Develop Your Team Building Skills

By Paul Parcon, Lotus Press, 2007

Many view teams as the best about team building and how
organization design for to go about it. About the Author:
involving all employees in Paul Parcon is a practical
creating business success and down-to-earth
and profitability. management consultant
who provides creative
solutions to organizations.
However, how to develop
and implement the M r. Pa r c o n h a s b e e n
disciplines, frameworks, and successfully reviewing and
techniques required for team upgrading existing
building and good team management strategies and
performance - and/or how to tools. The solutions he has
come up with are of
improve upon what is already increasing importance given
in place and in play - is a the uncertainties faced by
question that many modern business executives
executives, organizations and managers.
and companies, both large
The complex problems
and small, are constantly
faced by managers today,
asking themselves. both within their
organizations and outside
There is a real need for them, have led Mr. Parcon to
groups of all sorts to learn read the summary write simple but effective
strategy books on
management topics.

Inside This Book Summary:

ŸThe Big Idea ŸWhat Team Building Should be and

ŸWhy You Need This Book What it Shouldn’t Be
ŸThe Need for Team Building ŸCharacteristics of a Team
ŸThe Ingredients of Team Building Leader
ŸTypes of Teams ŸSteps to Building an
ŸSkills Needed for Teamwork Effective Team
ŸTeam Development ŸWhat to Do About Team
Failures?

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Why You Need This Book
This book on team building provides tools for the
d e velopment o f indiv i d u a l s, teams, a n d
organizations, with a special focus on the
formation of teams and motivating them to
achieve their goals. It tackles each step of the
team-building process, beginning by discussing
the need for team building in the first place, and
ending by providing advice on what to do in case
teams fail to achieve their objectives.
ŸApathy and lack of involvement
ŸLack of initiation, imagination, innovation;
routine actions taken for solving complex
problems
ŸC o m p l a i n t s o f d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o r
favouritism
ŸI n e f f e c t i v e s t a f f m e e t i n g s , l o w
participation, minimally effective decisions

ŸNegative reactions to the manager

The Need for Team Building
ŸComplaints about quality service

The Ingredients of Team Building

When a team in an organizational development
context embarks upon a process of self-
assessment, it gauges its own effectiveness to
improve performance. The symptoms that signal
a need for team building are:

ŸDecreased productivity
Ingredients seen as important to the successful
ŸConflicts or hostility among staff members set-up and launch of such team efforts include:

ŸConfusion about assignments, missed ŸSelection of participants

signals, and unclear relationships
ŸEstablishing visions, goals, missions
ŸDecisions misunderstood or not carried and/or objectives
through properly
ŸDistribution of workload

About the Book: ŸTimetabling

ŸBalancing skill-sets
Author: Paul Parcon
Publisher: Lotus Press ŸMetrics
Date of Publication: 2007
ISBN: 81-8382-095-6 ŸHarmonizing personality types
130 pages
ŸTraining on how to work together

Develop Your Team Building Skills, by Paul Parcon 2 of 6

Types of Teams
INTERDEPENDENT TEAM. No
significant task can be accomplished
without the help of essentially all team
members and the success of every
individual is inextricably bound to the
success of the whole team.
INDEPENDENT TEAM. A tennis team is a
classic example for this where matches are
played and won by individuals or partners,
every person performs basically the same
actions, and whether one player wins or
loses has no direct effect on the
performance of the next player.
VIRTUAL TEAM. Consists of members
joined electronically, with nominal in-
person contact. Virtual teaming is made
possible with technology tools, especially
the Internet. This allows teams to be
formed of players otherwise unavailable.
PROJECT TEAM. A team used only for a
defined period of time and for a separate,
concretely definable purpose, often
becomes known as a project team.
Skills Needed for Teamwork
Aside from any required technical proficiency, a
wide variety of social skills are desirable for
successful teamwork, including:
Develop Your Team Building Skills, by Paul Parcon
Listening - it is important to listen to other
people's ideas. When people are allowed to
freely express their ideas, these initial ideas
will produce other ideas.
Questioning - it is important to ask questions,
interact, and discuss the objectives of the
team.
Persuading - individuals are encouraged to
exchange, defend, and then to ultimately
rethink their ideas.
Respecting - it is important to treat others
with respect and to support their ideas.
Helping - it is crucial to help one's co-workers,
which is the general theme of teamwork.
Sharing - it is important to share with the team
to create an environment of teamwork.
Participating - all members of the team are
encouraged to participate in the team.
Team Development
The forming-storming-norming-performing model
takes the team through four stages of team
development and maps quite well on to many
project management life cycle models, such as
initiation - definition - planning- realization.
Stage 1: Forming
The principal work for the team during the
Forming stage is to create a team with clear
structure, goals, direction and roles so that
members begin to build trust. During the
Forming stage, much of the team's energy is
focused on defining the team, so task
accomplishment may be relatively low.
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 Stage 2: Storming What Team Building Should Be and
Team Tasks during the Storming stage of What It Shouldn’t Be
development call for the team to refocus on
its goals, perhaps breaking larger goals
down into smaller, achievable steps.

