Building and Leading Effective Teams: Contemporary Issues

Introduction

Organizations increasingly rely on teams to accomplish tasks, and several factors may affect teams’ effectiveness. Yet, organizations’ approach to building and leading effective teams is not always evidence-based nor consistent with contemporary research. It often fails to account for the increased uncertainty and volatility of the environment in which teams operate, as well as for the changing composition and nature of teams (i.e, multicultural and virtual). This course aims to provide students with up-to-date and relevant knowledge and skills to build and lead effective teams. It tackles contemporary issues and discusses contemporary theories and research rather than classical theories and research. As part of the course, students will work extensively in teams and participate in several team interventions. The goal is for students to be able to develop team interventions based on contemporary research and methods to promote team effectiveness. They will be asked to solve problems in teams, and critically discuss theories, research, and practical cases in teams.

Course content

• Central theories and research for understanding team functioning in contemporary settings
• Central theories and research for understanding team development including team interventions in contemporary settings
• Central theories and research for understanding leadership in contemporary teams
• Central theories and research for understanding virtual teams
• Central theories and research for understanding team composition (i.e., personality, multicultural teams)