Patterns of team adaptation: The effects of behavioural interaction patterns on team adaptation and the antecedent effect of empowering versus directive leadership

Abstract

In this study, we analysed the effects of team leadership style and magnitude of change on team behavioural interaction patterns (TBIPs) and performance in teams coping with unexpected task changes. Sixty-seven 3-person teams took part in a computer-based fire-fighting simulation task and were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions resulting from our 2 (leadership style: directive vs. empowering) × 2 (magnitude of change: high vs. low) longitudinal factorial design. Our results showed that empowering-led teams tend to display more TBIPs than directive-led teams. Through discontinuous random coefficient growth modelling, we observed that prechange TBIPs negatively affect teams' transition adaptation. However, postchange TBIPs were beneficial for teams' reacquisition adaptation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Paradoxical leadership, team adaptation and team performance: The mediating role of inclusive climate

“…For one thing, paradoxical leaders may show more flexibility in their work, and this behavior trickles down, allowing the entire team to have a higher level of flexibility in dealing with problems ( Mammassis and Schmid, 2018 ). At the same time, paradoxical leadership allows employees to maintain individuality and give autonomy, contributing to team adaptation ( Rico et al, 2022 ). For another, paradoxical leaders give subordinates flexibility and autonomy while maintaining control over their decisions and strict enforcement of work requirements.…”

“…On the one hand, paradoxical leaders show more flexibility in their work, and this behavior trickles down, so the whole team has a higher degree of flexibility in dealing with problems ( Mammassis and Schmid, 2018 ). On the other hand, paradoxical leadership allows subordinates to keep their individuality and gives autonomy, contributing to team adaptability ( Rico et al, 2022 ). Furthermore, in a study of ethical leadership and trickle-down effects, it was found that when leaders maintain good ethics, ethical behavior trickles down from higher to lower levels, resulting in improved team members’ work outcomes; and that this approach improves the performance of the “leader-follower” relationship ( Ruiz et al, 2011 ).…”

The skills that help employees adapt: Empirical validation of a four-category framework

“…Christian et al [17] propose that team process and other emergent states will vary as a function of the event (adaptive stimulus) the team is adapting to, which can vary in origin (internal or external to the organization) and duration (temporary or sustained). More recent work on team adaptation has begun to empirically test various aspects of the process, such as transactive memory systems and implicit coordination [21], the different phases of team adaptation [22], shared team mental models [e.g., 23], in-action team reflection [24], and how team leadership interacts with team behavioral interaction patterns [25].…”

Shedding Light on Team Adaptation: Does Experience Matter?

“…In an effort to provide more insights into team adaptation, the present work contributes to team adaptation research in two ways. First, we take a process perspective and shed light on the team adaptation process itself, which is underrepresented in extant research (Rico et al, 2021). Using behavioral indicators, as recently called for (Rico et al, 2020), we examine how teams respond to nonroutine conditions in an experimental setting, thereby moving beyond prior studies that have simply inferred that team adaptation occurred due to post-change team performance (Maynard et al, 2015).…”

“…Furthermore, in line with previous suggestions (Georganta & Brodbeck, 2020; Maynard et al, 2015), we investigate whether the relationship between the team adaptation process and team performance changes depending on the type of prior team adaptation (external vs. internal). We do not focus on the type of nonroutine condition that teams face while adapting (Rico et al, 2021), and instead focus on how the type of prior team adaptation experience shapes future team adaptation, recognizing the recurring nature of team adaptation (Rosen et al, 2011).…”