PARAMED COLLEGE

DB LEVEL 4
course title: Developing Team and Individuals
YEAR 2010 EC

LO 1
Team: A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a
common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually
accountable.
This definition highlights the essentials of a team or in other words the team basics. Here the
focus or emphasis is on three characteristics – small number, complementary skills and
commitment.
 These are what basically differentiates a team from a group and makes a team something
much more productive and result oriented than a group. We shall analyze them:
• Small number – five to ten people
• Complementary skills – appropriate balance or mix of skills and traits
• Commitment to a common purpose and performance goals – specific performance
goals are an integral part of the purpose.
• Commitment to a common approach – team members must agree on who will do a
particular job & develop a common approach.
• Mutual accountability – at its core, team accountability is about the sincere promises we
make to others & ourselves – commitment & trust.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GROUP AND TEAM

GROUP
• Strong, clearly focused.
• Individual accountability.
• The group’s purpose is the same as the broader organizational mission.
• Individual work products.
• Runs efficient meetings.
• Measures performance indirectly by its influence on others.
• Discusses, decides, and delegates.
TEAM
• Shared leadership roles.
• Individual and mutual accountability.
• Specific team purpose that the team delivers.
• Collective work products.
• Encourages open-ended discussions, active problem solving meetings.
• Measures its effectiveness direct by collective work products.
Discusses, decides, & does real work together.

TEAM WORK
  Very often we use the word team work in our organizational context without perhaps
fully understanding what we mean by team work.
 Team work is an abstract concept. It represents a set of values that:
• Encourages behaviors such as listening & responding to view points of others, giving
benefit of doubt to others.
• Providing support to those who need it.
• Recognizing the interests & achievements of others.
• Also promote performance as individuals and the performance of the entire organization.

RESISTANCE TO TEAMS IN ORGANIZATIONS

 Though a very large number of people believe in the argument for greater focus on
teams, yet when it comes to using the team approach, the people are reluctant to rely on
teams. Three primary sources for people’s reluctance about teams that stand out are:
• Lack of conviction: Some people do not believe that teams, really do perform better than
individuals. Others think that teams are probably useful, from a human relations point of
view, but are hindrance when it comes to work productivity and decisive action.
• Personal discomfort & risk: Many people fear or do not like to work in teams. Most
people’s discomfort with teams, however is because they find the team approach; too
time consuming, too uncertain or too risky.
• Weak performance ethics: Some organizations lack compelling purpose that would
appeal rationally and emotionally to their people. At worst, the environment of internal
politics or external public relationship undermines the mutual trust and openness upon
which teams depend.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT & PERFORMANCE

“Great people don’t equal great teams.” –Tom Peters
Stages of team building:
1. Stage 1- Forming :Team acquaints & establishes ground rules.
2. Stage 2 – Storming : Members resist control by group leaders and show hostility.
3. Stage 3 – Norming : Members work together developing close relationships & feelings of
camaraderie.
4. Stage 4 – Performing : Team members work toward getting their job done.
5. Stage 5 – Adjourning : Team may disband on achieving their goals or because members
leave.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS

• Team members should feel that their participation is important and personally
beneficial to them.
• Teams should only remain intact as single entities so long they are working on a
particular problem.
 • Whenever possible, the team should include some of the persons who will be responsible
for implementing the decision.
• Members of a team must possess the appropriate balance or mix of skills and traits.
• A team should be around of 5 to 15 members maximum.
• Members of the teams should have knowledge and information that is relevant to the
problem and task.
• It is necessary for the team to select a leader.
CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS
 Besides seeing the characteristics of an effective team as well as an ineffective team, it
would be prudent to examine the characteristics of effective team members. It will be
observed that organizational failures often are not a result of poor leadership but of poor
follower ship. An effective team member is, therefore, on who:
• Understands and is committed to group goals.
• Is friendly, concerned and interested in others.
• Acknowledges and confronts conflict openly.
• Listens to others with understanding.
• Includes others in the decision making process.
• Recognizes and respects individual differences.
ACTIVE LISTENING EXAMPLES
• To convey interest in what the other person is saying. - I see!
• To encourage the individual to expand further on his or her thinking. - Yes, go on
or Tell us more.
• To help the individual clarify the problem in his or her own thinking. - Then the
problem as you see is
• To get the individual to hear what he or she has said in the way it sounded to others. _
This is your decision then and the reasons are ….If I understand you correctly you

are saying that we should ...

