a useful guide to - chartered insurance institute · four pairs of filters which are either on or...

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork

Confidence through Development

www.pansophix.com T: 0845 260 2820

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



A Useful Guide to

Teamwork

Published by Pansophix Online

Sterling House, 10 Wheatcroft Business Park,

Landmere Lane, Edwalton, Nottingham, NG12 4DG

Written by Berry Winter and Debbie Moore

This edition published February 2014

Copyright © Pansophix Ltd. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-909025-11-0

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Contents

Introduction - What is Teamwork? 5

What do we mean by a Team? 7

So what is the difference between a group and a team? 8

From Individuals to Team 9

Teams are a bunch of individuals, aren't they?

Understanding your Team Mix

o Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

o Belbin Team Roles

o PRISM

Understanding your Working Styles

How do Teams evolve? 21

John Adair’s Action-Centred Leadership for Teamwork

Bruce Tuckman's 4-stage Theory

Different Types of Teams 31

Developing a High-performing Team 35

Is your Team working?

Characteristics of a High-performing Team

The Hierarchy of Functionality

Contracting

What is Emotional Intelligence

Team Communications

The Importance of Rapport and Empathy

SWOB your Team

Sick Teams

Is Your Team Working? 55

Summary 57

Action Plan 58

Team Exercises 59

References and Further Reading 62

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



A Useful Guide to Teamwork

Who this Useful Guide is aimed at:

This guide is aimed at:

Team Members;

New Team Leaders and Managers or those who wish to brush up on their

skills.

How to use this Useful Guide:

This guide is in a workbook format with exercises throughout the book. You can

start at the beginning and work your way through systematically or dip in and

out when you want to focus on a particular issue.

After working through this workbook you will be able to:

Understand the difference between a group, a team and teamwork

Recognise the different stages that each team must travel through

Be aware of different types of teams and their challenges

Identify and build high performing teams

Understand what happens when teams "get sick" and what you can do to

improve them

Links to other Useful Guides

You might also be interested in reading: A Useful Guide to Dealing with Difficult

Behaviour and A Useful Guide to Resolving Conflict.

There are a number of exercises in this Useful Guide. Where you see

this symbol is your opportunity to think about the information

discussed and capture your own thoughts and approaches.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Introduction

What is Teamwork?

Teamwork is defined in Webster's New World Dictionary as "a joint action by a

group of people, in which each person subordinates their individual interests and

opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group."

One of the most important things to remember about a team is that it is made

up of a group of individuals. Everything starts with the individuals, and getting

them together to work as a team can sometimes be easy but more often is a

challenge.

This book is about teamwork, and includes how to move from a bunch of

individuals to a high performing team, and some of the steps along the way.

What can we learn from geese?

Why do geese fly in formation?

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift that helps the birds behind.

Whenever a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and

resistance of trying to fly alone, and quickly gets back into formation to take

advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front.

When the lead goose gets tired, it rotates back into formation and another goose

takes over the lead. The geese at the back of the formation honk from behind to

encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



When a goose gets sick or wounded, it honks for help and other geese drop out

of formation and follow it down to help protect it. They stay with the sick goose

until it is able to fly again. Then they launch another ‘V’ formation to catch up

with the flock.

By flying in a 'V' formation, the whole flock adds over 70% greater flying range

than if each bird flew alone.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



What do we mean by a team?

Let's take a step back. Understanding the difference between a group and a

team is an important precursor to thinking about what is needed to move toward

a high performing team. As a manager or team member, you may be working

with people in different locations and on different projects, but it is the outcomes

required and the way these outcomes are achieved that determines whether a

group or a team is the appropriate working structure.

Answer the following questions to review whether you are part of a

team or a group.

- Leadership vs. management

Think about the goals you need to achieve. How much do your colleagues

contribute to your outcomes against these goals?

How are the roles and responsibilities divided up between you and your

colleagues?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



So what is the difference between a group and a team?

Firstly, let’s consider a structure where the individuals are independent of each

other. They may be dependent on the manager for the work that they do and

do not need to rely on work with colleagues to achieve their outcomes. An

example of this would be where a supervisor allocates specific tasks, and each

person works alone to complete these tasks. This would be a work group.

A slightly different form of this would be where a manager is responsible for

people who work on their own projects and manage their own work. This would

also be a work group.

A team is characterised by interdependence. In a team, the members work

together to achieve common objectives. They may have different roles and

responsibilities but they need to work together to achieve the best results. In a

team, the members aim for synergy – that is to say that the team members

together can achieve better results than each individual could on their own.

Now review the questions that you answered on the previous page. Do you lead

a group or a team?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



From Individuals to Team

Teams are a bunch of individuals, aren't they?

There has been a massive earthquake. A first response team is being

hastily put together. Answer the following questions.

A first response team will need people who are good in a crisis. People who can

make quick decisions, organise others and take control. They need to have great

tenacity and focus and be action-orientated.

It is now recognised that, whilst a humanitarian crisis may need people who are

highly caring and supportive, individuals with these characteristics do not always

make the best team members for first response teams. They are, however,

extremely important once the first response teams have completed their role.

What is the primary role of the team?

What is the secondary role of the team?

What sort of team members would you be looking for in your team?

Is there anyone you would prefer not to have? Why?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



A new orchestra is being formed. Now answer the following questions.

In an orchestra you need a mix of skills, but they are more likely to be creative

and disciplined. They will need to be good at detail and have excellent listening

skills to work well with the rest of their team. This team is less likely to need

independent thinkers, and they must be good at following the direction of the

conductor.

What is the primary role of team?

What is the secondary role of team?

What sort of team members would you be looking for in your team?

Is there anyone you would prefer not to have? Why?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Understanding your Team Mix

All teams need a mix of personality/behaviour types to be effective, although

that mix may vary, depending on the purpose of the team and the desired

outcomes.

So what are the different types of individuals that might make up a team? There

are a number of different models which look at individual personality or

behaviours and the impact that they may have in teams. There are over 200

different models in the UK alone. Some of the best known are:

Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI)

The mother and daughter team, Katherine Cook Briggs and Isabel Briggs Myers

started to explore what they called personality difference filters. They settled on

four pairs of filters which are either on or off. These are: (I) Introvert or (E)

Extrovert; (N) Intuition or (S) Sensing; (T) Thinking or (F) Feeling; (J)

Judgement or (P) Perception. These four pairs of preferences can then be

brought together to look at the interplay between them, creating 16 different

personality types.

