BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

AS1

Types of teams

Working in small groups

For this activity you will need marker pens and some large sheets of paper or flip-chart paper. Running the public services requires many different teams if the job is to be done effectively. Consider how many types of team you know, and do you know what they actually do to help coordinate the services? Produce a mind map that identifies as many types of team as you can think of and their responsibilities. The mind map has been started for you below.

Project group

TYPES OF TEAMS

Task force

For each type of team you have identified, explain whether that team makes a big or small impact on the work of the uniformed public services. Discuss whether all types of teams are really needed?

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

AS2

Leadership styles

A leadership style is the manner and approach used in providing direction for a team, implementing plans and motivating people to complete a task. There are several different leadership styles, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Using the table below, identify to which public services the following leadership styles are best suited, and explain your answers.
Authoritarian

Democratic

Laissez faire

Transactional

Transformational

Bureaucratic

People orientated

Task orientated

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

AS3

Team leader qualitites

In theory anyone can be a team leader, although some people will make better leaders than others. However, as long as someone is interested and willing, with an idea of how to communicate well, understand the needs of others, offer support and be flexible, then they have the basics to develop their leadership skills. In the space provided write for each service the leadership qualities that would be important for that service, and explain why. Armed services

The Police Service

The Prison Service

The Probation Service

The Fire Service

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

AS4

Communication within teams

It is important that a leader possesses a number of skills, and one of the most important is good communication. Effective communication is crucial for the uniformed public services, particularly as a major part of their work involves briefing and debriefing teams. Working in groups Discuss the difference between verbal and non-verbal communication, and the importance of good communication when working as part of a team. Working in pairs Considering what you have discussed, sit back to back with your partner. One person is given a picture and describes what they see and the other draws what they are told. You are not permitted to use descriptive words or names to explain what you see. When you have completed this activity, change roles, and then consider the following questions. 1. How did you both feel when you could only listen and not look at your partners body language?

2.

Is body language important when communicating? Why?

3.

Was the activity more or less difficult than you thought? Explain why?

4.

Which role did you prefer to take? What is the reason for your decision?

5.

Why is it important in the public services to actively listen? Can you give an example?

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

AS5

Briefing and debriefing teams

Team briefings are similar to meetings and are a verbal process of getting information to people quickly and efficiently. A briefing should be an open and structured two-way communication process, and is not just about informing the team about what they are required to do. Often there will be no written records of team briefings as they are applied to one-off situations, which are often practical in nature. Debriefings are used extensively by the armed forces (and other services) and involve troops or personnel giving feedback about their mission/task. The information generated is then assessed, and the troops or personnel are instructed on what they can talk about and what is strictly confidential. The information given is also used to assess the mental condition of the participants, and to determine when they can return to duty. Working in small groups Choose a leader and participate in a command task. For each new activity you need a new leader. As leader, you need to demonstrate briefing and debriefing of your task. On your return to the classroom, you need to answer the following questions. 1. When you briefed the team, what things did you address?

2.

What leadership style did you adopt?

3.

Who had what team role in the group? Did this work, or would it have worked better a different way? Explain your answer.

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

AS6

Personal preparation

Working in small groups

Personal preparation is very important to leadership and teamwork in the uniformed services. If you are not personally prepared to do your part, you are letting the team down as their leader and harming the overall team performance. Prepare and deliver to your class a presentation that examines personal preparation when working as part of a team. You must include areas, such as organising activities and equipment, accountability, responsibility, openness to criticism from your colleagues and leader, and maintaining focus when you are given a task. Using the space below, create a mind map of your ideas for the presentation.

PERSONAL PREPARATION

On a separate piece of paper, at the end of the presentations, your peers will evaluate your presentation and write a 100-word constructive feedback report.

AS7

Qualities and skills of a leader

Working in small groups

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

You are to plan an activity for a group of schoolchildren. You are taking the children to an activity centre to encourage them to work as a team. Produce a list of targets that you need to achieve in order for this activity to take place. For example, what do the children need to get out of the activity day? What would be the main objective? Compare your list with those of the other groups in your class.

