1. Cascade School District September 2016
Team Dynamics
Cascade School District
September 2016
Signal Word: Collaborate

2. Objectives
Evaluate yourself and how your personality contributes to team dynamics
Reflect on the contributions of personality types contrary to your own
Build awareness about how highly effective teams function
Explore strategies for improving team dynamics and outcomes
Quick Write: Thinking about one team you’d like to focus on today. Without names, write one adjective to describe yourself and one for each member of that team

3. Love Your Team! You are with them for longer than just breakfast!
(Watch from 1:06)

4. It’s Not Easy . . .

5. Problems of Practice: People!

6. Personalities On The Team
Look at the adjectives you wrote that describe you and the other members of the team.
Read the article.
Identify your dominant personality and consider what would come in second.
Move to the space in the room that matches your dominant direction.
Circle up and discuss:
What are your strengths and liabilities as team members?

7. Supporting Different Personalities
Scenario: Your team has been doing Step 1 differently than what the flow should be.
Discuss & Share Out: Thinking about your personality type, how would you want your facilitator to present this information to you?
Work Time: As a facilitator, think about the personalities of your team & make a plan for how to present your learning about Step 1 to them.

8. Loveable Fools and Competent Jerks -Harvard Business Review
Personal Think Time:
Think about each of your teams individually.
Which area has the best potential for growth?
Loveable Fools and Competent Jerks
-Harvard Business Review
Competent Jerk
Loveable Star
Competence
Incompetent Jerk
Loveable Fool
Likeability

9. Consider the Implications:
Where does this measure up with other priorities?

11. Are you a Team or a Group?
Team
Group
Commitment to goals
Accountable to each other
Complimentary skills
Culture of collaboration
Decide collectively what to do
How can I help the group?
Work on goals
Accountable to boss
Random skill set
Culture of change/conflict
Do as they are told
What’s in it for me?
Reflection: Which category do your teams fall into, based on how they are functioning now?

12. Coordinating, Cooperating, Collaborating
COORDINATION
“Let’s get this done.”
COOPERATION
“Let’s make this better.”
COLLABORATION
“Let’s make something new.”

13. Aligning our Definitions: Coordination
Our working definition: Coordination is a more formal process in which teacher teams efficiently divide the management aspects of a given unit of instruction.
For example: A third-grade team may COORDINATE a schedule so all teachers have access to modeling materials for the unit, or they might divide up different standards from a CCSS Content Standard Cluster in order to design lessons.

14. Aligning our Definitions: Cooperation
Our working definition: Cooperation is an informal process for sharing information with no goal or outcome in mind.
For example: Team members share ideas and lesson plans about how they each teach a learning target. In this case, teachers COOPERATE by sharing resources, although each teacher retains his or her own authority to teach and assess the learning targets.

15. Aligning our Definitions: Collaboration
Our working definition: Collaboration is when team members create new structures and ways of working that are focused on academic success for all students, not just the students in their own class.
*Pictures from Solutions IQ

16. Demonstrate Your Learning!
With a partner, come up with examples where you have:
Coordinated
Cooperated
Collaborated
Be ready to share out!
Based on how your teams are functioning now, are they Coordinating, Cooperating, or Collaborating?

17. Levels of Teacher Teamwork
Reflecting on Instruction
Personal Think Time:
Where do your teams fall on the continuum?
Differentiating Follow-up
Analyzing Student Learning
Developing Common Assessments
Planning, Planning, Planning
Share Classroom Practices
Filling the Time
- Parry Graham and Bill Ferriter, 2008

18. Levels of Teamwork & the Data Team Process
Reflecting on Instruction
Differentiating Follow-up
Analyzing Student Learning
Developing Common Assessments
Planning, Planning, Planning
Share Classroom Practices
Filling the Time
- Parry Graham and Bill Ferriter, 2008

19. Time for a Break

20. How to Improve Team Dynamics

21. Moving From a Group to a Team
Using the list below and your team grid, discuss options for moving your “groups” forward
Spend time together
Set norms
Develop urgency and importance of work
Look for quick wins to get the team to gel
Challenge a group with new information, thus handing them a new challenge
Positive feedback, recognition and reward

22. Loveable Fools and Competent Jerks
Loveable Star
Competence
Incompetent Jerk
Loveable Fool
Liability

23. Foster Competence
Using the list below and your team grid, discuss options for moving your those who need competence forward:
Training
Coaching
Mentoring
Peer Support
Feedback
Website Resources

24. Foster Likeability
Using the list below and your team grid, discuss options for moving your those who need likeability forward:
Manufacture liking - put people together and make them bond
Leverage the likeable - put the likeable person is a bridging position to be an “affective hub”
Work on the jerks
Assess their contribution - helping or hindering
Reward good behavior, punish bad
Socialize and coach - feedback, feedback, feedback

25. Likeability Challenges Often Comes Down to Two Major Elements:
Personality Type
Norms

26. Awareness of...
Personality Strengths
Liabilities
Interaction with other Personalities

27. Norms and Project Aristotle
Google analyzed over 180 teams:
Only 2 common themes emerged:
Equal Airtime - Ostentatious Listening
Emotional Sensitivity - Psychological Safety

28. Questions From Project Aristotle
If the answer to any of these questions is “No”, then teams need to revisit their norms to address that issue.
Questions From Project Aristotle
Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?
Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?

29. If All Else Has Failed...

30. Crucial Conversations Input Chart
Turn and Talk:
A crucial conversation is necessary when…
It is not necessary when….

31. Share Out
Psychological safety: Can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?
Dependability: Can we count on each other to do high quality work on time?
Structure & clarity: Are goals, roles, and execution plans on our team clear?
Meaning of work: Are we working on something that is personally important for each of us?
Impact of work: Do we fundamentally believe that the work we’re doing matters?

32. Synthesizing Our Learning with Observation Charts
In partners, visit each poster and identify the following information. Add your ideas to the chart.
What is the problem with the statement?
What is one small step you could take to move a team forward?
What is one big step you could take to move the team forward?

33. Reflection
Consider all we have discussed today and the many ideas you generate for moving teams and individuals forward.
Then, write yourself an with your SPECIFIC next steps.

34. Feedback Please complete a feedback form before you leave (last page).
Bus your own table.

35. Demonstrate Your Learning!
With your team, come up with a NON-LINGUISTIC representation of:
Coordination
Cooperation
Collaboration
Get Creative!