1. Developing Champion Teams
JENNI PROCTOR
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HTTP://JENNIPROCTOR.COM/

2. Building a Champion Team
 Why are teams important?
 Strategies to motivate and develop a team
 Strategies to deal with problems within a team
Leadership:
 Those with leadership roles in the firm
 Personal leadership within circle of influence.

3. The Ideal Work Team
Purposefully working together
 Shared goals
 Acceptance of differences and contributions
 Peaceful resolution of differences
 Supported
 Sharing
 Co-operation
 Non-threatening and not constrained by fear.

4. Essential Components of a Champion
Team
 Vision, mission, goals, norms
 Priorities
 Responsibilities
 Budget and resources
 Recognition
 Quality as norm
 Regularly revisit all of the above.

5. What Makes a Team Successful?
Organisation that
 Encourages collaboration
 Values service, discussion, learning
Managers that
 Share these values
 Support these values practically
Team that
 Has clear goals, norms, understandings.

6. Problems with Professional Teams
 Independent and autonomous by nature – Often
prefer to work alone and be responsible for own
efforts.
 Find team work difficult, annoying, a “waste of
time”.
 Want to “get on with the job”

7. Advantages of Fostering Champion Teams
 Synergy of collective wisdom and energy
 Catalyst for interaction and support
 Strengthen the organisation
 Generation of ideas and innovation
 Marketing – strong and talented team

8. Building the Team: Challenges
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping
together is progress.” Working together is
success.” ~Henry Ford
 Leadership and commitment
 Information and communication
 Training
 Infrastructure
 Recognition and rewards
 Resources
 Measurement

9. Building the Team: The Role of a Leader
 Recognise the strengths and weaknesses within the
team and work to their strengths.
 Talk the talk and walk the talk
 Be prepared to improve personal leadership skills
 Recognise and reward quality performance.

10. Building the Team:
Be an Observer of People
Is everyone singing off the same
song sheet?
 What’s happening with group decision making?
 What’s happening with task functions?
 What’s happening with morale and relationships?
 Who needs training? –
Awareness, skills, communication, personal
leadership skills.

11. Motivating Your Team
 Dissatisfaction usually stems
from the working
environment.
 Satisfaction usually stems
from the work itself.

12. Motivate and Develop Through
Delegation
Team building
 Sharing responsibility
 Sharing opportunities for
achievement and development.
Delegation
 Foster responsibility and
confidence.
 “Hold the ladder”

13. Motivate and Develop Through Feedback
- Motivational Feedback
 Immediately after performance of task
 Gain confidence and feel successful
 Can also be earshot praise, third party recognition or
formal reward
Must be
 Properly timed. No advice at the same time!
 Focused on specific task performance
 Appropriate to the situation.

14. Motivate and Develop Through Feedback
- Developmental Feedback
Developmental feedback
 Just before next performance of task
 Support, not criticism, to help them increase
competence
 Clear description of action, with non-blaming
language, followed by suggested action.
 Unambiguous language
 Check they have understood.

15. Motivate and Develop through Performance
Reviews
 Forward looking – Set goals for future work and
career development
 Identify areas of improvement
 Set challenging but achievable goals in aspects of
work especially team issues
 Identify learning goals to support career goals
 Use coaching style.

16. Personal Management Strategies
 Listen well but don’t take on their problems
 Develop a norm – If you bring a problem bring a
solution too.
 Accept a written report of a problem, but verbal
discussion is far more effective.
 Expect and model excellent communication skills.
 Don’t take on unreasonable tasks or responsibilities,
or expect others to do so.

17. Dealing With Conflict
Ongoing conflict
 Ignore it and it will go away
 Solve it and present solution
 Winner and loser
 Seek consensus
 Frank discussion
 No winner or loser
 Work together on another
problem

18. Preventing Conflict
 Check balance of roles in the team.
 Watch for people in the wrong role.
 Involve team in decisions that affect them.
 Ensure expectations and goals are understood by
everyone.
 Avoid creating win/lose situations that cause
resentment.

19. Team Discussion
 Clear objectives?
 Chance to contribute to setting objectives?
 Support in tough times?
 Open expression of true beliefs and opinions?
 Learning not blaming?
 Effective meetings with full participation?
 Sufficient time to plan for the future?
 Genuine desire for consensus?

20. Collective Decision Making
 Discussion then vote = winners and losers
 Meeting of minds = consensus
 “I might not agree with all the details but I agree with the
broad thrust of the decision.”
 Takes longer
 Issue is explored fully therefore usually a better
decision
 Each team member is more committed to implement
the actions required.

21. Beware “Group Thinking”
 Wanting to achieve consensus overcomes the desire
to analyze, consider, think broadly etc.
 Consequences
 Objectives aren’t fully considered
 Superficial assessment of options
 Risks are not examined thoroughly
 Previously rejected options are not re-examined
 Adequate high quality information isn’t sought
 Contingency plans aren’t prepared
 Selective bias in evaluating data is evident.

22. Leadership in Team Discussions
 Leadership most evident in group interactions.
 Allow time for constructive discussion
 Encourage deep analysis
 Strive for collective ownership of ideas/goals
 Separate ideas from personalities, facts from
beliefs
 Identify options; weigh pros and cons
 Steer team towards group conclusion.

23. Leadership in Team Ideas Generation
Brainstorming
 Ideas generation – You can’t be creative and
critical at the same time.
 Reflect on responses
 Evaluate the process
 Decide on 2 or 3 ideas that can be implemented
 Norm: “Don’t commit if you can’t do it, but if you
do commit you must do it.”

24. Establish Ongoing Team Norms
The Team is still a team even when apart
 Sharing best practice – Lifelong learners
 Autonomous in own work but still a team player
 Keep colleagues informed
 Leadership not intrusive but will remind them about
agreed norms.

25. Challenges for Leaders
 Give authority and freedom but within agreed
objectives and norms
 Get the best out of the team but enable each
individual team member to excel
 Underperformers
 Great professionals who are poor team players
 Interpersonal disagreements between colleagues
 Crises

26. Dealing with Underperformers
 Change must come from within
 Meeting to discuss the behaviour and issues
 Seek agreement to make changes
 Set goals and action steps with time frames
 Periodic discussion to review progress.
 Remember: What you overlook you accept!

27. Dealing with Reluctant Team Players
 Developmental feedback or motivational feedback if
you get an opportunity.
 Describe the behaviour that causes concern
 Explain benefits for changing behaviour
 Ask person to suggest solutions
 Have followup discussions
 Remember: The organisation’s core values and goals
should come before the individual.

28. Dealing with Interpersonal Disagreements
 Bring them together and act as mediator
 Describe behaviours
 Concentrate not on issue but on what is preventing
normal interaction
 Listen to each perspective
 Indicate points of disagreement
 Agree on simple actions and dates for review
 Support with professional development.

29. Dealing with a Team Crisis
 Ascertain facts and separate fact from rumour
 Get the communications right
 Be honest and open
 Give some positive slant if possible to improve
morale
 Be decisive.

30. Qualities of Healthy Work Teams
 Balance of reason and emotion
 Understanding others perspectives
 Communication leading to understanding and
trust
 Trust built through reliability
 Motivation not coercion
 Colleagues know they are valued and accepted
 Separate people from problems
 Be constructive in all interactions.