Planning & Quality Unit
Skills and Knowledge Reference Cards
Tips for Successful Teams and Groups
What is a team?
A team is a small number of people united by a common purpose and mutual support for the achievement of specific goals.
Why use teams?
Because the combined output of a team far exceeds the summed output of all individuals.
Things an individual can do to contribute to effective team functioning
· Take responsibility for the success of the team
· Follow through on commitments
· Contribute to discussions
· Actively listen to others
· Get your message across clearly
· Give useful feedback
· Accept feedback easily
· Participate fully and encourage others to do the same
Skills that teams may need
· Listening skills
· Problem solving skills
· Assertiveness skills
· Lateral thinking skills
· Conflict resolution skills
· Negotiation skills
· Goal-setting skills
· Motivational skills
· Facilitation skills
· Time management skills
Tips for successful Teams and Groups cont.
The do’s of team behaviour
There are two main categories of “Do’s”. “Content” means what the team does. “Process” means the way in which the team does it.
Do these all the time:
CONTENT BEHAVIOURS / PROCESS BEHAVIOURS· Set Goals / · Harmonise
· Assess Resources / · Encourage
· Initiate / · Compromise
· Give Information / · Guard (against dysfunctional behaviours)
· Give Opinions / · Regulate
· Clarify / · Energise
· Summarise
The don’ts of team behaviour
Don’t allow the following to occur in team meetings:
DYSFUCTIONAL BEHAVIOUR / WHAT IT LOOKS LIKERambling / Going on and on about irrelevant or personal issues
Distracting / Introducing irrelevant issues that distract the group
Blocking / Cutting other people off
Overbearing / Using a loud voice and “loud” gestures
Boasting / Talking about how wonderful one is or one’s work group is
Dominating / Taking over the conversation
Withdrawing / Refusing to participate or contribute. Remaining silent.
Fighting / As described. It distracts the group from the agenda issues.
Special Interest Pleading / Begging for the group to consider one’s own issues
Floundering / Lacking direction – not working towards goals
Opinion Expressed as fact / Often seen when people are talking from perceptions, hearsay, observations, or guess work
Rushing to decisions / Frequently occurs when a meeting is running out of time and agenda items remain
Attributions / Bestowing qualities (either negative or positive) onto individuals or departments which may or may not be true
Plops / Sabotaging the proceedings by dropping one’s comments or important information in such a way that the group can’t hear or take note.
Facilitation Skills
What is the facilitator’s role?
· Keep the group on track
· Train the group in the approach and skills to be used for the meeting
· Manage time
· Guide the group towards completing their agenda/group goals
· Evaluate the meeting process
· In discussion:
Ø Ask for clarification
Ø Act as a gate-keeper
Ø Listen
Ø Summarise
Ø Contain digression
Ø End the discussion
Ø Test for consensus
Facilitator’s Skills
1. Active Listening
· Ask open-ended questions
· Attend to verbal and non-verbal communication
· Encourage participation
2. Clarifying
· Ask directive questions
· Paraphrase what’s been said
· Combine and build on ideas
3. Facilitating Action
· Summarise
· Confirm that members are in consensus
· Bridge to resolution or next steps
When presenting new information to the group, follow the rule:
· Tell them what you are going to tell them
· Tell them
· Tell them what you told them
In managing conflict the facilitator should
· Anticipate areas of potential conflict
· Listen carefully to both sides
· Defuse emotions first
· Focus on questions such as why, how, and what
· Encourage the group to search jointly for solutions
· Encourage the group to evaluate possible solutions
Facilitation Skills cont.
Consensus
When facilitating a group, you may need to test for consensus. When reaching a decision by consensus, participants should attempt to avoid conflict-reducing techniques such as voting, compromising and giving in. Decisions achieved by consensus are not always totally accepted by everyone
When trying to reach consensus the facilitator should encourage the group members to:
· make an effort to listen and understand all members’ views
· carefully consider all members’ views
· express their own views honestly and openly
· be reasonable in reaching the final group decision
· view conflict as a healthy means of reaching a decision
Things to do when facilitating a meeting of your reference group
Before the Meeting:
· Determine your objectives
· Plan how to accomplish your objectives
· Decide who should attend the meeting. Decide on time and location details
· Set out a statement of objectives
· Make arrangement for any equipment that will be needed
· Organise for a minutes/notes taker
· Get to the meeting room early to set it up
Beginning the Meeting:
· Start on time
· Review and confirm the objectives and make the time limits clear
During the Meeting:
· Make sure the group stays focused
· Shift tools if one isn’t working well
· Ensure comments are being recorded
Ending the Meeting
· Sum up the session and get agreement on the main themes
· Confirm date, time and location for next meeting
· End the meeting crisply, politely and on time
· Put the room back in order
After the Meeting:
· Prepare the summary feedback sheet
· Follow up an issues that need clarification or that needed action as a result of the meeting
Team Ground Rules
Why they are important to a team:
Ground rules are guidelines for how a team will function. They can improve a teams efficiency and effectiveness by minimizing confusion, disruptions and conflicts. When setting ground rules be flexible and realistic. Remember they are guidelines, not rigid laws.