More information can be found at: http://www.myersbriggs.org/

Belbin Team Roles

Meredith Belbin studied team roles and his research led him to create 9 team

roles that individuals play to a greater or lesser degree. Each role does not

exclude the other roles but may be stronger or weaker in terms of individual

preference and ability.

http://www.myersbriggs.org/

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The roles are:

Team Role Contribution

Plant Creative, imaginative, free-thinking.

Generates ideas and solves difficult

problems.

Resource Investigator Outgoing, enthusiastic, communicative.

Explores opportunities and develops

contacts.

Co-ordinator Mature, confident, identifies talent.

Clarifies goals. Delegates effectively.

Shaper Challenging, dynamic, thrives on

pressure. Has the drive and courage to

overcome obstacles.

Monitor Evaluator Sober, strategic and discerning. Sees

all options and judges accurately.

Teamworker Co-operative, perceptive and

diplomatic. Listens and averts friction.

Implementer Practical, reliable, efficient. Turns ideas

into actions and organises work that

needs to be done.

Completer Finisher Painstaking, conscientious, anxious.

Searches out errors. Polishes and

perfects.

Specialist Single-minded, self starting, dedicated.

Provides knowledge and skills that are

in short supply.

Each role also has "allowable" weaknesses.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Teams work best when there is a balance of primary roles and when team

members know their roles, work to their strengths and actively manage

weaknesses.

To achieve the best balance, there should be:

One Co-ordinator or Shaper (not both) as leader

A Plant to stimulate ideas

A Monitor/Evaluator to maintain honesty and clarity

One or more Implementer, Team Worker, Resource Investigator or

Completer/Finisher to make things happen

You can find more information about Belbin’s Team Roles theory and purchase

the Team Roles Inventory at: http://www.belbin.com/

PRISM

PRISM Personal Performance Mapping is a sophisticated, online, neuroscience-

based instrument specifically designed to identify the behavioural preferences

that directly relate to personal relationships and work performance.

PRISM provides three distinct profiles, or ‘maps’, of a person’s behaviour: how

they naturally prefer to behave; the extent to which they feel it necessary to

modify that behaviour on occasions to achieve key objectives, and the overall

pattern of behaviour that they tend to use most of the time.

It can create team maps and match a team with a team benchmark. It also has

a team strengths measurement facility which measures a team’s performance as

well as the quality of interpersonal relationships within the team.

You can find more information about and how to access the prism instrument at:

http://www.prismbrainmapping.com/default.aspx

http://www.belbin.com/

http://www.prismbrainmapping.com/default.aspx

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Using one or more of these tools can be a great way to find out your own

preferences and the preferences of others in your team. They can help you to

understand the contribution each team member does, can and should be

making, and also where there are any gaps in your team which may account for

things "slipping through the net".

Understanding your Working Styles

There are a number of different ways in which you can help a team to

understand each other better, and as a manager learn how to support your team

members in the best way possible. One of these is to look at their working

styles.

The concept of working styles was developed by Julie Hay and was based on an

original concept of drivers from Taibi Kahler, a Transactional Analyst and

psychotherapist. Kahler’s focus was on the downsides of each behaviour pattern;

he noticed that when under stress these behaviours become compulsive, and it

appears that we are ‘driven’ to follow them – even when they are not helping us

to achieve our aims. When this happens, these behaviours are known as

Drivers.

Julie Hay, a Transactional Analyst working with organisations, realised that the

behaviours also have benefits, and that when we have acceptable levels of

stress they show themselves as working styles – ways in which we think,

approach our work and relate to others.

Where do our Working Styles/Drivers come from?

When we are growing up, we are focused on our need for love, attention and

affirmation. We look to our parental figures, and draw conclusions from what

they say to us and how we are treated. We also draw conclusions from what

happens to us – our experiences. From these conclusions we make decisions

about ourselves, others and the world, and we learn the best ways to satisfy our

needs. These patterns of behaviour become our working styles, and are a key

part of our frame of reference.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Once established, we repeat these behaviours as they are ‘the best way we

know how.’ Usually this is acceptable, but when under stress we are likely to do

more of them. The trouble then becomes that we can never quite do enough of

the behaviour to meet our own expectations and the behaviour becomes too

dominant.

The Five Working Styles

The five working styles are:

Hurry Up

Be Perfect

Please People

Be Strong

Try Hard

Each of us will probably display all of these at some point, depending on the

situation and the level of stress we are under. However, for most of us there

will probably be two that show themselves more frequently or more clearly. One

of these may be our primary behaviour pattern with another showing up as

secondary. Our working styles show up in our language, body language,

behaviour and thinking. By reviewing our thinking and behaviour from time to

time, especially when we are experiencing stress, we can avoid the problems

that each style may bring.

Hurry Up

People who have a Hurry Up working style will probably work

quickly and get a lot done. They are likely to be seen as

results-driven, energetic and able to thrive under the

pressure of short deadlines. They often look for shortcuts in

what they do to save time and will juggle lots of activities.

In meetings, they may want to rush through things and appear bored or

impatient if they think things are moving too slowly.

‘Hurry Ups’ may delay starting some things until the deadline is near (because

there is always something else to do!). As a result, they may make mistakes or

seem to be always ‘chasing their tails’. With others they may come across as

impatient and unwilling to spend time to get to know them or build relationships.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



What you may see with a ‘Hurry Up’ is someone who speaks quickly and uses

rapid and energetic hand gestures.

Be Perfect

‘Be Perfects’ tend to value accuracy and attention to detail and

will be concerned with getting things right first time. They will

probably be people who prepare well for things - to the extent

that they spend a lot of time checking. They like things to be

well organised.

This attention to detail may be a problem when it gets in the way of meeting

deadlines or when these exacting standards are applied to things that don’t need

it. Sometimes ‘Be Perfects’ may appear overly critical of others.

What you might hear with a ‘Be Perfect’ are an even, steady voice tone, using

qualified statements such as ‘exactly’, and adding additional information into

sentences.

Please People

‘Please People’ like to get along with other people.

They want to build good relationships and will put a lot

of thought and effort into trying to meet the needs of

those they interact with. In meetings, they will

probably be the ones who try to draw others into the

discussions and take account of all opinions.

They can appear unassertive, however, as they are likely to subordinate their

own views and ideas to those of others. Sometimes it can be hard to identify

what they really want or need because they may just be saying what they think

you want to hear! You may hear a ‘Please People’ using qualified statements

such as "sort of".

