Contents

Building a Successful Team

What is a team and what makes a team
Types of Team
Stages of Team Building
Developing a Winning Vision or Purpose

Team Leadership-Legitimate Power

The Trusted Leader Self-Assessment
Team Leadership Styles
Leadership functions

Building Trust
How to maintain trust
The critical role of the leader or supervisor
Creating trusting environment within team

Why Teams Fail?

Common problems with teams
Conflicts- major common problem within teams
Resolving inter-team conflict
Conflict Resolution Styles
Complaints and Grievances
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Procedures
Guidelines for Resolving Complaints and Grievances

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 Building a Successful Team
What is a team and what makes a team

”Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success”.
(Henry Ford)

A team is a group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal.

• The task is split into parts appropriate to each individual's talents.

• Each member of the team has a shared responsibility for getting the job done.
• Their cooperation is essential for success of the group.

Teams are particularly good at combining talents and providing innovative solutions to possible unfamiliar
problems; in cases where there is no well established approach/procedure, the wider skill and knowledge
set of the team has a distinct advantage over that of the individual.

In general, however, there is an overriding advantage in a team-based work force which makes it attractive
to management: that it engenders a fuller utilization of the work force.

A team can be seen as a self managing unit. The range of skills provided by its members and the self
monitoring which each member performs makes it a reasonably safe recipient for delegated responsibility.

Even if a problem could be decided by a single person, there are two main benefits in involving those
people who will carry out the decision.

• Firstly, the motivational aspect of participating in the decision will clearly enhance its
implementation.
• Secondly, there may well be factors which the implementer understands better than the single
person who could supposedly have decided alone.

More indirectly, if among middle level to entry level management echelons of the workforce each become
trained, through participation in collective decision making, in an understanding of the company’s
objectives and work practices, then each will be better able to solve work-related problems in general.
Further, they will also individually become a safe recipient for delegated authority.

From the individual's point of view, there is the added incentive that through belonging to a team each can
participate in achievements well beyond his own individual potential. Less idealistically, the team provides
an environment where the individual's self-perceived level of responsibility and authority is enhanced, in an
environment where accountability is shared: thus providing a perfect motivator through enhanced self-
esteem coupled with low stress.

Finally, a word about the "recognition of the worth of the individual" which is often given as the reason for
delegating responsibility to groups of subordinates. While we can agree with the sentiment, it is doubtful
that this is a prime motivator - the bottom line is that the individual's talents are better utilized in a team,
not that they aren’t wonderful human beings. A successful team is collective collaboration. There are few
points to keep in mind in fostering creative collaboration:

1. Everyone has ideas

Good ideas emerge after throwing all sorts of bad ideas into a pot where they can merge and reform into
something unexpected and new.

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2. A shared vision of a compelling challenge
All of the team members need to have a clear, shared vision of where they are going. The team should
understand how it fits into the overall business of the organization. Team members should know their
roles, feel a sense of ownership, and can see how they make a difference.

3. A rich flow of easy access to information

If team members can only receive information on a “need-to-know” basis, innovation is stifled.

4. Trust, respect, and participation

Teams may include members of all different ranks and levels of seniority and expertise. In order for
successful work on a task, everyone on the team must participate fully and take risks, such as asking
“dumb” questions or suggesting “silly” ideas. An environment in which the team members feel safe is
needed to encourage such risks. Team members have faith in each other to honor their commitments,
maintain confidences, support each other, and generally behave in a consistent and predictably acceptable
fashion.

5. Commitment
Team members see themselves as belonging to a team rather than as individuals who operate
autonomously. They are committed to group goals above and behind their personal goals.

6. Communication
Communication refers to the style and extent of interactions both among members and between members
and those outside the team. It also refers to the way that members handle conflict, decision making, and
day-to-day interactions.

7. Involvement
Everyone has a role in the team. Despite differences, team members must feel a sense of partnership with
each other. Contributions are respected and solicited, and a real consensus is established before committing
the team to action.

8. Process orientation
Once a team has a clear purpose (why it’s together and where it’s going), it must have a process or means
to get there. The process should include problem-solving tools, planning techniques, regular meeting,
meeting agendas and minutes, and accepted ways of dealing with problems.