A redefinition of the team's goals, roles and

tasks can help team members past the
frustration or confusion they experience Team building must be:
during the Storming stage.
ŸA way of life

Stage 3: Norming ŸThe responsibility of every Team Member

Members shift their energy to the team's
goals and show an increase in productivity, ŸA continuous process
in both individual and collective work.
ŸAbout developing a clear and unique
The team may find that this is an appropriate identity
time for an evaluation of team processes
and productivity. ŸFocused on a clear and consistent set of
goals

Stage 4: Performing ŸConcerned with the needs and ambitions

The team makes significant progress of each team member recognizing the
towards its goals. Accomplishments in team unique contribution that each individual can
process or progress are measured and make
celebrated.
ŸAn awareness of the potential of the team
as a unit
Stage 5: Termination/Ending
During this stage, the team should focus on ŸResults oriented
three tasks:
ŸEnjoyable
1. Completion of any deliverables and
closure on any remaining team work
Team building must NOT be:
2. Evaluation of the team's process and
product, with a particular focus on ŸA short-term, flavor-of-the-month project
identifying “lessons learned” and
passing these on to the sponsor for ŸImposed without regard to people's
future teams to use feelings

3. Creating a closing celebration that ŸSpasmodic

acknowledges the contributions of
individuals and the accomplishments of
the team and that formally ends this
particular team's existence.
ŸReserved for only some members of the
team
ŸAn excuse for not meeting personal
responsibilities

Develop Your Team Building Skills, by Paul Parcon 4 of 6

 ŸA process where actions clearly
contradict intentions
ŸSeen as a chore
Steps to Building an Effective Team
Characteristics of a Team Leader
There are several ways in which the team
leader can contribute to creating a positive
climate within the team:
1. One of the most powerful forces is to put
forward, in cooperation with team
members, an exciting vision/purpose of
what the team is to achieve.
2. The team leader, where possible, should
help select or influence the composition of
team members.
3. The team leader can provide the
leadership for helping the team develop an
understood and accepted set of principles
that will contribute to their success.
4. The team leader should be the liaison
between the team and upper
management.
5. The team leader needs to know and
work with upper management to obtain full
commitment from them in support of the
team's program.
6. The team leader can encourage team
member growth, and should be willing to
take some risk by having members whose
resources are relevant to the immediate
task provide the leadership.
7. The team leader should be fair,
supportive, and recognized by team
Develop Your Team Building Skills, by Paul Parcon
members as one who can make final
judgments, work with upper management,
and give direction to the team as needed.
ŸConsider each employee's ideas as
valuable.
ŸBe aware of employees' unspoken feelings.
ŸAct as a harmonizing influence.
ŸBe clear when communicating.
ŸEncourage trust and cooperation among
employees on your team.
ŸEncourage team members to share
information.
ŸDelegate problem-solving tasks to the team.
ŸFacilitate communication.
ŸEstablish team values and goals; evaluate
team performance.
ŸMake sure that you have a clear idea of what
you need to accomplish.
ŸUse consensus.
ŸSet ground rules for the team.
ŸEstablish a method for arriving at a
consensus.
ŸEncourage listening and brainstorming.
ŸEstablish the parameters of consensus-
building sessions.
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What to Do About Team Failures? 9. Form friendships. Having a “best friend at
work” is one of the important factors that
contribute to high-performing teams.

10. Fire people who refuse to join in. We all know

the people who sit back, arms crossed, and let
everyone else do the work.

11. Give permission to start over. Make it clear

The following measures should be taken for
securing success for teams:
1. Learn about teams. You wouldn't invest in
capital equipment without first finding out how it
works and what it will (or won't) do for you. Make
sure to do the same regarding teams.
2. Learn before you leap. Visit other companies,
read, and send people to conferences, among
other things.
that mistakes are expected and are just another
way to eliminate what won't work in order to get
to the successes.
12. Appreciate how powerful teams really are!
The momentum they bring to any problem,
decision, or direction can be unstoppable and
highly influential.

3. Develop your vision and strategy. This is not a

mystical leap or a list of pious principles to hang
on a plaque in the lobby. Create a specific picture
of what you want to have in place when you're
successful.

4. Explore readiness. Take a careful look at where ~///~

to start.

5. Choose the right team structure to fit your

needs.

6. Craft a plan. You can't implement workplace

teams in an ad-hoc fashion.

7. Focus on real work. Effective work teams, by

definition, get high-quality results with high levels
of engagement and satisfaction for their
members.

8. Expect transition time. Hurrying the team's

development and expecting miracles too soon
will only short-circuit their effectiveness.

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