Team and Coalition Building
Class 7
August 1, 2010
Forming and Working with Teams
• How can managers work collaboratively with
others both internally and outside the agency
• Collaborative relationships:
– Teams
– Task Forces
– Working with Collateral Organizations
Importance of team building
• Agencies move away from top-down to
bottom-up decision making
• Forming a team is one of the most effective
methods of developing staff commitment
• Team can produce results that are
quantitatively better what an individual can
produce
Creating Effective Teams
Characteristics of effective teams:
• Communicate a shared vision
• Deemphasize hierarchy
• Encourage open communication
• Develop trust in one another
• Establish rules and behavioral norms
• Make decisions by consensus
Effective team leaders
Characteristics that make good team leaders:
**negotiating
**communicating
**agenda setting
**goal development and action planning
**creates a safe environment
Handling Conflict on Teams
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Avoid “groupthink”
Most conflict relates to tasks and roles
Uneven division of work
Individuals forming cliques within the team
Leaders determine the source of the conflict
Encourage the airing of differences
Use ground rules
Individual Styles and Team
Development
• Contributor: task oriented; provides team with information
• Collaborator: goal-oriented; open to new ideas; sees the
big picture
• Communicator: process-oriented; able to solve conflict and
build relationships
• Challenger: openly questions the goals and methods of
team; encourages risk- taking and being open to new ideas
Parker (1990)
Stages of Team Development
• Forming: establish a sense of security and
direction
• Conforming: becoming united and identifying
roles; members become content with team
membership
• Storming: differentiation occurs and leads to
conflict
• Performing: functions at a highly effective level
(Tuckman, 1965; Cameron & Whetten, 1991)
Improving Team Effectiveness
• US Department of Labor Guidelines:
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Have clarity on goals of the team
Clearly define roles
Communicate clearly
Be mindful of personality styles and stages
Develop a plan for improvement
Team Building Exercise
1. Identify a target population (e.g., street
children, the elderly, the disabled, mentally
ill) that need better social services
2. Come up with 3 major recommendations for
government organizations in order to
improve services for target population
Team Building Exercise
Continued
3. Reflect on Group Process:
-leader or self-led?
-was consensus used to come up with
recommendations?
-were you aware of the stage of the group?
-were there different personality types operating in
the group; did members take on different roles?
-what made your group successful in achieving its
goals?
-how might the group process be improved?
Task Forces
• Carry out a specific assignment on a timelimited basis
• Important to clarify tasks and roles
• Staff involvement must be meaningful
• If several task forces are organized need to be
well-organized
• Need to reintegrate staff once work is
complete
Coalition Building
Collateral Relationships
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Good compatibility
Development of shared resources
Cultural compatibility
Common domain of activities and target
population
• Communicative infrastructure
• Trust!
Areas of Collaboration
Joint Planning
• Administrative services
• Service Coordination
• Personnel Coordination
• Financial Coordination
Questions for Discussion
• You are a neighborhood grassroots advocacy
organization dedicated to changing living
conditions in your community. Recently, you have
been invited to join a coalition of agencies from
the community to address the problem of
overcrowding in urban areas.
• What are the pros and cons of joining the
coalition?
• If you join, how will you preserve your
autonomy?
Questions for Discussion
• Several business and community leaders have
proposed creating a community coalition to
conduct a community needs assessment in
Hanoi’s Old Quarter.
• Based on results, the coalition would develop the
community’s agenda for addressing the highest
priorities.
• What are the pros and cons of participating in a
process that determines the community’s focus
and resource allocation?