Chapter 17:

Team Building &

Training

Dr. Patricia McDiarmid

Team Building

Term used to describe approaches to improving the

operation of teams

Team Building That Actually Builds Teams

The most important step when planning a team-building exercise comes at the very beginning: you must start by identifying what challenges your team faces.

Only then can you choose exercises that will be effective in helping them work through these issues.

Basic Teamwork Skills

Assertiveness

Decision-making

Problem-solving

Cooperation

Collaboration

Issues to Be Addressed When Building Teams

What keeps teams from being effective?

What changes could improve a team’s effectiveness?

What is the team doing effectively now that it wants to continue doing?

Main Priority When Building a Team

Developing a strong sense of belonging to the team BECAUSE unless team members identify with each other and view themselves as a team, it will be impossible to organize them to reach a common goal.

Set of Approaches***

Goal setting

Interpersonal relations skills

Role clarification

Problem solving

***Selecting the RIGHT approach to use depends on a diagnosis of a team’s problems

Organizational Context of Team Building

Sometimes organizations trying to implement teamwork fail to appreciate how current practices and culture might limit the ability of the teams to operate.

EXAMPLE

It is difficult to promote cooperation among team members when the organization only rewards individual performances…therefore…the context in which the team operates has a greater impact on performance than the internal competencies of team members

Evaluation & Reward Systems

Central organizational issue for a team

Performance evaluation systems have the potential to provide a team with feedback that can be used to improve a team’s performance

Reward systems provide motivation for the team members to work together

Top Management Mistakes

Fail to include teamwork in goals and reward systems

Focus only on financial issues

Ignore the value teamwork can have as a means of improving performacne

WHY Not Support Teambuilding?

Limited by expertise in teambuilding

Lack of availability of competent persons to orchestrate team-building programs

Do not value the process of teambuilding or provide rewards for teams that engage in the process

Team members are skeptical of the value of teambuilding and are reluctant to spend time doing it

Let’s Take a Look at Types of Team

Building Programs…

Goal Setting

Clarifies team goals

Develops specific objectives

Define team tasks

Establish action plans

Develop evaluation & feedback system to monitor the attainment of stated goals

Role Clarification

Clarifies individual roles of team members

Shared responsibility of team members

Team members must be clear on personal role and the roles of others on a team

Team members need to see themselves from the outside through the eyes of an observer or other team members

Interpersonal Process Skills

Team members learn to cooperate efforts and work together

Decision-making, problem-solving, and negotiation are some of the process skills team members learn and master

Process skills are best learned through activities such as a desert survival exercise

Cohesion Building

Foster team spirit and build interpersonal connections among team members

Increase trust and cooperation AND develops a groups’ identity

Strengthens team morale, creates unity, a sense of belonging, and pride in the team

Problem Solving

Team starts analyzing a problem together

Diagnostic session clarifies problems and identifies team’s strengths and weaknesses

Diagnosis stage ends with discussion as how to proceed

Action plan developed to generate alternatives and develop solutions

Criteria for Effective Teams1. Clear/measureable goals

2. Roles/assignments accepted by all team members

3. Climate of trust, psychological safety, and support

4. Effective problem-solving & decision-making

5. Supportive leadership

6. Constructive handling of conflict

7. Open & participatory communication climate

8. Supportive organizational culture

9. Ability to monitor performance & make needed changes

Symptoms of Ineffective Teams

1. Decrease in team performance

2. Increase of team member complaints

3. Unproductive conflicts among members

4. Confusion about assignments & roles

5. Misunderstood decisions

6. Lack of involvement from team members

7. Lack of initiative, creativity, or effective problem-solving

8. Ineffective meetings with low participation

9. High dependency of the leader

Team Building Activity