• To pull out the key ideas from a long statement.- Your major point is …

You feel that we should

• To respond to a person’s feelings more than to his or her words. - You feel strongly that
…..You do not believe that
• To summarize specific points of agreement and disagreement as a basis for further
discussion.- We seemed to agreed on the following points….., but we seem to need
further clarification on these points
• To express a consensus of group feeling.- As a result of this discussion we as a group
seem to feel that

Conflict Resolution.
• Disagreement is a euphemism for conflict.
• Groups have to learn the requisite conflict-resolution skills.
• Disagreements are to be encouraged and accepted as a natural consequence of a dynamic,
active organization.
 • Effective teams create a climate in which people feel free to express their opinions even
when those opinions are at odds with those of other team members.
Conflict Resolution.
• Disagreement is a euphemism for conflict.
• Groups have to learn the requisite conflict-resolution skills.
• Disagreements are to be encouraged and accepted as a natural consequence of a dynamic,
active organization.
• Effective teams create a climate in which people feel free to express their opinions even
when those opinions are at odds with those of other team members.

ASPECTS OF CONFLICT
DESTRUCTIVE
• Diverts energy from more important activities and issue.
• Destroys the morale of people or reinforces poor self- concepts.
• Polarizes differences in values.
• Deepens differences in values.
• Produces irresponsible and regrettable behavior such as name calling and fighting.
CONSTRUCTIVE
• Opens up issues of importance resulting in their clarification.
• Results in the solution of the problems.
• Increases the involvement of individuals and internal cohesiveness.
• Causes authentic communication to occur.
• Serves as a release for pent up emotion, anxiety and stress.
• Helps build cohesiveness among people sharing the conflict, celebrating in its settlement,
and learning about each other.

LO2- Foster individual and organizational growth by

Information sheet
creating Effective Groups and Teams
 

Explain why groups and teams are key contributors to organizational effectiveness.
• Identify the different types of groups and teams that help managers and organizations
achieve their goals.
• Explain how different elements of group dynamics influence the functioning and
effectiveness of groups and teams.
• Explain why it is important for groups and teams to have a balance of conformity and
deviance and a moderate level of cohesiveness.
• Describe how managers can motivate group members to achieve organizational goals and
reduce social loafing in groups and teams

Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness

 • Group
– Two or more people who interact with each other to accomplish certain goals or
meet certain needs.

Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness

• Team
– A group whose members work intensely with each other to achieve a specific,
common goal or objective.
– All teams are groups but not all groups are teams.
• Teams often are difficult to form.
• It takes time for members to learn how to work together.

Groups, Teams and Organizational Effectiveness

• Two characteristics distinguish teams from groups

– Intensity with which team members work together
– Presence of a specific, overriding team goal or objective

Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers

• Advantage of synergy
– People working in a group are able to produce more outputs than would have been
produced if each person had worked separately

Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers

 • Factors that contribute to synergy
– Ability of group members to bounce ideas off one another
– To correct one another’s mistakes
– To bring a diverse knowledge base to bear on a problem
– To accomplish work that is too vast for any one individual to achieve

Groups and Teams as Performance Enhancers

• To take advantage of the potential for synergy, managers need to make sure groups are
composed of members who have complementary
skills and knowledge relevant to the group’s work

Groups’ and Teams’ Contributions to Organizational Effectiveness

 Groups and Teams and Responsiveness to Customers

• Responsiveness to Customers
– Difficult to achieve given the many constraints.
• Safety issues, regulations, costs.
– Cross-functional teams can provide the wide variety of skills needed to meet
customer demands.
Teams consist of members of different departments

Teams and Innovation

• Innovation
– The creative development of new products, new technologies, new services, or
new organizational structures
• Individuals rarely possess the wide variety of skills needed for successful
innovation.
• Team members can uncover each other’s flaws and balance each other’s
strengths and weaknesses
Managers should empower the team and make it accountable for the innovation process

Groups and Teams as Motivators

• Members of groups, and particularly teams, are often better motivated and satisfied than
individuals.
– Team members are more motivated and satisfied than if they were working alone.
– Team members can see the effect of their contribution to achieving team and
organizational goals.
– Teams provide needed social interaction and help employees cope with work-
related stressors.

