The Team

Presentation By: Dilawar Abbas

Introduction to Team

What is a TeamA group of people with a full set of complementary skills required to complete a task, job, or project.

Team members

(1) operate with a high degree of interdependence, (2) share authority and responsibility for self-management,(3) are accountable for the collective performance, and (4) work toward a common goal and shared rewards(s).

A team becomes more than just a collection of people when a strong sense of mutual commitment creates synergy, thus generating performance greater than the sum of the performance of its individual members.

“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”Michael Jordan

Characteristics of a Team

Exceptional Results

Common Purpose

Clear Roles

Accepted Leadershi

p

Effective Process

Solid Relationsh

ip

Excellent Communicati

ons

Successful Team Dynamics

The team member: Successful teams are made up of a collection of effective individuals. These are people who are experienced, have problem solving ability, are open to addressing the problem, and are action oriented.

Team relationships: For a team to be successful the members of the team must be able to give and receive feedback.

Team problem solving: An effective team depends on how focused and clear the goal of the team is. A relaxed, comfortable and accepting environment and finally, open and honest communication are required.

Team leadership: Effective team leadership depends on leadership competencies. A competent leader is: focused on the goal, ensures a collaborative climate, builds confidence of team members, sets priorities, demonstrates sufficient “know-how” and manages performance through feedback.

Organizational environment: The climate and culture of the organization must be conductive to team behavior. Competitiveness should be discouraged and uniformity should be encouraged - this will eliminate conflict and discord among team members.

“The strength of the team is each individual member.

The strength of each member is the team.” Phil Jackson

Team Roles & Responsibilities

Team Roles & Responsibilities

Imagine a cricket team that assigned players to a different position everyday.

Consider working in a company where one day you're an accountant, the next day a security guard, another day, you're assigned as a salesperson.

Chances are, with both the cricket team and company, success would not come easy, if at all!

Team Leader

Team Leaders may or may not be supervisory/managerial personnel. Most importantly, team leaders should never "pull rank," or apply undue influence on the team.

Good team leaders know the lessons learned from experience are stronger and longer lasting than those learned simply by having a supervisor telling someone what to do. Being a team leader is a good deal of work. A balance must be maintained between keeping a team focused on the task and allowing a team to make its own decisions.

TeamLeader

Keep the Team

On Track and Focused

Allow Team to

Make their own Decisions

Team Leader

Makes things happen with ease...

Team Lead develop and manage the process for the team, helping them to stay on track and proceed through ground rules

Helps the team with the process...

Have you ever been a member of a team where only two or three people made all the decisions? That's not a good process. A good Team Lead help the team through situations similar to that by neutralizing potentially dominating people. The result is a process reflecting the group's collective brain power, not simply the ideas of two or three people!

Helps the Team with the "how" decisions...

Elsewhere in this program are descriptions of several tools and techniques teams can use to help make decisions. Some of these tools are brainstorming, prioritizing, and parking lots. Team Leads are skilled at using these tools and helping teams realize their potential.

Team Members – Everyone Else

Team members don't have specific responsibilities, but their participation is critical to the team's success.

Team members must agree to:

1. Be enthusiastic and committed to the team's purpose.

2. Be honest and keep any confidential information behind closed doors.

3. Share responsibility and help other team members to complete their task.

4. Share knowledge and expertise and not withhold information.

5. Ask questions, even seemingly "dumb" ones. Often the new perspective of "inexperienced" team members can provide insight.

6. Fulfill duties in between meetings.

7. Respect the opinions and positions of others on the team, even if the person has an opposing view or different opinion.

Team Members – Informal Roles

Teams can have unofficial, informal roles too. Some are helpful and some are not so helpful. The list below summarizes some common, informal roles in teams.

Helpful Roles:

The Expert

A knowledgeable subject matter expert who can clarify technical issues.

The Summarizer

Often, a "big picture" person who helps to sum up items.

The Bridge Builder

Experienced negotiators who can help bring opposing views together.

