Do team goals affect team focus and performance? Research study of DAU's program management office course

Defense AR Journal, Dec, 2008 by Thomas Robert Edison

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Teams can be a significant resource to business leaders and can help lead to greater program successes. This study was conducted on student project teams in 12 classes of a Defense Acquisition University (DAU) executive-level, 6-week program management class in six different locations. The study not only underscores the significance of team focus on performance, but also highlights how team characteristics affect team focus and performance. Significant direct relationships were found in the study's 15 tested hypotheses between work team strategic intent (the team's purpose, objectives, and strategies) and team performance, as measured by team self-assessments and instructor assessments. The results of this study have applications to the successful use of project teams throughout DoD.

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What is one of the single most potent tools for program managers--readily available to all? The Department of Defense, as with many other defense industry organizations operating in today's complex, changing, and sometimes chaotic work environments, is becoming increasingly more dependent on work teams as a means of leveraging maximum creativity, efficiency, and focus from its acquisition workforce. In today's constrained fiscal environment of limited budgets and manpower, identifying, defining, and understanding the initiatives and strategies that lead to team effectiveness represent a management imperative.

One characteristic that has received significant attention is whether teams with a clear locus and a developed purpose are more effective than those teams that are less focused, with less clear goals or purpose.

The Defense Acquisition University (DAU) has embraced teams, and most of the DAU resident courses are taught with students assigned to student work teams. In particular, in DAU's premier 6-week Program Management Office Course (PMT 352B), teams are used throughout the course to highlight the environment in which a DoD program manager normally interacts with work teams. This article highlights a study conducted on PMT 352B teams to determine if focused teams perform better than those teams that are less focused. Does a team with clear purpose, objectives, and strategies perform more effectively than teams with less clearly defined tenets?

Warren Bennis (1985) in his book Leaders, The Strategies for Taking Charge describes the need for cooperation, communication, and collaboration between individuals in order to achieve greatness--and emphasizes the successful deployment of teams in the last two decades to achieve these same results.

In today's complex and technologically sophisticated society, the most pressing projects require the committed, coordinated, and connected contributions of many talented people. Gone is the myth of the Lone Ranger or a sole champion or larger-than-life hero who can essentially "go it alone." Tomorrow's competitive organizations will be managed and inspired by teams of experts, skilled technicians, and team-appointed leaders. Projects, work efforts, and entire programs will be accomplished by a network of linked, disciplined workers skilled in their own right but connected by their commitment to their team's greater cause, goals, and/or objectives (Bennis & Biederman, 1997).

The Defense Acquisition University and many of its external corporate university partners share the belief that an effective method to enhance product development is through work teams that are focused or intent with the same strategic goals and missions of the corporate leadership. They believe that teams with a significant level of the same strategic focus on the purpose, objectives, and implementing strategies, and that are aligned with the corporate goals and missions, can be an extremely effective tool for enhancing productivity throughout the organization.

For purposes of this study, it was hypothesized that if student team members are aligned in their purpose and objectives to the course goals and learning objectives, then higher levels of student team performance and learning would result. It was further hypothesized that this learning would be more aligned with the learning objectives set forth in the course curriculum and those expressed by the instructors. The team's understanding of and commitment to the purpose, objectives, and strategies of the course ideally would help the team satisfy its primary reason for enrolling in the course: learning and performing the course's goals and objectives.

Katzenbach and Smith (2003) have accomplished extensive work in the study of teams and their effectiveness. They admitted that no empirical data exist to prove their theories on team effectiveness. This research study provides data to support Katzenbach and Smith's study (2003) and theories on teams: teams can be more effective or perform better if they maintain a Strategic Intent or focus that is understood, and committed to, by all the team members.

PURPOSE OF STUDY

The purpose of this study was to use survey data from PMT 352B student work teams and instructors' surveys to examine the relationship between work team Strategic Intent (strategic purpose, objectives, and strategies) and Team Performance. The studied work teams were chosen from student work teams attending DAU's Program Management Office Course (PMT 352B). The PMT 352B courses studied were 6-week courses (now reduced to 5 weeks), which teach the concepts and skills necessary to become successful program managers. These courses simulate the conditions and stresses with which senior DoD managers are normally presented in making daily and long-term strategic program management decisions. Team Performance was assessed by surveys administered to the work teams (self-assessment performance) and to the PMT 352B instructors, who were teaching the student work teams (external, instructor assessment).