
Supportive
Context
Member
Meaning/
Fulfillment
1. Compelling Direction
The foundation of every great team is a direction that
energizes, orients, and engages team members. A
compelling direction includes…
1. Explicit goals
2. Challenging (but not impossible) goals
3. Consequential goals
2. Strong Structure
A strong structure involves three critical elements:
1. The right number of members with the right
balance of skills
2. Team assignments that ensure that members have
significant piece of work, the autonomy to manage
that work, and ongoing feedback
3. Establish clear norms that identify a small number
of things that members must always do (e.g., arrive
on time) and a small number of things they must
never do (e.g., interrupt)
3. Supportive Context
A supportive context involves four critical elements:
1. A reward system that reinforces good performance
2. An information system that provides access to
needed data
3. An education system that offers training
4. The material resources necessary to get the job
done
4. Shared Mindset
A shared mindset includes two critical elements:
1. A strong common identity (no sub-groups or “us
versus them” mentality)
2. Information sharing
The Discipline of Teams
Prof. Jeff Ericksen
Applied Organizational Leadership
Takeaways
• The most cited article on teams in history.
• A team’s essential discipline comprises 5 characteristics: (1)
meaningful common purpose, (2) specific performance goals,
(3) mix of complementary skills, (4) commitment to how the
work gets done, and (5) mutual accountability.
• Once the 5 characteristics are in place, teams that make
recommendations, make things, and run things face different
critical challenges.
Overall Team Leadership Framework
Team
Design
Team
Process
Team
Performance
Meaningful
Common Purpose
Commitment to
How Work Gets
Done
Customer/
Stakeholder
Satisfaction
Mutual
Accountability
System Viability
Specific
Performance
Goals
Mix of
Complementary
Skills
Member
Meaning/
Fulfillment
5 Characteristics of Team Discipline
1. A meaningful common purpose that the team helped shape
• The essence of a team is common commitment.
• A common commitment requires a common purpose in
which team members can believe.
• Most teams receive their initial mandate from outside the
team, but to be successful, the team must “own” it’s
purpose and put its own spin on it.
2. Specific performance goals that flow from the common
purpose
• Specific goals help define the required work, pull the team
together, and reduce differences in title or status
5 Characteristics of Team Discipline
3. A mix of complementary skills
• Technical or functional expertise
• Problem-solving skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Successful teams rarely have all the needed skills at the
outset—they develop them as they learn what’s required.
4. A strong commitment to how the work gets done
• Teams must agree on who will do what jobs, how
schedules will be established, and how decisions will be
made.
• On real teams, all members, including leaders, do roughly
equal amounts of the work.
5 Characteristics of Team Discipline
5. Mutual accountability
• Trust and commitment cannot be coerced.
• The process of agreeing on goals serves as the key
mechanism through which members build accountability
to each other—not just to the leader.
3 Types of Teams: 3 Different Challenges
1. Teams that recommend things
• Challenge 1: Make a fast and constructive start
• Challenge 2: Provide a clear hand-off to those who will
implement the recommendations.
2. Teams that make or do things
• Challenge 1: Keep the specific performance goals in sharp
focus
3. Teams that run things
• Challenge 1: Distinguish the activities that require a real
team approach from that that don’t.
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