The Types of Groups and Teams in Organizations

 The Types of Groups and Teams

Formal Group
– A group that managers establish to achieve organization goals.

• Cross-functional teams
composed of members from different departments
• Cross-cultural teams
composed of members from different cultures or countries

Informal Group
– A group that managers or non managerial employees form to help achieve their
own goals or to meet their own needs.

Type of Team
Self-managed work A group of employees who supervise their
team own activities and monitor the quality of the
goods and services they provide.

Virtual team A team whose members rarely or never meet

face to face and interact by using various
forms of information technology such as
email, computer networks, telephone, fax and
video conferences.

Friendship group An informal group composed of employees

who enjoy each other’s company and
socialize with each other.

Interest group An informal group composed of employees

seeking to achieve a common goal related to
their membership in an organization.
Self-Managed Work Teams

Keys to effective self managed teams:

– Give the team enough responsibility and autonomy to be self-managing.
– The team’s task should be complex enough to include many different steps.
– Select members carefully for their diversity, skills, and enthusiasm.
– Managers should guide and coach, not supervise.
– Determine training needs and be sure it is provided.
Friendship Groups
An informal group composed of employees who enjoy one another’s company and
socialize with one another

Interest Groups

An informal group of employees seeking to achieve a common goal related to their membership
in an organization
Group Size
Advantage of small groups
– Interact more with each other and easier to coordinate their efforts
– More motivated, satisfied, and committed
– Easier to share information
– Better able to see the importance of their personal contributions
Advantages of large groups
– More resources at their disposal to achieve group goals
– Enables managers to obtain division of labor advantages
Disadvantages of large groups
– Problem of communication and coordination
– Lower level of motivation
– Members might not think their efforts are really needed
Group Tasks
• Group tasks impact how a group interacts.
– Task interdependence shows how the work of one member impacts another; as
interdependence rises, members must work more closely together.
Group Dynamics: Interdependence

• Pooled
– Members make separate, independent contributions to group such that group
performance is the sum of each member’s contributions
Group Dynamics: Interdependence
• Sequential
 – Members perform tasks in a sequential order making it difficult to determine
individual performance since one member depends on another.
• Reciprocal
– Work performed by one group member is mutually dependent on work done by
other members.
• Group Roles
The set of behaviors and tasks that a group member is expected to perform because of his or her
position in the group
• In cross-functional teams, members are expected to perform roles in their specialty.
• Managers should clearly describe expected roles to group members when they are
assigned to the group.
• Role-making occurs as workers take on more responsibility in their roles as group
members.
• Self-managed teams may assign the roles to members themselves.

Group Leadership

• Effective leadership is a key ingredient in high performing groups, teams, and

organizations.
• Formal groups created by an organization have a leader appointed by the organization.
Groups that evolve independently in an organization have an informal leader recognized by the
group

The Stages of Group Development

Stages of Group Development

• Forming
– Group members get to know each other and reach common goals.
• Storming
– Group members disagree on direction and leadership. Managers need to be sure
the conflict stays focused.
• Norming
– Close ties and consensus begin to develop between group members.
• Performing
– The group begins to do its real work.
• Adjourning
– Only for task forces that are temporary.
– Note that these steps take time!
 Group Norms
– Shared guidelines or rules for behavior that most group members follow
– Managers should encourage members to develop norms that contribute to group
performance and the attainment of group goals .

Group Dynamics

• Conformity and Deviance

– Members conform to norms to obtain rewards, imitate respected members, and
because they feel the behavior is right.
– When a member deviates, other members will try to make them conform, expel
the member, or change the group norms to accommodate them.
– Conformity and deviance must be balanced for high performance from the group.
Deviance allows for new ideas in the group

Sources and Consequences of Group Cohesiveness

Factor
Group Size Smaller groups allow for high cohesiveness;
Low cohesiveness groups with many
members can benefit from splitting into two
groups.
Factors Leading
Managed to Group
Diversity Cohesiveness
Diverse groups often come up with better
solutions.

Group Identity Encouraging a group to adopt a unique

identity and engage in competition with
others can increase cohesiveness.