They may put their points across by using questions rather than making

statements, and they are often found helping others out.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Be Strong

‘Be Strongs’ value endurance and will appear to cope well

with difficult situations. They are often the ones who are

seen as reliable because they can think logically and

problem-solve when others are starting to panic.

They can be seen as a bit emotionally detached but this

can help them in dealing objectively with some challenging situations. They

come across as calm, even-tempered and therefore predicable (in a good way).

They may be unwilling to ask for help however, which could mean that they

soldier on and become overloaded. They can also be very self-critical and do a

lot of ‘should-ing’ over themselves (e.g. ”I should have...”). There is also a

danger that others see them as too detached.

‘Be Strongs’ often have an upright posture and will often use short sentences

which they deliver in a somewhat monotone voice tone.

Try Hard

‘Try Hards’ are the experimenters. They like to try

new things and will tackle them with initial

enthusiasm. They are often the ones who get new

projects and ideas off the ground and who volunteer

to take new things on. They are also able to consider

things from different angles and perspectives, which helps with problem-solving

and with seeing the implications of different courses of action.

On the downside, ‘Try Hards’ may spread themselves too thinly and get

distracted, which means that they struggle to finish things off. They may have a

tendency to make tasks bigger than they need to be (another way of avoiding

finishing things off).

‘Try Hards’ might have quite a tense sounding voice, and will use phrases such

as ‘I will try to…’

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The Implications of Working Styles for Teams

What might be the benefits of knowing your working styles in

helping you and your team to be more effective?

From the descriptions given, what do you think your primary working

style is?

Now think about your working style and consider what implications this

might have for how you lead your team.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Take each of the other working styles in turn and write down some

potential difficulties you might have working with them. In the final

column, write down what action you can take to overcome these

difficulties. Remember to include working with others who have the

same style as you. This might create its own challenges!

My primary Working Style is………………………………………………………………………………

Potential difficulties

working with this style

Actions I will take to

overcome these

Hurry Up

Be Perfect

Please

People

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Potential difficulties

working with this style

Actions I will take to

overcome these

Be Strong

Try Hard

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



How do Teams evolve?

In this section we are going to look at two of the best known models of team

development and growth, and the role that the team leader plays in this process.

John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership for Teamwork

John Adair's Action-Centred Leadership Task-Team-Individual model is about the

leader's need to balance the three elements within a team for any situation.

The model adapts extremely well for Teamworking. Whether you are leading the

team or a part of it, you should always be aware of how to balance the three

elements effectively.

When using this in your own team situation, think about the aspects of each

element necessary for successful outcomes, and incorporate the relevant factors

shown below into your own model for success.

Your responsibilities for achieving the TASK are to:

have a clear understanding of the aims and vision for the group, purpose,

and direction;

understand your role in achieving the task;

where appropriate:

o define the activity (the task) to meet the aims and objectives

o identify resources, people, processes, systems and tools

o create the plan to achieve the task - deliverables, measures,

timescales, strategy and tactics

o take action to deliver the task

o report on progress towards the group's aim;

maintain the task’s integrity.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Your responsibilities to the TEAM are to:

work to expected standards of performance and behaviour;

be open to the culture and style of the group, and challenge where

appropriate;

maintain the focus on objectives;

be open to being a part of resolving any group conflict;

respect differences but develop team-working and co-operation;

work with agreed team roles and objectives;

maintain the group's integrity.

Your responsibilities as an INDIVIDUAL are to:

understand your own strengths and weaknesses in skills, personality and

needs;

understand the team members as individuals - personality, skills,

strengths, needs, aims and fears;

treat differences as positive, adding to the skills within the team;

assist and support individuals - plans, problems, challenges, highs and

lows;

give recognition and praise to individuals - acknowledge effort and good

work;

maintain your integrity.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Thinking specifically about your work or a project that you are

working on at the moment (or have planned), what are your

responsibilities to:

The Team:

The Task:

Yourself:

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The effectiveness of a team will be affected by its stage of development. A

newly formed team is unlikely to be effective immediately. The team needs to

pay attention to their tasks (what they are trying to do) and their relationships

(how they work together), if they are to be successful. This is an ongoing

process but a number of stages have been identified.

Bruce Tuckman’s 4-stage Theory

Probably the best known model of team progression is Bruce Tuckman's 4-stage

theory: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. Originally espoused in a

short article in 1965, it covers the four key stages that a team can experience,

and the management support that is needed at each stage. Tuckman later

added a 5th stage, Adjourning, in 1977.

Some teams may take longer to move through the stages than others but there

does appear to be a sequence.

Let's look at the 4 initial stages first:

Dr Bruce W. Tuckman PhD

Forming - Clarifying team’s mission. Needing to find a place and establish

oneself.

This first stage represents the situation when a group of individuals are

brought together to form a team. There is a period of uncertainty in

which team members are trying to assess their new situation and how

they relate to their new team colleagues.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



This involves getting to grips with what the team is meant to accomplish -

the look and feel of a successful outcome. At this stage, members of the

team will be looking at the task and roles involved, processes to be

followed and standards expected, resources needed and potential

constraints. They are more likely to be dependent on an authority figure

for support and guidance.

Team members are also assessing each other to try and discover what

kind of behaviour is expected and who fits where. They are careful not to

offend each other.

A successful outcome of this stage results in members beginning to

respect each other and the contribution that they bring.

Storming - Feeling confusion and dissatisfaction. Uncertainty around goals and

tasks. Can feel incompetent and negative about the leader. Competing for

power or attention.

In this stage, conflict can appear between team members.

Individuals can struggle to find where they fit into the overall team effort

and to identify their own contribution. They may be unhappy about the

demands of the task, and make suggestions about different approaches

and solutions.

Conflict may arise over who should have control or influence within the

team. Members are still trying to assert their own point of view and

independence. Cliques may start to form. The leader must determine

how to resolve conflicts and whether certain team members are

dominating others.

A successful outcome of this stage is that the team form a clearer

definition of roles, relationships and authority within the team.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Norming - Trust and support developing. Sharing feedback, responsibility and

control. Developing team language. Strong sense of group.

This is a period in which there is more openness, and exchange of ideas

and opinions about the work activities happen more readily. There is a

readiness to listen and recognise the views of other members.

The team identity becomes more important and members increasingly

identify themselves as being part of a team. Close relationships and trust

develop, and team members are more supportive of one another.

