1. Building Team Relationships
Standard 6, p. 155

2. Building Team Relationships
A team is a group of two or more people who work together to achieve a common goal. When you are part of a team, you have access to all the knowledge, experience, and abilities of your teammates. Together you can have more ideas, achieve more goal and solve more problems. A healthy relationship as a team member contributes to your well-being. Your teammates respect you and value your contribution to their success.

3. Building team relationships
A successful team relationship depends on all team members working together. They rely on each other. They trust one another. If one team member doe not do his or her share, the entire team suffers.

4. Challenges of teamwork
The challenges of a team relationship come from having different people working together. Even if everyone agrees on a common goal, they may not agree on how to achieve that goal.
Your friends might agree to celebrate the end of the school year together but . . .
Some of you might want to go to the lake.
Some might want to play ball in the park.
Some might want to go out to eat.

5. Challenges of teamwork
To be successful, a team needs all members to agree about how to achieve your goal.
To achieve agreement, team must be able to communicate and negotiate, which means to give and take until you find a solution that satisfies everyone.
They must also be ready to resolve conflicts in an open and honest way.
You might also have to make personal sacrifices for the success of the team.

6. What makes a team successful?
Teams are influenced by different things, including the personal qualities of the team members, the resources available, and the purpose or goals of the team.
When you first join a team, you and your fellow team members might feel nervous and uncomfortable. You might not know each other very well. You might wonder what to expect.

7. What makes a team successful?
At first you might misunderstand each other or misinterpret communications. One teammate might say she can’t come to a meeting, and you might think she means she doesn’t want to be part of the team. Another teammate might have lots of plans and ideas, and the rest of you might think he is trying to take over and be the boss.
As you get to know each other, and learn how to communicate, you might feel a sense of belonging. You might develop common bonds. You will be able to work together to achieve your goal.

8. Developing as a leader
Even when all members of a team have an equal role in decision making and problem solving, it is important to have a leader. Recall that a leader is a tyoe of manager who knows how to use available resources to help others achieve their goals.

9. Developing as a leader
Leaders exhibit positive qualities that other people respect, such as self-confidence. They use skills such as goal setting and critical think to make healthy decisions for the benefit of the team. If you are the leader you take on the responsibility for:
Organzing the team’s activities
Encouraging everyone to share ideas and give opinions
Motiviating all team members to work toward established goals.
Being a leader does not mean you are always right. The leader’s opinion does not count more than the opinions of the other team members. An effective leader keeps the team on track and focused on achieving its goals.

10. What about team members?
While a strong leader is important to the success of a team, team members must also be committed to the group’s success. As effective team member helps teammates if they need help, does not blame teammates for problems or mistakes and offers ideas and suggestions instead of criticism.

11. You are a good team member if you are . . .
Open minded
Cooperative
Trustworthy
Willing to compromise
Friendly

12. Being a positive team member
Use the website to send a positive e-card to someone!
A teacher, friend, parent, family member . . .