Effective skills for team building

1 Group Agreements2 Learning Objectives 3 Definition 4 Resistance to Teams in Organizations 5 Team Development, Behaviors and Performance 6 Effective and Ineffective Teams 7 Team Decisio

EFFECTIVE SKILLS FOR TEAM BUILDING

HARKMORE LEE, MSW

CALCASA

1) Group Agreements

2) Learning Objectives

3) Definition

4) Resistance to Teams in Organizations

5) Team Development, Behaviors and Performance

6) Effective and Ineffective Teams

7) Team Decision Making and Consensus Building

8) Questions and Comments

Today’s Agenda

ALL IDEAS AND POINTS OF VIEW HAVE VALUE

You may hear something you do not agree with or you think is "silly" or

"wrong." Please remember that one of the goals of this meeting is to

share ideas All ideas have value in this setting Also share YOUR ideas and thoughts and avoid editorials of another colleague’s comments.

SAFE SPACE

What is shared and discussed with one another should “stay here” –

apart from ideas and solutions that will help your own work and agency.

USE COMMON CONVERSATIONAL COURTESY

Please don't interrupt; use appropriate language, avoid third party/ side bar discussions, etc

Group Agreements

CELL PHONE / TEXTING / E-MAIL COURTESY

Please turn cell phones, or any other communication item with an on/off switch to “silent If you need to respond, kindly step outside

BE COMFORTABLE

Please feel free to take personal breaks as needed

ANY OTHERS AGREEMENTS TO ADD?

Group Agreements

• To gain a greater understanding of how teams develop, behave and perform.

• To utilize this knowledge to develop high performing teams in centers and programs

Learning Objective

TEAM BUILDING

Group: A collection of two or more interacting

individuals with a stable pattern of relationships among them, who share common goals and who perceive themselves

Team: A team is a small number of people with complementary skills

who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and

approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

This definition highlights the essentials of a team or in other words the team basics Here the focus or emphasis is on three characteristics – small number, complementary skills and commitment These are what basically differentiates a team from a group and makes a team

something much more productive and result oriented than a group We shall analyze them:

• Small number – five to ten people

• Complementary skills – appropriate balance or mix of skills and traits

• Commitment to a common purpose and performance goals –

specific performance goals are an integral part of the purpose.

• Commitment to a common approach – team members must agree

on who will do a particular job & develop a common approach.

• Mutual accountability – at its core, team accountability is about the

sincere promises we make to others & ourselves – commitment &

trust

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GROUP AND TEAM

GROUP

• Strong, clearly focused.

• Individual accountability.

• The group’s purpose is the

same as the broader

organizational mission.

• Individual work products.

• Runs efficient meetings.

• Shared leadership roles.

• Individual and mutual accountability.

• Specific team purpose that the team delivers.

• Collective work products.

• Encourages open-ended discussions, active problem solving meetings.

• Measures its effectiveness direct by collective work products.

• Discusses, decides, & does real work together

TEAM WORK

Very often we use the word team work in our

organizational context without perhaps fully understanding what we mean by team work Team work is an abstract concept It

represents a set of values that:

• Encourages behaviors such as listening &

responding to view points of others, giving

benefit of doubt to others.

• Providing support to those who need it.

• Recognizing the interests & achievements of others.

• Also promote performance as individuals and the performance of the entire organization.

Group Exercise:

“A State Divided or Unified?”

RESISTANCE TO TEAMS IN ORGANIZATIONS

Though a very large number of people believe in the argument for

greater focus on teams, yet when it comes to using the team

approach, the people are reluctant to rely on teams Three primary sources for people’s reluctance about teams that stand out are:

• Lack of conviction: Some people do not believe that teams, really

do perform better than individuals Others think that teams are

probably useful, from a human relations point of view, but are

hindrance when it comes to work productivity and decisive action.

• Personal discomfort & risk: Many people fear or do not like to work

in teams Most people’s discomfort with teams, however is because they find the team approach; too time consuming, too uncertain or too risky.