Consensus and conventions about "how things work round here" and how

members choose to work together begin to develop. This leads to less

conflict and greater harmony.

A successful outcome of this stage is agreement within the team on its

purpose, roles and relationships, standards and rules of behaviour.

Performing - Sense of collaboration and confidence. Creativity soars. Feeling

team strength. Sharing leadership. Positive about success. Performing at a

high level.

At this stage, team members have developed a clear understanding who

they are, who does what, the tasks that need to be completed, how to

accomplish them.

Communication is free and open, and there is co-operation and flexibility.

The team and its energy are focused on achieving its purpose with a wide

variety of solutions being offered. They have agreed ways of dealing with

divergent points of view, and there is little conflict. Formal leadership is

less obvious.

A successful outcome of this stage is where the team approaches tasks to

meet goals, targets, standards and deadlines in a positive and productive

way, and to respond constructively to any opportunities and problems that

arise.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Which stage would you describe your team at now and why?

Team Leadership Styles

For each of the four stages, a different leadership style is recommended. This

means that a leader needs to be flexible enough to both recognise the stages

and be able to employ the different leadership styles.

Forming: When a team first comes together, a more directional style of

leadership is often required. Team members may need to be given clear

instructions on what they are expected to do and achieve. For new teams that

are not co-located, this is an important stage because when team members are

isolated from each other it can be difficult to see how their role fits into the

overall plan.

Storming: At this stage the leader needs to develop the talents of the team

members and assess how best to use them. They may need to provide more

training or coaching to bring team members into the fold. If there has been a

significant change for the team, it is not uncommon for a certain amount of

Storming to take place, as individuals wish to reassert their position in the

group.

Norming: By this stage the team should be becoming more self-sufficient, and

the role of the leader will be to provide support more than direction. With clear

objectives and individuals that are self-sufficient, some teams will move to this

stage very quickly.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Performing: By the time the team reaches this stage, it will be much more

open to a delegating leadership style, not requiring as much day-to-day support

from the team leader, but being able to refer back to them, when necessary.

Which leadership style is being used with your team? Does it match

the stage of your team above?

The model above shows the stages in a linear progression, suggesting that

teams move from one stage to another quite smoothly and recognisably.

However, this is not always the case. Teams can quite frequently move both

backwards as well as forwards, or even get stuck. So it is not unusual for a

change in circumstances or the introduction of a new person in the team to

create a backwards movement, for example from Norming to Storming, whilst

everyone reassesses their position in the team.

It is also safe to assume that there is overlap between stages, and it can

sometimes be difficult to establish exactly where you think a team might be.

This is particularly true if it is a large team and there are sub-teams.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



To help teams move from one stage to another towards a high performing team,

here are some suggestions:

Pick 2 actions from the list above, and describe how you are going to

use them.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The fifth stage, Adjourning, relates to the stage where the team is breaking up

and moving on. This stage can be stressful for some team members, and a

period of adjustment is often required. As a leader you can help people to

review what they have done and celebrate their successes. People who have a

good experience of ending with one team are more likely to go into a new team

with a more positive frame of mind towards teamworking.

Thinking about a time when you were in a team that was breaking

up, what were some of the things that happened, feelings that were

expressed?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Different Types of Teams

Teams can have a wide variety of forms. You may all sit together in an office,

working on the same projects and objectives, but you may equally be sitting in

different offices in different parts of the company, country or world.

Your team might not have an office. If you work in a hospital or emergency

services, you may be on the move a lot of the time. A team in a fire station may

only ever come together when dealing with an emergency or for training,

particularly if they are volunteers who have other day jobs.

Some workplaces have multiple teams, where you are working across groups,

projects, departments or even companies. Teams come and go, but there is no

doubt that when you get a really high performing team working together well,

then you will remember that, and compare any other teams that you have to

work in against it.

Whilst all teams are different, there may some specific elements to your team

that you need to consider.

Cross-generational Teams

Managing and working in a team with all age ranges is nothing new, but it can

still be a challenge to find ways of working together that allow the different

generations to understand one another by exploring differences in experience,

expectations, assumptions and language use. Bridging the age gap to build

respectful working relationships can mean the difference between a work

environment that clicks and one that clashes.

Finding ways to bridge the age differences means finding things that team

members have in common just as much as getting them to recognise their

differences. Ideas for finding things that are of potential interest across age gaps

include: food, sport, music, travel. You could encourage individuals to bring in

different foods to try, or swap stories about their favourite sports teams.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



International teams

If you are part of a team that works across international boundaries, there are a

number of specific considerations you will need to take into account. Here are

some of the things to think about:

The needs and expectations of the different cultures you are dealing with.

Time differences, working hours and working patterns.

What budget/time you have to plan in face-to-face meetings.

The technology, protocols and processes you will need in place to manage

virtual meetings successfully.

The importance of getting to know each team member and finding out

what they need from you.

How to promote the values, strategy and goals of the team, and ensure

that all team members are focused on these.

Making sure that communications are clear and understood by all your

team, and that you take into account that misunderstandings can be more

common where people cannot see each other, and when they have

different mother tongues!

The importance of complying with employment legislation of the various

companies.

The importance of valuing difference, and promoting the benefits of

working with a diverse team.

Project Teams

Project teams often differ from ordinary work teams in that they are usually

brought together for a limited period of time, and their members may remain

part of their usual work team. This adds an additional level of complexity to the

reporting lines.

When people join a project team, they may still maintain membership of their

usual work team. If this is the case, they have a reporting line into their line

manager and one into the project manager.

If this is the case, then it will be important for you to make sure that everyone

involved has complete clarity about who is responsible for what. For example, if

you are the line manager, how will you account for your team member’s

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



performance on the project? Who will carry out any reviews or appraisals? How

will any other work (apart from the project) be prioritised by the team member?

If there is any conflict with other members of the project team, the project

manager or stakeholders of the project, who will support the team member?

When dealing with a project team, the stages of team development will apply,

and as a team manager you will need to take appropriate action to make sure

that the team can move quickly to the performing stage.

Refer to the previous section for more detail on applying this model.

Matrix teams

It has become more common in recent years for organisations to operate with a

matrix structure. This means that individuals may belong to more than one

team; sometimes they may belong to several. Whilst this may have benefits for

the organisation in terms of the ‘cross-pollination’ of ideas, it does potentially

make it harder for individuals to have a real sense of belonging to any of the

teams they are part of. If you are a leader of a team that operates in a matrix

structure, then contracting will be vital. It might be helpful for you to create a

diagram of all the people who form part of the team structure for each of your

team members, so that you can then clarify what needs to be agreed with each

one.