Depending upon the nature of work and structure of the organization, we can identify teams in three major
categories

Types of Team

• Problem-Solving Teams: Meet to improve quality, efficiency and the work environment

• Self-Managed Teams: Take on responsibilities such as planning work schedule, collective control, and
operating decisions

• Cross-Functional Teams: Accomplish a task and exchange information, develop new ideas, solve
problems and coordinate in complex projects

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 Stages of Team Building
Team building is not an incident, rather it is an activity and process which starts and takes different shapes
before it reaches its full bloom. The stages which every successful team goes through are:

Stage Feelings Behaviors

Forming -the • Excitement, optimism, pride, initial • Attempts to organize and define the
orientation stage attachment to the team job/tasks; to define group behavior
• Lofty or abstract discussions of
• Suspicion, anxiety about the job concepts, and some impatience with
ahead such discussions

Storming- the • Resistance to the tasks and the • Increased arguing; defensiveness and
dissatisfaction stage variety of approaches of individuals "choosing sides"
most difficult stage in the team • setting unrealistic goals
• disunity, increased tension, and
• Sharp fluctuations in attitudes jealousy

Normalizing- the • Ability to express criticism • Attempts to gain harmony by avoiding

resolution stage constructively conflict (avoid Groupthink, though!)
• More friendliness and personal sharing;
• Acceptance of the team; relief in the sense of common team spirit
belief that "everything is going to • Establishing and maintaining team
work out." ground rules. (This latter is a crucial
element for team success.)

Performing- the • Insight into members' abilities • Constructive self-change

production stage • Ability to prevent/handle group
• Satisfaction at the team's progress problems; attachment to the team

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 Developing a Winning Vision or Purpose
The meaning of vision which concerns you as a supervisor/manager is: an idea of what the future should
be. This has nothing to do with prediction but everything to do with hope. It is a focus for the team's
activity, which provides sustained long-term motivation and which unites your team.

Higher management is primarily responsible for formulating and defining a company’s strategic vision and
ensuring its implementation. In some companies particular individuals have been given the specific task of
ensuring that a corporate vision remains current and vital.

A vision should capture the essence of what a company is all about. At the start of the new millennium
Steve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft. His predecessor Bill Gates a co-founder of the company assumed
the title of chairman and chief software architect. The latter role allows Gates to return to his roots and the
activities he most enjoys. It also reflects the importance of a strategic vision in the development of new
technologies.

A stretching, distinctive and compelling vision that paints a picture of a future, desired and attainable state
of affairs can engage and motivate. A clear vision is of value internally and externally. Internally it
motivates people to achieve and focus their efforts, while externally the vision should differentiate a
company from its competitors.

Some visions motivate more than others. Staff at the BBC became much more engaged when the public
broadcaster’s vision was changed from ‘to be the best managed organization in the public sector’ and
became ‘to be the world’s most creative organization’. A vision and a mission statement should balance the
needs of both individuals and the organization along the lines of Amazon’s ‘Work Hard, Have Fun, Make
History’.

Internally and externally, the common and shared element of a vision should be a unifying factor. It should
hold a diverse, complex and network form of organization together and provide its people with a sense of
common purpose. Yet while a vision can inspire, it can also result in disillusionment and distrust if it is
incomplete or incapable of achievement, and there is a gap between aspiration and attainment.

A vision has to be something sufficiently exciting to bind your team with you in common purpose. This
implies two things:

• You need to decide where your team is headed

• You have to communicate that vision to them

Mission

Now, this vision thing, it is still a rather nebulous concept, hard to pin down, hard to define usefully; a
vision may even be impractical (like "zero defects"). And so there is an extra stage which assists in its
communication: once you have identified your vision, you can illustrate it with a concrete goal, a mission.
This leads to the creation of the famous “mission statement”.

Let us consider first what a mission is, and then return to a vision.

A mission has two important qualities:

• It should be tough, but achievable given sufficient effort

• It must be possible to tell when it has been achieved – Measurable, Quantifiable

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Quality
If you are stuck for a mission, think about using Quality as a focus since this is something on which you
can build. Similarly, any aspects of great management which are not habitual in your team at the moment
could be exemplified in a mission statement. For instance, if your team is in product design, your mission
might be to fully automate the test procedures by the next product release; or more generally, your team
mission might be to reduce the time spent in meetings by half within six months.

No Time Limit
In general, your vision should be un-finishable, with no time limit, and inspirational; it is the driving force
which continues even when the mission statement has been achieved. Even so, it can be quite simple: Walt
Disney's vision was "to make people happy". As a manager, yours might be something a little closer to
your own team: mine is "to make working here exciting".

Vision should be:

Well Communicated
Once you have established a few possible mission statements, you can try to communicate (or decide upon)
your vision. This articulates your underlying philosophy in wanting the outcomes you desire. Not, please
note, the ones you think you should desire but an honest statement of personal motivation; for it is only the
latter which you will follow with conviction and so of which you will convince others.

Communicating a vision is not simply a case of painting it in large red letters across your office wall
(although, as a stunt, this actually might be quite effective), but rather bringing the whole team to perceive
your vision and to begin to share it with you. A vision, to be worthy, must become a guiding principle for
the decision and actions of your team.