• Weak performance ethics: Some organizations lack compelling

purpose that would appeal rationally and emotionally to their people

At worst, the environment of internal politics or external public

relationship undermines the mutual trust and openness upon which teams depend.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT & PERFORMANCE

“Great people don’t equal great teams.” –Tom Peters

Stages of team building:

1. Stage 1- Forming :Team acquaints & establishes

ground rules

2. Stage 2 – Storming : Members resist control by group

leaders and show hostility

3. Stage 3 – Norming : Members work together

developing close relationships & feelings of

camaraderie

4. Stage 4 – Performing : Team members work toward

getting their job done

5. Stage 5 – Adjourning : Team may disband on

achieving their goals or because members leave

STAGES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT

BEHAVIORS

Stage Theme Task

-Orientation Relationship -Orientation

1 Awareness Commitment Acceptance

2 Conflict Clarification Belonging

3 Co-operation Involvement Support

4 Results Achievement Pride

5 Separation Recognition Satisfaction

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS

• Team members should feel that their participation is

important and personally beneficial to them

• Teams should only remain intact as single entities so long they are working on a particular problem

• Whenever possible, the team should include some of the persons who will be responsible for implementing the

decision

• Members of a team must possess the appropriate

balance or mix of skills and traits

• A team should be around of 5 to 15 members maximum

• Members of the teams should have knowledge and

information that is relevant to the problem and task

• It is necessary for the team to select a leader

• The influence of members on decisions in teams should

be based on their capacity to contribute ( relevant

expertise) and not on the authority they possess in the organization

• Team decisions should be integrated with the normal or regular decisions of the departments or units from which the members are drawn

• Conflicts that develop within should be confronted and resolved with a problem solving approach, instead of

being avoided or smoothed over

CHARACTERISTICS OF INEFFECTIVE TEAMS

• You cannot easily describe the team’s mission

• The meetings are formal, stuffy, or tense People do not do

their best in an uncomfortable atmosphere

• There is a great deal of participation but little accomplishment Some teams exhibit to talk but much action

• There is talk but not much communication Many teams are composed of very talented people who enjoy talking but not listen to the contributions of others

• Disagreements are aired in private conversations

• Decisions tend to be made by the formal leader with little

meaningful involvement of other team members

• Members are not open with each other because trust is low

• There is confusion or disagreement about roles or work

• People in other parts of the organization who are critical

to the success of the team are not cooperating There is rarely a period in a team’s history when external relations are not important

• The team is over loaded with people who have the same team player style Style diversity leads to looking at all

aspects of team effectiveness

• The team has been in existence for at least three months and has never assessed its functioning Periodically ,

teams need to assess progress towards goals and to

evaluate team process

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS

Besides seeing the characteristics of an effective team as well as an ineffective team, it would be prudent to

examine the characteristics of effective team members It will be observed that organizational failures often are not

a result of poor leadership but of poor follower ship An effective team member is, therefore, on who:

• Understands and is committed to group goals

• Is friendly, concerned and interested in others

• Acknowledges and confronts conflict openly

• Listens to others with understanding

• Includes others in the decision making process

• Recognizes and respects individual differences

ACTIVE LISTENING EXAMPLES

• To convey interest in what the

other person is saying.

• To encourage the individual to

expand further on his or her

thinking.

• To help the individual clarify the

problem in his or her own

thinking.

• To get the individual to hear

what he or she has said in the

way it sounded to others

• To pull out the key ideas from a

long statement.

• I see!

• Yes, go on or Tell us more.

• Then the problem as you see is

• To respond to a person’s

feelings more than to his or her

words

• To summarize specific points of

agreement and disagreement

as a basis for further discussion.

we seem to need further clarification on these

points

• As a result of this discussion we as a group seem to feel that

Conflict Resolution.

• Disagreement is a euphemism for conflict

• Groups have to learn the requisite conflict-resolution

skills

• Disagreements are to be encouraged and accepted as a natural consequence of a dynamic, active organization

• Effective teams create a climate in which people feel free

to express their opinions even when those opinions are at odds with those of other team members

ASPECTS OF CONFLICT

DESTRUCTIVE

• Diverts energy from more

important activities and issue.

• Destroys the morale of people

or reinforces poor self-

concepts.

• Polarizes differences in values.

• Deepens differences in values.

• Produces irresponsible and

regrettable behavior such as

name calling and fighting.

• Serves as a release for pent up emotion, anxiety and stress.

• Helps build cohesiveness among people sharing the conflict, celebrating in its settlement, and learning about each other.

THANK YOU!