Success Cohesiveness increases with success;

finding ways for a group to have some small
successes increases cohesiveness.
Managing Groups and Teams for High Performance

• Motivating group members to achieve organizational goals:

– Members should benefit when the group performs well—rewards can be
monetary or in other forms such as special recognition.
– Individual compensation is a combination of both individual and group
performance.
– Make additional resources (beyond compensation) such as choice assignments
available to high-performance groups.

Managing Groups and Teams for High Performance

• Social loafing
– The human tendency to put forth less effort in a group than individually.
– Results in possibly lower group performance and failure to
attain group
goals
Managing Groups and Teams for High Performance

• Reducing social loafing:

– Make individual efforts identifiable and accountable.
– Emphasize the valuable contributions of individual members.
– Keep group size at an appropriate level.

Systematically identify and implement learning and development

needs in line with organizational requirements

 An organization is a group of people with a common purpose, who come together to

pool their resources in order to achieve business objectives.
o These objectives can be accomplished through the use of the diverse skills, knowledge
and interactions of a group of People
 The group, working together as interrelated and interdependent sections, divisions or
 teams, can achieve things that individuals, on their own, cannot.
 This view of an organization involves the idea of defined, shared goals, communication,
systems and processes and the application of structures and principles in allocating
resources and activities.

 In order to succeed in their business goals—and to develop and maintain their

competitive edge—an organization and its skills pool must not remain static.
 It and the people who work in it should continue to grow, learn and to develop by
constantly seeking new knowledge and new types of learning
 Through effective learning we increase our knowledge base.
 When we put learning into practice we increase our competence.
 Knowledge and competence are vital resources for business success—they can be tapped
in order to open up a wider range of opportunities.
 Productive decision-making processes must be underpinned by high internal levels of
knowledge and competence.
 The greater the amount of knowledge held within the organisation the more likely it is
that opportunities will be identified and acted upon.
 Learning, therefore, is a key component of organizational success. As a result,
organizations need to operate as learning organizations.
 Learning organizations utilize change management, innovation, creativity and
entrepreneurial skills, and value learning, at
all organizational levels.
o If organizations can learn faster than their competitors, they have the chance of changing
and growing faster than them.
 Managers can play a prominent role in encouraging and supporting the development of a
learning environment in an organization.
 This involves more than generating coordinated
training programs within the organization.
o It involves the creation of learning opportunities in a range of situations, and the
development of mentoring and coaching techniques, intended
to support and foster employee development through workplace learning opportunities.

Learning organizations

 endorse workplace cultures which encourage people to

question the status quo
 encourage experimentation and risk taking
 constantly provide opportunities for individuals, teams and the enterprise to develop new
 skills, competencies and experience
 value learning
 share information and knowledge
 encourage individuals to challenge themselves and others
 recognize that learning contributes to their ability to expand and shape their own future
 utilize learning and organizational knowledge for the benefit of all stakeholders
 
 Education and learning, in the broad sense, offers learners options, the more
learning/Competencies a person has, the greater choice they have when making work and
lifestyle decisions.
 A learning organization is concerned with increasing choices or options, and There
is no one right way to become a learning organization.
 Each organization must review its own abilities and needs, understand its own character
and choose development options that best fit.
 In order to have access to the greatest number of business options, organizations must
commit to broad thinking strategies, long-term management strategies, and national/
global thinking.

Identifying learning needs

 Although in a true learning organisation learning is taking place on a continual basis,

managers can take a leadership role in identifying the development needs of the
organisation and translating them into meaningful objectives and activities at a range of
levels.

 Identifying learning needs must be done at five levels, all of which interrelate:
1. Compliance and statutory—legislative requirement imposed from outside of the organization
that employees need to understand.
2. Business strategies and goals—strategic choices made by internal decision-makers that lead to
the need for employees with specific skills and knowledge
Departmental and team—the needs of each of the main working groups of the organization.
4. Job roles—the specific learning needs of each job or group of jobs.
5. Individual—the competencies that each person must hold in order to perform their job
effectively.

Training Needs Analysis (TNA)

 TNA is the term used to describe the process of clearly identifying the needs of an
organization, the current capabilities of employees and whether there are any gaps
between the two.
 TNAs should be conducted at each of the five levels described in the table.
 A properly performed TNA will ensure that learning is facilitated in the area/s that are
most relevant and that are likely to deliver a positive impact to the organization.
 It will help to ensure that resources are used effectively by minimizing unnecessary
training, recognizing and valuing learning from other situations and identifying the most
efficient way to deploy the training that is needed.

