Know the people
Knowing the people and understanding who they are and how they view things will give us insight on how to achieve the team’s goal, while including each individual team member and actively listening to one another to know where they are coming from. Communication is extremely important in this phase because everyone has a different communication style and different understanding of things. Perception is a very personal thing. Taking a managerial approach and ensuring that everyone is heard so that we know no one is left out, will ensure that we develop a team full of of individuals who feel good about themselves, feel validated in having their voices heard, and most importantly, feel excited about working together towards our unified goals.
Ultimately, everyone involved wants to achieve the same goal, which is the success of the group. We, as managers, must also take into consideration cultural differences and values of all employees, because this could impact decisions that are made. Being aware of whom we are working with and the skills and knowledge that they bring to the teams is important, as the success of any team is going to be a result of the collaboration of all team members. We will have some that do not agree, and others that do not want to participate (signs of the Tuckman’s storming and norming phases). In these phases, getting to know who we are working with will give us the information we need to help our teams through the storming and
A team without this support will soon start to feel lost in regards to targets, objectives and direction. Issues can arise in so many different forms if a team is left to its own devises. Effective team communication can pacify most of these issues, whether it is failure to meet targets or issues of conflict, by taking the time to actively listen to team members and then working together to find a solution you not only prevent any issues building and eventually becoming a bigger problem, but also stop them affecting team performance and motivation. This will make for a healthy team dynamic and team members that feel they are valued and appreciated within the
Communicating in Teams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It is essential that there is effective communication to build an effective team. Effective teams need to work well together and that team cohesiveness depends on building strong relationships among team members. Communication is crucial and is driven by the team leader who will work with the team to establish ground rules and work to bring the team together so that it can accomplish its goals. All teams will go through expected stages of development, from forming to storming to norming and eventually performing according to Tuckman. Navigating through these stages effectively will help teams build relationships which in turn improves communication. Effective team communication can lead to both personal and professional development. Some examples of good communication are the holding of regular catch up meetings, active listening (by management and team members), regular feedback, clear vision and goals. In contrast to the above poor communication skills can have an adverse effect on team working. If team members are not communicating amongst themselves then
Clarity of purpose increases but plenty of uncertainties persist. Cliques form and there may be conflict and power struggles. The team needs to be focused on its goals to avoid becoming distracted by relationships and emotional issues. Compromises may be required to enable progress. The leader coaches.
All team members will respect the ideas and views of the other members even if there is disagreement. Team members will encourage each other and help each other along through the course so that the end goal can be achieved.
The features of effective team performance are set out in Brian Tuckman’s phases of team development theory, ‘Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing.’ This outlines the phases that a team will go through in order to become effective and reach maturity. At the ‘Forming’ stage of team development individual roles and responsibilities are unclear and each member of the team is concerned to avoid conflict with each other. From this point the team will go through the ‘Storming’ phase which is when they start to conflict as individuals put forward ideas which will be challenged by others in a bid to gain power and position over others. After this the ‘Norming’ phase follows and it is at this point that individual roles are defined and accepted
The team leader’s ability to identify, understand and correct any dysfunctional teams is also an important process to stay productive. There are three types of dysfunctional teams (MCMANUS, 2014) the “war zone” team is an environment where everyone is watching their backs and jockeying for position behind closed doors. There is usually a struggle for power and is generally a very completive environment between team members. The “love fest” team is heavily focused on
An effective and productive team doesn't just happen. It requires structures, support and processes that encourage development. Team building happens over time. When building and developing a cohesive, effective and productive team you need to determine how your team fits and the roles they play in the organisation. Does anything need to be changed? How and when can these changes be put into action? Organisational, strategic and operational plans need to contain suitable mechanisms for supporting team development.
I need to continue to hone in on members of my team and help them grow individually while taking the time to understand what they need in order to do so. Identification of strengths and weaknesses among all team members will not only help determine how I can help coach and mentor them but also how I delegate work. In order to have my team function at the highest level, I need to understand what each team member has to contribute and play my hand accordingly in order to achieve the best outcome. Knowing that I have put the best team in place and that we are functioning at our highest level, I have achieved success and the metrics, if attainable, will reflect
To overcome these two challenges I had to sell the team on my vision while listening to their ideas. As a team leader, I can assert that achieving my goals is paramount. Yet this doesn’t denote that I would extensively pursue my goals or blindly follow my objectives at all costs. For that reason, I was open to their opinions no matter how different theirs may be from mine. I am proud to say that the outcome of this stage exceeded my expectations; the team was more motivated and evolved from being a group of strangers to a united team with common goals.
There are two major events in this book but, the first event leads to the next events so I’ll write about the first event. The most important event in the book would need to be the first event of people disappearing one day to another. This is important because if this didn’t happen nothing else would have happened, we wouldn't know what is happening if you didn’t read this event, and this event sparks your imagination on what's going to happen later in the story. In the following paragraphs, I will explain my reasoning why this is such an important event.
Communication is the key to success. A team without communication could never be successful. Communication is important because the group needs a clear goal and also they need to have shared objectives. For example, in football a defense needs to be on the same page; if two players on the defense are on different pages then the defense will not be successful. You need everyone to share the same objective in order to succeed, not just a few people but all as one. To ensure a team’s success, everyone on the team has to be accountable. Everyone has a job on the team to contribute to becoming successful as a whole. Also you need trust in order to become successful; you have to be able to trust in your team that they will give their all for the team.
We learn repeatedly about how important it is to follow promptings. But, it’s not always as easy as it sounds. Even when we do act on promptings, the outcome is often not what we expect.
Commitment and involvement- the team should be able to understand the goals and should be committed in achieving them
Supporting the team is very important and is usually what helps keep a team together. Always be open-minded and ready to listen to someone else's ideas not just your own. All team members should not only support each other, but also each other’s ideas. This also leads to opportunities for the whole team. Providing opportunities for development is an important aspect in a successful team. Always talk among the group about any issues. If the problems are out in the open they can be taken care of. This will also help in future issues.