YOU'VE CHOSEN YOUR TEAM
HOW DO YOU MAKE IT WORK?
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A Look At Core Assets
Company Everywhere
 Capabilities and skills of people are
core assets of the organization
 More effort is expended on people than
on other core assets
 Finding the "right" people is costly
Core Assets
Capabilities
Skills
Facility
Systems
Capital
 Once people are on board, they begin
to learn about the job and the
environment
 People join teams, formal or informal
 Now you need to make it work
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A Rose Is Not A Rose
A Group Is Not A Team
 Committee -- a group of people who take
minutes to waste hours.
 Team -- a group of people who are
committed to the attainment of a common
objective, who work well together and enjoy
doing so, and who produce high quality
results.
Teams do not just happen. They are developed through a
deliberate, planned process.
Source: James P. Lewis
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Expectations For Team Outcomes
A Survey Of 51 Major Companies That Utilize Teams Found These Benefits
 More effective use of resources
 Better problem solving
 Better quality products and services
 Creativity and innovation
 Higher quality decisions
To get these results it takes work.
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Building Blocks Of Team Building
Describe the Benefits
and Rewards -- Let
group members know
how they will benefit from
their participation in the
team. Identify both
individual and group
rewards.
Communicate the Team Purpose -- Let
participants know explicitly what the purpose of the
team is and its significance. Communicate
expected results and how these results will make a
difference.
Discuss the Process -- Collect ideas for
the group about how to create teamwork.
Indentify the initial strengths of the group
and potential barriers to effective
teamwork.
Define Teamwork -- Develop
a shared definition of what a
team really is. Discuss what
types of teamwork members
want and expect.
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Keys To Leading A Team
 Continually refocus the team on its purpose. Teams can drift from their
fundamental charge; the leader must keep them on task.
 Encourage frequent team self-assessment. The more the team critiques
its own process, the more finely-tuned that process becomes.
 Encourage questions and differences of perspective. The best decisions
come from comparing and contrasting different views of a problem.
 Watch for opportunities to promote participation and involvement. Make
everyone feel a part by giving everyone a role.
 Don't hog the limelight; spread credit among team members.
 Reward and celebrate successes -- even the minor ones.
 Know the members of your team; find out their needs, their strengths, and
their weaknesses.
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Factors In Team Development
Goals
What is the current purpose, mission, goal,
objective and action plan? The leader keeps
the team on track and monitors how relevant
the team activity is to the current goals.
Roles
What work needs to be done and
who is the best choice to carryout each function or the team?
The leader makes sure that roles
are identified and filled. The
leader maintains a process by
which the team holds members
accountable for filling their roles.
TEAM
Procedures
How will the work of the team get
done? What processes and
methods should be chosen? The
team leader remembers to assess
how will processes work and
moves the team to refine or
replace them when necessary.
Relationships
How are team members expected to interact and relate? The
leader provides a climate in which constructive working
relationships can evolve. The leader helps "debug" problems and
destructive conflicts before they damage the team.
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Stages Of Team Development
Performing -Norming -Members of the
Forming -The participants lack a
clear understanding of
their purpose, the
group's capabilities
and of each other.
Because they often do
not know each other,
members tend to be
polite or to withhold
thoughts or reactions.
They often look to the
leader for direction and
structure.
Storming -As participants
become more familiar
with each other,
different viewpoints
and disagreements
surface. Alliances and
conflicts occur; the
leader may be
challenged. While
some groups suppress
this stage, effective
teams need to work
through it to learn how
to deal with differences
and to achieve their
highest quality results.
group begin to
learn from each
The team puts the full
force of its resources
into getting results.
other and establish
guidelines for
Goals, roles,
working together.
These "rules" may
relationships support the
vary widely from
team to team, but
in a well-formed
team they meet
the needs and
styles of the
members.
Leadership is
procedures, and
team process. All is not
perfect, but success is
TEAM
maintained by rapid
identification of problems
and barriers as they
occur. Regular and
honest team assessment
shared among
participants more
is used to keep the team
evenly and mutual
on course and to avoid
trust develops.
complacency.
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Helping With Team Development
Give The Organizational Message That Teamwork Is Good
 Publicly acknowledge effective teams and their applications
 Address teamworking skills on performance appraisals and in
developmental feedback
Reward Effective Team Players
 Give desirable assignments to those who have shown teamwork
ability
 Consider team skills in determining promotions
 Reward all the members of particularly productive teams
Demonstrate And Teach Team Behavior
 Be a model of good teamwork in the top executive suite
 Provide training in team skills for group participants
 Teach employees how to lead and facilitate teams
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Summary
Not all groups become teams. Some groups function poorly
throughout their lifespan, never reaching the climate, camaraderie
and productivity of a team. Generating a team is a planned process
that take time, energy, knowledge and insight. Leaders and team
members who understand the factors involved can increase the
chances of success by making sure that the important factors are
dealt with openly and regularly. Groups who take the time to build
their working relationships and who actively monitor their own group
processes will become the most productive and effective teams.
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Contact Information
Rob Berling
Berling Associates
550 Pharr Road
Suite 212
Atlanta, GA 30305
Tel. 404.365.9836
Fax. 404.365.9837
[email protected]
www.berlingassociates.com
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