Communicating in

Teams
Lina Melkonian
SJSU Career Center
 Top Skills Sought By
Recruiters

 Communication—
Oral/Written
 Interpersonal/Social
 Critical Thinking
 Leadership
 Teamwork

Business Communications Quarterly, Volume 65, March 2002, pages 21-36

Teambuilding Lessons From
Geese
 Why do geese fly in a V formation?

 What happens when a goose falls out of

formation?

 What happens when the lead goose gets tired?

 Why do geese in formation honk from behind?

 What happens when a goose gets sick or

wounded?
 Communicating in Teams

What is a Team?

A team is a unit of two or more people who work

together to achieve a goal. Team members share a
mission and the responsibility to achieve it.

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Types of Workplace Teams

Problem Solving Taskforces

Committees Virtual Teams

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Overview of Teams

Advantages Disadvantages

Information & knowledge Groupthink

Diversity of views Hidden agendas

Acceptance of solutions Free riders

Performance High costs

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Group Dynamics

Rules Norms Identity

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Team Decision Making

 Orientation
 Conflict
 Brainstorming
 Emergence
 Reinforcement

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Roles People Play in Groups

Self- Group- Task-

Oriented Maintenance Facilitating

Controlling Encouraging Initiating

Withdrawing Harmonizing Information Seeking

Attention Seeking Compromising Coordinating

Diverting Procedure Setting

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Being a Facilitator is like being a

Referee
Facilitators focus on the process the team is using to get results. On
effective teams, every member feels responsible for the process, not
just the leader.

A facilitator like a referee, makes sure the team operates in an

organized manner. A referee does not supervise team strategies, but
rather makes sure that the teams are observing the rules of the
game.

Making sure that the team is operating in a fair, organized and

respectful manner is called facilitation, and it is the responsibility of
all team members.
 Communicating in Teams

Team Leadership

As employers reduce their layers of management and as companies

become flatter, individual contributors are increasingly asked to
lead teams.

Leaders Lead, Don’t Rule!

Successful team leaders demonstrate the ability to listen to other

team members first, then share their points of view.

Team Leaders Are Great Facilitators

Facilitation is a vital communication tool for effective team leaders.

 Communicating in Teams

Clear
Clear
Effective
Effective Open
Open
Purpose
Purpose Teams
Teams
Communication
Communication

Consensus
Consensus
Creative
Creative Decision
Decision
Thinking
Thinking Making
Making

Focused
Focused Conflict
Conflict
Efforts
Efforts Collaborative
Collaborative Resolution
Resolution
Relationships
Relationships

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Conflict in Teams
Scarce
ScarceResources
Resources

Task
TaskResponsibilities
Responsibilities

Poor
PoorCommunication
Communication

Attitudes
Attitudesand
andValues
Values

Power
PowerStruggles
Struggles

Conflicting
ConflictingGoals
Goals

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Resolving Conflict

Proaction

Fairness Research

Communication

Alliance Flexibility

Openness

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Overcoming Resistance

 Express understanding

 Raise awareness

 Evaluate objections

 Withhold arguments

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Purpose Participants

PRODUCTIVE
MEETINGS

Agenda Location

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Focus

Procedures

Effective
Participation
Meetings
Closing

Follow-Up
From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003
 Communicating in Teams

Three Types Content

Of Listening Listening

Critical
Listening

Empathetic
Purpose and Feedback
Listening

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Barriers to Listening

Self-
Prejudgment
Centeredness

Selective
Listening

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Check Points for Meeting

Facilitators

 Is this discussion being productive?

 Are agreements being reached?
 Are new ideas being generated?
 Are people understanding each other?
 What is being committed to?
 What is the best use of the group’s time now?
 Are we meeting the objectives of the meeting?

Bruce Withrow, Conversation Types, Affinity Consulting

 Communicating in Teams

Nonverbal Communication

Honesty Reliability

Efficiency

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Types of Nonverbal
Communication
Facial Gestures
Expressions and Posture

Use of Vocal
Time and Space Characteristics

Touching Personal
Behavior Appearance

From Business Communication Today, Prentice Hall, 2003

 Communicating in Teams

Commitment
Communication
Contribution

Cooperation

Change
Conflict Management
Management

Connections
Suzanne Willis Zoglio, 7 Keys to Building Great Workteams
The end