Time Limited
To maintain an impetus, it might also have a time limit so that people can pace their activity rather than
getting winded in the initial push. The scope of your vision depends upon how high you have risen in the
management structure, and so also does the time limit on your mission statement. Heads of multinational
corporations must take a longer view of the future than the project leader in divisional recruitment; the
former may be looking at a strategy for the next twenty-five years, the latter may be concerned with
attracting the current crop of senior school children for employment in two-three years. Thus a new
manager will want a mission which can be achieved within one or two years.

There is no real call to make a public announcement of your vision or to place it on the notice board. Such
affairs are quite common now, and normally attract mirth and disdain. If your vision is not communicated
to your team by what you say and do, then you are not applying it yourself. It is your driving motivation -
once you have identified it, act on it in every decision you make.

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 Team Leadership-Legitimate Power
The Trusted Leader’s Self-Assessment

The purpose of this self-assessment is to give you a starting point to use in the process of becoming (or
remaining) a Trusted Leader. Some of the questions may seem, at first blush, to have a "right"
answer. That is not always the case, however. Many of these questions are designed purely to
make you reflect, or to force you to hear the views of those who might be better suited to provide
an objective response. Those two activities, reflecting on one's own progress and hearing the
objective views of others, are part and parcel of trusted leadership. The self-assessment has 20
multiple choice questions grouped and will take only a few minutes to complete. In this section,
please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement on the 1- Disagree totally to 5-Agree
strongly scale shown and find out in the ratings where you fall after calculating your response.
Statement Level of
disagreement /agreement
1 2 3 4 5
1. My subordinates genuinely like me professionally and personally.
2. The people currently reporting to me are smarter or more talented than I am.
3. I have played a significant role in the development of people in this
organization who are outside of my direct area of responsibility.
4. At least two or three people in the organization would regard me as an
active yet informal mentor.
5. I give people more latitude for error than do most other executives.
6. The people I lead have a clear, explicit understanding of the desired
leadership characteristics of the organization.
7. I openly praise the people who work for me.
8. People working for me feel free to disagree with me publicly.
9. People understand the evaluation and reward standards I have established,
and consider them equitable.
10. I am considered highly trustworthy by my direct reports.
11. I trust my direct reports implicitly.
12. There is a succession plan in place for me, and I have shared it explicitly
with someone who could implement it if necessary.
13. I have explicitly told my potential successor how valuable he is to the
organization and to me personally as well.
14. I know what my legacy to this organization will be.
15. The individuals in this organization could easily articulate what my legacy
to this organization will be.
16. This organization (or my part of it) would be in fine shape tomorrow if
today were suddenly my last day.
17. This organization (or my part of it) would be in fine shape two years hence
if today were suddenly my last day.
18. Everyone in this organization knows how we make money.
19. Conflicts are resolved in my organization in a healthy and timely fashion.
20. I explicitly discuss the importance of trust with the people in the
organization.

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 The Trusted Leader Self- Ratings

Below are the ratings for the assessment, kindly read the description under the range that you fall in.

00-60
Either you are way too self-critical, or you have got some work ahead of you. It makes sense for you to do
some close looking at why the numbers are where they are. Are all your subsection averages 3.5 or below?
Is it just in one or two particular subsections that they fall into this category?

61-80
You are in a range of where the plurality of people in leadership roles falls. You may be a good performer
in a particular environment, thus the question that arises is how easily you would make the transition
should that environment or the surrounding circumstances change.

81-90
You are probably working with some clear successes in the realm of trusted leadership. You are probably
finding more of your challenges to be specific, identifiable ones rather than general issues of overall
effectiveness.

91-100
You are doing very well, and given that, it would be helpful for you to examine how to raise the bar of
performance for your entire organization.

At the same time, remember that this is a self-assessment. With this high a score, it makes sense for you to
have a number of people rate you anonymously on these dimensions. If your self-assessment matches their
ratings, then you truly are a trusted leader.

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 Team Leadership Styles

The most important task of the team leader is to help the team through the development stages. The first
two leadership tasks are:

1. Diagnosis.

2. Delivery of Appropriate Leadership Style.

The team leader assesses the level and stage of development achieved by the group, and provides guidance
accordingly. Each stage requires a different type of leadership. The team leader diagnosis the
need of the group, and provides the right style of leadership to prepare the members for the
following stage. Adaptability is an essential element of effective leadership.

Leadership styles

Leadership could be autocratic, democratic or it could be situational, depending on the requirement of the
group.

1. Autocratic Leadership - Telling people what to do, how and when to do it.

2. Democratic Leadership- Listening, interacting, boosting morale, motivating.

These two styles may swing continuously subject to the level of understanding prevailing among the team
members, and the amount of responsibility they are prepared to own, and their capability to work
without supervision.

