TEAM BUILDING

“You cover my back and I’ll cover yours”! Where have you heard this statement before? Law enforcement. Military. Could it simply be rephrased, “let’s work together”.

Team Building: (The Demming Management Method, ISBN 0-399-55000-3) Self directed teams. A concept developed by a professor of statistics from the United States named Edward Demming. Demming implemented this model in Japan after World War II. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that it was adopted into the United States.

Teams are normally groups that: (HRM, ISBN 0-205-14218-4, pages 334-359) Are a group that assumes responsibility for a common work process. Works to improve their operation or product. Handles day to day operations. Gets paid as a group. Allows decision making with broad participation. Peers evaluate your performance.

Quality Circles = the formula: Should have a goal or mission statement. Must have the support of top management. Creates an atmosphere of participative management. Requires a strong communication structure. Begins with easier issues and a common ground. Start slowly and proceed gradually. Needs an enthusiastic leader that supports the concept of team structure.

Building a Climate of Motivation: Ensuring each employee knows what is expected and how performance will be evaluated. Get to know employees as individuals and learn their needs. Provide training and assistance. Provide resources. Encourage personal growth. Recognize and reward good performance and correct bad performance. (HRM, ISBN 0-205-14218-4, page 87) Stress the possible, not the impossible. (HRM, page 87) Normally challenge ideas, not people.

Rules of the Road: (Achieving Consensus, ISBN 1-56052-381-6, page 35) Everyone gets a chance to participate. All ideas have value. Everyone arrives on time. Everyone comes prepared. No personal attacks. Build on ideas, don’t tear them down ruthlessly. Discussion is encouraged. Decisions are by consensus when possible. Use confirmable facts and data. If you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.

What to pack on the journey on the road to consensus: (Achieving Consensus, ISBN 1-56052-381-6, page 19) Communication skills. Problem solving skills. Experience = knowledge gained through work. Power base = networking skills. People skills = ability to work with others. Education = classroom, reading, Internet.

What not to pack on the journey on the road to consensus: (Achieving Consensus, ISBN 1-50052-381-6, page 25) Resistance to change. I don’t want to lose attitude. Biases. Love/hate conflict.

Sometimes, you need to ask yourself is this really worth pursuing? Sometimes a situation just does not lend itself to teamwork. Is this conflict worth fighting? You may win the conflict but lose the war. What event or circumstance do you want to select to end your career or friendship? In other words, what sword do you want to impale yourself on?

A true self-managing work team will be one in which the members themselves: Make a decision on how to divide up the tasks within the team. Make decisions on scheduling work for the team. Are able to perform more than one job for the team. Train one another to learn jobs performed by the team. Evaluate one another’s job performance on the team. Are collectively held accountable for the team’s performance results.

Benefits of Self-managing Teams: Improved productivity. Improved production quality. Greater production flexibility. Faster response time to technological changes. Fewer management levels. Lower employee absenteeism. Lower employee turnover. Improved work attitudes.

Consensus is achieved when: (Team Training, ISBN 0-07-91220-5, page 6) “I have had an opportunity to express my views fully and they have been thoughtfully considered by the group”. “Even though this solution may not be the one I believe is best, it is ethical, moral, and legal, and I will support it”.

Consensus includes: (Team Training, ISBN 0-07-91220-5, page 67) Pooling decisions. Effective listening. Discussing ideas and differences. Not getting all you want. Agreement to the point everyone can live with it.

Consensus does not include: Voting. Majority rule. Minority rule. One person rule.

Sources of Conflict: (Team Training, ISBN 0-07-91220-5, page 1050 Personalities CONFLICT Values Solutions

How to Create Cohesion: Get agreement. Increase homogeneity. Make the group smaller. Reward group results. Isolate from other groups.

How to Decrease Cohesion: Create disagreement. Increase heterogeneity. Make the group bigger. Reward individual effort. Increase contact with other groups.

Listening Techniques: (Team Training, ISBN 0-09-912220-5, page 92) Mental response. Shows you are interested. Encourages the dialogue to continue. “I see what you mean.” “That’s interesting.” Restatement. To check meaning. “As I understand it then, your plan is” “So this is what you decided to do and the reasons are”

Listening Techniques Continued: Questioning. To get more information. “Could you explain more about” “Do you mean that” Summarizing. To bring the discussion into focus. “So these are the ideas you have expressed” Reflection. To demonstrate that you understand. “So you are saying that you feel” “That indicates that you were mad about”