Working Effectively in Teams Melissa Connor Graduate Skills Development Coordinator

Session overview: Who We Are Team Work & Your Career Team Essentials Effective Teams Communicating & Contributing as a Team Negotiating & Discussing Issues Team Roles Team Development Process Team Activity

Careers & Employer Liaison Centre Where: Top Floor Student Centre Tel: (08) 8201 2832 Email: careers@flinders.edu.au Web: www.flinders.edu.au/careers/ Twitter: @Flinderscareers Open 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday (including throughout the breaks)

Our mission: “To provide all students an effective, sustainable service enabling the opportunity to develop skill sets and experiences that can be articulated across all career aspirations”.

Exercise

The importance of ‘soft skills’ “The world of work is very much based on relationships …we all have to deal with other people … [graduates] have to be able to communicate in different ways … be able to negotiate and be able to interpret and listen. Expectations among employers have grown … while candidates have the academic ability, they didn’t have the communication and soft employability skills so weren’t getting through [interview] …” from Carl Gilleard, CEO, Association of Graduate Recruiters

Team Work: What is team work? … a group of two or more people who work together to accomplish a task / work together towards a common goal …

http://youtu.be/pGFGD5pj03M

What employers are looking for: Employers are looking for people who can work effectively in teams which may be: - multi-skilled - multi-aged - multi-regional

What are some of the advantages you see to working in a team on a project that you couldn’t get by working on your own?

Pro’s & Con’s of Team Work Disadvantages … Members have to learn to work with other types of personalities Can take time to reach group decisions & implement them More opportunities for conflict Managing allocation of responsibility Internal team dynamics can collapse but …

Advantages … Output from team is greater than sum of individual efforts of members More options, ideas & creativity Sense of involvement & morale Increased work quality Improved internal communication Members’ strengths & weaknesses balance out.

Team composition

Team composition: The more similar the people on a team: Sooner the team understands one another … More likely to make errors - inadequate representation of all viewpoints

Team composition: The more diverse the people on a team: Slower the understanding …Better decisions because more viewpoints are covered

What is your preference? Talking it through; or thinking it through Extroverted Introverted

What is your preference? Order & routine; or ideas & options?

What is your preference? Analysis & fact, or feelings for all Thinking

What is your working style? Scheduled; or “winging it”? Judging Perceiving

Team work skills: To achieve team results, you will need: Commitment Participation skills Constructive negotiation/conflict management skills Interpersonal communication skills

Exercise

Exercise: In teams I tend to… In teams I tend to avoid… I like teams where… I don’t like teams where… Gibbs, G, 1994, Learning in Teams: A Student Manual, Oxford Centre for Staff Development

How do teams work?

Team roles: Leader (not a manager) Motivator Coordinator/Facilitator Evaluator Spokesperson Clarify who is doing what before you begin working on the task

Team Development

Stages of team development: Forming Storming Norming Performing Adjourning

1. Forming Orientation to task Testing interpersonal behaviours Discovering ground rules

2. Storming Resistance to task demands Interpersonal conflicts Exploring areas of disagreement Struggle for group leadership

3. Norming Building cohesiveness Developing consensus about norms Clarifying roles Informal leader may emerge

4. Performing Channeling energy to task Roles clear and functional Norms support teamwork Emerging problem solutions

5. Adjourning Goals accomplished Preparing for disengagement Some regret at disbanding Termination of group

Putting it into practice

Evaluation

Evaluation: What went well? What didn’t go well – why? What would you do next time? OK – “We should have prioritised more effectively” Not OK – “If it wasn’t for John we’d have finished on time”

In summary: Team function cohesively when all members understand the purpose and relationship of the team’s primary aim Collaborate - Communicate - Cooperate

Top Floor, Student Centre building (adjacent the Sports Hall) Certificates are available two weeks after a session from the Careers & Employers Liaison Centre Top Floor, Student Centre building (adjacent the Sports Hall) Slides and resources for all DegreePlus sessions are at: www.flinders.edu.au/careers >Professional Development >Publications & Audio Files

Questions?