Autocratic style stifles initiative. Controlling is never conducive to creativity. Its application amounts to 'I
am right you are wrong', or 'you don't know, do what you are told and when you are told'.

Democratic style is participative, encourages suggestions, joint solutions and team work. However, if over
used it could degenerate into reduced performance, though every body feels good and socializes
freely. Controlling is essential, but not in an autocratic way. Controls ought to be built into the
system. Set targets performance and quality levels, cost and waste limits. It is a self evaluating
process. You don't have to have managerial controls.

Situational leadership

* Directing. * Coaching. * Supporting. * Delegating.

When the team starts, their barrel of knowledge is empty, though they are enthusiastic and eager to learn
and to do well. They need directing.

After directing and coaching the team members' barrel of knowledge is full, but someone needs to draw the
knowledge out of the members, organize and apply it. That is the second and final part of
coaching. The dissatisfaction stage.

The group reaches stage 3. They are on their way to regain confidence, commitment and motivation. The
members need to be listened to. They need to be supported in their efforts to interact creatively
and find solutions to problems together.

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We have reached the final frontier: the stage of performance. The team is now ready and operating
smoothly. Leadership must delegate and fall along the sidelines. The leadership must be versatile
and change with the changing conditions.

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 Leadership functions to be performed by the group

1. Task Functions - Selling the agenda to the group.

Establishing goals and roles.

Giving direction.

Scheduling and setting time limits.

Seeking, sharing and summarizing information.

2. Maintenance Functions - Developing and maintaining:

Harmony

Cohesiveness

Recognition

Listening habit

Encouraging participation

Managing conflict

Building relationships

These functions are to be performed by the team members. It is not the job of the leader to undertake such
tasks permanently. He is always available to direct and guide. Only the delegated representatives
(it could be one of the executives on the team or a manager) must take over as quickly as they are
ready to do so.

No team can manage the transition or development through to stage 4 without guidance. The team leader
manages the journey of the group from orientation through to dissatisfaction, to resolution and on
to production stage. All groups must go through all the stages without exception.

The team leader diagnosis the level of development and provides guidance accordingly. It is his job to take
the group to the team status with the help of correct diagnosis of development, adaptability to the
required system and then delegate and empower the team. It means that the team leader prepares
them first and then slowly delegates authority to make decisions, determine, define and solve
problems interdependently. Development and leadership styles go in synchronization.

The group moves from orientation to dissatisfaction stage quickly. A good leader may reduce the degree of
dissatisfaction, but he or she can not eliminate it altogether. Certain amount of uncertainty is
bound to affect every member of the group.

As the members begin to express opinions and air their problems, differences are bound to emerge. Some
of the members, as a result, get competitive with one another engaging in power struggle, some
withdraw, and others get discouraged and frustrated with the difficulty of the task. The reality of
the hard work sets in. The group is struggling during dissatisfaction stage for a sense of purpose
and independence. It is a time of turbulence. It is the most creative and dynamic stage as well. It
is an adolescence stage in the group’s life from which they would mature into adulthood, achieve
team status and independence.

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At this stage, the morale and commitment of the group is declining. The team leader must find ways to get
the group to do good things find the right solutions, build their skills and knowledge. The group
must learn to communicate, and master decision-making skills. It must complete ground rules for
listening, for managing conflicts, for encouraging every body's input. The leader's job is to
inculcate behavior conducive to team action, that the group may not be able to provide itself. That
is why the groups have to go through all of the stages and need leadership to see them through.

Leader's involvement does limit his or her capacity to judge the progress of the group's development. The
leader must keep him or herself fully aware of the content or the agenda, but he or she must be
capable of stepping back as an observer to assess the level of development the group has achieved.
A team leader's job is therefore highly versatile and difficult to fulfill. It continues to change from
one end to the other and from one theme to the other.

There is another way for the team leader to keep track of the development without abandoning his or her
involvement with decision-making or problem-solving with the group. The job may be assigned
to one of the group members to act as the process observer, and report to the leader periodically on
the major areas of concern.

Once a member is designated to act as group's observer he or she can not get involved in discussions. It is
important to clarify the two roles at the very beginning, and make it a part of the ground rules.
However, if at any stage the observer should wish to participate in the group proceedings, he or
she must hand over the observer's role to some one else with the consent of the leader. In fact it is
beneficial for the members, to rotate the observer's role. The members would understand how the
group functions a lot better.

Process observation is beneficial in many ways. It helps to understand the problem areas. It makes the
group members aware of their behavior that enables them to get through the development stages
more effectively. It reveals: Who talks? Who talks to whom? Who follows whom? Who
interrupts? Who wastes the group's time? In short, it helps to establish the right approach and
conduct in the meetings.

