K3MT_4

A team that doesn’t communicate






well is like an engine that is broken





into various parts. .So, to let your





engine work well, keep all the parts






of your engine together.

Watch your team spirits grow with better



communication. A team without communication is no



functioning team at all. Effective team



communication is vital to the success of the group in



performing its role as well as to the morale and work



enjoyment of its members. When teamwork goes


well, it distributes the work among the members that



make it easier to reach goals and excel.

Clear communication makes each member task evident so that


deadlines are less stressful, and objectives are met and exceeded


with ease. When each member of the team or group knows their

role, all are free to focus on only their own tasks, without worrying


about what everyone else is doing. Clear communication also


means communicating with team members when you are not able


to complete your tasks, so the team can come up with solutions

before the situation escalates and the team process breaks down.


Communication helps you maintain efficiency under a variety of


circumstances and conditions.

Learning how to communicate more effectively also means



taking more notice. It’s important to begin and end any


form of communication with listening. Good listening skills


will help you engage in communication regarding what the



other person is speaking about. Avoid the impulse to listen


only for the end of their sentence so that you can blurt out


the ideas. Do not interrupt or talk over other people. This



will leave other people feeling discounted, unheard and


may lead to phenomenal misunderstandings

You may be using language that feels critical and



seems like a verbal attack. This will hurt



relationships within your team and leave you


completely uninformed. Work situations can get



emotional, which will influence your clarity. Stay on



topic, use the correct words, and enunciate. If you’re



not sure of the meaning of a work, don’t use it.

Practice: Slow down –

don’t speak to respond


too quickly. Speak clearly


and don’t mumble. Use


appropriate volume.

Good teamwork starts with a shared





understanding of its importance.




Communication bridges teams





together and needs to be practiced




ensuring a team is working effectively





and efficiently.

i.e. Norming 58

Strength in





Numbers…

Norming is a phenomenon that occurs when the desire for group


consensus overrides people's common sense desire to present

alternatives, critique a position, or express an unpopular opinion.


Here, the desire for group cohesion effectively drives out good


decision-making and problem solving.



When a team member expresses an opposing opinion or


questions the rationale behind a decision, the rest of the team


members work together to pressure or penalize that person into

compliance.

Gradually, the team moves into the norming stage. This is when people start


to resolve their differences, appreciate colleagues' strengths, and respect

your authority as a leader.


Now that your team members know one another better, they may socialize


together, and they are able to ask one another for help and provide

constructive feedback. People develop a stronger commitment to the team

goal, and you start to see good progress towards it.


There is often a prolonged overlap between storming and norming, because,


as new tasks come up, the team may lapse back into behavior from the

storming stage.

“Cooperation is the thorough





conviction that nobody can






get there unless everybody






gets there. — Virginia






Burden”

A strong, persuasive group leader




- Step back and help team members take



responsibility for progress towards a goal.




- Members censor their opinions in order to



conform.




"If everyone else agrees then my thoughts to the



contrary must be wrong."

The goal is to get the new team member quickly acclimated, trusted by the


team and productive.


Every time your team brings a new member on board—whether managers,


leaders, or other personnel—you will need to go through an “on-boarding

process.” Helping new team members learn what it means to work in your

group is key to ensuring the team’s ongoing success.


Existing teams say that it takes time for new people to adjust to the


unconventional cultures they encounter—even people who indicate a strong

desire and willingness to work in a team-powered environment.


When a new member is introduced to an existing team, the process normally


begins again. Existing team members will usually be weary of the new team

member(s) until he has proven that he belongs. That requires movement

through the forming and storming stages.

Orientate the new team member. Make sure she


understands the team history and goals. Discuss the


challenges as well as the successes the team has had.


Explaining the history and goals prevents the new team



member from engaging in retired conflict; conflict that


has been discussed at length and resolved. It also



provides the new member an opportunity to understand


how he or she can contribute to the success of the team


in the future.

Whether the team has formal or informal rules in the way they


engage as a team, the new team member needs to be aware of


them. One of the challenges of being new on a team is


understanding what lines can be crossed. Often times no line is

crossed (passive) or too many of the wrong lines are crossed


(active) by new team members. Understanding the norms and


boundaries, puts both the team and the new member at an


advantage. It can go a long ways in helping the team and new

team member(s) jump past the time-consuming stages of forming


and storming.

Help the existing team members understand what skills


and talents the new team member brings. As the leader


of the existing team you most likely had a large influence


in the hiring of the new team member. He was hired to fill



some type of gap on the team. You have an opportunity to


immediately help him/her gain credibility on the team



and build trust. Explain to the team specifically what this


new member brings to the team. Discuss his history,


talents and skills.

It can be difficult for a functioning or dysfunctioning team to bring


in a new team member. There is a period of adjustment that has


to occur for both the team and the new member to the team. Most


new teams spend a big portion of their time in the first two stages

of forming and storming. It is during these two stages that a


team’s time is not very productive. But teams must have ample


time to push through these stages. Not taking the time to push


through these two stages can result in a number of team

dysfunctions such as a lack of trust, personal conflict, passive


participation, defensiveness etc…



“Individual


commitment to a



group effort: That is


what makes a team


work, a company


work, a society work,



a civilization work. —


Vince Lombardi”

The group holds a vote on a specific issue following



a period of discussion. The majority wins.




