Team Talk, Team Walk: Building Stronger Teams in Contract Training

Huge untapped potential

Most organizations have HUGE untapped potential for performance increase if they properly train and use teams You have to look and ask, Is this work better done by a team?

11 Failure Points for Teams

1
2 3 4 5

Calling all groups a team Too many meetings No empowerment No linking skills and responsibilities Lack of leadership training Lack of belief in team process

Lack of communication among teams 8 Unclear communication of teams purpose 9 Lack of alignment with your institutional goals 10 Managerial sabotage

Six Team Basics

Small number (>12) Complementary skills Common purpose Common goals Commonly agreed upon approach to work Mutual accountability

The primary key to success

A team must be formed and driven by performance outcomes.
A well-defined, clear and compelling challenge is jet fuel for a team.

Team Leaders are NOT the Team

Even a good leader cant make a team
A wide variety of people can lead a team if they have a clear performance outcome and the 6 team basics Still, leaders are important

What Team Leaders Do

Keep purpose, goals, and approach relevant and meaningful Build commitment and confidence Strengthen the mix and level of skills Manage relationships with outsiders & remove obstacles Create opportunities for others

What Do We Need to Monitor?

Themes and identity Enthusiasm and energy Event driven history Personal commitment Performance results

Strong and Balanced Work Ethic Makes a Difference

A balanced performance ethic will lead to more consistent team success than most other factors Without it, performance among teams tends to be random This has to be CREATED, not just found

Using the Right Language for Team Talk

Every work group is not a team
Nor should they be

Most teams have leaders but their performance should come from the team, not the boss
For some performance objectives, direction from the boss works best

On the Way to Success

Clearly identify potential teams as those teams not yet performing as a teamstill developing and learning the basics of teamwork
Then, when they are operating as a team, call them that

High Performance Teams

These are the few, really extraordinary teams where the 6 basics are applied against an objective with extraordinary
commitment, skill and intensity.

More key issues

Goals must be practical Recognition of constraints on
time, capacity and location

Basics must be implemented

Commonsense Knowledge about Teams

A demanding performance goal tends to create a team Rigorous attention to team basics creates success, but many companies skip it Team performance opportunities exist at all levels of the organization Teams at the top are the hardest Most organizations intrinsically prefer individual over team accountability

Not-so-commonsense Knowledge about Teams

Organizations with strong performance standards tend to produce higher performing teams than ones that have teams just to have teams.
Hierarchy and teams go together well.

Not-so-commonsense Knowledge about Teams

Teams naturally integrate performance and learning, balancing short term & longer term performance.
Teams are becoming a primary work group format because problems are too complex for individual performance

Focusing on Team Basics

RESULTS

SPECIFIC GOALS COMMON APPROACH MEANINGFUL PURPOSE

COLLECTIVE PRODUCTS

commitment

PERSONAL GROWTH

Building Teams: Complementary Skills

Technical or functional expertise Problem-solving skills Decision-making skills Interpersonal skills

Committed to a Common Purpose & Performance Goals

Common purpose sets meaningful tone and aspiration The specific performance goals come from the teams purpose Those two things performance

Common Approach
Vision: collaborative development Working agreements Processes: clearly established

Mutual Accountability
Promises to self and other

Create a foundation of trust and commitment

Team Building
Establish urgency and direction Select members based on skill and skill potential, not personalities Pay close attention to first meetings and actions Set clear rules of behavior Set immediate focus on a few performance tasks and goals

Team Building
Spend lots of time together Use positive feedback, recognition and reward Integrating external members with internal

4 Phases of Team Development

Forming: positive emotions, planning, laying ground rules Storming: conflict is normal and has potential to from strong bonds if well managed Norming: lay groundwork for trust and how to work together effectively Performing: click into high functioning synthesized group

When is The Team Done?

Identifying Clear Purpose & Goals Celebrating Completion & Success Re-forming vs. Dismantling

Identifying Opportunities for Teams in Your Organization

Take a moment and make a list where you have high performance teams false teams opportunity to create a team

How to avoid this?

Questions? Thanks!
Kassia@uoregon.edu