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Teamwork: Another Tool for the Workplace. Engineering Embed Project McCall. Courtesy of Detroit Mercy – Mechanical Engineering – Fall 2019. Some Types of Project Teams:. Your dept . develops an informational website Members from different depts . write a proposal
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Teamwork: Another Tool for the Workplace Engineering Embed Project McCall Courtesy of Detroit Mercy – Mechanical Engineering – Fall 2019
Some Types of Project Teams: • Your dept. develops an informational website • Members from different depts. write a proposal • You collaborate with colleagues outside your org. to produce a recruitment video
Pros & Cons of Teams: • Disadvantages • Longer decision-making process • Time-consuming to schedule, attend, debrief meetings • Difficult to manage some personalities • Challenge to assess each member’s input • Advantages • More ideas, energy • More creativity as more disciplines involved • Division of labor • Buy-in on solutions, decisions • Employees feel involved, empowered, valued
All Teams Have: • Task Needs • Get the job done • Be successful • Be recognized • What You See: • Reminders to focus, remember deadlines, do task assignments • Claiming of ideas • Social Needs • Be recognized • Win approval • Be valued • What You See: • Small talk • Jokes, laughter • Use of names
Team Formation: A Model • Stages of formation* • Forming • Storming • Norming • Performing • Adjourning *Psychologist Bruce Tuckman developed this model in 1965, later adding the fifth stage, Adjourning, which some refer to as “Mourning.” From: “Your 10-Minute Guide to Developing an Effective Team.” Mind Tools Corporate. Accessed 10/26/2018.
Stage 1: Forming • Members are • Polite • Unsure of team’s goal • Waiting to see what happens next
Stage 2: Storming • Members: • Push back against perceived authority, boundaries established in Forming stage • Work styles may conflict • Stressful time for members focused on accomplishing the task
Stage 3: Norming • Members: • Resolve differences • Learn to appreciate and use each others’ strengths • Show respect leader’s authority • Become more social (ex., offer help and feedback) • Show a stronger commitment to team goal
Stage 4: Performing • Members: • Work hard together with little friction • Focus on team goal • Do the tasks delegated by the leader • Accomplish the team’s task
Stage 5: adjourning • Members: • Feel sense of accomplishment that task is complete • Feel a sense of loss that the team will be disbanding
Teams & The Role of ConFlict: • Even the best-performing teams experience conflict • How do we deal with conflict? • Does it cripple our team? • Can we manage it? Make it work for us?
Negotiating Conflict: Step 1 • Person vs. problem • Group interests are key • Peer pressure • Measuring effectiveness of the solution From: Fisher, Roger, and William Ury. Getting to Yes. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1991.
Negotiating Conflict: Step 2 • Prepare for conflict • Defuse emotions • Depersonalize the conflict (why, how, what?) • Search jointly for solutions • Evaluate solutions for quality and acceptability
Team Leaders: A Necessity? • Most work groups have a leader – why? • Pros • Cons • How do we get a leader for our work group? • Appointed by management • Voted in by team members • Rotating role • Emerges because of ability • What else?
Team Leader Role: • Clarify team’s goal (what’s the project?) • Keep on task (but recognize social needs) • Involve members (paraphrase, question) • Channel conflict (make it productive) • Paraphrase, summarize, transition between meetings, between people, between ideas • Recognize members’ contributions • Stay connected (call, write, remind) • Act as a liaison between team and mgt.
Team Member Responsibilities: • Be actively involved • Pay attention, paraphrase • Ask questions and give opinions • Speak up! • Be open to new ideas • There’s never just one way to solve a problem • Be patient • The others will get there • Articulate problems • Focus on behaviors, not people
Team Member Roles: • Recorder: Captures major points, actions, decisions (this role rotates) • Timekeeper: Helps keep to time set for each agenda item • Info/Opinion Seeker: Asks for missing information, opinions • Clarifier/Summarizer: Recaps discussion and helps group move on • Orienter: Notes when team moves off target • Reality Tester: Questions feasibility of ideas, solutions offered From: www.icase.edu/newresearch/teamwork/q3.html See also: “Six Thinking Hats: Looking at a Decision From All Points of View” https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTED_07.htm
Assessing the Team’s Success: • Did the project get done? • Was it done on time? • Did the project accomplish its goals? • Was the team officially closed out?