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Workplaces that Work
Productive Work Teams
Think about all the people that you come into contact with in your work life: colleagues, board members and other volunteers, donors, clients, the general public and so on. With this large network of people connected to your organization, learning how to work well together is vital.
In this Section:
Developing work teams
Building successful work teams and groups
Understanding group dynamics
Is your team healthy?
Developing work teams
Teamwork originates with, and builds relationships among, a group of people who share a common interest or purpose. Working in teams allows individuals from different areas (e.g. programs, fund raising, marketing) with different roles (staff, volunteer, client/consumer/customer) and perhaps from different organizations to work together on issues of interest to team members.
A team focuses its work on common objectives and finding solutions to shared problems. It uses formal processes such as record keeping, facilitation and scheduled meetings to achieve its objectives.
An effective team will:
Retain valuable organizational knowledge that comes with the continuity of staff and sharing of information
Enhance the power and feeling of satisfaction of individuals working on the team
Establish trust relationships that lead to better sharing of knowledge and understanding
Achieve objectives because individuals are working together
Hold team members accountable to one another accountable
Combine the talents of many individuals and therefore contribute more than the sum of its parts
Create an environment where the input from people at all levels is valued
Create new knowledge through working and learning with others
Provide a process and place for multiple perspectives to be applied to complex problems and issues
Generate new ideas and insights
Turn knowledge into practical results that improve the organization´s services
Use a variety of communication processes (including technology) to support the sharing of information, knowledge and experience
Create a climate where innovation and new ideas are supported and members listen to diverse points of view
Multiply impacts while maintaining or reducing the resources needed to do the job
Promote a culture that questions the status quo and looks for innovative ways to improve services and reach goals
Empower individuals, the team and the organizations
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Building successful work teams and groups
Be clear about your objectives
What do you want the team to achieve? Consider the potential roadblocks and opportunities and be realistic about how a team will help you find solutions. Make sure that all team members are aware of the objectives and how the team will reach them (and don´t forget to celebrate when the team achieves a milestone!). Identifying a team leader can help the group stay on task.
Determine who needs to be on the team
Once you know your objectives you can decide who needs to be involved on the team. Consider whether you need to include staff members, board members, volunteers and/or clients/or other stakeholders. Choose people who have a good understanding of the issue. You may also want to include people who have limited knowledge because they will bring new perspectives and ideas and will learn from this process. Also consider politics. Who is connected to management or leadership? Who can clear the way of organizational obstacles? Who gets along with whom? Who will be disruptive or uncooperative? Don´t be afraid to add new members as the process continues.
Establish a time frame for completion of the team´s work
Remember that group work can often take longer than individual work.
Empower the team to work well together
Be sure the team members have the skills and resources they need to work well together - for example, facilitation skills, finances, support staff, executive support, access to technology and the skills to use it.
Identify how the team will communicate
You will need to establish a process for the team to report on its efforts and results. The team will have to establish how they will communicate among themselves and how they will communicate their work to others (for example, minutes of meetings, e-mail, web site and list-serves).
Other helpful tips
Effective teams need to focus on both the group and the task
All team members need a clear sense of their collective task
Encourage team members to set and take ownership of goals
Write down and regularly promote the group´s task so everyone remains focused
If individual conflicts arise, review and negotiate them in terms of the task that needs to be completed
Encourage all team members to participate
Keep a written record of group decisions to avoid returning to the same discussion
Establish group norms that everyone feels comfortable with and hold group members accountable
Handle feedback and debate fairly and look for alternative strategies that still fit with the group´s task
Recognize group effort instead of individual effort
Focus on solutions - it´s easy to identify the problem but more positive to focus on finding a solution
Be mindful of verbal and non-verbal communication
Affirm the importance of keeping commitments made to the group and by the group
Have clear expectations and communicate them throughout the group
Recognize positive contributions to the group
Affirm that constructive conflict is ok but personal attacks are not
Provide training in problem solving and conflict management to group members
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Understanding group dynamics
Groups, like individuals have three basic interpersonal needs, namely: inclusion, control and openness [1]. These needs determine how we treat other people in the group and how we want others to treat us. Understanding and identifying behaviours you observe in yourself and in your group members will help you communicate what is happening in the group, gain influence, and, help the group become more effective and productive.
[1] About Schutz, W.C, - A Three Dimensional Theory of Interpersonal Behavior in Dimock, H.G, How to Observe your Group 3 ed. (1993).
The three basic development needs of individuals and groups
Inclusion: refers to individual´s need to share, include and involve others in their activities. It also refers to their need to be acknowledged, connected and accepted by others. For example, if you have ever wondered why a facilitator has asked you to share your name at the beginning of a meeting is to help achieve the right amount of contact between participants and create a sense of belonging.
Key Concern: Who is in or out?
Feelings Experienced: anxiety, anticipation, hope, hesitation, discomfort
Behaviours Expressed: overly talkative, watchful, inviting, supportive, guarded
A tip to help work with this need: Pay attention to whom is over- and under- participating. This can become an issue in the group as big talkers try to pressure the quiet member into talking more.
Control: refers to individual's needs to influence, be responsible, feel competent and have authority over others. These needs can create a period of turmoil and upheaval as some members try to dominate, while others resist or withdraw. For example, you have asked the group to make a decision about an action item and one of the members avoids the decision making process to discuss another point.
Important
Often, this period in the group's process is avoided, glazed over or is considered bad. To have the need to control is not a bad thing; not unlike conflict, if worked through and participants have the opportunity to influence the group's process, you can begin to relax and have fun in the group.
Key Concern: Who gets to decide what for whom?
Feelings Experienced: frustration, stuck, incompetence, powerlessness, apathy
Behaviours Expressed: resistance, competition, avoiding, challenging, bickering
A tip to help work with this need: Notice if your group is preventing any decision-making procedures from being established. This can leave a group powerless and stuck. Try to establish an agreement on how your group will make decisions and define how and who will take on leadership.