Part of the process of target setting is to evaluate the outcomes against the targets. Revisit the targets that you have set above and look at the positive and negatives of each of them. Now that you are familiar with target setting and evaluating, compile at least five personal targets that you will evaluate on a regular basis, from now until the end of your BTEC course. For example, a target might be to become a part-time volunteer at your local youth centre. Evaluation of this target may show that it would be useful to have it on your CV, when applying for the Police Service.

AS8

Teambuilding

A medium-sized team within an organisation is working towards a set of goals and targets. However, some members of the team are not organising or prioritising their workload, there is a breakdown in

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

communication, and there is an element of group conflict. The targets that the group have are repeatedly being missed, and therefore productivity is deteriorating. 1. What will be the impact on the organisation if this team continues to operate in this way?

2.

If you were the manager of this team, what would you do to raise team spirits and ultimately the organisations productivity?

3.

If this were a public services team, how would this affect the particular service and ultimately the general public that they serve?

4.

In small groups discuss the need for good teamwork, and consider the effects of poor leadership.

AS9

Types of teams in the public services

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

Research how the following teams operate and complete the second column in the table with a summary of your findings.
Type of team Divisional Summary of their responsibilities

Departmental

Sectional

Geographical

Multi-disciplinary

Regiment

Brigade

Force

Multi-agency/service teams

Specialist teams, e.g. Search and Rescue

Explain the rationale of each type of team and consider their influence on the effectiveness of a service; for example, regiments in the army. Use the back of the sheet to add your own examples.

AS10

Team performance
9

Working in the same groups as you did for AS5

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

Discuss your teams performance and experiences of the activity, and address the following questions ready for a class discussion. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. How were decisions made? Who influenced the decisions and how? How could better decisions have been made? How was conflict managed? How did people feel about the decisions? What have you learnt about the team roles of this group? How would you do the activity differently if you were asked to do it again? How do you think this type of scenario is reflected in any of the uniformed public services?

The theory of Belbin states that there are nine roles within a team. Within your group, decide which members displayed the nine characteristics the most during the AS5 activity. Prepare your findings to discuss with the rest of the class. Plant. Creative, imaginative. Solves difficult problems. However, tends to ignore incidentals and be too immersed to communicate effectively. Resource investigator. Extrovert, enthusiastic, communicative. Explores opportunities and networks with others. However, can be over-optimistic and loses interest after initial enthusiasm has gone. Coordinator. Belbin's Coordinator is mature, confident and a natural chairperson. Clarifies goals, promotes decision making and delegates effectively. However, can be seen as manipulative and controlling. Shaper. Challenging, dynamic, thrives under pressure. Jumps hurdles using determination and courage. However, can be easily provoked and ignorant of the feelings of others. Monitor/Evaluator. Even tempered, strategic and discerning. Sees all the options and judges accurately. However, can lack drive and inspired leadership qualities. Teamworker. Cooperative, relationship focused, sensitive and diplomatic. Belbin described the Teamworker as a good listener who builds relationships and who dislikes confrontation. However, can be indecisive in a crisis. Implementer. Disciplined, reliable, conservative and efficient. Acts on ideas. However can be inflexible and slow to see new opportunities. Completer/Finisher. Conscientious and anxious to get the job done. An eye for detail, good at searching out the errors. Finishes and delivers on time. However, can be a worrier and reluctant to delegate. Specialist. Single-minded self starter. Dedicated and provides specialist knowledge. The most dedicated specialist. However, can be stuck in their niche with little interest in the world outside, and dwells on technicalities.

