Introduction to Team

Building

Presented by
Margo Elliott

Momentum Performance
Solutions

6 September 2001
Team Basics
Performance
Results Diagram from “The
Wisdom of Teams” by
Katzenbach, Smith

Problem
Solving Mutual
Technical Small Number
/function of People
Inter- Individual
personal

Specific Goals
Common Approach
Meaningful Purpose
Collective Work Personal
Products Commitment Growth
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A Team Is...

• A small number of people with

complimentary skills who are committed
to a common purpose, performance goals
and approach, for which they hold
themselves mutually accountable
• Katzenbach, Smith 1993

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A Group Is...

• People working within the same area of

interest or expertise, but whose work
outcomes are not interdependent
• No joint product or service for which the
whole group is responsible
• Relies on individual performance for
results
• Can be very effective

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Why Use Teams?

• Business Point of • Personal Point of

View View
• Flexibility • Greater productivity
• Reduced stress
• Complexity
• Sense of belonging
• Positive Results
• Ownership of work
• Single point of contact
• Clear goals and roles
• Creativity • Climate of trust and
• Synergy encouragement
• Open and honest
communication

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

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Use Teams When...

• Multiple skills, experiences and

judgements are required
• Learning and behavioural change are
desired

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Groups Vs. Teams
• Groups
• Strong, clearly focused
leader
• Individual accountability
• Members are ‘hired hands’
• Members told what to do
• Individual work products
• Opinions, disagreements
divisive
• Individual success or
failure
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• Teams
• Shared leadership roles
• Individual & mutual
accountability
• Members own their work
• Members contribute to
team objectives
• Collective work products
• Opinions, disagreements
encouraged
• Collective success or failure
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Building A Team

• Construct an environment that fosters teamwork

• Select talented people
• Match tasks to skills
• Train to work in teams
• Leverage and multiply individual talent
• Continually develop the team
• Actively manage personnel mismatches

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Characteristics of an
Effective Team
• High success rate
• Agrees on clear, challenging goals
• Has a leader
• Has a mix of people who contribute in different
but complimentary ways
• Balances the task and the process
• Supportive atmosphere
• Learns from experience
• Works and plays together

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Teamwork Requires...

• Good team players

• Effective teaming
• Well managed boundaries

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Critical Teaming Styles

• Contributors
• task oriented
• Collaborators
• goal directed
• Communicators
• focus on process
• Challengers
• raise tough questions

Glenn M. Parker
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Team Development

• Teams progress through four stages of

development
• Forming
• Norming
• Storming
• Performing

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Team Development Stages

• Each stage is marked by distinct needs

and behaviours in the team members
• Progression through the stages is not
necessarily linear
• Teams experience all of the stages at
some time

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Stage 1 - Forming

• Team members’ need

• safety
• to establish themselves
• to figure out the purpose of the team

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Forming

• Observable behaviours
• dependency on the leader
• focus on defining roles, goals and tasks
• enthusiasm
• high expectations
• testing the leader and central figures
• Low task accomplishment

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Stage 2 - Norming

• Team members’ need

• inclusion
• to develop harmony, trust support and
respect
• to develop self-esteem and confidence
• to set implicit and explicit rules

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Norming

• Observable behaviours
• increasing satisfaction
• resolving discrepancies between expectations
and reality
• open communication
• sharing responsibility and control
• using team language and ‘folklore’
• Moderate to high task accomplishment
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Stage 3 - Storming

• Team members’ need

• control
• Observable behaviours
• competition for power and attention
• negative reactions to leader and other
members
• feelings of frustration
• goals, tasks, action plans

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Storming

• Observable behaviours
• discrepancy between hopes and reality
• dissatisfied with dependence on authority
• experiencing polarities: dependence/counter-
dependence
• Some task accomplishment

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Stage 4 - Performing

• Team members’ need

• interconnectedness
• high success rate and productivity
• Observable behaviours
• working collaboratively and interdependently
• sense of team strength
• shared leadership
• sense of belonging and excitement

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Performing

• Observable behaviours
• high confidence in meeting goals
• positive feelings about success
• synergy
• high problem-solving and decision-making
skills
• High task accomplishment

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Factors in Team Success

• Leadership
• Team direction
• clear mission
• clear vision
• Goals and measurements
• Clearly defined roles for team members
• Team operating norms/ground rules

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Factors in Team Success,
cont.

• Interpersonal dynamics
• build trust, communication, sense of ‘team’
early
• Boundary management
• Rewards and recognition, celebration
• Mutual accountability
• Management support

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What Can I Expect?

• Stages of development
• Diverse styles
• concrete/sequential/abstract/random
• communication
• Introvert/Extravert
• task focus, process focus
• Conflict
• Learning

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How Can I Contribute?

• Communicate!
• Meet your commitments
• Participate in planning AS WELL AS
implementation
• Adhere to operating norms
• Address issues as they arise
• Manage conflict

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Resistance Issues

• Personal discomfort and risk

• not comfortable working in a team
• don’t like to take responsibility for another’s
work
• don’t like to depend on others
• don’t like to suffer consequences of others’
mistakes

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What’s In It For Me?

• Learn skills from others on the team

• Practice decision-making and conflict
management skills
• Develop interpersonal skills
• Learn to deal with difficult situations
• Produce a better final project than
you could by yourself

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