Introduction to Team Building

Presented byMargo Elliott

Momentum Performance Solutions

6 September 2001

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Team BasicsPerformance

Results

Collective Work Products

Personal GrowthCommitment

Skill

s

Accountability

Specific Goals

Common Approach

Meaningful Purpose

Problem Solving

Technical/function

Inter-personal

Mutual

Small Number of People

Individual

Diagram from “The Wisdom of Teams” by Katzenbach, Smith

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A Team Is...

• A small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals and approach, for which they hold themselves mutually accountable• Katzenbach, Smith 1993

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A Group Is...

• People working within the same area of interest or expertise, but whose work outcomes are not interdependent

• No joint product or service for which the whole group is responsible

• Relies on individual performance for results

• Can be very effective

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Why Use Teams?

• Business Point of View• Flexibility• Complexity• Positive Results• Single point of contact• Creativity• Synergy

• Personal Point of View• Greater productivity• Reduced stress• Sense of belonging• Ownership of work• Clear goals and roles• Climate of trust and

encouragement• Open and honest

communication

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

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Use Teams When...

• Multiple skills, experiences and judgements are required

• Learning and behavioural change are desired

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Groups Vs. Teams

• Groups• Strong, clearly focused

leader• Individual accountability

• Members are ‘hired hands’

• Members told what to do

• Individual work products• Opinions, disagreements

divisive• Individual success or

failure

• Teams• Shared leadership roles

• Individual & mutual accountability

• Members own their work• Members contribute to

team objectives• Collective work products• Opinions, disagreements

encouraged• Collective success or

failure

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Building A Team

• Construct an environment that fosters teamwork

• Select talented people• Match tasks to skills• Train to work in teams• Leverage and multiply individual talent• Continually develop the team• Actively manage personnel mismatches

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Characteristics of an Effective Team• High success rate• Agrees on clear, challenging goals• Has a leader• Has a mix of people who contribute in

different but complimentary ways• Balances the task and the process• Supportive atmosphere• Learns from experience• Works and plays together

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Teamwork Requires...

• Good team players• Effective teaming• Well managed boundaries

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Critical Teaming Styles

• Contributors• task oriented

• Collaborators• goal directed

• Communicators• focus on process

• Challengers• raise tough questions

Glenn M. Parker

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Team Development

• Teams progress through four stages of development• Forming• Norming• Storming• Performing

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Team Development Stages

• Each stage is marked by distinct needs and behaviours in the team members

• Progression through the stages is not necessarily linear

• Teams experience all of the stages at some time

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Stage 1 - Forming

• Team members’ need• safety• to establish themselves• to figure out the purpose of the team

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Forming

• Observable behaviours• dependency on the leader• focus on defining roles, goals and tasks• enthusiasm• high expectations• testing the leader and central figures

• Low task accomplishment

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Stage 2 - Norming

• Team members’ need• inclusion• to develop harmony, trust support and

respect• to develop self-esteem and confidence• to set implicit and explicit rules

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Norming

• Observable behaviours• increasing satisfaction• resolving discrepancies between

expectations and reality• open communication• sharing responsibility and control• using team language and ‘folklore’

• Moderate to high task accomplishment

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Stage 3 - Storming

• Team members’ need• control

• Observable behaviours• competition for power and attention• negative reactions to leader and other

members• feelings of frustration

• goals, tasks, action plans

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Storming

• Observable behaviours• discrepancy between hopes and reality• dissatisfied with dependence on

authority• experiencing polarities:

dependence/counter-dependence

• Some task accomplishment

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Stage 4 - Performing

• Team members’ need• interconnectedness• high success rate and productivity

• Observable behaviours• working collaboratively and

interdependently• sense of team strength• shared leadership• sense of belonging and excitement

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Performing

• Observable behaviours• high confidence in meeting goals• positive feelings about success• synergy• high problem-solving and decision-

making skills

• High task accomplishment

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Factors in Team Success

• Leadership• Team direction

• clear mission• clear vision

• Goals and measurements• Clearly defined roles for team

members• Team operating norms/ground rules

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Factors in Team Success, cont.

• Interpersonal dynamics• build trust, communication, sense of

‘team’ early

• Boundary management• Rewards and recognition, celebration• Mutual accountability• Management support

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What Can I Expect?

• Stages of development• Diverse styles

• concrete/sequential/abstract/random• communication• Introvert/Extravert• task focus, process focus

• Conflict• Learning

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How Can I Contribute?

• Communicate!• Meet your commitments• Participate in planning AS WELL AS

implementation• Adhere to operating norms• Address issues as they arise• Manage conflict

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Resistance Issues

• Personal discomfort and risk• not comfortable working in a team• don’t like to take responsibility for

another’s work• don’t like to depend on others• don’t like to suffer consequences of

others’ mistakes

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What’s In It For Me?

• Learn skills from others on the team• Practice decision-making and conflict

management skills• Develop interpersonal skills• Learn to deal with difficult situations• Produce a better final project

than you could by yourself