TEAM BUILDING

UNIT -4

Introduction
Coming together is a Beginning Keeping together is Progress; Working together is Success
Henry Ford

and

Why Build Teams

BUILDS RELATIONSHIP REDUCES STRESS Raise Moral Enhance Communication Reward, Recognition & motivation Stimulates creativity

Team

A group of two or more people Organized to work together To achieve a set of objectives That cannot be achieved effectively by individuals.

You Americans have caught on to our secret of productivity in Japan teams! But we will still win. You think all you need to do is to put people together in groups and something will happen. We know thats only the beginning.

-- President of Matsushita

Proctor & Gamble lowered its manufacturing cost by 35% GE improved productivity by 200 % Toyota reduced its defect rate to the lowest in the industry.

Team:
A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable.

Small number 2 to ten people Complementary skills appropriate balance or mix of skills and traits Commitment to a common purpose and performance goals specific performance goals are an integral part of the purpose. Commitment to a common approach team members must agree on who will do a particular job & develop a common approach. Mutual accountability at its core, team accountability is about the sincere promises we make to others & ourselves commitment & trust.

Difference between Group and Team A group is not necessarily a team. A group can have individuals with varied interests, attitude as well as thought processes. It is not necessary that the group members would have a common objective or a common goal to achieve.

Types of Team in an Organization.

Functional or departmental teams: Groups of people from the same work area or department who meet on a regular basis to analyze customer needs, solve problems, provide members with support, promote continuous improvement, and share information. Cross-functional teams: Groups of people who are pulled together from across departments or job functions to deal with a specific product, issue, customer, problem, or to improve a particular process. Self-managing teams: Groups of people who gradually assume responsibility for self-direction in all aspects of work.

Permanent teams- These teams perform on a permanent basis and are not dissolved once the task is accomplished. Temporary teams - Unlike permanent teams, temporary teams loose their importance, once the task is accomplished. Such teams are usually formed for a shorter duration either to assist the permanent team or work when the members of the permanent team are busy in some other project.

TEAM DEVELOPMENT & PERFORMANCE Great people dont equal great teams. Tom Peters Stages of team building: 1. Stage 1- Forming :Team acquaints & establishes ground rules. 2. Stage 2 Storming : Members resist control by group leaders and show hostility. 3. Stage 3 Norming : Members work together developing close relationships & feelings of camaraderie. 4. Stage 4 Performing : Team members work toward getting their job done. 5. Stage 5 Adjourning : Team may disband on achieving their goals or because members leave.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAMS

Team members should feel that their participation is important and personally beneficial to them. Teams should only remain intact as single entities so long they are working on a particular problem. Whenever possible, the team should include some of the persons who will be responsible for implementing the decision. Members of a team must possess the appropriate balance or mix of skills and traits.

A team should be around of 5 to 15 members maximum. Members of the teams should have knowledge and information that is relevant to the problem and task. It is necessary for the team to select a leader. The influence of members on decisions in teams should be based on their capacity to contribute ( relevant expertise) and not on the authority they possess in the organization. Conflicts that develop within should be confronted and resolved with a problem solving approach, instead of being avoided or smoothed over.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INEFFECTIVE TEAMS

You cannot easily describe the teams mission. The meetings are formal, stuffy, or tense. People do not do their best in an uncomfortable atmosphere. There is a great deal of participation but little accomplishment. There is talk but not much communication. Many teams are composed of very talented people who enjoy talking but not listen to the contributions of others. Disagreements are aired in private conversations. Decisions tend to be made by the formal leader with little meaningful involvement of other team members.

Members are not open with each other because trust is low. There is confusion or disagreement about roles or work. People in other parts of the organization who are critical to the success of the team are not cooperating. There is rarely a period in a teams history when external relations are not important. The team is over loaded with people who have the same team player style. Style diversity leads to looking at all aspects of team effectiveness. The team has been in existence for at least three months and has never assessed its functioning. Periodically , teams need to assess progress towards goals and to evaluate team process.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE TEAM MEMBERS

It will be observed that organizational failures often are not a result of poor leadership but of poor follower ship. An effective team member is, therefore, on who:

Understands and is committed to group goals. Is friendly, concerned and interested in others. Acknowledges and confronts conflict openly. Listens to others with understanding. Includes others in the decision making process. Recognizes and respects individual differences.

How to Build Highly Effective Teams

Set clear goals for the results to be produced by the team. The goals should be designed to be SMART. This is an acronym for: Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant and Time-bound. define a mechanism for clear and consistent communications among team members.

Define a procedure for members to make decisions and solve problems. Determine the membership of the group-Consider the extent of expertise needed to achieve the goals, including areas of knowledge and skills. Include at least one person who has skills in facilitation and meeting management. Attempt to include sufficient diversity of values and perspectives to ensure robust ideas and discussion. A critical consideration is availability members should have the time to attend every meeting and perform required tasks between meetings. Develop staffing procedures (recruiting, training, organizing, replacing).

Determine time frames for starting and terminating the team, if applicable. Assign the role of leader Assign role of communicator communication is the lifes blood of teams-Communication is the most important trait of a successful team. It cannot be left to chance. Someone should be designated to ensure that all members receive regular communications about purpose, membership, roles and status. Communications should also be with people outside the team, especially those who make decisions or determine if the team is successful or not.

Identify needs for resources (training, materials, supplies, etc.). Identify the costs to provide necessary resources for the team-Develop a budget that itemizes the costs associated with obtaining and supporting each of the resources. Get management approval of the budget.

Contact each team member-Before the first meeting, invite each potential team member to be a part of the team. meet with each person individually. Communicate the goals of the project, why the person was selected, the benefit of the goals to the organization, the time frame for the team effort, and who will lead the team (at least initially). Invite the team member to the first meeting.

Carefully plan the first team meeting -In the first meeting, review the goals of the team, why each member was selected, the benefit of the goals to the organization, the time frame for the team effort, who will lead the team (at least, initially), when the team might meet and where, and any changes that have occurred since the individual meetings. Have this information written down to hand out to each member. At the end of the meeting, ask each person to make a public commitment to the team effort.

 Regularly monitor and report on status of team members toward achieving the goal. Supervisor Support-it is critical that supervisors of team members remain available to provide support and resources as needed. The supervisor should regularly monitor team members progress on achieving their goals. Provide ongoing encouragement and visibility to members. One of the most important forms of support a supervisor can provide is coordination with other supervisors to ensure that team members are freed up enough to attend meetings.

Regularly celebrate team members accomplishments! One of the best ways to avoid burnout is to regularly celebrate accomplishments. Otherwise, members can feel as if they are on treadmill that has no end. Keep your eye on small and recurring successes, not just the gold at the end of the rainbow.