bob@bobgriffiths.com What would you like to get out of this evening? Decide on your top three objectives by completing the sentence. “I want to know how to….”
bob@bobgriffiths.com What is a team? • A group of individuals who are working together to achieve a shared goal • Have some authority to manage their own work and internal processes • Are dependent on each other to achieve the goal.
bob@bobgriffiths.com Types of team • Production and service teams • Product and development teams • Advice and involvement • Crews such as airline crews • Action and negotiation teams • Virtual teams
bob@bobgriffiths.com From the Alien perspective • Is it clear what these people are doing here? • Do they seem to know why they are in the meeting? • Are they happy to be here? • Is something being accomplished here or are they going round in circles? • Do they seem engaged and making progress in a direction or is the meeting more of a ‘ritual’?
bob@bobgriffiths.com Definition of a Ritual A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value, which is prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community.
bob@bobgriffiths.com The Crunch Questions Using a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being complete agreement give a rating against the following statements: 1. I can describe the purpose of my team in a meaningful way 2. I agree that team members tell the truth to each other 3. I know how the success of my team will be measured 4. I agree that team members hold each other accountable 5. I believe that team members trust each other 6. I would choose to be part of this team if I had a free choice
bob@bobgriffiths.com How to ensure a Team does not succeed • Have long boring meetings. Insist everyone attends especially are not needed. Ensure all meetings start and finish late • Encourage gossip and personal attacks about everybody but particularly the leader • Make sure important information is kept to as few people as possible. Copy inconsequential information to everyone
bob@bobgriffiths.com How to ensure a Team does not succeed – contd. • Create confusion as to the purpose of the team • Don’t tell team members how their success will be judged. Motivate purely by fear. • Rebuke team members frequently in public or just freeze them out. Rarely give praise. • Set up systems so that some people in the team win and others lose • Have meetings in unpleasant environments
bob@bobgriffiths.com How to ensure a Team does not succeed – contd. • Allow tasks to go unfinished or finished late with no explanation. Never record who is responsible for tasks or a time scale for completion • Create competition between team members • Ensure that no one tells the truth about how things are going especially upwards • Keep all the authority to make decisions to yourself.
bob@bobgriffiths.com Handling Conflict effectively • Examine your own attitudes towards conflict and if you are not confident about dealing with it learn the skills to address it positively • Establish team rules for handling conflict successfully • Agree with your team how members will behave when conflict breaks out.
bob@bobgriffiths.com Addressing lack of Commitment • Review commitments at the end of each meeting and ensure all team members are aligned • Make it clear to team members that it is ok to disagree but after a certain point the team still expects commitment to action. Are you on the bus?
bob@bobgriffiths.com Supporting Team Members in being accountable • Explicitly communicate about goals and standards of behaviour • Regularly discuss performance versus goals and standards • Uphold the standards the team has set.
bob@bobgriffiths.com Simple Rules for Complex Teamworking in 24/7 world • Focus on communication • Make effective use of technology • Develop flexible leaders with a range of skills • Share the leadership across the team • Provide support from HR and top management Source – “Leading complex teams” 2006 Ashridge Business School.
bob@bobgriffiths.com And finally… • If you would like electronic copies of the slides contact me at bob@bobgriffiths.com or leave your card • If you would like more information about ensuring change happens in your team or to talk about your particular situation contact me on 0207 787 8599 or 07931 851 033 for a no obligation discussion.