Module 1
Using Teamwork Skills
Learning Outcomes
 1.1 Understand the need for a team to agree a contract for
working together.
 1.2 Understand how roles and responsibilities can be
allocated within a team.
 1.3 Be able to work within a team towards a specific goal.
 1.4 Be able to assess the effectiveness of a team.
 1.5 Understand how to resolve conflict in teams.
Introduction
 Teamwork is an essential part
of workplace success. Like a
football team working together
to set up the perfect shot,
every team member has a
specific role to play in
accomplishing tasks on the
job. Although it may seem as if
one player scored the goal,
that goal was made possible
by many people’s planning,
coordination, and cooperation
to get that player the ball.
Teamwork
Teamwork involves building relationships and working with other people using a
number of important skills and habits:
 Working cooperatively
 Contributing to groups with ideas, suggestions, and effort
 Communication (both giving and receiving)
 Sense of responsibility
 Healthy respect for different opinions, customs, and individual preferences
 Ability to participate in group decision-making
Group Contract
What Motivates You?
 Motivation is what draws you to
move toward something. It can
come from a desire or a curiosity
within you or can be from an
external force pushing you.
Motivation styles vary for different
situations and topics but
nonetheless, you draw on them
especially when you try to learn
something new. If you can
recognize your main motivational
style, you can identify the
situations that best satisfy your
needs.
Goal Orientated
 If you are goal-oriented, you
probably reach for your goals
through a direct and obvious route.
This might lead you to a reference
book, your computer, or to call an
expert—whatever means is
available. You usually prefer
meeting in person when it’s the
most effective method and don’t
find learning new things, itself,
much fun.
Relationship Orientated
 If you are relationship-oriented,
you take part in learning and
teamwork mainly for social contact.
When you meet and interact with
people, you learn things along the
way. You may not like working
independently or focusing on
topics (separately from the people)
because that doesn’t give you the
interactivity you need to learn.
Learning Orientated
 If you are learning-oriented, the
practice of learning, itself, drives
you. You search for knowledge
because learning delights you and
you may become frustrated by
anything that requires you to
spend more time following
procedures than on actual
learning.
Teamwork – An Inventory of Skills
 Part of being a good team member
is learning how to understand your
personal strengths (what you have
to offer) AND where you might
need to draw assistance from
others. Listed in the workbook are
10 of the characteristics that make
a productive team member. Rate
your level of confidence in each
skill (HONESTLY) – and then
devise a plan for how you can
improve some of the areas you
think might need to improve upon.
Paper Towers Video
 http://www.youtube.com/wat
ch?v=IUMyHs_cMCk
Effectiveness of the Team
 How did YOU do?
 What went well?
 How did OTHER members of the
group perform?
 What didn’t go so well……why?
 What would YOU change next
time?
Conflict in the Team
Turtle – Avoider
 All conflict is to be avoided at any
cost. Contentious issues are
shunned and allowed to remain
unchallenged. This results in a loss
of goals and in damage to
relationships. The turtle character
communicates an air of
helplessness in the face of conflict,
believing that solutions to
disagreements and divergence of
energies are not easily found. Like
the turtle when danger looms, they
quickly withdraw into their thickshelled carapace of avoidance.
Lion – Competition
 The Lion is king and the king must
be seen to be in control and to win.
Conflict is a way of demonstrating
control. Relationships are only
important for their usefulness. How
others view them is not as
important as their pride in the
strength they can display over
weakness. To lose in conflict,
which for them can simply mean
giving way, is seen as a sign of
weakness.
Ostrich – Compromiser
 Favours the middle ground,
resulting in all sides in the conflict
winning a little and losing a little.
They regard sacrificing part of the
goal as being preferable to the
conflict continuing. The attitude
can be born out of lack of
experience, lack of confidence, or
not having a viable strategy for
addressing conflict. Although they
can identify the problem, if they
feel that their interests are at risk
they will ignore the problem and
settle for a short-term solution.
Teddy Bear – Accommodator
 Avoids discussing the conflict in
order to protect the relationship.
They feel it is easier to
accommodate the other party by
smoothing over any problem. They
fear addressing the issue and
running the risk of damaging the
relationship by causing possible
hurt.
Owl – Collaboration
 A wise old bird, the owl views
conflict as a healthy occurrence.
He knows that the Chinese
character for Conflict combines the
characters for Danger and
Opportunity. The owl is creative in
helping those involved to find a
solution that does not damage the
relationship. They help others to
explore and identify the difficulty
and are only satisfied when a
problem is resolved and tensions
are dissolved.
Learning Outcomes
 1.1 Understand the need for a team to agree a contract for
working together.
 1.2 Understand how roles and responsibilities can be
allocated within a team.
 1.3 Be able to work within a team towards a specific goal.
 1.4 Be able to assess the effectiveness of a team.
 1.5 Understand how to resolve conflict in teams.