There is an example of how you might do that below.

Simi was part of the Learning & Development team, and reported into Tim, the

Learning & Development Manager. In addition, Simi had a responsibility for

internal communications which came under the leadership of Mo, Head of

Communications and Employee Engagement. Simi also contributed to the project

team, looking at process improvements across the organisation, and this was

headed up by Farida, Head of Operations.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Tim, Mo and Farida all had some responsibility for aspects of Simi’s work, and

needed to contribute to her performance management, so it was important for

all parties to have considered the different needs, expectations and

communications that would be involved between them.

Simi Farida

Tim Mo

This is what it would look like if we diagrammed the relationships that needed to

be clarified for Simi working in this matrix environment.

If you are the leader of a matrix team, you need to make sure that:

You have clarified the reporting lines and responsibilities for all of your

team members.

Your team has a clear sense of identity. A team name, slogan or motto

could help to set your team apart from the other teams that your team

members may be part of, and help to create a sense of belonging to your

team.

You remind the team of their purpose and goals when you meet, and

allow the team members time at meetings etc. to re-connect with each

other.

You have regular one-to-ones with your team members, and ‘check-in’

with them, not only about their work on your team but also how they are

getting on in their other team relationships. It will be important for you to

support your team members with any difficulties they might be having in

managing the relationships within their matrix.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Developing a High-performing Team

Is your Team working?

Let's start by finding out a little more about your team and how healthy it is.

Answer the questions below for your team. If you can't answer them

all at this stage, that is not an issue. Save the answers as we will

come back to them later on.

Mission: Why are you here? What are your purpose, goals and desired

outcomes?

Brand: Who are you? How do others recognise you as a team?

Values: What are your core values that will keep you going as a team, even

through difficult times?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Capabilities: How are you going to deliver? What skills and resources do you

have available?

Behaviour: What is the standard of behaviour in our team? What is

unacceptable?

Context: What is the wider context in which we are working?

Environment: What is our physical environment like, and what does it say

about us?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Characteristics of a High-performing Team

There are many lists of what makes a team effective, the good thing is that most

of them have many things in common. Here are the characteristics we think are

important. Think about how many of these characteristics your team has, and if

there are any you need to develop.

SHARED GOALS: Clear and

linked directly to a purpose and

vision. Helps team members to

appreciate the role that they play

and also the importance of

collaborating with others.

ROLE CLARITY: Team

roles are clear and

complement each other.

Everyone knows what they

need to contribute and

achieve. Skills and

preferences are used to

best effect.

BALANCED CONTRIBUTION: All

members have a contribution to make

and are willing to make it. Conditions

need to exist for everyone to be able to

contribute and this will involve good

processes as well as good leadership.

POSITIVE TEAM

ATMOSPHERE: Good

relationships are the key to

effective teams. We all

need to feel a sense of

belonging and emotionally

safe, if we are to operate

at our best.

FULL AND FREE COMMUNICATION:

Members communicate with each other

openly and respectfully. Communications

are timely, and use the most appropriate

media. Comes through the quality of

relationships but also through good team

processes being established.

STYLE DIVERSITY:

Different working styles

are acknowledged, and

the strengths of each

style are valued and used

effectively.

COLLABORATION WITH CHALLENGE:

Members work together to achieve consensus

rather than ‘fighting their corner’. When

differences occur, team members can challenge

respectfully, and work through so relationships

are not damaged.

GOOD EXTERNAL

RELATIONSHIPS: Team

has positive and appropriate

relationships with

stakeholders, colleagues

and customers.

FEEDBACK AND

REVIEW: Team takes time

to assess achievements

and review the way it is

working. Feedback is

valued and acted upon.

BALANCED

LEADERSHIP: All team

members take

responsibility for their part

in achieving the team’s

outcomes, and, where

appropriate, leadership on

tasks can be shared.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Team Mission and Goals

Issue: Believing your whole team understands and accepts the team

goals.

When did you last check that your team understood the overall team objectives

and their role within that? If your team is not performing at its best, it could be

because they are not all ‘singing from the same hymn sheet’; in other words

there is not a common understanding of the mission and goals. Teams are made

up of individuals, and unless all the individuals are on board with the basic

messages, then there will always be forces pulling the team in different

directions.

Next step: Set up meetings with individuals, groups, whole teams, and ask

them what they believe their goals to be.

Team Brand

Issue: Believing team name does not make a difference.

Your name is part of your identity. So it is with teams. Call a team the

Complaints Department and they will (complain). Teams need to be branded in a

way that they find acceptable and ideally presents a positive image to the people

they have to deal with outside the team.

Next step: Conduct a team branding exercise. Ask about perceptions of the

team as it stands, and what needs to be change. Make the team and brand

aspirational.

Team Values and Behaviour

Issue: The team/individual is uncertain about what is expected from

them.

Ever heard of Chinese whispers? Everyone puts their own interpretation on why

they are there, how they should behave and the values that they are working to.

This is particularly prevalent if induction and training are conducted by someone

different each time, as the messages are likely to become diluted.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Training someone to do their job well, including the values and behaviour

expected of them, should be done by someone who understands the job

objectives and the purpose of the team.

Not paying attention to the messages that people are receiving in the early days

in the job can result in bad practice developing and becoming all too easily

entrenched.

Next step: Always be involved in some aspects of the training, and make

training part of someone’s job description.

Developing a Team Mission, Brand and Values

So where do you start to develop your high-performing team? One way to do

this is to fully understand:

WHO your team is

what you want your team to BE

what you want your team to DO

WHY they need to do this

the GROUND RULES for team behaviour

The ENVIRONMENT in which they operate and how to get the best from

them.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



When all these questions are answered together in a way that is congruent, you

can use this information to develop your preferred team mission, brand and

values. You might want to take into account some of the information on the

following pages.

Make a note of your answers to these here:

Who

Why

Be

Ground Rules

Do

Environment

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The Hierarchy of Functionality

This is a model that was developed by Denton Roberts. It identifies the building

blocks that are important for ensuring that a team is able to function in an

effective and healthy way.

Roberts explained that each of the functions is reliant on the one below. For

example, if team members are demonstrating a lack of positive regard for each

other, their leader, customers and/or peers, it is likely that there is a problem

with ‘emotional safety’.