A questionnaire may be given to each of the members periodically to monitor each other's individual
progress as well as the group's collective progress. It promotes mutual understanding and mutual
responsibility. The questionnaire may be adopted for the future monitoring of the team's progress
when it operates independently.

Third party monitoring is also beneficial. It is a useful strategy favored by some organizations with
encouraging results, as the observation is more objective.

The manager or the team leader must at all times be ready and willing to counsel, encourage and guide the
team members. Empowering means helping teams develop their skills and knowledge, and
helping them to use their talents without hindrance.

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 Team Roles and Individual Characteristics

There are some roles within teams which are taken voluntarily by different team members and as team
leader or supervisor you have to be aware of those roles and degree of commitment each role demands

Driver (Develops ideas, directs & Innovates) Be Sure To:

• Make major decisions for the team Listen to ideas & criticism from other
members
• Set objectives for team tasks & development Don’t just drive; check progress, resources &
• Establish directions for team development skills
Resolve details as well as the big decisions
• Assign responsibilities to team members
Think role – not function
• Get the team moving Take more time over people
• Think growth for, People, Skills, Influence, Team Maturity

Planner (Estimates needs, plans strategies & Schedules) Be Sure To:

• Take the team’s strategic aims to bits Take & know team’s strategic aims to bits
Set concrete goals and realistic performance
• Get to know them thoroughly targets
• Assess the environment in which these aims must be Expect problems, but try to anticipate them
achieved and consider Stay in touch with the plans to their
completion
• The team that you have now, and
Allow for contingencies
• The support that you will get
• Set concrete goals and realistic performance targets
• Expect problems, but try to anticipate them, take steps to
prevent them, also plan how to respond them.

Enabler (The fixer – manages resources, promotes ideas & Be Sure To:
negotiates) Acquire best resources available
• Works hard to convert people to accept their view point Identify what resources have been used in the
past and make sure for the better use
• Acceptor of anything new in future
• Will take new plan and make sure that the team gets all the Develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes of
available resources team members
Use every opportunity to motivate team
• Comfortable in one-to-one relationship
members
• Meets strangers with assurance and ease
• Converses well and takes pains to make others feel at ease

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Executive (The producer, co-ordinates & maintains the team) Be Sure To:
• Make decisions both on observation & how they feel about Handle teams’ administrative tasks
what they see Make sure that team members have work to do
and systems with which to do it
• Capable of turning instruction into action
Identify the knowledge, skill and attitudes the
• Work systematically, patiently and completely, aligning job demands
and interlocking individual plans Balance the work to be done and the ability to
do it
• Live in the present and recognize what needs attention
now Maintain good relationship between the
individual team members
• Little influenced by what has gone on in the past
• Effort to ensure that the team works in harmony to get
things done

Controller (Records, audits & evaluates progress) Be Sure To:

• Analytical thinker
• Base their decision on a careful analysis of what happened
in the past
• Able to use their experience and knowledge to give advice
and guidance
• Set targets on the identification and solution of problem
• Assess cost in detail costs incurred by team’s operation
• Spot team’s errors through their careful monitoring
Resist the temptation to let the creation of rules
of conduct become your main
contribution
Don’t let data gathering be used for destructive
purposes
Don’t say “you can’t do it because of the rules”
• Make allowances for those who want to
work the ‘fast track’
• Don’t prescribe a way of working without
regard to the person

There are certain qualities an individual should have, to play these roles effectively. Moreover, in order to
be a successful team member, supervisor/manager or leader, one has to inculcate or develop the qualities
completely on self-discipline basis. An effective member of a successful team has to be:

Dependable Informal
Organized Supportive
Logical Encouraging
Flexible Candid
Forward-Looking Ethical
Visionary Adventurous

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 Building Trust
Trust……the state of readiness for unguarded interaction with someone or something

Trust. You know when you have it; you know when you don’t. Yet, what is trust and how is trust usefully
defined for the workplace? Can you build trust when it doesn’t exist? How do you maintain and build upon
the trust you may currently have in your work place? These are important questions for today’s rapidly
changing world.

Trust forms the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, and employee motivation and
contribution of discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. When trust
exists in an organization or in a relationship, almost everything else is easier and more comfortable to
achieve. Trust means:

• Provide correct information • Perform a protocol correctly

• Perform an operation correctly • Not to misuse information or resources
• Keep a secret

Dr. Duane C. Tway, Jr. says, “There exists today, no practical construct of Trust that allows us to design
and implement organizational interventions to significantly increase trust levels between people. We all
think we know what Trust is from our own experience, but we don't know much about how to improve it.
Why? I believe it is because we have been taught to look at Trust as if it were a single entity.”
(A Construct of Trust-1993)

Trust is constructed of three components:

The capacity for trusting means that your total life experiences have developed your current capacity and
willingness to risk trusting others.

