Lesson
Nine: Discovering Your
Path To Mastery of
Helping Small Groups Develop -
Desired
Learning Outcomes:
·
Able to describe stages a
group evolves through in their maturity to becoming a team
·
Aware of assessment
instruments to use to help a group identify their priority "gaps" and
develop action plans to eliminate them
Key Concepts:
1.
"Bid for Power" is when a group struggles to decide its
leader and determines ways it will go about doing its business.
2.
"Unresolved" areas of the Team Performance Model - gap areas
that need to be addressed by the group to mature.
3.
"Holding up the mirror" is a phrase used when a team member
uses a observation tool at a team's meeting to help the team look for
opportunities to improve or when team members are asked to fill out a data
gathering form to identify team improvement opportunities (see forms towards
the end of this lesson).
4.
P/D/C/A is an organized way for a team to plan, do, check and act on
issues or concerns it needs to address.
Questions You
Will Be Able To Answer
Ø What is the forming stage of team development?
Ø What is the norming stage?
Ø What is the storming stage?
Ø What is the performing stage?
Ø How can you assist a group to help them move to their next stage in becoming an excellent team?
Introduction
Jesus said:
"Where two or more are gathered together in my name, there I will be
also."
But also there
will be power struggles, "air time" dominators, poor listeners, time
wasters, etc., etc.
How can you as a leader of a
group or member help the group evolve into a fine tuned bunch of people that
really enjoys coming together and accomplishing whatever the group decides to
achieve? That is what the focus of this
lesson is all about.
"Exercise One:
"Best Performing Team I Knew"
Directions:
Think of a team, at work or away from work, that in
your opinion was the best team you ever knew. Consider the qualities and reasons why it was
high performing. What specific behaviors
and practices did you see them using?
What characteristics made them "high performing" and fun to be
part of? List them on a sheet of paper
under the following three headings:
Behaviors:
Practices:
Characteristics:
Now
compare your list to what successful teams have:
1.
A shared goal/mission that
everyone knows and agrees on and is committed to accomplishing.
2.
A climate of trust and
openness.
3.
Open and honest
communication.
4.
A sense of belonging.
5.
Diversity valued as an
asset.
6.
Creativity and risk-taking
are encouraged.
7.
Ability to self-correct.
8.
Members who are
interdependent.
9.
Consensus decision making.
10. Participative leadership.
*Some get stuck in a stage
and some may even slip back to an earlier stage, especially if new people come
into the group or others leave.
FORMING: Relationship
Behavior Task Behavior
Welcome
Aboard Definition
of
Role
Clarification Purpose
Role
Differentiation, Orientation
to Goals,
Recognize
Individual Procedures
Differences Clarification
of Task
Identifying
Inclusion Expectations
Issues:
Who's Aboard, Assess
Team Readiness
Who's
not Close
Supervision
Time
Together as a Team
Team
Readiness: Cautious, feeling suppressed, low conflict, few outbursts, goal
understanding and acceptance low and fuzzy, intense listening, low disclosure,
decision making dominated by active members, leadership accepted or tested by
members, tentative.
STORMING: Relationship Behavior Task Behavior
Challenging the leader Revisit
expectations
Testing
boundaries Check
for understanding
Expression
of tension, frustration Renegotiating
expectations
Defensiveness Problem
identification
Team
Readiness: Sub-grouping, overt/covert criticism, disagreements between
subgroups, goal understanding and acceptance has misperceptions, fought over,
similarities within subgroups not as great as perceived, suppression of
conflict, decision making is fragmented, deadlocks, to team leader by default
or dominated by most powerful or loudest, power struggles over leadership,
jockeying for position and control.
NORMING: Relationship Behavior Task Behavior
Resolving differences Sharing
information and
Blend
of harmony and influence
confrontation Focused
problem solving
Giving
and receiving Shared
decision making
feedback Developing
routines
Honest
disclosure Taking
risks
Team
Readiness: Dealing with differences, opening up true feelings, straight
confrontation, goal understanding and acceptance is being worked through and
agreed on by most, listening and sharing is reasonably good, acceptance of
different viewpoints, decision making based on individual expertise, often by
leader in consultation with team members, leader is generally supported and
individual differences are acknowledged.
PERFORMING: Relationship
Behavior Task Behavior
Sub-grouping where appropriate Management of team's resources
Confronting
with support Mid-course corrections
Ownership
of results by team Maintaining momentum
Celebrating
successes Establishing
Goal
attainment
Team
Readiness: Shared responsibility, open expression, disagreements resolved
promptly, commitment to overarching goal or purpose, listening and sharing is
rapid and direct, decision making by consensus, whatever it takes collectively
or individually, leadership distributed among members according to expertise.