Team Members – Informal Roles

Not Always Helpful Roles

The Joker

Always telling jokes to the extent that others can't accomplish their goals.

The Blocker

Hates to make decisions, or reach closure; always looking for more information or wants to "think things over a little bit."

The Busier Than Thou

Always busier, harder working and has more responsibilities than others.

The Disrupter

If they aren't interrupting for some reason, Disrupters like to hold side conversations or generally disturb the group.

The Loner

Doesn't like to participate, rarely contributes.

“Never give up on someone with a mental illness.

When "I" is replaced by "We", illness becomes wellness.” Shannon L. Alder

Stages of Team Building

Stages of Team Building

Working Together

Whether it's on the playing field or in the workplace, teams take time to come together. There is a natural development process every team progresses through. It is useful to examine this maturation so that as a team member or team leader you can be prepared to work effectively with the team.

There are four stages of Team Building:

1. Forming

2. Storming

3. Norming

4. Performing

Forming

StormingNorming

Performing

Direction

Trus

t

Process

Resu

lts

Forming – Getting to Know You…

In the Forming stage, team members are getting to know one another and getting comfortable with one another. Members will naturally try to understand their own roles, the roles of the other team members and their purpose in the group. This is entirely natural and to be expected. People are unsure, suspicious and nervous.

Characteristics of Forming

Look for the following behaviors in the Forming stage:

1. Members trying to define the task.

2. Lofty, conceptual discussions as people try to express who they are.

3. Discussions about what information needs to be gathered.

How to Address the Forming Stage

Help team members get to know one another. Make sure the purpose and task are clearly defined and share management expectations of the group. Give the team time to get comfortable with one another, but move the team along as well.

Storming – High Winds Predicted…

Once the team works together for a while, they will leave the Forming stage and enter Storming. Politeness begins to wear off and dissension occurs over basic mission and operating procedures. Control often becomes the primary issue. Who is going to decide what? Disagreements can be either very obvious or subtle.

Storming is the most difficult stage for a team to weather, but it is necessary for healthy team development. When team members begin to trust one another enough to air differences, this signals readiness to work things out.

Characteristics of Storming

Look for the following behaviors in the storming stage:

1. Members begin to show their true styles.

2. A growing impatience will surface over lack of progress.

3. Members will get into one another's territory, causing irritation.

4. General disagreement over process, task and overall purpose of the team.

How to Address the Storming Stage

Don't ignore the Storming stage. Acknowledge it with the team as a natural developmental step. Facilitators should surface the conflicts and address them. This is a good time to review ground rules, revisit the purpose and related administrative matters of the team.

Norming – Charting a Course…

When teams recognize their differences and have dealt with them, they move to Norming, the stage when they ask, "How are we going to accomplish our work?" Beyond the politeness and nervousness of Forming and past the issues and concerns of Storming, teams will want to review how they are functioning. As team members learn to work out their differences and emotional conflicts are reduced, they will have more time and energy to focus on their purpose.

Characteristics of Norming

Look for the following behaviors in the norming stage:

1. Ground rules and formal procedures that may have been overlooked in the beginning are now taken more seriously.

2. The team will want to discuss items more; less time will be spent on idea generation, and more on decision making.

3. Members will want to limit agenda items to focus on specific topics.

4. Subgroups may be formed to move along faster.

5. Conflicts are addressed and resolved.

How to Address the Norming Stage

At this stage, the team has PROCESS down fairly well. TASK will take on new significance as the team will want to accomplish its purpose. Facilitators should keep this in mind and remind the team of the task. Also, facilitators should be more diligent in adhering to the road map, providing time for feedback, closure, etc.

Performing – The Action Stage…

Forming, Storming, Norming, then Performing, the final stage of team development. Performing teams are just that, a highly effective, problem-solving unit that can reach solutions quickly and can even head off issues before they become problems.

Characteristics of Performing

A team in the performing stage will:

Be productive! Tasks will be accomplished, and the team will look for more to do.

Be pro-active, and not necessarily wait for direction from management. Demonstrate loyalty to the group, and respect individual dissension and

disagreement.