The perception of competence is made up of your perception of your ability and the ability of others with
whom you work to perform competently at whatever is needed in your current situation.

The perception of intentions is your perception that the actions, words, direction, mission, or decisions are
motivated by mutually-serving rather than self-serving motives.

Thinking about trust as made up of the interaction and existence of these three components makes “trust”
easier to understand.

The trust of a speaker by the listener is based on the listener's perception of three characteristics of the
speaker. These three characteristics to be

The intelligence of the speaker – correctness of opinions, or competence

The character of the speaker – reliability /a competence factor, and honesty /a measure of intentions
The goodwill of the speaker – favorable intentions towards the listener

Additional research shows that trust is the basis for much of the environment you want to create in your
work place and especially in teams. Trust is the necessary precursor for:

• feeling able to rely upon a person

• cooperating with and experiencing teamwork with a group
• taking thoughtful risks
• experiencing believable communication

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How to maintain trust
The best way to maintain a trusting team work environment is to keep from injuring trust in the first place.
The integrity of the leadership of the team is critical. The truthfulness and transparency of the
communication with sub ordinates is also a critical factor. The presence of a strong, unifying mission and
vision can also promote a trusting environment. Providing information about the rationale, background, and
thought processes behind decisions is another important aspect of maintaining trust. Another is
organizational success; people are more apt to trust their competence, contribution, and direction when part
of a successful project or organization.

Yet, even in an organization in which trust is a priority, things happen daily that can injure trust. A
communication is misunderstood; a production order is misdirected and no one questions an obvious
mistake. In many teams, people are taught to mistrust as they are repeatedly misinformed and misled.

The critical role of the leader or manager/supervisor

Simon Fraser University assistant professor Kurt Dicks studied the impact of trust in team success. After
surveying the members on 30 teams, he determined that members on successful teams were more likely to
trust their supervisor/manager. He found these members were more likely to believe that their leader knew
what was required for them to win. They believed the leader had their best interests at heart; they believed
the leader came through on what he promised. (Something to think about: trust in their teammates was
hardly deemed important in the study.)

Del Jones of the Gannett News Service reports that in a March, 2001 Wirthlin Worldwide study of
employees, 67 percent said they were committed to their employers. Only 38 percent felt their employers
were committed to them.

In another study, by C. Ken Weidner, an assistant professor at the Center for Organization Development at
Loyola University Chicago, findings suggest several implications for organizational performance and
change.

Weidner found that a supervisor’s/manager’s skill in developing relationships that reduce or eliminate
distrust, have a positive impact on employee turnover. He feels that turnover may be a result of
organizations failing to “draw people in.” He also found that trust in the supervisor/manager is associated
with better individual performance.

Creating trusting environment within team

You cannot always control the trust you experience in your larger organization, but you can act in ways that
promote trust within your immediate team work environment. The following are ways to create and
preserve a trusting team environment.

• Develop the skills of all employees and especially those of current supervisors and people desiring
promotion, in interpersonal relationship building and effectiveness.

• Keep team members truthfully informed. Provide as much information as you can comfortably
divulge as soon as possible in any situation.

• Act with integrity and keep commitments. If you cannot keep a commitment, explain what is
happening in the situation without delay. Current behavior and actions are perceived by employees
as the basis for predicting future behavior. Supervisors/managers who act as if they are worthy of
trust will more likely be followed with fewer complaints.

• Confront hard issues in a timely fashion. If an employee has excessive absences or spends work
time wandering around, it is important to confront the employee about these issues. Other
employees will watch and trust you more.

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 • Protect the interest of all employees in a team. Do not talk about absent employees, nor allow
others to place blame, call names, or point fingers.

• Display competence in supervisory/managerial and other work tasks. Know what you are talking
about, and if you don’t know—admit it.

• Listen with respect and full attention. Exhibit empathy and sensitivity to the needs of staff
members.

• Set reasonably high expectations and act as if you believe team members are capable of living up
to them.

Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. Marsha Sinetar, an author, said “Trust is not
a matter of technique, but of character; we are trusted because of our way of being, not because of our
polished exteriors or our expertly crafted communications.”

So fundamentally, trust is the cornerstone, the foundation for everything you'd like your team to be now
and for everything you'd like it to become in the future. Lay this groundwork well.

Trust is telling the truth, even when it is difficult, and being truthful, authentic, and trustworthy in your
dealings with team members.

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 Why Teams Fail?

For centuries, Teams have been set up and run to allow collective responsibility rather than efficient
decision making. It is assumed that Teams will err on the side of caution and are no better at achieving the
correct answer than individuals. However, teams have the potential to make better decisions and make it
easier for those decisions to be transferred into action after the team has finished its work.

