Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to conduct an in-depth investigation of an executive team, to determine which internal and external factors impacted the team and to determine in what ways action research interventions improved the team's effectiveness. Methodology: The subjects in this study were seven members of a school district executive team in a large public school system. Team members responded to two survey instruments and then decided to act to improve their effectiveness during two action research cycle. The action research cycles consisted of the following phases, felt need to change, entry and contract, assessment, feedback, diagnosis and action planning. The team was free to choose to act or not to act during each phase. Findings: Analysis of the events of the study indicated that certain executive team functions were related to the team's effectiveness including: establishing a shared vision; aligning the organization's systems to that vision; selecting and using a decision making process; establishing beliefs and norms; establishing conflict management methods; building and maintaining trust; and maintaining member safety. Internal and external forces were found to impact the teams functioning. In particular, succession and farrago dynamics negatively impacted this team's effectiveness. Lastly, interventions were attempted and were temporarily effective but centrifugal forces pulled at the team's effectiveness and minimized the team's progress. Conclusion: Executive teams demonstrated a need to engage in action research improvement efforts, but the nature of their membership and pressures from the internal and external environment indicated that improvement process needed to be rigorously followed through by the team leadership. Recommendations: Further research is advised: additional studies similar to this one with other teams would enrich the current understanding about executive team effectiveness and validate the internal and external challenges to a team's effectiveness. Additionally, further study to determine methods to improve the team's effectiveness is warranted.