CME Team Building & Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A high-performing team suddenly declines in output after a key member leaves. Which strategy BEST builds long-term team resilience against this type of disruption?
- Hiring a replacement as quickly as possible
- Cross-training team members so knowledge and skills are shared across the team (Correct answer)
- Increasing performance incentives for remaining members
- Restructuring team reporting lines
Correct answer: Cross-training team members so knowledge and skills are shared across the team
Cross-training distributes critical knowledge across multiple team members, reducing single points of failure and building collective capability.
Question 2: Which team composition principle suggests that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams on complex, non-routine tasks?
- The similarity-attraction effect
- Cognitive diversity theory (Correct answer)
- Social identity theory
- Resource dependency theory
Correct answer: Cognitive diversity theory
Cognitive diversity theory holds that teams with varied thinking styles, expertise, and perspectives generate more creative solutions for complex problems.
Question 3: According to Katzenbach and Smith's team performance curve, a 'working group' differs from a 'real team' primarily because:
- Working groups are larger in size
- Members of working groups share individual accountability but not collective accountability (Correct answer)
- Working groups have no shared goals
- Real teams require formal authority structures
Correct answer: Members of working groups share individual accountability but not collective accountability
Katzenbach and Smith's model distinguishes real teams by mutual accountability — members hold themselves collectively responsible for outcomes, not just individually.
Question 4: A manager wants to strengthen team identity and cohesion. Which activity has the STRONGEST evidence base for improving team performance outcomes?
- Recreational social events unrelated to work
- Team reflexivity exercises — reviewing processes and outcomes together (Correct answer)
- Competitive inter-team challenges
- Rotating team leadership roles weekly
Correct answer: Team reflexivity exercises — reviewing processes and outcomes together
Team reflexivity — structured reflection on goals, strategies, and outcomes — has the strongest empirical support for improving both team processes and performance.
Question 5: When building a team charter, which element is MOST critical for preventing future conflicts?
- Defining the team's budget and resource allocation
- Establishing decision-making protocols and escalation procedures (Correct answer)
- Listing each member's professional background
- Scheduling recurring team meetings
Correct answer: Establishing decision-making protocols and escalation procedures
Clear decision-making protocols prevent conflict by specifying who decides what, how disagreements are resolved, and when issues should be escalated.
Question 6: A team member who consistently misses deadlines is negatively impacting team performance. Using a coaching approach, the manager should FIRST:
- Issue a formal written warning
- Explore the root cause by asking open-ended questions about the member's challenges (Correct answer)
- Reassign the member's tasks to other team members
- Discuss the issue publicly in a team meeting to create accountability
Correct answer: Explore the root cause by asking open-ended questions about the member's challenges
A coaching approach begins with understanding the 'why' behind behavior — exploring barriers, challenges, or misunderstandings before prescribing solutions.
Question 7: The concept of 'team mental models' refers to:
- Individual team members' intelligence levels
- Shared organized knowledge structures that guide team interaction and performance (Correct answer)
- The team's collective emotional state
- Formal documentation of team processes and procedures
Correct answer: Shared organized knowledge structures that guide team interaction and performance
Team mental models are shared cognitive frameworks about tasks, roles, and teamwork that enable members to predict each other's needs and coordinate effectively.
CME Team Building & Development 3
A high-performing team suddenly declines in output after a key member leaves.
Which strategy BEST builds long-term team resilience against this type of disruption?