Groups and Teams

1. Groups and Teams John Collins

2. What is a Team Work Group • Strong, clearly focused leader • Individual accountability • The group’s purpose is the same and the broader organizational mission • Runs efficient meetings • Individual work-products • Measures effectiveness indirectly be influence on others (financial performance) • Discusses, decides , delegates Team • Shared Leadership roles • Individual and mutual accountability • Specific team purpose that the team itself delivers • Collective work product • Encourages open-ended discussion and active problem-solving meetings • Measures performance directly by assessing collective work-products • Discusses, decides, and does real work together

3. Importance of Teams • Teams are able to elevate the performance of an organization by achieving more productivity or results than the sum of the individual outputs of the team members. • Teams are able to solve more complex problems than any individual could unassisted.

4. Five Dysfunctions of a Team • Lack of Trust • Fear of Confrontation • Absence of Commitment • Absence of Accountability • Failure to focus on Goals

5. Great Business Teams • High Performing Teams share these qualities • High-performing leaders who live the principles they expect from the team and foster authentic relationships among members. • Team oriented action focusing on team’s goals not an individual, no matter how talented an individual might be • Protocols and defined procedures are used instead of relying on luck. They avoid change and randomness as much as possible. • Constant improvement based on learning for experience and analyzing successes and failures. They are never complacent • Supportive management that gets out of the way and making sure that compensation is aligned with team objectives.

6. Leading High Performance Team • A Leader must Synchronize five aspects of the business • Business Strategy • Team deliverables • Business unit function • Decision making rules and procedures • Relationships among people and other businesses • Four Development Stages of a High Performance Team • Team members test each other • There will be conflict and tension within the team • A leader should clarify team goals, assist team members acquiring new skills, and set the tone of focusing on issues and not individuals. • Builds on stage three and ensures that the right people with the right talents are in the right positions.

7. Smarter Leaders /Smarter Teams • Foster an atmosphere of mutual learning • “I have information; so do others” • “Each of us sees things others don’t” • “Differences are opportunities for learning” • “People may disagree with me and still have pure motives” • “I may be contributing to the problem”

8. Discipline of teams Common approaches successful teams use: • Establish urgency, demanding performance standards and direction. • Members are selected for skills not personality. • Team first meetings set the tone for the team so particular care is used at this formative stage. • Rules of behavior are established. Some of these are mentioned in the articles above- fact base language, encouraging healthy debate, everyone is on time. • Quick wins are established to help gel the team. • Group is challenged on a regular basis with new ideas and facts. • The power of recognition and reward is used to reinforce correct behavior

9. Exercise #1 Objective: Use this assessment to test the dysfunction of a team you are on or leading. Have each member grade each statement. If the answer is, “as a general rule,” give three points, “occasionally,” two points and “infrequently,” one point. • Team members talk about ideas without abandon or reservation. • Team members point out each other’s shortcomings or problems. • Team members understand each person’s task and know how that task adds to the team’s work. • Team members sincerely say they are sorry when they offend each other or inadvertently undercut the team’s work. • Team members give things up to forward the goals of the team, even power, personnel, money or perks. • Team members freely admit when they have made an error or when they have a weak skill. • Team meetings are interesting, not dull. • After each meeting, team members are sure that they’ve reached agreement, even after debate, and that everyone has signed on to the mission. • If the team does not attain its objectives, morale suffers. • Team meetings tackle critical issues, even if they are difficult to discuss. • Team members worry about disappointing their teammates. • Team members are aware of each other’s home lives and talk about them easily. • Team members wrap up their conversations with firm decisions and actionable tasks to perform. • Team members question and argue with each other to determine tactics and blueprints. • Team members freely praise each other, but demur about claiming individual credit.

10. Exercise #2 Objective: Team members build and appreciation for each member brings to the team • Personal history — Team members take turns answering a few basic and unthreatening questions about their lives and experiences, such as: How many brothers and sisters do you have? Where did you grow up? What was your first job? What is your most memorable experience? This exercise allows team members to get to know each other as human beings with personal lives. • Team effectiveness — Team members point out the most important talent, skill or aptitude that each member brings to the work of the team, and the one thing that each individual must improve to help the team even more.