Make YOUR team work!

In today’s corporate world, teams are the way that work gets done. A team has a common goal that everyone is clear on, understands and believes in. Achieving this goal is the reason for the team’s existence.

Individuals that form an organisation are dependent on one another to achieve this common goal. They each have differing skill levels, differing points of view and apply different efforts. When the power of these different perspectives is effectively and efficiently applied to a problem or a challenge, the results can be outstanding!

Achieving this common goal through teamwork, despite individual differences, bonds the members closer together…it provides the thread that defines them as a team.

Form a clear common goal:

If your team doesn’t have a goal, then your team cannot reach its destination. What your team needs is a solid, clear, achievable goal. The goal must state what the team must accomplish; it demands an action and decisions need to be made. Learn to make the goal short and clear and every team member must be committed to its outcome. The goal should be motivating so all team members take ownership.

Remember that a team goal is something that an individual is not capable of on their own. Ensure the goal is feasible…is the goal capable of being reached? The team members will utilise all their skills, resources and commitment to stretch to achieve it.

Develop team rules

The individuals that make up the team have the task to help the team develop. They need to develop, follow and enforce the team’s policies and procedures. These rules will need to be understood and followed by the each team member. It may help to designate a team leader to facilitate these rules.

A smart team will take the opportunity during its formation to build the rules that will reflect how the team members want to steer the team. This guidance system is in place to help when things go wrong. The rules help the team from straying from its intentions. The ground rules give stability by setting policy, procedures and establish values for clear expectations with the support by all. These rules help build a team culture so when a new member joins they in turn will know how the team operates.

Team members need to work together. They all have a contribution to make. They need to collaborate without feeling intimidated or ridiculed. Collaboration is the key to a successful outcome for the team by contributing ideas, generating alternatives and discussing various approaches through open discussion. Once the ideas are in the open, the team members need to reach decisions. These decisions are reached through consensus by revealing all the possible issues, viewing the problems and obstacles to be able to take the best course of action.

There will naturally be natural conflict and disagreement among team members, but the team members should view conflict as a chance to explore problems from varying points of view. With regards to a team, there is no winner in an argument.

Individuals all have their own technical job skills, but will require guidance and practice for developing team player skills. Team members can support others in developing these new skills but an outside expert or the advice of facilitators can suggest ways of forming team cohesion.

• Every team member is responsible for how the team is doing and each member needs to work hard to achieve the goal(s) the team has set.
• Expectations of individuals and the team as a whole needs to be revisited and adjustments implemented when necessary. Deal with problems when they arise. This makes the team more efficient in the process of being built.
• Ensure the team rules are documented for when rules are written the team to will take them more seriously. The rules can then be reviewed and adjusted as necessary.

Work Together

The point of forming a team or a collective of minds at least is to focus the member’s attention on creating a solution or overcoming a problem or challenge. Individuals can struggle with a problem, one idea at a time. An individual has limits on the kinds of solutions that they can generate. Their view is limited.

A team on the other hand would see a solution much faster. It would become as obvious to the team as it could be obscure to the individual. When people work together on problems, the varying viewpoints and interpretations combined with the knowledge that the individuals bring with them, create better solutions…it’s that simple.

When people collaborate, the door is open for all ideas from everyone involved. Team members listen closely to each other, build on ideas that are generated, modify them, discard them, come up with new ones and are all welcome without embarrassment or disapproval.

• Remember that if two people think of the same solutions and are always in agreement then one of them is superfluous.
• Working together isn’t competitive. Strive to create a comfortable atmosphere where crazy ideas ignited during brainstorming might actually be the solution that was being looked for.

Creativity

Everyone is creative. This is not necessarily being artistic or poetic. Creativity can mean being able to generate ideas. Some are unique. Some are insightful. A good team encourages members to express their individual ideas and work together to bring them to life.

Because people tend to be sensitive of what others may think of their ideas, many do not express them. These are the ideas that when implemented could be the answer the group has been looking for. It is therefore important to encourage all members to feel comfortable in exposing their thoughts. Encourage members to go beyond the obvious and stretch their thinking. If a team has a policy to be creative, people will likely generate interesting ideas.

