|
|
|
| |
 |
 |
| |
CREATING AN EXTRAORDINARY TEAM
Excerpted from Team Basics by Kristin J.
Arnold |
| |
Are you part of a team? If you play on
a sports team, work with a bunch of people, or simply come together
for family dinner...that’s a team! Whenever you bring two
or more people together for a desired outcome, you have a team.
All of these teams have an equal potential to be an extraordinary
team — a high performance team that accomplishes the desired
results quickly, efficiently and effectively. An extraordinary
team has the following characteristics:
Clear Goals. Everyone understands the purpose
and direction of the team. Everyone pulls in the same direction
for success.
Shared Roles. Team task and maintenance roles are clearly
defined and easily shared between team members.
A key shared role is the team leader. The “leader”
shares the responsibility and the glory, is supportive and fair,
creates a climate of trust and openness and is a good coach and
teacher. The leadership role shifts at various times and, in the
most productive teams, it is difficult to identify the leader
during a casual observation.
Open and Clear Communication. Poor listening,
poor speaking, and the inability to provide constructive feedback
can be major roadblocks to team progress. For success, team members
must listen for meaning, speak with clarity, engage in dialogue
and discussion, and provide continual feedback through the communication
process.
Effective Decision Making. The team is aware
of and uses many methods to arrive at its decisions. Consensus
is often touted as the best way to make decisions — and
it is an excellent method — but the team should also use
command decision, expert decision, majority vote, minority control,
and command decision with input. Depending on the time available
and the amount of commitment and resources required, a successful
team selects the appropriate decision making method for each decision.
Valued Diversity. Members are valued for the
unique contributions they bring to the team. A diversity of thinking,
ideas, methods, experiences, and opinions is encouraged. Whether
you are creative or logical, fast or methodical, team members
recognize each other’s individual talents and tap their
expertise — both job-related and other skills they bring
to the team. Flexibility and sensitivity are key elements in appreciating
these differences.
Conflict Managed Constructively. Problems are
not swept under the rug. Some may compete to have their opinions
heard, while others may accommodate the stronger team members
or avoid the conflict altogether. A successful team has discussed
its philosophy about how to manage conflict and sees well-managed
conflict as a healthy way to create new ideas and to solve difficult
problems.
A Cooperative Climate. The atmosphere encourages
participation, trust and openness. Members of the team are equally
committed and involved. They know they need each others’
skills, knowledge and expertise to produce something together
that they could not do separately. There is a sense of belonging
and a willingness to make things work for the good of the whole
team. People are comfortable enough with each other to be creative,
take risks and make mistakes. It also means you hear plenty of
laughter and the team members enjoy what they are doing.
This book will take you through the process of creating and building
an extraordinary team.
|
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
|