Effective Top Management Teams

Citation

Chan, C.C.A. (2002), "Effective Top Management Teams", Team Performance Management, Vol. 8 No. 7/8, pp. 183-183. https://doi.org/10.1108/tpm.2002.8.7_8.183.1

The use of teams in organisations is hardly new. Numerous firms have realised the potential contributions of teams in areas such as continuous improvement of quality, innovation, customer service, reducing operating costs and responding to technological change. However, effective team management, especially in upper management, has not received as much research attention as middle and lower level team management. Effective Top Management Teams is a book that integrates the concepts of leadership and team building, with remnants of theories from decision making, values, power, organisational politics, motivation, communication, change management and conflict management.

The book is organised into seven well‐structured chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the notion of “top management team” and sets the scene for subsequent chapters. The distinction between a group and a team is often misunderstood and consequently used synonymously. In an effort to clarify the differences, the authors discuss the fabrics that make up an effective team.

Chapter 2 concentrates on the major problems associated with the formation of top teams. In this chapter the desirable qualities of effective top management players are elucidated, which makes it seem like a checklist for the proper selection of individuals for the design of upper management. The issues of how values and personalities affect team effectiveness are also addressed.

Chapter 3 starts off with frequently asked questions (FAQs) about team building and strategies for overcoming difficulties are offered. The authors offer numerous practical suggestions in an easy‐to‐follow, step‐by‐step format for those who are engaged in building top teams. In addition, two short but useful questionnaires are provided. The first may be used to measure individuals’ level of satisfaction with the team social processes. The second questionnaire, which is called “Team observation reflexivity rating sheet”, may be employed for gauging how structured the meeting or task is; team reflection on the task and team; and team reflection on the action or change.

Chapters 4, 5, and 6 seem like an integration of concepts from an organisational behaviour textbook. For example, Chapter 4 deals with various leadership styles and approaches for the effective management of top teams. Some of the issues relating to change management are also mentioned. In Chapter 5, the authors apply theories and examples of conflict management to top management. Chapter 6 contains a blend of theories from power and leadership.

The final chapter, Chapter 7, basically summarises the other chapters and challenges leaders to cultivate effective top management teams in their organisations.

The book is impressive on three major aspects. First, articles from top notch academic and practitioner journals were researched for the book. Second, the inclusion of the authors’ consulting experiences enriches the book further. For these two reasons, the book has maintained academic rigour, but is still very practitioner‐oriented. Third, the discussion of top management teams is jargon‐free and thought provoking. Perhaps the authors have painstakingly written the book for readers without any background in organisational behaviour.

The authors have obviously and cleverly planned the book for a wide readership. CEOs and executives will benefit by having a better understanding of what it takes to build effective teams at the upper management level. The numerous strategies for dealing with team building, change management and conflict management may be beneficial to consultants in the areas of management and organisational psychology. University students can use this book to supplement their texts and enrich their understanding of management issues. Despite a growing interest in top management teams’ performance, the authors have highlighted throughout the book that there is still plenty of room for further research. This is encouraging for researchers. However, academics teaching in the area of management may find Chapters 4, 5 and 6 a reiteration of many concepts in organizational behaviour textbooks.