E39 - There is Definitely an ‘I’ in Team: Understanding Team Dynamics in Complex Organisations

At the heart of every organization lies a web of relationships: individual performance is shaped by not only a person’s inherent characteristics, but also by their interactions with others within teams, and their teams’ interactions with other teams across the system.

Within such a complex structure, how can we know how much of ‘deviant behavior’ can be explained by poor leadership? What kinds of inter-team conflict—between whom—improve performance, and which kinds undermine it? How do the relational dynamics of team performance create unavoidable challenges during rapid organisational scaling? How can we know if or when the potential benefits of teams will outweigh the ‘team tax’? My guest for this episode is Professor Brad Harris. Brad has dedicated his career to examining these types of questions by examining how social architecture of work shapes behaviour and outcomes.

Brad is the Associate Dean of MBA Programs, a Vice Dean for the TRIUM EMBA, and a Professor of Management and Human Resources at HEC Paris. Brad has received multiple teaching awards and was named a top “40 under 40 Business School Professor” by Poets and Quants. He has co-authored two books, Scaling for Success: People Priorities for High-Growth Organizations, and 3D Team Leadership: A New Approach for Complex Teams, and published research papers in leading journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Journal of Management. Brad’s work has been cited in leading popular press outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Harvard Business Review, NBC’s The Today Show, Inc.com, and Fast Company.

Brad has an amazing ability to translate academic findings into useful information for the leading teams and organisations. Brad brings humour, clarity, and passion to the topic of leadership and team performance—qualities that shine throughout our discussion. Enjoy the conversation!

Citations

Grann, D. (2023). The Wager: A tale of shipwreck, mutiny and murder. Doubleday.

Greiner, L. E. (1998). Evolution and revolution as organizations grow (Revisited). Harvard Business Review.

Harris, T. B., & Bartlow, A. C. (2021). Scaling for success: People priorities for high-growth organizations. Columbia Business School Publishing.

Kirkman, B. L., & Harris, T. B. (2017). 3D team leadership: A new approach for complex teams. Stanford University Press.

Schmidt, E., Rosenberg, J., & Eagle, A. (2019). Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell. Harper Business.

Waller, M. J., Okhuysen, G. A., & Saghafian, M. (2016). Conceptualizing emergent states: A strategy to advance the study of group dynamics. Academy of Management Annals.

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