Team Building

Mingle

Think about a team that you’ve been a part of - either from your personal or professional life.

In your experience, what’s been the best thing about working in a team?

What’s been the most challenging?

Learning Objectives

• Describe the importance of effectively functioning teams as an essential element to successful public health programs.

 • Describe how to create more effective working relationships among

team members.

 • Create positive and productive team agreements and norms.

 • Select specific skills and tools when creating alignment within diverse

teams.

 • Choose effective responses to resolve common problem behaviors

present in teams

Definitions

• A team can be defined as two or more people coming together to accomplish a specific task.

Examples:– Project teams– Coalitions– Management teams

Opportunities - Teams

• Leverage diversity• Harness individual knowledge/wisdom• Increase participation• Gain organizational buy-in• Generate more creative responses/solutions• Can be more productive

Common Team Challenges

• Don’t measure up to potential• Problem behaviors• Lack of clarity/shared accountability for goals• Ineffective decision making• Poor implementation and follow through• Lack empowerment and organizational

support

Team StrengthsSource: Team Diagnostic International

Relationships• Camaraderie• Communication• Constructive Interaction• Optimism• Respect• Trust• Values Diversity

Results• Accountability• Alignment• Decision Making• Goals & Strategies• Proactive• Resources• Team Leadership

Methods for Building Effective Teams

• Team assessment

• Team design

• Creating alignment

• Working with problem behaviors

Team Assessment and Design

• What might you want to assess about a team? How might you assess an existing or new team?

• What might you want to know in order to design positive and productive working relationships within a team?

• What would you want to explicitly design with a team?

Assessment: What?

• Team structure, members, history• Results strengths: accountability,

alignment, decision making, goals and strategies, ability to be proactive, resources, team leadership

• Relationships strengths: camaraderie, communication, constructive interaction, optimism, respect, trust, values diversity

Assessment: How?

• Interviews

• Surveys

• Review of existing team materials (agendas, minutes, ground rules, products)

• Observation

Potential Questions

• Strengths/challenges of team• Priorities/goals of team• Roles/responsibilities• Ground rules• Decision making process• Meeting structure, minutes, agenda• Leadership• Resources• Means of rewarding achievement/success• How team functions under stress• Vision of team• What team is tolerating

Design/Planning

• Priorities/goals/vision of team

• Team agreements/ground rules

• Roles/responsibilities/leadership

• Decision making process/accountability

Antidotes for Common Team Problem Behaviors

• Notice your own patterns.

• Call behaviors when you see them.

• Look for the request behind the complaint.

• Don’t make it/take it personally.

• Build positivity within the team.