Why they are Important to a team member:
· Clear ground rules can help team members to know what is expected of them and can assist them to avoid conflict with others.
· By helping to define the teams ground rules, an individual can ensure that their concerns about how the team operates are taken into consideration
Team member’s responsibilities with respect to ground rules
· Find out what your team’s ground rules are
· Understand what the ground rules mean
· Use the ground rules to shape your own behaviour
Examples of ground rules
· Decision Making
We will make important decisions by consensus
· Use of Data
As much as possible we will base our decisions on data
· Confidentiality
Information shared in team meetings can be shared with others in the organisation unless a team member asks that it be kept confidential
· Assignments
All assignments should be done on time. If you can’t get them done, notify the team leader as soon as possible.
· Participation
Everyone will get a chance to voice their opinions
· Meeting ground rules
We will only meet when a majority of members can attend. We will start all meeting promptly.
· Meeting evaluation
The last 5 minutes of each meeting will be spent discussing how we can improve our meeting next time
When rules are broken
· All teams break their ground rules on occasion
· If a ground rule is repeatedly broken, the team needs to decide whether it is a problem or not.
· If it is - the team should consider giving feedback to the rule breaker or discussing the issue as a team
· If it isn’t – the team should change the ground rule.
Team Tools - Brainstorming
Why use it?
To establish a common method for a team to creatively and efficiently generate a high volume of ideas on any topic, by creating a process that is free of criticism and judgement.
It can be used for identifying the causes of a problem/issue, OR for creating possible solutions to a problem/issue.
When to use
When a large volume of ideas needs to be generated by a group, and/or when an issue/problem needs addressing in a fresh or creative way.
Method
1. A group of relevant people is gathered together.
2. The question, problem, or need is stated and agreed upon. It is then written down where the entire group can see it.
3. Each team member in turn gives an idea, which is written, in a visible place. (a variation is to allow team members to consider their ideas privately first and jot/draw them down, before contributing them to the group)
4. Ideas are generated in turn until each person passes, indicating that the group’s ideas are exhausted.
5. The list is reviewed to clarify ideas and discard any duplicates.
6. The ideas are utilised to develop a whole solution or concept.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
¨ For brainstorming to be an effective and uncritical forum for producing ideas, no idea is ever criticised or questioned.
¨ Building ideas should be encouraged.
¨ The brainstorming process can also be done in an unstructured way, where by team members can contribute ideas randomly as they think of them, rather than in turn around the room.
Team Tools - Nominal Group Technique
Why use it?
Allows groups to quickly come to a consensus on the relative importance of issues, problems, ideas, or solutions by completing individual importance rankings, then compiling a team priority list.
When to use
Is used when a team needs to prioritise a list of topics for action.
Method
1. Generate a list of issues, problems, causes or solutions to be prioritized.
2. Write the statements on a board or flip chart.
3. Eliminate duplicates and/or clarify meanings of any of the statements.
4. Record the final list
e.g. A Lack of trained staff
B Insufficient computers
C No clear instructions for process
D No appropriate room for task
E Lack of cooperation with other faculties
5. Each team member individually ranks the order of the statements.
e.g. Matilda’s individual ranking sheet looks like this:
A 5
B 3
C 1
D 4
E 2
6. Combine the rankings of all the team members to get a team priority list.
e.g. Matilda Harry Bob Grace TOTAL
A 5 4 2 2 = 14
B 3 5 5 3 = 16
C 1 1 3 4 = 9
D 4 2 1 5 = 12
E 2 3 4 1 = 10
In this example 5 equaled the most important and 1 equaled the least important, therefore the team would address B first (with a score of 16), then A, D, E & finally C.
Team Tools - Force Field Analysis
Why use it?
To identify the forces and factors in place that support or work against the solution of an issue/problem, so that the positives can be reinforced and/or the negatives eliminated, reduced or planned for.
When to use
When you need a group to reflect honestly and deeply about an issue and then plan well for its solution/implementation.
Method
1. Draw a large letter “T” on a board or flip chart. At the top of the “T” write the issue or problem that you plan to analyse. (It is also a good idea to, write a description of the ideal situation you would like to achieve, in the far right top corner)
2. Brainstorm the forces (either internal or external) that are driving you towards the ideal situation and record them on the left hand side. Do the same for the restraining forces, but list them on the right.
e.g. Ideal state: To confidently and safely
cross Swanston St. without falling over.
Fear of crossing the road
+ Driving Forces / Restraining Forces -Need to get to other side of road for meetings à
Increased self-esteem à
Reduction in medical bills for injury à / ß Past embarrassment of falling
ß Condition and height of shoe heel
ß Lack of training in road crossing
3. Prioritise the driving forces that can be strengthened or identify the restraining forces that would allow the most movement towards the ideal state if they were removed. (Consensus and prioritization can be done using the Nominal Group Technique method)
4. Formulate a plan to act on these decisions.
TIP:
When choosing a target for change, it is often more beneficial to “remove” the barriers, than to simply push the positive factors for change.
September 1999 References: The Memory Jogger 2, GOAL/QPC, 1994
Facilitator’s Skills Workshop, Issue 2.1,Australian Quality Council