How leaders influence cohesive and productive teams in organizations

Abstract

Studies about group cohesion have found that under some conditions (e.g. task oriented norms), there is a positive relationship between cohesion and performance (Evans & Dion, 1991). In this dissertation, I examine what leaders do, communicatively, to create cohesion in their teams. Drawing from work in military environments (Dobbins & Zaccaro, 1986), among sports teams (Shields, Gardner, Bredemeier, & Bostro, 1997), and other contexts I review the relationships between (a) cohesion and productivity, and (b) leadership communication and cohesion. Surprisingly, there are few studies probing these relationships in business settings. I then test these presumed relationships in Mexican firms. The analysis indicates that there is a positive relationship between task norms and goal acceptance with independently rated task performance. In addition, the impact of leaders’ communication on group cohesion is confirmed.