Teams and groups, as the lesson points out, are often used interchangeably. However, the two are different in the sense that in a team, the members are heavily reliant on each other (PSU WC, L9). In the TV show CSI, the characters are part of a team. Why are they a team rather than a group? First, you have two main divisions of characters. You have the people that go “in the field” and the people that stay in the lab. In the field, you have the investigators, like Nick Stokes and Sara Sidle. Then in the lab, you have people like Hodges, Henry Andrews and the medical examiner Dr. Robbins (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation). These two groups, though they have distinct roles, are interdependent on one another. The field people require the lab people to analyze the evidence for the case. The lab people require the field people to go out and find evidence and potential perpetrators. Neither group would be able to function without the other, so the characters are part of a team.
The show also exhibits other parts of team leadership that were discussed in this lesson. For example, the characters all have a clear, elevating goal. This means that there is a clear goal and the team members know if that goal has been met. In CSI, this means finding and apprehending the perpetrator. If they are able to solve the case, then they have achieved their goal. They also have competent team members. Each team member has something they excel at. For example, Dr. Robbins is clearly able to look at a dead body and determine things that happened to the person leading up to death while Hodges is good at working in a lab. There is unified commitment and a collaborative environment. Unified commitment means the members have a sense of belonging while a collaborative environment means the teams have trust and can work together (PSU WC, L9). In CSI, the members all have a clear role in the team. Everyone is included and has a job. They also work together heavily. Occasionally there are conflicts, but for the most part, they trust each other to get the job done (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation).
These outcomes of leadership can be analyzed using the Team Effectiveness Leadership Model (TELM). This model is a way to see how teams can be more effective. In the case of CSI, the inputs are the members’ education and training levels and the supplies given to them by the crime lab. This includes a physical space for the lab, materials to take out in the field, cars and guns for protection while in the field or apprehending a perpetrator. The process is how the team works. We know that the goal of CSI is to solve the crime. The process is how they go about reaching this goal (PSU WC, L9). In CSI, the process starts when a crime is committed. The CSIs will go to the crime scene and collect evidence. Then they will take the evidence to the lab to be analyzed. While evidence is being analyzed, they will look into the deceased past to see if they had any conflicts. As they piece together what happened that night, they come up with theories on who committed the crime. Then, when they are sure which theory is correct, they apprehend the perpetrator. The output of this process is that the crime is solved and justice can be served (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation).
References
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. (n.d.). Retrieved from IMDb website:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247082/
Penn State World Campus (2013). PSYCH 485 Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved
on March 12 2013