STRATEGIES FOR HELPING A TEAM
EVOLVE THROUGH EACH STAGE
WHAT TO DO AT STAGE ONE?
(TURNING CRISIS INTO
¨
Get to know each other. Spend time learning as much as possible about
each member of the team; their likes and dislikes, strengths, weaknesses,
hopes, skills, what they'd like to learn, what they're interested in, what
they'd like to be doing in the future.
¨
The team needs to discuss
and reach agreement on its ground rules for operating, decide its mission and
goals, gather feedback, and examine its progress as a team.
¨
Team members need to agree
on the kind of climate they want to create in the group and commit to building
that climate together.
¨
Everyone has to have
patience and faith that the team will gel and productivity, which usually dips
during this start-up phase because of new things to be learned, will eventually
rise.
¨
Everyone needs to understand
that trust does not develop overnight.
Everyone needs to work on building trust with each other by sharing
honest thoughts and feelings and developing clear expectations of each other.
¨
A lot of communication is
needed (talking and listening).
¨
Leadership needs to reassure
everyone of their commitment (over-and-over) by communication and
"walk-the-talk."
¨
The following training is
recommended: communication (especially listening), consensus decision making,
team building, group dynamics, effective meetings, and conflict resolution;
leader needs additional training in facilitating meetings.
WHAT TO DO AT STAGE TWO:
FROM DEPENDENCE TO INTERDEPENDENCE
q
As the team becomes less
leader-centered and more able to make decisions and solve problems on its own,
recognition and celebration of success is important to support further
independence.
q
The leader needs to pull
back and delegate more.
q
People tend to revert back
to the old way of working. This
regression and dependence on the leader is natural, but leaders need to avoid
the temptation to act in the old ways and give team members support and
training needed to take on more shared leadership, responsibility, and
ownership.
q
Increase the team's knowledge
by supplying more important information and training
TRAINING
NEEDED AT STAGE TWO
ü
Cross-training so that tasks
can be rotated and shared.
ü
Interpersonal skills
training should be continued as member strengthen their abilities to
problem-solve, make decisions, make improvements, set goals, handle team
meetings, resolve conflicts, and coach each other.
WHAT TO DO AT STAGE THREE:
MATURITY AND CONTINUOUS LEARNING?
§
Develop opportunities for team members to grow and develop.
§
Revise systems - rewards, appraisal, etc.
§
Measure, track and provide feedback so the team can self-correct.
§
New goals need to be continually developed to challenge the team.
§
Provide more information.
§
Encourage new, innovative, risky ideas.
§
The team should never become stagnant, but constantly find new ways to
improve its work processes.
TRAINING
NEEDED AT STAGE THREE
·
Skills needed for changes happening to the team.
·
Continuous improvement training -- awareness, knowledge and skills in
the plan/do/check/act process.
·
Ask team members what training they want/feel they need.
GAP ASSESSMENT PERIODICALLY IS BENEFICIAL FOR A TEAM TO CONTINUALLY IMPROVE
(Non-Mature
Team)
When
a team is still fairly new or not very mature, and the level of trust may be
low between members, the following Team-Building Assessment will help the team
identify gaps that it needs to work on together to eliminate.
(Make copies of this assessment for each team member to fill out
individually)
Team-Building
Assessment
Directions:
Team members should fill out individually.
Select the number that best describes where you believe the Team is
"NOW" in regard to each of the items.
Scale: 0 = Never, 1 = Some
of the Time, 2 = Most of the Time, 3 = Always (If an item does not apply,
do not answer it.)
1.
Trust between team members.
2.
Members trust team leader.
3.
Team leader trusts team
members.
4.
Team members listen to each
other.
5.
Team leader is a good
listener.
6.
Team members openly and
honestly communicate their thoughts and feelings.
7.
Team listens to my ideas.
8.
Team uses my ideas.
9.
Team receives the
information it needs to be effective.
10. Team receives training it
needs.
11. Team meetings are effective.
-
Time is well spent.
-
Problems are discussed.
-
Problems are solved.
-
Agreed upon actions are taken following the meeting.
-
New ideas are encouraged.
-
Everyone attends.
-
No one dominates.
-
Consensus is reached.
-
Feedback is used so the team can self-correct.
12. Everyone on the team knows
the team's mission and goals.
13. Everyone on the team agrees
with and supports the team's mission and goals.
14. The team is productive.
15. The team is very
participative (everyone is involved in making consensus decisions).
16. Everyone supports decisions
once they are made.
17. Everyone supports the team
leader's decisions.
18. Conflict is constructive.
19. There is no "group
think" (people agreeing just to go along with majority and not make
waves).
20. The team feels responsible
for carrying out decisions.
21. There is little or no
win-lose competition between members.
22. Team members understand each
other's goals and problems.
23. Team members get help they
need from each other.
