Business Communication Skills for Managers

1. Business Communication Skills for Managers Module 12: Collaboration in and across Teams

2. Team Communication in the Workplace

3. The Value of Teams in Business Communication Why do teams exist? Teams bring together members of the organization with a wide variety of skills to achieve a common goal. Organizations accomplish these goals by carefully selecting the type of teams they use.

4. Types of Teams Types of teams: • Cross-functional teams • Task Forces • Virtual Teams • Self-Managed Teams

5. Teams and Team Dynamics What are the advantages of teams? What are the disadvantages of teams?

6. Group Communication Networks Reporting structures avoid information overload and maintain good information flow. Organizations should consider the various types of structures above and then modify them based upon the employee need to know, timeliness of information needed, and communication tools available

7. Conflict Resolution What are some sources of team conflicts? What are the symptoms of team conflict? How can destructive conflict be avoided? What are some solutions to conflict? How do teams prevent damaging conflict? What is the best way to resolve conflict?

8. Collaborative Projects

9. Decision Making in Groups Decision Style Theory: This theory examines the context for decisions across two continuums. One side relates to the decision-makers tolerance from uncertainty to certainty against relationship to task accomplishment. The four quadrants represent four decision making styles.

10. Decision Making in Groups (cont.) The left side of the continuum is is better aligned with Conceptual and Behavioral decision making styles, while the right side is better aligned with Directive and Analytical styles.

11. Tools for Communicating With Groups Communication Tools: • Meeting scheduling • Quick conversation (use tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, etc.) • Email • Conferencing • Project management (use tools like Basecamp, Trello, etc.)

12. Collaborative Writing Collaborative Writing: Projects where written works are created by multiple people rather than individually. How the writing takes place should be determined by the following: • Individual writing skill • Length of time to final product • Expertise in subject matter

13. Tools for Collaborative Writing What program are you using? • Microsoft word: • Track Changes: allows each user’s changes to be highlighted • Compare Documents: the original document and the edited document can be displayed side by side • Google docs: multiple users can work on a single document • Dropbox: more focused on file storage and retention

14. Workplace Etiquette

15. Interaction in the Workplace Aspects to consider: • Attire • Body Language • Handshakes • Eye contact • Gestures • Volume and Location • Written Communication • Be on Time

16. Company Events External events: • Conversation starters: • Have you always lived in [state]? • What brought you to work for [company]? • Introductions: give people a way to enter the conversation • The basics: leave your phone in the car and don’t chew gum! • Table manners • Alcohol and marijuana: keep your intake far less than the legal limit. When in doubt, err on the side of greater formality and respect!

17. Company Events Internal Events: • Conversation: it is your responsibility to meet and greet others that have been invited. • Introductions: Look for the individuals who are alone in the crowd and introduce yourself to them. • The basics: don’t get too comfortable! You need to remain professional even among just your coworkers. When in doubt, err on the side of greater formality and respect!

18. Quick Review • Be aware of both the advantages and the disadvantages of teams. • Be aware of the different decision making strategies: • Directive • Analytical • Conceptual • Behavioral • Always maintain professionalism within your interactions at the workplace.