Stages of Team Formation

Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing

Forming

Team members are introduced and begin getting to know each other
Goals and tasks are established
Generally polite behavior among members

Storming

Members are sizing each other up and may feel more comfortable and voice their views
Members may compete for team roles
May argue about goals or how they should be accomplished
May choose sides against other members

Norming

Once issues are resolved, agreement occurs around team norms and expectations
Trust and common interests are developing
Roles and objectives are clarified and understood

Performing

Members make contributions and are motivated by results
Leadership is shared according to members’ knowledge and skills
Norms and culture are well understood
Tasks get accomplished effectively and efficiently

Self & Role

Role is the position one occupies in social system and is defined by the functions one performs in response to the expectations of the significant members of a social system and ones own expectation from that position.

Expectation of the role senders including the role occupant.
Role is a central concept. Individual and Organization interacts with each other through this role.
Role Space
Role Sets

Role Efficacy

Team making
Self role integration
Proactivity
Creativity
Confrontation
Role Centering
Centrality
Influence
Personal growth
Role Linking
Inter-role linkage
Helping relationship
Super-ordination

Organizational Role Stress

Self-Role distance
Intra-Role conflict
Role stagnation
Inter-Role conflict
Role ambiguity
Role- Expectation conflict
Role overload
Role erosion
Role inadequacy
Personal inadequacy
Role isolation

Understanding Self

Personal Efficacy : It is a general sense of adequacy which is linked to contribution to a person’s effectiveness in working for a task related goal.
Motivation
Achievement
Influence
Control
Affiliation
Extension
Dependence
Self awareness

Understanding Self

Practicality
Externality
Internality
Action orientation
Personal effectiveness
Openness
Receiving feedback
Conflicted self
Integrated self
Perceptiveness

Belbin Team Roles

Belbin Team Roles are used to identify people's behavioural strengths and weaknesses in the workplace.

Team Role Definition- A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way

Teamwork…..Why?

The multi-dimensional and thus multi-discipline nature of many problems requires a team approach. This approach encourages you as staff with complementary skills and competencies, to coordinate your efforts.
By establishing priorities, concentrating financial resources, and combining knowledge and expertise, you can have greater impact on serious problems through your program efforts.
Such efforts can serve to:
1) lighten your work load,
2) reduce duplication of efforts, and
3) produce a result greater than all of your separate efforts.

Teamwork .... What Is It?

Participants in an effective team care about the group's well-being. They skillfully combine appropriate individual talents with a positive team spirit to achieve results.
Regardless of whether the program effort is that of an individual, several individuals or the entire unit, a climate of teamwork can exist.

Teamwork .... What Is It?

A variety of working relationships exist among employees. You might view these relationships as dimensions (levels) of involvement or as a continuum of relationships among agents. As you move along the continuum, the degree of communication, integration and commitment seems to increase.
Greater interpersonal skills are necessary if you are to work together effectively at more complex levels. As your skills develop, more options become available to you regarding the dimension of involvement which you might select for any particular program effort.

Factors that promote good team work

Meetings-with agenda and sufficient time to discuss
Job descriptions with annual review
Knowledge of others' job descriptions and responsibilities
Common criteria for employee evaluation
Openness and willingness to communicate-listen
Trust, Courtesy and Loyalty
Respect for others in spite of professional differences
Respect for professionalism regardless of person's sex, age, and race

Recognizing talents of the others
Giving credit
Recognition
Understanding and supporting others' programs.
Agreed upon priorities
Circulation of pertinent information
Willingness to talk over problems
Adequate facilities and supplies
Cooperation
Sincere caring for others with a respect for privacy
Constructive criticism

Factors that hinder good team work

Lack of understanding of others' jobs and responsibilities
Lack of concern about total staff efforts
Disregard for feelings of others
Unwillingness to compromise
Poor communication
Competition among staff for individual prestige and recognition
Negative and destructive criticism
No involvement in administrative decisions
Lack of leadership
Over- sensitivity
Lack of privacy
Disregard for talents of others
No job descriptions
No opportunities for staff meetings

Gossip, rumors
Putting off decision making
Inequities in facilities and supplies
Lack of trust
Negative and sarcastic remarks
Lack of common goals and philosophy
Disloyalty to staff and organization
No evaluation and/or feedback from supervisors
Limited understanding of total program
Holding a grudge
Poor job attitudes
Uneven work loads
Lack of confidence in fellow workers
Prejudice, racism, sexism

Build the team

Engage members as a team
Spend time on team development – may use Belbin roles, outside consultancy
Meet regularly and frequently for a purpose
Determine and agree team values
Determine and agree team roles – may use Myers-Briggs Questionnaire
Spend time inside and outside work socially
Spoil the team with comfortable surroundings and refreshments
Discuss, determine and agree rewards for good performance
Agree on approach to delegation and empowerment
Promote the team and its work within the agency and partnerships

Teamwork ... How Does It Develop ?

