Teamwork

Team Work
Thoughts?
Agreeing to be led
Agreeing to a common set of rules
Involvement
Focus
Accepting the common good principle
Team player
Rising to the occasion
Discipline
Philosophical

Definition
A team being a group of people working together
towards a common goal or purpose.
•Together
• Everyone
• Accomplishes
• More

Why?
Teams are employed
rather than individuals
because it has been
shown that the output
of an effectively
operating group of
individuals working as
a team is greater than
that of the sum of the
same individuals each
working on their own.

Team Development
B.W. Tuckman set out a model for team
development that has become the accepted
norm within management theory.
Tuckman’s four stages of team development follow…..

Stage 1: Forming
In this stage the team is
formed, the members of the
team are unsure of one
another and are unwilling to
share ideas.
The team members avoid any
serious topics and avoid
confrontation.
In more simplistic terms this is
a ‘getting to know each other’
stage.

Stage 2: Storming
This is the most uncomfortable stage
of team development.
During the storming stage the
stronger team members make a bid
for power and influence within the
team.
There is a high danger that weaker
team members will withdraw within
the team and make no contribution.
The Storming stage is characterised
by a sorting out process of team
roles and bidding within the team
for power and influence.

Stage 3: Norming
During this stage of team
development, the
relationships between the
team become more
normalised, the team starts to
form a method of effectively
working.
Generally there is an open
exchange of ideas and team
members show a high degree
of willingness to listen to each
other and also contribute
ideas.

Stage 4: Performing
At this point the team
has fully developed and
is operating
productively with a high
degree of creativity.
The team identity is high
and there is a feeling of
trust towards other
team members.

Stage 4: Performing
It is clear that it is in the
team’s interest to pass
through the first three stages
of development as rapidly as
possible.
The danger of the
development of the team
becoming stuck at any one of
the initial three stages should
be avoided.

Techniques for facilitating the development of teams
Various techniques
for facilitating the
development of
teams exist, such as
game playing in
order to effectively
develop teamwork
before addressing
the main goal or
purpose of the team.

Why do teams fail?
It has been identified
that there are four
principle reasons why
some teams fail.

Why do teams fail?
The lack of a clearly defined goal or purpose.
It is impossible for all the team members to be
headed in the same direction unless there is
a clearly defined goal or purpose. This really
goes to the heart of the definition of a
team.

Why do teams fail?
Team members are not committed
Some team members are more
interested in personal recognition
than in team recognition,
Others were co-opted onto the team
against their will and feel no strong
ties to the team and in the worst case
resent being a member of the team.

Why do teams fail?
The team lacks support or resources
Either insufficient resources or support
exist to implement the teams
recommendations.
The team may have been set up merely to
side-line a problem with no intention of
implementing any recommendations.

Why do teams fail?
Team members fail to resolve interpersonal
conflicts
The team members are working at cross
purposes and never really got beyond the
first stage of team development.
Conflict may be due to the over assertiveness
of one or two of the team members.

Tips for effective team-work
Having very briefly dealt with
what teams are, how they
develop from their inception,
and some of the pitfalls that are
inherent in the development of
effective teams.
I would like to finish by
providing a list of tips for
effective team working distilled
from various management texts
dealing with the subject:

Chose people who are compatible with the
goal or purpose of the team.

Make sure that the
team knows how it is to
work as a team.
This means clarifying
the roles,
responsibilities and
procedures within the
team.
C---- -F - -MM---

The team leader should ensure that all
individual efforts are co-ordinated.

Give team members responsibilities and the
authority needed to execute them.

Foster a supportive climate that contributes to
both improved quality of outcomes and quality
of work life.

Keep an ongoing evaluation of both team
outcomes and individual contributions.

Balance team effort with individual effort

Do not squash individual contributions.

Get help from outside
the team as needed.
Teams do not have all
the resources,
outsiders can help
teams work better.

A lot of the afore mentioned advice is very
idealised and in the real world, resources do
not permit the perfect team to be selected and
time constraints generally mean that a team is
expected to be productive from the outset.

However any time committed to consideration of
the functioning of the team and to team
dynamics is time well spent and will be rewarded
by increased efficiency and better productivity.

TEAM
Building a team can be a challenging and
growing experience.
Good teams don’t just happen, they form and
function because members and leaders of the
team know what, and how, they can contribute
to make the team effective.

Considerations
The leader is the core of every team. Different studies have
indicated that strong leaders generally possess traits associated
with achieving objectives, or traits associated with building good
relationships among team members, and between the team and
other key people.
In addition, a good team leader usually chooses his/her managing
style based on the situation and maturity of the team.
A good team leader may lead his/her team by applying different
styles such as directing, coaching, supporting or delegating.

Considerations
A primary function of a team leader is to focus
on helping the team as a unit move through the
different development stages necessary for it to
reach the performing/production stage.

Considerations
If the team leader can not play his/her role well,
the unit may become so demoralised and mired
in dissatisfaction, that the team becomes
dysfunctional.

Considerations
As a general rule, any team leader who
emphasises task accomplishment at the
expense of building morale or vice versa for
long periods of time, tends to not be as
effective.

Team Leader
While the role of team leaders in group development seems clear,
not much has been done to determine what leaders can do to help
build a team’s development and maturity.
It is generally agreed that task and maintenance functions are two
agreed elements which are critical, and which interact to promote
group drive and cohesiveness, and that this is essential to
productivity.
The team leader must be able to lead and be multi-functional.
These two elements can be explained as follows:

Task functions
Task functions are those behaviours which focus on getting the job
done, and on what the group is supposed to be doing.
They include things such as:
setting the agenda,
establishing goals,
giving directions,
initiating topics,
setting limits,
pushing for decisions,
giving and seeking information,
sequencing and summarising.
In general they are directive or educating functions focused on
the task.

Team Work…..Somebody needs to be in charge!

Maintenance functions
Maintenance functions are directed towards the group’s process,
and are focused on developing the group’s harmony and
cohesiveness and on how the group is functioning.
They include
giving encouragement and recognition,
harmonising or mediating conflict,
sharing or encouraging participation,
building relationships
and analysing the group’s growth.
In general they are supportive functions focused on group
development.

Team Leader
Team Leader must use:
Both directive and supportive behaviours
Both are necessary for a team to be effective
The most effective leaders are those who can
perform both styles appropriately.

To Ponder
Depending on the situation
In general, an active, aggressive,
directive, structured and task
oriented leadership style seems to
have favourable results early in the
team’s history.
However, prolonging this style may
result in negative impacts on the
efficacy of the team.
On the other hand, a supportive,
democratic, decentralised,
participative leadership style brings
greater results when maintained
throughout the group’s life.

Think Over
It is logical to say that both task and maintenance functions
should be performed for a group to develop into a healthy and
productive system.
The art of good leadership is to use these styles at the right
time and in the right combination.

A Dream! You need command and control.

Some Questions
Can teams cobbled together on an ad hoc basis function as well as
permanently established teams?
Is the problem with the team you
Does the chain of command have built in safe guards
What do you do to make the team function better
Are you a leader in name only
Are you a team player in name only
Why do you think professional military and emergency services
organisations spend so much time and effort on leadership skills training
and team work?

Teamwork

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Teamwork