If there are difficulties in communication and it is unclear, this could be tracked

back to individuals in the team having a lack of positive regard for each other.

Problems with a lack of productive activity may be traced back to issues with

clear communication, and finally if there is an absence of feedback or if people

do not feel that they are making a positive contribution to the organisation, this

could be that there is a lack of clarity about what they are supposed to be doing

and why.

The examples above show how the model can be used as a way of ‘tracking

back’ to find the root cause of a difficulty in a team.

Celebration

Productive Activity

Clear Communication

Positive Regard

Emotional Safety

How would you assess your team against each of these functions?

If you asked your team members to identify where they felt any difficulties could

be traced to on this hierarchy, where would they place them?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Contracting

So how do you create a team climate where people feel emotionally safe?

To feel emotionally safe, people need to experience consistency, trust, respect and

strong relationships.

One thing that can help to create these conditions is contracting.

Contracting is something that we all have experience of; when we join an

organisation we usually sign a contract of employment which outlines our hours of

work, what we will be paid, what our responsibilities are and also what ‘rules’ we

will be expected to abide by.

To ensure a safe and effective team working environment, it is important to agree a

clear set of principles about how team members will work with each other, what

each team member can expect from you as the leader and from each other, how

any difficulties will be dealt with and what outcomes are expected.

Some of the things that you can agree with your team are:

How best to contact each other.

How often there will be formal and informal contact.

When, where and how often team meetings will happen, and who is

responsible for organising and leading these.

How information will be cascaded, and who is responsible for doing this.

What will be confidential and what will be shared.

The procedures and policies that need to be administered.

What goals and objectives need to be achieved.

Each person’s roles and responsibilities, and how they will contribute.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



What skills and attributes each person has.

How the relationships will be managed to achieve the desired outcomes.

What the benefits are for each person (and what the corresponding

responsibilities are for each of the benefits).

What the potential difficulties are, and how they can be prevented.

How conflict will be dealt with.

For example:

Having led effective project teams before, Bill realised how important it was to

spend time with the team establishing how they were going to work together

effectively.

Bill invited the team to a meeting where he encouraged them to talk about their

experiences of working in teams, their expectations of the project leader and each

other. He outlined the project, and ensured everyone was clear about the expected

outcomes as well as roles and responsibilities.

Bill encouraged the team to be open with each other about how they liked to work,

and led this process by talking about his own working style, and the strengths and

potential weaknesses of this.

Bill also explained that working on a high pressure project meant that there were

likely to be times when the team disagreed or came into conflict with each other,

with him or with people outside the project team. He encouraged the team

members to talk about their attitudes to conflict, and to agree how they would like

disagreements to be dealt with.

In addition to all these aspects, Bill knew he also needed to ensure that all the

project team members were supported in their relationships with people outside the

project team, that the decision-making processes were clear, and that the

necessary authority was granted. He made sure that reporting lines were clear

between each of the project team members and their own line managers.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



What is Emotional Intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is the ability to identify, control, understand and

manage emotions in positive ways to communicate effectively, build rapport and

empathy with others, overcome challenges, relieve stress and defuse conflict.

The term was first used by two US psychologists, Peter Salovey and John Mayer,

and gained popular recognition in 1995 with Daniel Goleman's book Emotional

Intelligence, Why it can matter more than IQ.

EQ impacts many different aspects of your daily life, such as the way you

behave, and the way you interact with others. Some researchers suggest that

EQ can be learned and strengthened, while others claim it is an inborn

characteristic.

The basic concept behind EQ is that if you have a high emotional intelligence you

are able to recognise your own emotional state and the emotional states of

others. This allows you to engage with people in a way that draws them to you.

You can use this understanding of emotions to better relate with other people,

form healthier relationships, achieve greater success at work, and lead a more

fulfilling life.

EQ consists of four attributes:

Self-awareness – You recognise your own emotions, and how they affect

your thoughts and behaviour. You become aware of the filters that you

use: beliefs, values, drivers and rules that may distort and delete what

might otherwise be important. You know your strengths and weaknesses,

and have self-confidence.

Self-management – You’re able to control those unproductive feelings

and behaviours that don't get you anywhere. This helps you overcome

short-term problems and manage your emotions in healthy ways without

over-reacting. It also covers self-motivation and pursuing your goals with

commitment, passions and energy.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Social awareness – You can tune into other people’s emotions and

needs, and get on well with people from other backgrounds and cultures.

You can also pick up on emotional cues, concerns of other people, feel

comfortable socially, and recognise the power dynamics in a group or

organisation.

Relationship management – You are persuasive and engaging with

individuals and groups. You know how to develop and maintain good

relationships, communicate clearly, inspire and influence others, work well

in a team, and manage conflict. You search for ‘Win-Win’ solutions, and

are good at teamwork and collaboration.

Using EQ for Teamwork

EQ is important for teams as well as individuals, and teams that work well

together can exhibit the following attributes.

Ten habits of emotionally intelligent teams:

1. Open communication within, and outside, the team.

2. Empathy to other team members.

3. Resolve conflict through co-operation and collaboration.

4. Label their feelings, rather than labelling people or other teams.

5. Show respect for other people's feelings, both within and outside the team.

6. Self-confidence as a team.

7. Flexibility in approach to collective tasks.

8. Proactive problem-solving.

9. Build bonds with other teams.

10.Take responsibility for their actions and team feelings.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Team Communications

As we have seen with the Characteristics of High Performing Teams and the

Hierarchy of Functionality, good communication is one of the cornerstones of

good team work. Good communication relies on a number of different factors:

Right skills – everyone in the team being able and willing to listen, give

feedback, put their views across clearly, ask good questions and speak

assertively.

Right methods – people in the team having a range of communication methods,

and choosing the most appropriate one for each situation.

Right processes – a mix of regular, planned communication opportunities, such

as team meetings and one-to-ones, plus a more informal willingness to ‘check in’

with each other regularly.

Right technology – Everyone having access to the technology that will enable

them to keep in touch with each other, even if they are not co-located.

Here are a few thoughts on how to make sure you can build effective

communication in your team.

Learn to Listen - a good listener is like a good dancer.

Team communication can be about getting the right software in place or making

sure that you copy the appropriate people in on your emails. But fundamentally

all communication comes back to some key skills. Listening is one of these.