In order to take advantage of the clear benefits of teamwork, it is important to manage the team properly.
This involves understanding how to construct a team and how it is likely to behave. Generally teams fail:

When they are not given authority

When they do not understand how to use their combined abilities
Because of vested interests
When they do not understand team working

If the team is not taken seriously or given a clear remit and authority to take decisions, nothing will be
achieved. Even with a clear purpose and commitment from directors, the team still needs to understand
how to work together

Common problems with teams

• Getting confused or wondering what actions to take next.

o Remedy: Use project planning discussions, agendas, minutes and timetables to organize
the team's work.

• Overbearing team members who use authority to overrule discussion or solutions.

o Remedy: Use team consensus instead.

• Dominating team members who talk or bully their way into getting the group to go along.
o Remedy: Use consensus and make sure that everyone is active.

• Reluctant team members who are never heard from!

o Remedy: Make sure everyone participates in issues about the project.

• Acceptance of opinions as facts.

o Remedy: Make sure that sources are noted and opinions are stated as they actually
are/were.

• Rush to accomplishment trying to finish too quickly with work that is too shoddy.
o Remedy: Plan out the work; assign responsibilities and deadlines.

• Assigning motives to others ("He's trying to sabotage our work!").

o Remedy: Check for understanding; ask!

• Ideas that are not acknowledged by others on the team.

o Remedy: Develop a procedure for listing and later addressing each idea.

• Having arguments with team members who bring their "issues" in from outside.
o Remedy: Be reasonable and honest, what is wrong is wrong and what is right is right.

When people get together to work for a common purpose as a team ,conflicts happen. Actually conflict
is one of the major common problems of teams. Team members/supervisors/managers/leaders take

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conflict in negative sense, whereas, conflict is neither negative nor positive itself. Conflict is what you
make of it, what you make out of it and how you deal with it.

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 Conflicts- major common problem within teams

Conflicts are a natural and inevitable part of people working together,

sharing diverse thoughts, concerns, perspectives, and goals. As a
team supervisor/manager, you’re going to have to deal with conflict
situations both as a mediator (to help resolve conflicts between
others) and as a participant (when you, yourself, are in conflict with
someone). These situations can be complex and difficult to manage—
such as an ongoing personality clash with a co-worker—or simple
and easy to manage—such as two associates disagreeing over a
meeting agenda.

Unfortunately, team supervisors/managers often make the mistake of

treating all conflicts as destructive confrontations that should be
avoided or resolved as quickly as possible. In reality many conflicts
provide an important opportunity to improve business results. Hard
to believe—conflict a good thing? Yes. Disagreements and differing
points of view, when managed properly, are essential to an innovative workplace.

For the most part, conflicts are not big, emotional blowouts or scenes of physical violence—although these
can and do occur, especially in workplaces in which conflict is not managed well. Conflicts usually involve
the small stuff that continuously grinds down working relationships in teams. These can include:

• Loud radios, talking, or other noises that distract co-workers

• Someone grabbing the last table available in canteen at lunch
• Someone barging into your office and interrupting your work
• Someone leaving the copy machine with the message ‘refill paper tray’
• Someone discounting what you say in a meeting

Getting along with people in the workplace and in teams -- with bosses, customers and co-workers, isn’t
just about dealing with conflict when it occurs, but about learning how to prevent destructive conflict from
happening in the first place.

Defusing hostile, manipulative people is important, since there will be situations where, unprovoked,
people will treat you badly no matter what you do. A good amount of workplace conflict simply isn’t
necessary. It is created because people (and that means all of us) do and say things that are likely to cause
conflict. Usually we don’t do so intentionally. We do so because we aren’t aware of how our own behavior;
the ways we communicate, actually contribute to creating problems for ourselves and for those around us.

While we aren’t always aware of how we create interpersonal problems, we all know enough about
language and communication to know what helps us work well with others, and what contributes to rocky
relationships. It’s just that we don’t use more cooperative approaches consistently. Sometimes we forget, or
are frustrated and annoyed, or have a bad day. Then we slip up, and create conflict that isn’t necessary.

Resolving inter-team conflict

As it has been stated before that disagreements are a part of work place and teams. There are two types of
conflicts:
• Substantive conflict (disagreements over issues-policies, professional priorities, authority,
responsibility)
• Personalized conflict (emotionally laden, has more to do with the personalities of the individuals
than actual issues)

Conflict does not pop up from nowhere there are certain elements within workplace and teams that prove to
be the sources of different conflicts such as:

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 • Communication breakdowns • Inconsistent applications of policies
• Competition over scarce resources • Unrealized expectations
• Structural problems • Time pressures
• Unclear job boundaries

Conflict Resolution Styles

The key to success is in resolving the conflict for better performance; different conflicts need to be resolved
with different approach. It is the conflict resolution approach that makes it constructive or destructive.
Listed below are the approaches to conflict resolution.