There are five steps to conducting a TNA

1. Analyze the required standards.

2. Analyze the current skill and knowledge level.
3. Determine the skills/ knowledge gaps.
4. Identify training solutions.
5. Evaluate performance after training.

 Learning organizations systematically complete all five steps of a TNA at all five levels;
that is to say they build in continual review of performance.
o Learning organizations can examine and identify any skills and knowledge gaps at
various times, for example, at the end of a project, as part of annual performance reviews
at all levels, at employee exit interviews, and as part of competitor analyses.
o In many instances these TNAs are formal. Prescribed times and processes are used as
milestones to create a structured mechanism of review and analysis.
o However, true learning organizations also take every opportunity to conduct informal
TNAs.
o They deliberately foster a culture of looking forward to see what the new challenges will
be and continually question whether they could be doing things more efficiently or more
effectively.
o They make improvement everybody’s job and empower employees to share learning and
knowledge internally as well as seeking external help. By talking with one another the
knowledge of what worked
 Use feedback from individuals or teams to identify and implement improvements in future
learning arrangements
 Once a learning activity has been conducted it is essential to review it in order to
determine how effective it was in achieving its objectives.
 A model for assessing training effectiveness is the 4-level model developed by Donald
Kirkpatrick (1994). According to this model, evaluation should always begin with level
one,and then, as time and budget allows, should move sequentially through levels two,
three and four.
 Information from each prior level serves as a base for the next level’s evaluation.

 Thus, each successive level represents a more precise measure of the effectiveness of the
training program, but at the same time requires a more rigorous and time-consuming
analysis.
Level 1 evaluation—reactions
 This level begins by capturing learners’ reaction to the training program or learning
experience.
 By doing this, trainers can establish whether or not learners enjoyed the learning
experience and whether training resources and material were useful. Care needs to be
taken
 when carrying out an evaluation at this level however; as when learners’ reactions are
positive this does not always guarantee that learning took place.
 When learners provide negative feedback, on the other hand, it suggests that no
significant learning took place.
 Level one evaluation of formal learning often takes the form of written evaluations of the
training in which participants are asked to self-assess their experience
 This evaluation might be paper-based or it might be electronic.
  Informal learning arrangements might also have written evaluations, for example, at the
end of a work shadowing arrangement, but feedback can also be gained verbally through
discussion of the experience.
 In addition, trainers/ facilitators are asked to complete an evaluation that provides the
other side of the story—this is particularly useful if participant evaluations portray some
difficulties with the session.

Level 2 evaluation—learning
 Evaluation at this level does not merely relate to the satisfaction of learners.
 Instead, it aims to evaluate whether the learners have acquired relevant knowledge and
skills as a result of the training program or learning experience.
 At this level, trainers are not only concerned with learner feedback; they will also
attempt to measure any advances in skills or knowledge
o This can be done using formal or informal testing.
o Sometimes learners will take a test before training and take another test after training to
identify advances made.

Level 3 evaluation—transfer
 This level of evaluation focus whether or not this knowledge and these skills have been
transferred to the working environment.
 This is a very important evaluation, as if knowledge and skills are not being used in the
workplace there is very little point to the training.
 The timing of training is important here, as when there is only a short gap between
training and applying the knowledge and skills, transfer is more likely to occur.
 The transfer of knowledge for training can be measured in a variety of ways.
 Evaluation might take the form of a post-training evaluation form. This form will help
the trainer to gather information as to whether participants have actually been able to
apply their knowledge in the workplace.
 These forms will also ascertain whether participants felt the training prepared them well
for the workplace.
 Alternately, feedback can be gathered from key supervisors/ team leaders/ managers who
can objectively assess the performance of the trainee before the course and after the
course. 
 

Level 4 evaluation—Result
 At this level, it will be determined whether or not the training program or learning
experience had the desired results and was therefore worthwhile.
  Organizations want to see a return on the investment they have made in training.
 They want to see things such as increased production, improved quality, decreased costs,
reduced frequency of accidents, and even higher profits.
 To make such determinations organizations will need to identify those results that can be
directly attributed to the learning activity. They also need to refer back to the goals of
training and figure out if the training achieved the primary aim.
 However, they might find that there have been by-products of training—results that are
valuable but were not originally targeted. These by-products can often yield the biggest
returns to an organization, even though they were not the primary intention.