Remember Aunty Rose who doesn’t stop talking? Or Uncle Jack who loves to tell

funny stories? How many times have you heard the story about….?

Communication is a two-way process. Hearing the words that someone speaks

and then replying is not enough to show that you are really listening. You need

to process the information from the words, and react to them.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Active Listening

Active listening is a skill which takes time and effort to develop. It is not passive,

and takes commitment from the listener. Active listening shows that you value

what the other person has to say, and can encourage other people to talk.

Active listeners have freed their minds, and made a commitment to absorb what

the other person has to say so that they can respond appropriately. They do not

make assumptions about what the other person is going to say – and therefore

allow them to finish their sentence.

Active listening involves responding with encouraging signals, both verbal and

non-verbal.

Non-verbal signals include the appropriate grunts, sighs, laughs and other

simple sounds which demonstrate that you are listening. Your body language

and facial expression will also show whether you are really listening to what the

other person is saying.

Verbal signals include adjusting the pace and volume of your speech to match

that of the other person. In practice, in a conversation which is going well, both

parties will do this so that a balance is quickly achieved.

Ask one of your colleagues to explain a current piece of work that

they are engaged with. Try to ensure that you are actively listening, so that you pick up both what is said and the nuances. What did you

notice?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The Importance of Rapport and Empathy

In any situation, building rapport and empathy with others is the key to good

relationships.

Building Rapport

Rapport can be described as when two people feel that they are on the same

wavelength. It is one of the fundamental blocks in building and maintaining good

relationships. Key behaviours when building rapport include:

genuine listening

compatible non-verbal behaviour such as mirroring

non-threatening small talk to identify shared experiences

appropriate use of the other person’s name

demonstrating empathy.

Finding Empathy

Empathy is the capacity to recognise and in some respects link to other people's

feelings, needs and concerns. It is often described as being able to put oneself in

another person's shoes. Being able to read other people’s reactions and

emotions allows to you to respond to people’s unspoken feelings. Empathic

people understand the concerns that lie behind the feelings and the need to

acknowledge those feelings before attempting to solve the problem.

Empathy does not mean sympathy. Sympathy recognises another person's

feelings but does not necessarily share them. Empathy involves a deeper, more

emotional, understanding.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Achieving empathy is about:

being open-minded to situations

practising good listening skills

checking out your assumptions and understanding

listen for feelings and what’s not said

being prepared to put yourself in someone else's shoes.

Giving and Receiving Feedback

One of the characteristics of a high-performing team is the ability to give and

receive feedback, both within the team and externally. This can only be achieved

if the team has developed a good sense of empathy and rapport when working

together. So spending time together outside the work environment can be an

excellent way of increasing this empathy and rapport.

Many teams want to "Stay in their Box" because it is comfortable, known and

does not incur risks. But getting "Out of the Box" can be challenging, fun and

inject a breath of fresh air.

Building Trust

Building trust is like investing in something and then nurturing your investment.

It takes time, attention and commitment. Trust involves a certain amount of

uncertainty but you are willing to take a risk with others because you believe

that they will treat you in a positive and respectful way. For trust to function

well, you must be willing to make yourself vulnerable in front of others or in a

potentially difficult situation. Once broken, trust can be harder to restore than to

establish in the first place. If someone feels that they have been taken

advantage of, or let down, they are more likely to become suspicious of other

people’s motives and intentions.

You can build trust by being open and honest, being consistent in the way you

apply ‘rules’, explaining the rationale for your decisions, asking for feedback and

keeping the channels of communication open.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Trust needs special attention when frequent, close contact and subtle body

language are not there to help. If you have team members who do not work in

the same location as you, the impact of trust (positive or negative) is greater.

The ‘praise is stronger than criticism’ rule increases with physical separation.

Build trust in the way you allocate tasks, in how you respond to problems and

ideas, and in how you deal with difficult situations.

SWOB your Team

Context and Capabilities

The final aspects of creating your team appraisal is to understand the wider

context, capabilities and environment in which you are working.

Create a SWOB (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Barriers) model to

assess these factors and identify ways in which you can improve.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Complete a SWOB analysis for your team. If you run this as a team

exercise, a great way to do this is to use Post-it notes which you

can move around. Points raised don't have to be mutually

exclusive. Something can be both a weakness and a strength!

Strengths

The strengths of the team are:

Weaknesses

The weaknesses of the team are:

Opportunities

The team has the following

opportunities:

Barriers

The following barriers may get in the

way of the team achieving its

objectives:

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Sick Teams

What is not working at the moment?

Teams fluctuate in their ability to achieve things. It can be difficult to keep them

at their peak performance. Even a great team can be a better team. At its best,

your team(s) would be able not only to achieve its purpose but also meet the

needs of all its stakeholders, including members of the team itself.

Teams are rarely performing to their peak potential, and no team can achieve

this all the time. However, some teams get stuck at a lower level, and at its

worst, they can get stuck "Storming". But imagine if you could take a team that

is currently "Storming" and move them up a notch to "Norming", or a team that

is currently "Norming" to "Performing".

Why do teams get stuck?

Teams can get stuck or fall sick for a number of reasons:

1. Inappropriate Leadership

a. Lack of structure or clear leadership can lead to a team becoming

dysfunctional and/or resistant. This in turn can lead to a high turnover

of staff and, without intervention, disbandment of the team as being

non-performing.

b. An effective team leader will lead by example and show:

i. that issues should be worked through to a clear resolution

ii. they know which style of management and leadership to use

based on the different stages of the team development

iii. clear standards and personal integrity

iv. receptivity to team members’ hopes and fears, trust and loyalty

v. willingness to put effort into making work an exciting and happy place.

2. The introduction of "messiahs". New leaders who are good at turning

things around, but may not have the skills to keep things going in the long-

term.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



3. Unqualified team members. Teams need to have the appropriate technical

skills as well as a balance to the necessary roles. If team members are

lacking in basic skills, they need to have the appropriate training or be moved

on.

4. Unconstructive climate. An effective team needs to have an open climate

that bridges differences and encourages individuals. If team members

become defensive or secretive, the team will struggle to thrive. Important

issues must be openly discussed, and resolutions found wherever possible.

5. Projection and scapegoating. Where the team’s problems are being

caused by "external influences". By making others part of the problem, the

team is adopting an "it wasn't me" attitude.

6. Dominance of one or more personality/behaviour types. It is not

uncommon for the leader of a team to recruit "someone like them" or

"someone who fits in", who consequently adds to the team’s skills and

strengths in a particular area, but does not necessarily address any gaps the

team may have. Lopsided teams can often find it difficult to move forward.