It's important to realize that the development of effective working relationships among staff is a gradual process which requires considerable time and skill.
Number of stages or steps should be developed to have an effective teamwork.

Engage team through work

Delegate and empower appropriately
Promote debate and discussion on where we are, where we want to be, and how we should get there – use brainstorming, lateral thinking
Ensure that all the team has discussed, contributed to and committed itself to the work tasks and objectives
Try to reach consensus decisions
Make sure the combined purpose and importance of the team’s work is understood by everyone Keep everyone informed on progress

Ask Yourself Before Starting: Team building and working in groups

Belief in Teamwork Approach
Do you believe in the value of working together in a team effort?
Do you believe that a team decision or product can be superior to the work of a single individual?
Have you made a personal commitment to work with your colleagues in a team effort?
Has the collection of individuals made a commitment to work together in a team?

2. Resources Available

Do you know every member of the group and what they can offer to the group?
Do you perceive certain individuals as playing only certain roles, having certain skills, and limited knowledge?
Is the group a collection of individuals assembled because each member of the group has a different area of expertise?
Is that expertise accepted by all members of the group?
What are the areas of overlap and thus potential conflict in the areas of expertise?

3. Organization for Task Accomplishment

Does the team take time to establish ground rules for the operation of the team, or is the team anxious to get on with the task?
Has the group agreed upon:
goals and objectives
individual and team timetable
procedures for establishing an agenda
priority of efforts - individual and team
methods of conflict resolution
length of meetings
location of meetings
allocation of resources
leadership requirements

Organization for Task Accomplishment

Does the group understand that any team usually goes through several stages of development before a team spirit emerges?
Do you have enough time - realistic deadlines – to enable you to operate as a team? It takes time for a collection of individuals to become a team.
Has the group designated a team leader? A group of peers can still benefit from a leader. The group can make more progress if they will let someone guide the efforts of the team. A group lacking a formal leader will usually waste much time in a struggle for power among group members.
Does the group take minutes for the meeting? Are accurate notes kept to avoid losing group decisions?
Do you proceed on the basis of specific conclusions and delegation of responsibilities rather than on the basis of general understandings?

4. Maintaining the Team Effort

Does the team have an open climate of trust and respect for all group members and their ideas?
Has the group achieved an appropriate balance between the requirement for group productivity (task) and the satisfaction of individual needs?
Do people in the group avoid breaking into subgroups of trusted friends to share rumors, complain, or form alliances that will affect the productivity of the team?

Maintaining the Team Effort

As a member of the team, do you assume a variety of roles?
Task Roles
Initiating activity, seeking information,
seeking opinion, giving information, giving
opinion, elaborating, coordinating, and
summarizing.
Team Building Roles
Encouraging, standard setting, following
and expressing group feelings.
Task and Team Building Roles
Evaluating, diagnosing, testing for
consensus, mediating, and relieving tension

5. Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution

Do all members of the group have an equal opportunity for participation or do dominant personalities and people with status and power control the participation?
Have you identified your vested interests and the vested interests of other group members that may cause conflict in reaching a group decision?
Are dissenting or minority viewpoints treated with respect?
Is there an effort by the group to understand the reasons behind a dissenting opinion?
Can the group work through differences of opinion and discuss conflicts rather than ignoring them?
Can team members separate criticism of an idea from criticism of the person who had the idea?
Does the group avoid a "wait until next meeting“ attitude toward decision making and conflict resolution?

Decision-Making and Conflict Resolution

Does the team make an effort to understand the problem before finding solutions? Is the team cautious about proceeding on the basis of premature conclusions?
Have problem-solving procedures been identified?

Are all members of the team required to adhere to the group decision? Can individual members "opt out" of the group decision?
What criteria will you use in determining your personal level of acceptance of the team product? Do other members of the team know, understand, and accept the criteria that you are using? Are you really honest about the criteria you are using?
Is the team willing to take the time to reach a totally acceptable decision?

Ensure clarity of definition of key roles and tasks

Develop individual roles
Ensure job descriptions and job plans are up-to-date and accurate
Ensure goals are realistic and achievable

Develop the team and organization

Ensure new staff are induced
Identify individual and team training needs
Ensure personal development plans are produced and implemented
Engage others in wider organizational development matters

Foster a culture of innovation and creativity

Challenge the culture and values of the team and agency
Encourage ‘thinking outside the box’, reframing the problem, and risk taking
Minimize criticism of failure
Reward and publicize innovation and creativity

Managing performance

Ensure staff know the governance and accountability arrangements
Ensure staff know how team and individual performance will be managed
Ensure all staff are appraised annually