Team Development

Team Development and Dynamics Emmanuel Emeh Module Objectives • Definition of a team • Team Development • Developmental stages of teams • Various roles that team members can play • Team performance curve • Review Quiz • Team Dynamics [The Belbin Team Roles] • Benefits of teaming Team development Team defined •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. High performance teams do the following… • Promote and reinforce a positive attitude in the team • Develop and support team members • Use all knowledge and experience available in the team • Encourage innovation • Capture learning …to increase the chance of achieving successful projects Stages of Team Development Norming Storming Forming Performing ? ? ? ? ? Team Development Curve Effectiveness Close out Performing Norming Storming Time Forming Forming- Getting to Know You... • Can you recall your first day at school as a child, in the university or perhaps your first day on a new job? • Everyone is polite, overly cautious, and generally doesn't know what to expect. This is the first stage of group development - Forming. • In the Forming stage, team members are getting to know one another and getting comfortable with one another. • Members will naturally try to understand their own roles, the roles of the other team members and their purpose in the group. • This is entirely natural and to be expected. People are unsure, suspicious and nervous. More Characteristics of the Forming stage of Teams • Members trying to define the task. • Lofty, conceptual discussions as people try to express who they are. • Discussions about what information needs to be gathered. How to Address the Forming Stage • Help team members get to know one another. • Make sure the purpose and task are clearly defined and share management expectations of the group. • Give the team time to get comfortable with one another, but move the team along as well. Storming - High Winds Predicted • Once the team works together for a while, they will leave the Forming stage and enter Storming. • Politeness begins to wear off and dissension occurs over basic mission and operating procedures. • Storming is the most difficult stage for a team to weather, but it is necessary for healthy team development. Characteristics of Storming • Members begin to show their true styles. • A growing impatience will surface over lack of progress. • Members will get into one another's territory, causing irritation. • General disagreement over process, task and overall purpose of the team. How to Address the Storming Stage • Don't ignore the Storming stage. Acknowledge it with the team as a natural developmental step. • Facilitators should surface the conflicts and address them. This is a good time to review ground rules, revisit the purpose and related administrative matters of the team. Norming- Charting a Course • When teams recognize their differences and have dealt with them, they move to Norming, the stage when they ask, “How are we going to accomplish our work?” • Beyond the politeness and nervousness of Forming and past the issues and concerns of Storming, teams will want to review how they are functioning. • As team members learn to work out their differences and emotional conflicts are reduced, they will have more time and energy to focus on their purpose. Characteristics of Norming • Ground rules and formal procedures that may have been overlooked in the beginning are now taken more seriously. • The team will want to discuss items more; less time will be spent on idea generation, and more on decision making. • Members will want to limit agenda items to focus on specific topics. • Subgroups may be formed to move along faster. • Conflicts are addressed and resolved. How to Address the Norming Stage • At this stage, the team has PROCESS down fairly well. TASK will take on new significance as the team will want to accomplish its purpose. • Facilitators should keep this in mind and remind the team of the task. Also, facilitators should be more diligent in adhering to the road map, providing time for feedback, closure, etc. Performing of team development] The Action Stage • Forming, Storming, Norming, then Performing, [the final stage • Performing Teams are a highly effective, problemsolving unit that can reach solutions quickly and can even head off issues before they become problems. Lessons from the Geese • There is an interdependence in the way geese function. Teams, like flocks of geese, learn from their experience. Facts From The Geese 1 As each bird flaps its wings, it creates Fact an “uplift “ for the bird following. By flying in a “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone. People who share a common direction and sense of community Lesson can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another. Facts From The Geese 2 Whenever a goose falls out of the Fact formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to fly alone. It quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the “lifting power” of the bird immediately in front. If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with Lesson those who are headed where we want to go. Facts From The Geese 3 When the lead goose gets Fact tired, it rotates back into the formation, and another goose flies at the point position. It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing Lesson leadership; people, as wih geese, are interdependent with each other. Facts From The Geese 4 The geese in formation Fact honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed. We need to make sure Lesson our “honking” from behind is encouraging. Facts From The Geese 5 When a goose gets sick or wounded Fact or shot down, two geese drop out of formation to follow him down to help and protect him. They stay with him until he is either able to fly again or dies. Then they launch out on their own with another formation or catch up wih their flock. If we have as much sense as the geese, we will stand by each other; Lesson DON’T SHOOT THE SICK OR WOUNDED. Characteristics of Performing • A team in the performing stage will: • Be productive! Tasks will be accomplished, and the team will look for more to do. • Be pro-active, and not necessarily wait for direction from management. • Demonstrate loyalty to the group, and respect individual dissension and disagreement. How to Address the Performing Stage • Teams at the performing level are generally self-regulating. • Road maps, processes, decision making and other matters of team management will be handled independently by the team. Interesting Note • Forming Storming Norming Performing • Teams do not develop as neatly and sequentially as these stages imply. • Teams can cycle from one stage to another relatively easily or get stuck in one stage. • Some people may have the unpleasant experience of being on a team that disbanded because the team never progressed past the Storming stage. “Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success” – Henry Ford Review Quiz 1 - Feedback. • A high Performing team can get thrown back into the Storming phase. What are some of the reasons for this? • Select from the items below. You can choose more than one answer. • A) A new member joins the team. B) Meeting locations and times change. C) New management introduces a new organizational strategy. D) The team recorder must leave the group to take on a new job. Answer • The items most likely to impact a team's performance are "a" and "c.