7. Teams, like the people within them, have a low sense of self-esteem.

Low self-esteem can be a result of many things but might include: lack of

drive, lack of recognition, lack of pride in their work. If their perception is

one of low self-esteem, they will find it difficult to develop and move

forward. They will develop a fear of:

Change.

Loss of familiarity and comfort.

Personal failure.

Declining influence.

Challenge from new people and new ideas.

All of the above can influence their sense of self-esteem.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



8. Unconstructive inter-team relations. Poor co-ordination and co-operation

with other teams can create competitiveness and resentment, and be

unhealthy for the team development. Building bridges with other teams is an

important aspect of team self-esteem and development.

9. Poor decision-making. Clear, effective decision-making and working

methods are essential to any team work. They can be found in:

clear objectives

the way in which decisions are made

communication within, and outside, the team

effective co-ordination of resources

suitable criteria to measure effectiveness.

Without these, teams will struggle to move forward with any pace and will

lose momentum and drive.

10. Low creativity. Teams that are allowed to explore their creativity tend to be

more flexible in their approach and solve problems more quickly than those

that are asked to deliver things in a fixed and rigid way. There is a difference

between setting and measuring standards for particular tasks, and preventing

any creativity in achieving them. Harnessing creativity requires a level of risk,

and clear risk assessment should go hand-in-hand with the creative process.

You may already know the changes you want to make to your team, and just be

looking for some new techniques to help you to do this. Or you may be looking

for help to understand what the changes could be, and the impact that they

could have. But you may be surprised that very often it is only small changes

that you need to make to have a big knock-on effect.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Is Your Team Working?

Go back to the questionnaire that you completed earlier in this guide and review

your answers. How have they changed? What might you do differently or

emphasise more or less?

Answer the questions below for your team.

Mission: Why are you here? What are your purpose, goals and desired

outcomes?

Brand: Who are you? How do others recognise you as a team?

Values: What are your core values that will keep you as a team going even

through difficult times?

Capabilities: How are you going to deliver? What skills and resources do you

have available?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Behaviour: What is the standard of behaviour in our team? What is

unacceptable?

Context: What is the wider context in which we are working?

Environment: What is our physical environment like and what does it say about

us?

What next: What are the top three things that you will work on to increase your

team’s effectiveness?

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Summary

Improving team effectiveness

Team effectiveness is dependent on:

Developing trust and building bonds.

Encouraging openness in communication.

Allowing staff to have more discretion.

Recognising an interdependence on each other’s skills.

Encouraging respect for each other.

Encouraging commitment to the same goal.

Making sure you spend time nurturing the sense of team.

Remember: Diverse teams are strong teams:

Different backgrounds offer give different perspectives.

Different knowledge bases provide depth and scope to team

understanding and ability.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Action Plan

Thinking about the issues that we have covered in this book, write

down three objectives that you would like to achieve over the next

month, 3 months and year.

1 Month Objective

3 Month Objective

1 Year Objective

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Team Exercises

Here are a number of exercises that you can do with your team to strengthen

the understanding across your team, and create more effective teamworking.

Develop a team story

For a team to feel good about itself, it needs a sense of identity and a sense of

purpose. A great way to achieve this is to create a team story. Team stories are

based on where a team has been, the hard times it has been through as well as

the triumphs. It also helps define where the team is now, and crucially where

the team is going, and the path it intends to take to get there.

Here is a team exercise to help your team create its own team story:

Start with a flip chart or white board, and ask everyone to write down on post-it

notes things that have happened in the past; good and bad, triumphs and

failures. Now put the post-it notes on the board, and start to group them. See

what emerges. This is your past.

Now do the same with where you want to get to; your future. What are your

aims, targets, hopes and fears? Add these to another flip chart.

Now look at your present. Where are you today? How are you going to take the

challenge to get to tomorrow?

Try to get to a stage where you can summarise your past, present and future in

about six sentences. Now you have your story.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



The 4 Ps

You can use this activity at the start of a meeting to help bring into the open any

issues that team members might have on their minds. It is also a good way of

ensuring that the team look at their successes, and give themselves and others

some recognition.

Invite each team member in turn to feed back to the group on one of each of the

following Ps from last week or since the last meeting:

Something they are Proud of;

Something they are Perplexed by;

Something they are Planning;

Something they want to take a Position on.

Depending on time, you can limit it to fewer Ps or add your own!

Random Objects

This activity is a good way of helping team members to get to know each other

at the start of a project.

Supply a number of random objects, and ask each person to pick one and then

describe how the object represents something about them / say why they have

chosen it.

Guess Who

Ask each team member to take a slip of paper and write down something about

themselves that other people would not know. Mix up slips and pass them out

again – each team member reads their fact in turn, and then tries to guess who

the fact applies to.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



Team Mnemonic

Think of a word or a short phrase that relates to your team, and write the word

down the side of a piece of flip chart paper. Invite the group to come up with

words starting with each of the first letters of your initial word that describe the

team values or behaviours - if you like, you can start with the word TEAM!

Team Bingo

This activity is an old favourite, and works particularly well with large teams.

Divide a sheet of A4 paper into 16 segments, and in each segment write a ‘fact’

that might apply to at least one member of the group. For example, you can

use things like:

Has a hatchback car.

Owns a cat.

Has been to a gig in the last month.

Hand out a copy of the ‘Bingo sheet’ to each team member and ask them to

mingle and find one person to match each statement. When they have found a

match, this person signs the relevant box. The first person to get all the boxes

signed on the sheet shouts bingo and is the winner. Prizes are optional!

N.B. If you are limited by time, you can set a time limit, and make the winner

the person who has the most boxes filled within this time.

A Useful Guide to

Teamwork



References and Further Reading

Useful Guides:

A Useful Guide to Resolving Conflict:

http://www.pansophix.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=73

A Useful Guide to Dealing with Difficult Behaviour:


Websites:

www.businessballs.com

Books and Publications:

Working it out at Work – Julie Hay

Working Together – Anita Mountain & Chris Davidson

The One-Minute Manager – Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

Working with Emotional Intelligence - Daniel Goleman

The Life Cycle of Groups: Group Developmental Stage Theory - R. B. Lacoursiere



http://www.businessballs.com/

a useful guide to - chartered insurance institute · four pairs of filters which are either on or...

Documents