How to Address the Performing Stage

Teams at the performing level are generally self-regulating. Road maps, processes, decision making and other matters of team management will be handled independently by the team.

“If two men on the same job agree all the time, then one is useless.

If they disagree all the time, both are useless.” Darryl F. Zanuck

Qualities of an Effective Team Player

Demonstrate Reliability

You can count on a reliable team member who gets work done and does his fair share to work hard and meet commitments.

He or she follows through on assignments. Consistency is key. You can count on him or her to deliver good performance all the time, not just some of the time.

Communicate Constructively

Teams need people who speak up and express their thoughts and ideas clearly, directly, honestly, and with respect for others and for the work of the team.

That's what it means to communicate constructively.

Such a team member does not shy away from making a point but makes it in the best way possible — in a positive, confident, and respectful manner.

Listens Actively

Good listeners are essential for teams to function effectively. Teams need team players who can absorb, understand, and consider ideas and points of view from other people without debating and arguing every point. Such a team member also can receive criticism without reacting defensively. .

Most important, for effective communication and problem solving, team members need the discipline to listen first and speak second so that meaningful dialogue results.

Functions as an Active Participant

Good team players are active participants. They come prepared for team meetings and listen and speak up in discussions. They're fully engaged in the work of the team and do not sit passively on the sidelines.

Team members who function as active participants take the initiative to help make things happen, and they volunteer for assignments. Their whole approach is can-do: "What contribution can I make to help the team achieve success?"

Shares openly and willingly

Good team players share. They're willing to share information, knowledge, and experience. They take the initiative to keep other team members informed.

Much of the communication within teams takes place informally. Beyond discussion at organized meetings, team members need to feel comfortable talking with one another and passing along important news and information day-to-day. Good team players are active in this informal sharing.

They keep other team members in the loop with information and expertise that helps get the job done and prevents surprises.

Cooperates and pitching in to help

Cooperation is the act of working with others and acting together to accomplish a job. Effective team players work this way by second nature.

Good team players, despite differences they may have with other team members concerning style and perspective, figure out ways to work together to solve problems and get work done. They respond to requests for assistance and take the initiative to offer help.

Exhibits flexibility

Teams often deal with changing conditions — and often create changes themselves. Good team players roll with the punches; they adapt to ever-changing situations. They don't complain or get stressed out because something new is being tried or some new direction is being set.

In addition, a flexible team member can consider different points of views and compromise when needed. He or she doesn't hold rigidly to a point of view and argue it to death, especially when the team needs to move forward to make a decision or get something done. Strong team players are firm in their thoughts yet open to what others have to offer — flexibility at its best.

Show Commitment to the Team

Strong team players care about their work, the team, and the team's work. They show up every day with this care and commitment up front. They want to give a good effort, and they want other team members to do the same.

Work as a Problem Solver

Teams, of course, deal with problems. Sometimes, it appears, that's the whole reason why a team is created — to address problems. Good team players are willing to deal with all kinds of problems in a solutions-oriented manner. They're problem-solvers, not problem-dwellers, problem-blamers, or problem-avoiders.

They don't simply rehash a problem the way problem-dwellers do. They don't look for others to fault, as the blamers do. And they don't put off dealing with issues, the way avoiders do.

Team players get problems out in the open for discussion and then collaborate with others to find solutions and form action plans.

Treats others in a respectful and supportive mannerTeam players treat fellow team members with courtesy and consideration — not just some of the time but consistently. In addition, they show understanding and the appropriate support of other team members to help get the job done. They don't place conditions on when they'll provide assistance, when they'll choose to listen, and when they'll share information. Good team players also have a sense of humor and know how to have fun (and all teams can use a bit of both), but they don't have fun at someone else's expense. Quite simply, effective team players deal with other people in a professional manner.

Team players who show commitment don't come in any particular style or personality. They don't need to be rah-rah, cheerleader types.

In fact, they may even be soft-spoken, but they aren't passive. They care about what the team is doing and they contribute to its success — without needing a push.