• Withdraw/avoid Appropriate when the issue is perceived to be minor and the costs of solving the
problem are greater than the benefits derived.

• Accommodate/oblige Encourages cooperation because it implies the rule of reciprocity; that is,
you give up something now to eventually get something of value in return.

• Compromise “win some, lose some.” Problems arise when one is known to compromise all of
the time. The other side will inflate their demands and waste valuable time.

• Compete/force/dominate “I win, you lose.” and may foster resentment and cause long-term
problems.

• Collaborate/integrate/problem solving “Win-win.” because both sides collaborate to get what

they want. This encourages mutual trust and respect, but is time-consuming and is not applicable
to all types of conflict.

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Complaints and Grievances

Team members, who are in a position where they need to supervise/manage staff, have to deal with these
two culprits in order to develop and maintain healthy professional relationships in teams. Supervisors
should handle employee complaints and grievances in a systematic and professional manner. Before going
to the problem solving techniques lets see how the two elements differ from each other.

Complaint Any individual or group problem or dissatisfaction the employees can channel upward to
management

Grievance A formal complaint involving the interpretation or application of the labor agreement in a
unionized setting

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Procedures

ADR may utilize approaches such as:

• Ombudsman or counselor • A jury or panel of employees and

• Mediator (often third party) managers
• Med-arb

These approaches are types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which means complaints are processed
and decided on internally. ADR can prevent lawsuits.

Moreover, open and frank communication at the first step is usually the key element in finding an amicable
resolution of the problem. Supervisors/managers should strive to handle employee grievances at the first
step.

Guidelines for Resolving Complaints and Grievances

Below are some tips for resolving work place and team conflict

• Make time available. If a hearing does not occur quickly, the team member could become
frustrated and feel resentful.
• Listen patiently and with an open mind. The supervisor/manager should not become preoccupied
with defending and justifying his or her own position. Open discussion will often defuse or work
out the situation.
• Distinguish facts from opinions. Be cautious about relying on hearsay and opinionated statements.
Take the time to gather information, while being mindful of making a quick decision.
• Determine the real issue. What is the employee really concerned about? If the real issue is not
defined and settled, complaints of a similar nature are likely to be raised again.
• Check and consult. Consult the appropriate labor agreement, manual, or human resources
department before making a decision.
• Avoid setting precedents. The supervisor/manager should make a decision that’s consistent with
established procedures. The supervisor/manager must explain departures from previous decisions.
• Exercise self-control. Emotions, arguments, and personality clashes can distort communication.
Supervisor/manager should not lose control of their emotions, and should consult with higher-
level managers or HR if necessary.
• Minimize delay in reaching a decision. An employee should know when management will make a
decision. Postponements will make the employee feel ignored and cause further resentment.
• Explain the decision clearly and with sensitivity. The supervisor/manager should give a
straightforward answer and be as specific as possible about the reasons for the decision.
• Keep records and documents. Documentation can be very supportive in case an appeal to the
decision is made.

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 • Do not fear a challenge. Supervisor/manager should make every effort to resolve the problem at
their level. Never grant a request or settle a complaint just to avoid an argument.
Action Plan for Self Improvement
Below are major topics discussed during this two day training. In order to use this training as a productive
tool for improvement, you can identify your present skill level and prepare your own action plan with
strategy and timeline to improve where feel less competent in order to be an effective part of a successful
team. It is simply a matter of self discipline that how accurate you evaluate yourself and then analyze that
in which area you need to improve.

Area Existing skill level

01-Low 02 03 04-High
Tram formation process
Team vision & goals
Team roles and individual characteristics
Effective team supervisor/member
Trust within team
Common problems of team
Resolving conflicts in team

 Develop a strategy in your group with specific action’s list

Area Our Strategies

Team formation process

Team vision & goals

Team roles and individual characteristics

Effective team supervisor/member

Trust within teams

Common problems of team

Resolving conflicts in team

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Story begins...
A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what food
might it contain?
He was shocked to discover that it was a mouse trap!

Moving back to the farmyard, the mouse announced the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, there
is a mouse trap in the house." The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I
can tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered be it."

The mouse turned to the goat and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house." "I am so very sorry Mr.
Mouse," sympathized the goat, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are in
my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger,
Duh?"

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer's mouse trap alone. That
very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its victim.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a poisonous
snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.
She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the
farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that
friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the goat. The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and so
many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you,
remember that when the least of us is in danger, we are all at risk.

Albert Einstein says:

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people
who don't do anything about it."

ACCORDING TO QURAN:
"You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind.
You command the right, forbid the wrong and believe in Allah."

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