The quantity of ideas rather than quality of ideas is the main reason for brainstorming within a group. This volume of thoughts gets everyone talking about options. Once these ideas and thoughts are expressed, they can be refined. Focus on how these ideas can be improved or used. Hold up all the ideas and inspect them from all angles by asking “what-if” questions. These questions in turn encourage more ideas.

• Your team members will respond with creativity if they are assured that unique or unusual ideas are acceptable.
• Let the ideas flow. Creativity engenders laughter and high spirits and this collaboration helps to form and mold ideas. By doing exercises that challenge the teams creative abilities can help in bringing a team closer together.
• The process may take time. If the team gets bogged on a solution, take a break and come back to it another time.

Making Decisions

Making decisions is really what a team is all about. The team is formed to decide what to do. It’s important to look at what decision making means.

A decision is an attempt to determine what to do about a situation, challenge or problem. The result of the decision is how various actions will impact on the outcome. What will the potential action be and how can the group arrange things so that what they want to happen will actually happen?

A decision making discussion on a team should focus on identifying and reducing any unknown factor or risk of a decision. Facts, data, trends or any information can be used to provide insight into what might happen. During brainstorming, a team can grapple with decisions with an intuitive sense based on the experience of individuals experience and perception. Identify risks, create ways to minimize unwanted consequences and select the best choice.

The group must ask the simple question “what will happen if we do this?” This helps determine what the different actions might be required to reduce the chance of risk. Keep asking the “what if” questions until the team understands the possible outcomes of different choices.

Sometimes because of time constraints or the reluctance of some members to accept a decision, a compromise needs to be made. Compromises are vulnerable but if the team all realise these decisions might occasionally be useful, and a consensus can be reached, this becomes a helpful tool in group decision making. A compromise needs to be implemented as effectively and efficiently as possible so team enthusiasm and commitment does not wane.

Group Consensus

In a group, a consensus is a decision that everyone agrees is the best decision to make under any given circumstances. This is a clear understanding of why the decision was made and everyone on the team stands behind and supports it. Consensus means the team selects the best idea and goes with it.

This process of agreement involves all the individuals to express their points of view and begin seeing the problem in a similar way. This then helps to narrow the differences. The individuals consider and compare all aspects of a challenge or problem to help formulate a decision. The outcome is far better than a compromise as the team fully believes the decision is the best way to proceed after discussing the facts, risks and implications.

It’s important for everyone to be able to understand “why” the decision was made. The decision may not in itself be ideal, and not everyone on the team might be happy with the decision, but everyone will understand why the decision was made. Everyone sees how others stand on these different aspects and what is important to them. The team begins with differing viewpoints and moves to a more common understanding of the issues before them.

• Remember that the impossible problem is solved when that problem is seen only as tough decision waiting to be made.
• Team members should know how to exchange ideas while remaining flexible and non-defensive. These are skills that need to be practiced. Emphasize the need for open-mindedness and cooperation.

Disagreement

Disagreeing and conflict is an uncomfortable emotional encounter and many feel should be avoided. In fact people are different. Everyone on a team starts from a different place, experience…they have different likes and dislikes. It’s these differences that make a team vibrant, interesting and rewarding.

An efficient team will harness the power of these differences and focus them on the problem at hand. If team members listen to other perspectives they can see ideas emerge. The exchange of ideas leads to new perspectives and insights of what may and may not work.

Get used to people questioning what others have to say. Expect others to probe certain viewpoints. The team needs to see that having a differing idea doesn’t diminish other members ideas. Confronting differences is not a personal attack, but an attempt to open up thinking.

• The common goal is what holds the team together. Past rivalries and politics should be left at the door.
• Excellent listening skills go a long way to managing conflict. Make the effort to see things from different perspectives.
• Identify alternatives and select the best one and make it a team rule to handle conflict without the heat!

Build Trust

Without trust among team members, the team will quickly become unproductive. For members to be able to manage conflict there needs to be a basic level of trust amongst them. When there is no trust between people, it is difficult to work together. Information is not shared, comments are scrutinised and members tend to hold each other at distance. They avoid honest and open discussion.