Unit overview

Credits: 10

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

The public services are planned and executed by highly skilled personnel responsible for the safety and well-being of others. The challenging careers in this sector offer a sense of job satisfaction that learners would be hard pressed to find in any other career. The ability to lead teams is critical to the public services. This unit introduces learners to the principles of team leadership and teamwork in a public services context. In many roles in this area they will need to be prepared to take on a great deal of responsibility. They will undergo training to become the future management of vital public services and recruiters will be looking for leadership potential: for emergency planners who could coordinate the emergency services in a crisis, or military officers who could command the respect of their teams. In emergency situations or military operations, the ability to communicate with colleagues and the general public is essential. This is also true for many vital administrative or technical roles, where learners will need to work as part of a highly trained team to provide logistical or strategic support for the services across a region or with forces posted around the world. Public service jobs in this area require something extra: commitment to working for the people in the community or, in the case of the military, for the nation. Potential employers will be interested to learn about their motivations and learners will have the chance to highlight them in their applications, interviews and assessments. It is important to investigate the different styles of leadership and how they are used in the public services, and explore the importance of team development and the benefits of teamworking in the uniformed public services. PLTS and functional skills are both incorporated into the unit and linked with assessment activities providing learners with the opportunity to generate evidence for additional qualifications. On completion of this unit, learners should: LO1 understand the styles of leadership and the role of a team leader LO2 be able to communicate effectively to brief and debrief teams LO3 be able to use appropriate skills and qualities to lead a team LO4 be able to participate in teamwork activities within the public services LO5 understand team development.

Unit contents
The scheme of work (page 23) links to the following resources to help you deliver Unit 2.
LO1 Lesson plan Activity sheet Stretch and support PowerPoint Video

LO2 AS4, AS5, AS6 E2

LO3 AS6, AS7, AS8 E3

LO4 AS8, AS9 E3, E4

LO5 AS9, AS10 E3, E4

LP AS1, AS2, AS3 E1 PPT V

All of these resources can be found on the accompanying CD-ROM, as well as an editable version of the scheme of work, and answers to questions in the Student Book.

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

Links to other units

Unit 2 links to other units in this public services qualification as shown below and provides lots of opportunities to cross-reference and combine assignment work for these units.
BTEC Level 3 National Public Services units Unit 4 Understanding discipline in the uniformed public services Unit 5 Physical preparation, health and lifestyle for the public services Unit 9 Outdoor and adventurous expeditions Unit 13 Command and control in the uniformed public services

How to deliver the unit

This unit encompasses both theory and practice, with reference to teamwork and leadership. It is essential that the learner has a fundamental theoretical understanding of the subject of this unit, which will lead to the successful completion of practical team activities. In this unit, learners will benefit from the external experience and expertise of guest/visiting speakers. The wealth of knowledge and contemporary practical examples will help them contextualise theory into practice. Practical sessions are important to this unit, for both leadership and team skills and to encourage the learners to demonstrate what they have learnt. Learners should explore activities such as those devised by Meredith Belbin. They should be able to explore what kind of a person they are, what skills they have and what leadership capabilities they can demonstrate. Some may be able to draw on experiences they already have in uniformed organisations (such as the Armed Forces Cadets). Another helpful delivery tool is the use of television programmes, such as The Apprentice and other reality shows, which illustrate both effective and ineffective features of team activity. The activity sheets will support your delivery and can be adapted to suit individuals, pairs and small groups. The scheme of work also includes suggestions for delivery.

Useful resources
There are many different sources of help and resources that are available online. Some of the websites that may support learning for this area are listed below. It may also be possible to use websites in class that will bring up-to-date public service issues into the classroom, such as BBC News or YouTube.

Websites
www.businessballs.com (free materials, articles and ideas for the ethical development of people, business and organisations) www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm (Business Balls Tuckman) www.belbin.com (home to Belbin team roles) www.peterhoney.com (Peter Honey Publications learning and behaviour) www.army.mod.uk/aosb (Officer Selection British Army website, for an example of a written planning exercise)

Books
Adair, J. Effective Teambuilding: How to Make a Winning Team (Pan, 1987) Belbin, M. Team Roles at Work (Butterworth-Heinemann, 1996)

Articles from journals and magazines

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BTEC Level 3 National Public Services

Unit 2 Leadership and teamwork in the public services

Business Review magazine (Philip Allan Updates)

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