LO4- Develop team commitment and cooperation

Information sheet

Teamwork…..Why

Rationale for a Team Approach

 Teams are a part of everyone's life. You're a member of a family team, a staff team,
school, health care and community teams.
 So it's appropriate that you understand how to function effectively as a team member.
 The multi-dimensional and thus multi-discipline nature of many problems requires a team
approach. This approach encourages you as staff with complementary skills and
competencies, to coordinate your efforts.
 By establishing priorities, concentrating financial resources, and combining knowledge
and expertise, you can have greater impact on serious problems through your program
efforts.
 Such efforts can serve to:
1) lighten your work load,
2) reduce duplication of efforts, and
3) produce a result greater than all of your separate efforts.

Teamwork .... What Is It?

 A team is defined as a group (a collection of people) who interact to achieve a common

goal, but an effective, well-functioning team is much more than this.
 Participants in an effective team care about the group's well-being. They skillfully
combine appropriate individual talents with a positive team spirit to achieve results.
 Regardless of whether the program effort is that of an individual, several individuals or
the entire county office unit, a climate of teamwork can exist.
 A variety of working relationships exist among staff. You might view these relationships
as dimensions (levels) of involvement or as a continuum of relationships among agents.
 As you move along the continuum, the degree of communication, integration and
commitment seems to increase.
  Greater interpersonal skills are necessary if you are to work together effectively at more
complex levels. As your skills develop, more options become available to you regarding
the dimension of involvement which you might select for any particular program effort.

Factors that promote good working relationships

 Staff meetings-with agenda and sufficient time to discuss
 Job descriptions with annual review
 Knowledge of others' job descriptions and responsibilities
 Common criteria for personnel evaluation
 Openness and willingness to communicate-listening
 Trust, Courtesy and Loyalty
 Respect for others in spite of professional differences
 Respect for professionalism regardless of person's sex, age, and race
 others
 Giving credit
 Recognizing a job well done
 Understanding and supporting others' programs.
 Agreed upon priorities
 Circulation of pertinent information
 Willingness to talk over problems
 Adequate facilities and supplies
 Cooperation
 Sincere caring for others with a respect for privacy
 Constructive criticism
Factors that hinder good working relationships

 Lack of understanding of others' jobs and responsibilities

 Lack of concern about total staff efforts
 Disregard for feelings of others
 Unwillingness to compromise
 Poor communication
 Competition among staff for individual prestige and recognition
 Negative and destructive criticism
 No involvement in administrative decisions
 Lack of leadership
 Over- sensitivity
 Lack of privacy
  Disregard for talents of others
 No job descriptions
 No opportunities for staff meetings
 Gossip, rumors
 Putting off decision making
 Inequities in facilities and supplies
 Lack of trust
 Negative and sarcastic remarks
 Lack of common goals and philosophy
 Disloyalty to staff and organization
 No evaluation and/or feedback from supervisors
 Limited understanding of total program
 Holding a grudge
 Poor job attitudes
 • Uneven work loads
 • Lack of confidence in fellow workers
 • Prejudice, racism, sexism

Ask Yourself Before Starting: Team building and working in groups

1. Belief in Teamwork Approach

 Do you believe in the value of working together in a team effort?
 Do you believe that a team decision or product can be superior to the work of a single
individual?
 Have you made a personal commitment to work with your colleagues in a team effort?
 Has the collection of individuals made a commitment to work together in a team?
2. Resources Available
 Do you know every member of the group and what they can offer to the group?
 Do you perceive certain individuals as playing only certain roles, having certain skills,
and limited knowledge?
 Is the group a collection of individuals assembled because each member of the group has
a different area of expertise?
 Is that expertise accepted by all members of the group?
 What are the areas of overlap and thus potential conflict in the areas of expertise?