• Teams can build trust through activities and actions that will lead members to be inclined to trust one another. Ensure members do what they say they are going to do…deliver on promises. Missing commitments will erode the chain of trust.
• Show interest in others. Self interest or those that don’t care about building relationships with others become suspect. It’s important to reach out and build friendships. Trust can be gained only if all members work at it.
• If there is any conflict between members that remains unsolved then this can breed distrust. The team has a responsibility to deal with this together. Celebrate trust that you have and recognize when you see and feel it.

Meetings

Decisions and problem solving take place during team meetings. An efficient meeting with a clear agenda, orderly discussion and decision making help to build trust, mutuality and a sense of achievement.

Having clear steps will make the meeting work. Meetings can take place daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly. The meeting needs an agenda…an agenda is a list of what the team will discuss. This will focus member’s attention and provide an indication of progress. The team will know where it is and where it is going.

Team members should all be encouraged to participate. Opinions help ensure quality decisions are made. Everyone has a contribution to make and this helps them feel included. If the meeting is efficient, this indicates a team that works well. A meeting helps to update current information for team members as well as reporting on results, problems, ideas to consider, assistance where needed from the past or tasks that need to be accomplished before the next meeting.

Motivation

When a team takes time to recognise the individual contributions of its members, it is adding to people’s self esteem. Making members feel valued is a critical factor that motivates workers. Recognising member’s successes, ideas and improvements illustrates that everyone is appreciated within the team. This reinforcement is part of building a team…everyone is valued.

As simple as it sounds, saying “thank you” is a powerful motivator especially coming from a senior member or team leader. Thanking individuals and celebrating these efforts within the group is a powerful way to help the team build a sense of community.

Team assessment

Self assessment is a team’s secret weapon. The team needs to occasionally reflect on how it is doing. If members feel that past problems are not being rectified, or there is no disagreement while making decisions or confrontation is being avoided, this is an indication to revisit the team goals.
The team needs to think about how it is evaluating ideas by gathering opinions and clarifying where they are coming from. If decisions are not being put into use because they are not clear or specific, members should ask themselves if they can continue to support and contribute to the team.

Leading the way

The key to successful leadership is not authority but influence. Someone needs to coordinate, establish direction and prioritise the activities of the team. It helps the group to designate a team leader, but it also helpful that everyone is encouraged to lead at least in part, perhaps even conducting a portion of a meeting.

A team leader is usually accountable for results so they will need to monitor progress of individuals, providing feedback and coaching of individuals. Depending on the designated leader’s expertise, they may be involved in deciding how things should be done. This person is a manager.

On the other hand some teams require more of a facilitator. This person is the catalyst to get people together to have meetings, ask members for agenda items, and keep notes. They control without directing by suggesting, steering, summarizing views and point out consequences. A facilitator may be found on a team that chooses to be leaderless. To keep the team moving ahead requires an encouraging facilitator, where lots of discussion takes place.

A team leader for a work team is not the hard-nosed leader of a sporting team. Demanding performance and being “bossy” tends to put an end to individual contribution and input. Being an effective team leader means sharing power, teach members team skills and encourage participation… let things happen!

Don’t give up

Having a common goal is the energy force of a team. If the goal was essential enough to establish in the first place, then it is worthy of accomplishment. Sometimes a team will face a difficult task and a team can give up and admit defeat especially if the success of the goal is unlikely, but a team facing an overwhelming task needs to energise its members.

The team needs to focus on how it is trying to reach the goal. Are the right people on the team? Are the steps to reach the goal logical and clear? Do they have the correct resources? Consider the consequences of failure…are they acceptable?

When time and resources are constrained, using creative ideas can lead to new approaches and solutions. Brainstorming within the group might lead to a truly unique solution that seems to emerge from nowhere.

When facing challenging odds, courage is the final ingredient to persistently move ahead. Being committed and not letting setbacks shut the team down takes a big effort. Old ideas and outdated methods need to be discarded…it may be the time to shift gears and do things differently.