EFFECTIVE SKILLS FOR TEAM BUILDING
HARKMORE LEE, MSW
CALCASA
Today’s Agenda
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
Group Agreements
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
HUMOR IS WELCOME
BUT humor should never be at someone else's expense.
HONOR TIME
We have an ambitious agenda, so it will be important to follow the time
guidelines for the next two days.
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?
Learning Objective
• 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.
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
as being a group.
Essentials of a group
1.
Social interaction
2.
Stable structure
3.
Common interests
4.
Perceive themselves as part of group
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.
Measures performance
indirectly by its influence on
others.
Discusses, decides, and
delegates.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
TEAM
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 Relationship
Orientation -Orientation
Commitment Acceptance
1
Awareness
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
…….
• This is your decision then and
the reasons are ….If I
understand you correctly you
are saying that we should ...
• Your major point is …
You feel that we should ….
• 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.
• To express a consensus of
group feeling.
• You feel strongly that …..
You do not believe that ….
• We seemed to agreed on
the following points….., but
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 selfconcepts.
Polarizes differences in values.
Deepens differences in values.
Produces irresponsible and
regrettable behavior such as
name calling and fighting.
•
•
•
•
•
•
CONSTRUCTIVE
Opens up issues of importance
resulting in their clarification.
Results in the solution of the
problems.
Increases the involvement of
individuals and internal
cohesiveness.
Causes authentic
communication to occur.
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!