3. Organization for Task Accomplishment

 Does the team take time to establish ground rules for the operation of the team, or is the
team anxious to get on with the task?
 Has the group agreed upon:
 goals and objectives
 individual and team timetable
 procedures for establishing an agenda
 priority of efforts - individual and team
  methods of conflict resolution
 length of meetings
 location of meetings
 allocation of resources
 leadership requirements
3. Organization for Task Accomplishment (cont.)
 Does the group understand that any team usually goes through several stages of
development before a team spirit emerges?
 Do you have enough time - realistic deadlines – to enable you to operate as a team? It
takes time for a collection of individuals to become a team.
 Has the group designated a team leader? A group of peers can still benefit from a leader.
The group can make more progress if they will let someone guide the efforts of the team.
A group lacking a formal leader will usually waste much time in a struggle for power
among group members.
 Does the group take minutes for the meeting? Are accurate notes kept to avoid losing
group decisions?
 Do you proceed on the basis of specific conclusions and delegation of responsibilities
rather than on the basis of general understandings?
3. Maintaining the Team Effort

 Does the team have an open climate of trust and respect for all group members and
their ideas?
 Has the group achieved an appropriate balance between the requirement for group
productivity (task) and the satisfaction of individual needs?
 Do people in the group avoid breaking into subgroups of trusted friends to share rumors,
complain, or form alliances that will affect the productivity of the team?
4. Maintaining the Team Effort (cont.)
 As a member of the team, do you assume a variety of roles?
 Task Roles
Initiating activity, seeking information,
seeking opinion, giving information, giving
opinion, elaborating, coordinating, and
summarizing.
 Team Building Roles
Encouraging, standard setting, following
and expressing group feelings.
 Task and Team Building Roles
Evaluating, diagnosing, testing for
consensus, mediating, and relieving tension

5. Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution

 Do all members of the group have an equal opportunity for participation or do dominant
personalities and people with status and power control the participation?
 Have you identified your vested interests and the vested interests of other group members
that may cause conflict in reaching a group decision?
 Are dissenting or minority viewpoints treated with respect?
 Is there an effort by the group to understand the reasons behind a dissenting opinion?
 Can the group work through differences of opinion and discuss conflicts rather than
ignoring them?
 Can team members separate criticism of an idea from criticism of the person who had the
idea?
 Does the group avoid a "wait until next meeting“ attitude toward decision making and
conflict resolution?
 Does the team make an effort to understand the problem before finding solutions? Is the
team cautious about proceeding on the basis of premature conclusions?
 Have problem-solving procedures been identified?
 Are all members of the team required to adhere to the group decision? Can individual
members "opt out" of the group decision?
 What criteria will you use in determining your personal level of acceptance of the team
product? Do other members of the team know, understand, and accept the criteria that
you are using? Are you really honest about the criteria you are using?
 Is the team willing to take the time to reach a totally acceptable decision?

Teamwork ... How Does It Develop ?

 It's important to realize that the development of effective working relationships among
staff is a gradual process which requires considerable time and skill.
 Number of stages or steps should be developed to have an effective teamwork.

1. Build the team

 Engage members as a team

 Spend time on team development
 Meet regularly and frequently for a purpose
 Determine and agree team values
 Determine and agree team roles –
 Spend time inside and outside work socially
 Spoil the team with comfortable surroundings and refreshments
 Discuss, determine and agree rewards for good performance
 Agree on approach to delegation and empowerment
 Promote the team and its work within the agency and partnerships

2. Engage team through work

 Delegate and empower appropriately

 Promote debate and discussion on where we are, where we want to be, and how we
should get there – use brainstorming, lateral thinking
  Ensure that all the team has discussed, contributed to and committed itself to the work
tasks and objectives
 Try to reach consensus decisions
 Make sure the combined purpose and importance of the team’s work is understood by
everyone Keep everyone informed on progress
3. Ensure clarity of definition of key roles and tasks

 Develop individual roles

 Ensure job descriptions and job plans are up-to-date and accurate
 Ensure goals are realistic and achievable

4.Develop the team and organization

 Ensure new staff are induced
 Identify individual and team training needs
 Ensure personal development plans are produced and implemented
 Engage others in wider organizational development matters

5. Foster a culture of innovation and creativity

 Challenge the culture and values of the team and agency

 Encourage ‘thinking outside the box’, reframing the problem, and risk taking
 Minimize criticism of failure
 Reward and publicize innovation and creativity

6. Managing performance

 Ensure staff know the governance and accountability arrangements

 Ensure staff know how team and individual performance will be managed
 Ensure all staff are appraised annually
COMPILED BY TEMESGEN DATE OF 2010EC