“ • Simply changing meeting times and locations should not impact a team's ability to accomplish its tasks. And, if the team were truly high performing, another person could easily assume time recorder responsibilities. • A new member joining the team however, can bring a new dynamic to the team. • New management directives can surely impact how a team will achieve its goals. Review Quiz 2 - Feedback. • Teams in this stage are characterized by dissension, irritation over lack of progress and general impatience. The choices are: – – – – – Forming Storming Norming Performing The correct response is: Storming – Teams in the Storming phase often face control issues. Who is going to decide what? Who's in charge? (The team is trying to address its differences during Storming.) Review Quiz 3 - Feedback. • What is a useful technique for moving a team through the Storming stage? The choices are: – – – – Facilitate a go-around. Revisit the ground rules. Ignore it completely. The team leader should direct people to be quiet. • The correct response is: Revisit the ground rules. • To get a team back on track during the Storming phase, revisit the ground rules. It helps the members to focus and reach agreement. Review Quiz 4 - Feedback. • Teams in this stage are characterized by nervousness, and a great deal of politeness, and members are likely to offer lofty conceptual ideas. The choices are: – Forming – Storming – Norming – Performing • • The correct response is: Forming Teams in the Forming stage are in the "getting to know you" phase. No one wants to offend, and members will tend to be cautious. Review Quiz 5 - Feedback. • These are traits common to a team in the Norming stage. The choices are: – A great deal of feedback, limited agenda items, members focus on success. – Little discussion, extreme politeness. – Meeting moves quickly, ends on time, a great deal is accomplished. – Dissension, positioning for influence. • • The correct response is: A great deal of feedback, limited agenda items, members focus on success. Teams in the Norming stage like to focus on the goal before them, and they tend to stick to the road map a great deal. Teams in the Norming stage are past getting to know one another and have resolved a good deal of their disagreements. They are ready to be successful. Review Quiz 6 - Feedback. • The role of the facilitator in regards to team development is to: The choices are: – – – – • • Move the team as quickly as possible. Switch development from stage to stage. Skip the storming stage. Recognize development as a natural team progression. The correct response is: Recognize development as a natural team progression. Teams need to develop through all four stages. • The process can be facilitated and encouraged, but not skipped or needlessly rushed. From time to time, teams will switch from one stage to another. 5 minutes Break This concludes the first part on Team Development. We shall observe a Team Dynamics Characteristics of effective team members • Team members – Individual commitment – Co-operation and support – Sense of purpose and urgency – Address disagreements constructively – Willing to contribute specialist skills – Ability to gain respect & enhance group’s reputation – Wants the team to achieve its goals Characteristics of effective Teams • Teams – Ownership of goal worth achieving – Sense of urgency - working to deadline – Respected leader who communicates effectively – Recognized skills/ experience to achieve goals – Understanding of roles and responsibilities mutual respect – Sense of humour and willingness to have fun Effective communications is a shared responsibility within teams… (2-way Communication) You cannot force people to communicate, but you can reach out to each other Excellent Communication Clear roles and responsibilities are the key to effective team working Discuss and agree roles and responsibilities as a group and with individuals Effective Teams contain certain roles… IMPLEMENTER COMPLETER FINISHER COORDINATOR TEAM WORKER RESOURCE INVESTIGATOR MONITOR EVALUATOR SHAPER PLANT …of which each one is equally important Types (or 'roles') defined by Dr. R. Meredith Belbin after studying teams at Henley Management College. Belbin's Team roles (at a glance) Overall Belbin role Leading Doing Coordinator Shaper Implementer Completer/finisher Monitor/Evaluator Plant Specialist Resource/investigator Team Worker Thinking Socializing Overall Belbin roles Description •Well-organized and predictable. •Takes basic ideas and makes them work in practice. •Can be slow. •Lots of energy and action, challenging others to move forwards. •Can be insensitive. •Reliably sees things through to the end, ironing out the wrinkles and ensuring everything works well. •Can worry too much and not trust others. Implementer Doing / acting Shaper Completer / Finisher Overall Belbin roles Description •Solves difficult problems with original and creative ideas. •Can be poor communicator and may ignore the details. •Sees the big picture. •Thinks carefully and accurately about things. •May lack energy or ability to inspire others. Plant Thinkin g/ Monitor/ proble Evaluator msolving •Has expert knowledge/skills in key areas and will solve many Specialist problems here. •Can be disinterested in all other areas. Overall Belbin roles Coordinator Description •Respected leader who helps everyone focus on their task. •Can be seen as excessively controlling. •Cares for individuals and the team. •Good listener and works to resolve social problems. •Can have problems making difficult decisions. •Explores new ideas and possibilities with energy and with others. •Good networker. •Can be too optimistic and lose energy after the initial flush. Team worker People / feelings Resource/ investigator Balanced Teams- The Goal •Teams work best when there is a balance of primary roles and when team members know their roles, work to their strengths and actively manage weaknesses. To achieve the best balance, there should be: •One Co-ordinator or Shaper (not both) for leader •A Plant to stimulate ideas •A Monitor/evaluator to maintain honesty and clarity •One or more Implementer, Team worker, Resource investigator or Completer/finisher to make things happen The Challenge • Identify types when starting up Teams and ensure you have a good balance (or handle the difference). Benefits of Teaming • Teamwork can: – Mobilize collective intelligence of team members to better tackle complex issues • Team Learning can: – Widen individual perspectives – – Promote feedback/self-reflection Improve performance of individuals and team Benefits of Teams Working together as an effective team results in many benefits. Features of Effective Teams • Have clear goals and objectives • Respect the individual • Communicate throughout the group without regard to hierarchy • Engage in healthy disagreement • Have clear responsibilities for all members • Share responsibility and accountability • Provide individual feedback • Establish and modify operating processes • Reflect and learn What makes a weak link? Teaming Philosophy Teach you, & you will forget Show you, and you may remember Involve you, and you will understand Encourage you to share, and you will retain ©2007 emmanuelemeh@yahoo.co.uk