Democratic!




Fast!




Domination of the majority can overwhelm minority



views, possibly encouraging cliques to form within



the group which can end up hurting the team.

This might be more time consuming, but this is the best


way to fully use team resources! The matter is discussed


and negotiated until everyone affected by it understands


and agree upon the decided route. Consensus in decision



making means that all members genuinely agree that the


decision is suitable. When the group has decided on



which decision is to be made, each member is asked how


they feel about the proposed decision by selecting one of


the following responses:

I can say an unqualified “yes” to the decision.




I find the decision acceptable.



I can live with the decision, but I’m not especially



enthusiastic about it.



I do not fully agree with the decision, but I do not choose



to block it.



I do not agree with the decision, and I feel we should


explore other options.

If all the responses from the group


members are 1, 2, 3, or 4, you have a

consensus and are ready to move on.

This method is great because:



All members feel that they have had

an equal chance to affect the

decision and will continue to support

the group



The best way to make decisions, if

you have the time!

Nominal Group Technique













Delphi Technique














Ringi Technigue

A variation of brainstorming


Leader states problem to group.


Each team member writes their solution to the problem down individually.


Each member then publicly states their solution(s) and said solution(s) are recorded so

everyone can see them.


Group member can ask questions but NO CRITICIZING ides!


Team members then rank and rate the value of the solutions to select the group’s preferred

solution.


ADVANTAGES: relatively fast, discourages conformity, does not require teams to know each
other before making a decision.


DISADVANTAGES: a trained facilitator is needed to conduct the session, only one problem

can be addressed at a time.



Survey Says…


A group of experts is given a survey consisting of several open-ended questions about the

problem at hand.

The results are organized and summarized into a set of suggested solutions which are sent

to the participants.


Participants discuss solutions until they start to reach an agreement on the solution to the

problem.


ADVANTAGES: great for long distance teams that can’t meet in person, works well for large

groups, useful when there is disagreement that might need independent findings to resolve.

DISADVANTAGES: time consuming, require skills in making and analyzing surveys



– A Japanese technique to address conflict and save face.


Anonymously, a written document addresses the problem at hand and a proposed solution


This document is circulated among the team members to write comments and edits the doc

before forwarding it on to other team members (this is one cycle)


After completing a cycle, the comments are used to rewrite the document and it is then

recirculated for a new cycle.

This is repeated until there are no more comments to add


ADVANTAGES: anonymity means that everyone states their true feelings, embarrassment

from conflict is avoided


DISADVANTAGES: slow, there is no guarantee the team comes to an agreement



Groupthink











The Abilene Paradox

Groupthink is a phenomenon

that occurs when the want for


group harmony overrides

people's common-sense desire

to offer alternatives, critique a

position, or express an

unpopular opinion. Here, the


desire for group cohesion

effectively drives out good

decision-making and problem

solving.





The Abilene Paradox

refers to when a group


makes a collective


decision or chooses a


course of action that is

counter to the thoughts,


preferences, and feelings


of the individual


members of the group.







Getting to the Norming stage takes a
healthy dose of observation,

identification, and action on things that

are working (and not working). At times,
it might feel like after-school-special

group therapy, but as we discovered in a

recent survey, professionalism can’t
patch over a team’s underlying

emotional connections. Teams that

perform are constantly working out
things like communication preferences,

recognition of achievements, and

workflows.

Coming Together


is a Beginning.



Keeping Together


is a Process.



Working Together


is Success

i.e. Performing 92

Hard work leads, without friction, to




the achievement of the team’s goals.





It’s easy to be part of the team now,




and the comings and goings of team





members won’t break the team flow.

Focus on reaching the final goal of the team. The


team is highly motivated to get the job done.



Trust one another and keep trusting each other,


communicate openly and honestly, and rely on one


another with little to no hesitation. Make


decisions and problem solve quickly and



effectively, and function without guidance and


supervision, working as an independent unit.

“The best teamwork






comes from men who






are working






independently toward






one goal in unison.”






– James Cash Penney

Your leader will continue to monitor



progress, but will have little involvement in


the minutia of the group. The struggle to



maintain team development requires



occasional leader intervention. Good leaders



will monitor team work, step in where



needed to keep the project on track and



cheering them on.



When new members are introduced, there is



a possibility of reverting back to “forming”,



so it’s important to help new members feel



accepted and comfortable sharing ideas.

Team members now understand the


strengths they bring to the team , and have



great dynamics and productivity. Group



norms have been established, and accepted



by everyone and integrating new members is



a seamless process.

Your leader will continue to monitor



progress, but will have little involvement in


the minutia of the group. The struggle to



maintain team development requires



occasional leader intervention. Good leaders



will monitor team work, step in where



needed to keep the project on track and



cheering them on.