Team Leader Training Training Overview

Instructions This training relies on programming code to function properly. This code is triggered by the button in the lower right-hand corner of each page. For each training PowerPoint file, you must ‘allow macros’ for the program to work properly. During the training, the arrow key on your keyboard and mouse click navigation will be disabled. Please click the buttons on the bottom of each page to advance the slides.

Introduction and Overview Welcome to the ARI Team Leader (TL) training! This program is designed primarily for new team leaders and prospective team leaders, though we expect that others will also derive benefit from this program. About This Training The scenarios in this training were taken directly from interviews with unit chiefs, TLs, GS-13 and GS-12 researchers, and administrative staff. Some scenarios are very similar to actual situations, while others are contrived to elucidate a specific principle or theme.

Scenarios, Questions, and Answers In this training, typically you will first be presented with a brief scenario. Then, you will be asked a series of questions related to how you might handle the situation portrayed. This will be followed by slides that offer points for consideration. The expectation is that you will document your answers to the questions with your initial reactions/thoughts and that over time and through addressing numerous scenarios your thoughts and reactions will become similar to those of the expert Team Leader. The purpose of this approach is to help you learn how to think about and deal with situations that Team Leaders face – some of their own making and some totally unexpected. The goal is to inculcate a number of key principles, which can guide you throughout a career and be useful for the situations you will face.

Themes Each scenario relates to two or more key principles or themes, which are specified at the end of each training module. Altogether, nine themes repeat themselves in the modules created for this Team Leader training. They are as follows: 1. Accepting Responsibility 2. ARI Knowledge 3. Breadth of Vision 4. Conflict Management 5. Developing Subordinates 6. Integrity and Ethics 7. Perspective Taking 8. Planning and Organizing 9. Setting Expectations Brief overviews of the nine themes above are provided next.

Theme #1: Accepting Responsibility Accepting Responsibility includes: Demonstrating personal accountability for one’s performance and conduct. Realizing that the actions or inactions of others may jeopardize success of your projects but still taking responsibility. It is your responsibility to achieve assigned tasks; even if the fault is not yours the responsibility still is. Admitting and rectifying one’s own mistakes, failures, and shortcomings when they arise. Taking responsibility for team members’ performance and conduct. Maintaining personal accountability for the quality of the team’s work.

Theme #2: ARI Knowledge ARI Knowledge includes: Familiarity with ARI culture and processes, how work flows in ARI, the role of HQ, and regulations and policies. Understanding and being able to articulate ARI’s role within the military. Being knowledgeable of ARI and military regulations and protocols. Using this knowledge to guide performance and conduct. Familiarity with ARI history with respect to projects that have succeeded or failed and why these outcomes occurred.

Theme #3: Breadth of Vision Breadth of Vision includes: Considering the secondary and tertiary effects of one’s own actions and team members’ actions. Understanding the environment in which the team operates within ARI and the Army. Keeping sight of mission priorities. Ensuring the team’s work has a clear and obvious impact on the Army. Visualizing the end state of research and other activities and identifying transitions in advance. Seeing the big picture, and predicting events at the unit, ARI, and Army level.

Theme #4: Conflict Management Conflict Management includes: Confronting conflict constructively. Recognizing situations with a potential for interpersonal conflict and responding promptly to prevent problems from escalating. Identifying and understanding the underlying source of conflict and relevant contextual factors. Diffusing interpersonal conflict with and between others (e.g., supervisors, peers, subordinates, the military, contractors). Identifying and pursuing avenues of conflict resolution beneficial to ARI’s goals while maintaining ARI’s values.

Theme #5: Developing Subordinates Developing Subordinates includes: Engaging in various mentoring activities. Helping team members fully understand the environment and context in which they work. Providing them with opportunities to build their network of colleagues and better understand ARI’s role. Delegating and assigning challenging but attainable tasks to team members in order to expand their available knowledge, skills, and motivation. Providing sufficient autonomy and oversight; communicating specific, timely, and detailed feedback to enable them to learn from their experiences. Helping them develop effective practices for approaching novel situations.

Theme #6: Integrity and Ethics Integrity and Ethics includes: Using ethical considerations to guide decisions and actions. Placing honest and ethical conduct above personal gain. Being a good role model, leading by example, and encouraging others to do what is proper and correct. Stepping up and taking action rather than looking the other way in instances of supposed wrongdoing, lying, falsifying records, misuse of TDY, and other such breaches of conduct. Personally adhering to moral and ethical principles as well as the rules, regulations, and protocol of ARI and the military. Abiding by standards of conduct of relevant professional organizations (e.g., the APA). Maintaining awareness of situations in which conflicts of interest or other ethical dilemmas may be present. Avoiding even the perception of impropriety in decisions and actions.

Theme #7: Perspective Taking Perspective Taking includes: Strategies for understanding the perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and reactions that others are likely to experience based on the situational context and the conduct of those around them. Research shows Perspective Taking: Is a natural act, however we use ourselves too much as a frame of reference. Improves communication. Diminishes stereotyping. Facilitates negotiation. Facilitates conflict resolution.

Theme #8: Planning and Organizing Planning and Organizing includes: Establishing appropriate goals and then working backward from those goals to identify the necessary steps and timelines. Setting priorities, delegating work, establishing deadlines, developing contingency plans, outlining plans and procedures for special situations such as TDY, acquiring assets for projects, and monitoring ongoing tasks. Managing time and strategically shifting one’s own and subordinates’ priorities as needed to accomplish tasks and meet deadlines while dealing with unexpected requests and tight suspenses.

Theme #9: Setting Expectations Setting Expectations includes: Establishing and communicating norms to subordinates with respect to task accomplishment and professional conduct. Frequently reinforcing expectations related to communication and professionalism in ARI matters. Providing advanced guidance to subordinates regarding how work is expected to be accomplished, how contingencies should be dealt with, and when assignments are due. Conveying clear standards up front with respect to the nature and quality of work products expected from team members.

Final Instructions Each training module will end with a slide that contains a button like the ‘Generate Worksheet’ button below. Once you click that button, a Microsoft Word document containing the responses you have typed into the training module will open on your computer. Please save this MS Word worksheet file containing the training module’s summary. Note, the button below is shown for illustrative purposes. It will not generate a Word file in this instructional slide.