24. Team members get help they
need from support people.
25. Team members
stick-up for each other.
26. Team members stick up for
team leader.
27. I feel free to take risks.
28. I feel close to the team
members.
29. I fell close to the team
leader.
30. I feel productive.
31. I feel rewarded for my work.
32. I feel recognized for my
efforts.
33. The team receives the
recognition it deserves from upper leadership.
34. The team leader:
-
Teaches
-
Coaches
-
Counsels
35. Team members:
-
Teach each other.
-
Coach each other.
-
Counsel each other.
36. The team gets the time it
needs to develop itself and solve
problems.
37. I feel I'm learning and
growing by being part of this team.
38. I feel I can influence the
team.
39. We are constantly improving
things.
40. We are constantly learning.
41. Problems between team
members are confronted and addressed by the team.
42. The team has fun together.
43. I feel motivated.
44. I feel committed.
Directions: After each team member has completed the "Team-Building Assessment,"
ask everyone to:
1.
Indicate how they scored
each item.
2.
Discuss ones that received
high and low scores.
3.
As a team brainstorm*
actions you feel should be taken to build the team.
4.
After you've generated a
list, prioritize it by deciding as a team which one or two things you want to
do now, which later, etc.
*Guidelines
for Brainstorming:
1.
Call out anything that pops
into your mind by going around the table - ones without an idea can say pass.
2.
Put everything said on a
flip chart (if something is repeated note the number of times by the item).
3.
No discussion of any item
(this will be done when brainstorming is done).
4.
No judgment.
5.
Silence is O.K. (just wait
patiently without saying anything and more ideas might come forth).
6.
Adding ideas onto other
people's ideas is fine and should be encouraged - hitchhiking is desired.
7.
Be creative (anything goes -
the more ideas the better the chance for a more quality idea to emerge).
8.
Have fun!
(Mature Team)
When
a team is fairly mature and there is a solid trust level between members, a
more appropriate "gap assessment"
inventory and process using the Team Performance Model is recommended to help
the team go to a higher level of performance working together.
First,
look over the following slides that will give you an overview of the Team
Performance Model. It will help you to
understand the unresolved and resolved areas which the team inventory will
measure to help your team identify its priority gaps.
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
Slide 11
Slide 12
Slide 13
Slide 14
Slide 15
Slide 16
Slide 17
Slide 18
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
The
next slides discuss the process used to identify priority team gaps. Review the slides and than have each team
member fill out the team inventory that follows them. Have one team member compile the scoring for
the next team building meeting. Discuss each item on the summary report. It is recommended to let individual team
members look over the summary of the scoring on the Team Inventory prior to the
meeting.
Slide 1
Slide 2
Slide 3
Slide 4
Slide 5
Slide 6
Slide 7
Slide 8
Slide 9
Slide 10
TEAM INVENTORY
Instructions: This inventory
consists of seventy statements that you are asked to agree or disagree with,
and two general questions. The seventy statements
describe the operations, interactions, or effectiveness of teams at various
stages of development; for each, you are asked to agree or disagree that it is
an accurate description of your team.
Some of the items are about your individual role or participation in the
work of your team; other items concern the operation of your group
overall. In either case, your response
should be your personal view or opinion about the applicability of the item to
you or your team, and not what you think other members of your team might
think.
The
choice of answers is as follows:
Strongly Disagree: The statement is completely contrary to our
actual situation; it is totally false.
Disagree: The statement is not an accurate
description of the actual situation; it is more false than true.
Not Sure: The statement is irrelevant or is
accurate in some
ways but not in others; or I'm
just not sure whether to
agree or disagree.
Agree: The statement is a somewhat
relevant and accurate
description of my team or my
relationship to it.
Strongly
Agree: The statement is a very
relevant and accurate
description of my team or my
relationship to it.
Two
additional ratings are requested at the end, with instructions given along with
the item.
1.
The purpose of our team is
clear to me.
2.
Some people on our team will
take advantage of you if you're not careful.
3.
We have a clear set of
goals.
4.
It often seems that members
of our team are pulling in different directions.
5.
We fly by the seat of our
pants too much.
6.
People on our team seem to
be in the right place at the right time to help one another.
7.
We get plenty of positive
feedback from our team leader.
8.
This team doesn't make good
use of my skills and expertise.
9.
I trust the people on our
team.
10. I don't think our team's
goals are what they should be.
11. We share a commitment to a
common vision.
12. The members of our group
have a clear understanding of who is to do what, where, and when.
13. At times when we are working
the hardest it seems almost effortless.
14. Our team doesn't get the
recognition it deserves.
15. I'm glad to be part of this team.
16. Some members of our team
have hidden agendas.
17. Our leader doesn't seem
clear about what our team has to do.