Effective Team Dynamics: Fostering Collaborative Leadership

1. team dynamics…. teams

2. Collaborative LeadershipSept 25, 2006“Nothing important gets done alone.” - Goleman“Together we are stronger.” - LefebvreAll we’ve got to work with is people. • today’s topics: • “teamship”: dynamics and skills • meeting management competencies • conflict analysis paper due Oct. 3

3. Understanding leadership and management – some basic definitions… • to lead: to influence others in order to help create positive change; to exercise influence by deploying power – personal, relationship, position, task, knowledge (Lombardo 2004) • to manage: to plan, to organize, to lead (staff & direct), & to control resources to achieve group goals • organization:a group of persons organized & tasked for some purpose; a tool of power to create social reality • power:ability to do or act

4. more distinctions…. • social vs positional power • goal-oriented vs task-oriented • “Go” vs “Let’s go” • Leaders discern what should & should not be changed. • Born leaders are just people who aren’t able to go anywhere by themselves.- Saskatchewan River valley grafitti

5. in a nutshell…. • Lead people. • Manage work. • Understand both.

6. summing up – a good communicator…. • focusses on interests not positions • listens, responds • helps others succeed • owns the 3 most powerful expressions in our culture: • Hello. [and infinite variations, all with a  ] • Thank you. [and infinite variations of recognition, praise, positive reinforcement, celebration. “Well done.” “Good job.”] • I’m sorry. [and infinite variations of acknowledging errors. “I made a mistake.” “I regret what happened.”] • celebrates! • helps make more leaders

7. key concepts of collaboration & teamwork: • group interaction to accomplish a goal • shared ownership • team values orientation • team developmental stages • team multiple roles and common expectations

8. team values orientation task focus ……………………………….. ego focus (externalized) (internalized) (client service) balancing perspectives: client, task, people, self

9. 5 developmental stages of a team: • forming – searching for group identity – anxiety, resistance • storming – defining group task – conflicts, personal agendas • norming – coalescing, identifying with group, goal • performing – processing, producing, working together effectively • fifth stage: assimilating – changing, adapting, e.g., absorbing new members

10. meeting management skills: - multiple roles in a meeting…. • facilitator (chair) is the leader of conversation flow • recorder is the leader of words • members are the leaders of ideas & analysis • - and common expectations…. • timeliness • advance preparation • constructive participation • follow-up & follow-through on commitments

11. meeting management skills:3 phases of every meeting…. • pre-meeting – review past meetings (minutes), invite agenda items, plan agenda, plan time allocations • the meeting – ground rules; monitor the clock; bring closure to each agenda item; action plans recorded • post-meeting – process feedback at end and later, monitor progress on action items

12. meeting management skills:facilitator (chair) responsibilities…. • ensure sight lines – room & furniture setup conducive to interaction • facilitate emotional safety for all team members • help team manage their time – optimum time-productivity balance • keep focus on team task • ask for process feedback – verbal or anonymous checklist

13. types of goals and strategies for meetings:“One size doesn’t fit all.” • sharing information • brainstorming • making decisions – building agreement, buy-in • problem solving: problem definition & decision making • planning and agreeing on roles and tasks

14. meeting management skills:brainstorming…. • ideas are voiced one at a time – no interruptions, no debate – “dynamic listening” • enjoy short silences • invite every participant to have a full say • encourage participants to reflect for more ideas • sense when to seek permission to bring closure– value of input peaks but time continues, so sense when to stop

15. meeting management skills:making decisions… • remind team that all ideas are now group ideas - discuss ideas with team not originator • keep focus on issues and interests not baggage - turn negatives into positives, criticism into concerns - integrate good points from everyone’s input - sum up areas of agreement regularly • ask for “sign-off” (buy-in) by each team member on major decisions

16. examples of turning negatives into positives, criticisms into concerns:(“We tried that years ago but it didn’t work.”) • Seek clarification:“What’s in this version that wasn’t in the one that didn’t fly?” • Seek common understanding • Seek common interest • Help to resolve conflict • Seek consensus: “What can we all agree on?” • Get rid of the “buts” • Confirm understanding

17. Summing up…..- The single most important factor distinguishing effective from ineffective teams is the ability of team members to listen to each other. – Thomas Quick 1992 • Listen 80% of the time, speak 20%. • You can think out loud, but you can’t listen out loud.

18. for next week: • list 3 or 4 core values that you hold about libraries or archives • find one library or archives vision or mission statement, and identify the values reflected in it • speaker intro for Linda Cook by Friday 10 am

19. passion, values,principles,vision, mission