CHAPTER SIX

TEAM BUILDNING

04/19/2024 1
What is Teamwork & Team
Building?
 Teamwork: Concept of people working
together as a team, Team player: A team
player is someone who is able to get
along with their colleagues and work
together in a cohesive group.
 Team Building: Process of establishing
and developing a greater sense of
collaboration and trust between
members.
Why Should We Be a Team?
When staff uses their skills and knowledge
together, the result is a stronger agency that
can fulfill its mission. “To provide accurate
information that would assist individuals in
achieving a better quality of life.”
People working together can sustain the
enthusiasm and lend support needed to
complete the work of each program. .
How does a Team Work Best?
 A Team succeeds when its members have:
▪ A commitment to common objectives
▪ Defined roles and responsibilities
▪ Effective decision systems, communication
and work procedures
▪ Good personal relationships
Continue….
 Team Morale Depends On
 Support
 Resources
 Communication
 Personalities
 Teamwork Skills
 Listen, Question, Persuade, Respect, Help,
Share, Participate
STAGES IN TEAM BUILDING
 As the team matures, members gradually
learn to cope with each other and the
pressures that they face. As a result, the team
goes through the fairly predictable stages
noted on the slide.
STAGE 1: FORMING
The Team
 Defines the problem, Agrees on goals and
formulates strategies for tackling the tasks,
Determines the challenges and identifies
information needed, Individuals take on
certain roles, Develops trust and
communication.
Continue….
 Team Roles – Leader
 Encourages and maintains open
communication, Leads by setting a good
example, Motivates and inspires team
members, Helps the team focus on the task,
Facilitates problem solving and collaboration,
Maintains healthy group dynamics,
Encourages creativity and risk-taking,
Recognizes and celebrates team member
contributions.
 Continue….
 Other Team Roles – Members Can Formally or
Informally Take on These Roles:
 Initiator - Someone who suggests new ideas. One or more
people can have this role at a time.
 Recorder - This person records whatever ideas a team
member may have. It is important that this person quote a
team member accurately and not "edit" or evaluate them.
 Devil's Advocate/Skeptic - This is someone whose
responsibility is to look for potential flaws in an idea.
 Optimist - This is someone who tries to maintain a
positive frame of mind and facilitates the search for
solutions.
 Continue….
 Other Team Roles – Members Can Formally or
Informally Take on These Roles:
 Initiator - Someone who suggests new ideas. One or more
people can have this role at a time.
 Recorder - This person records whatever ideas a team
member may have. It is important that this person quote a
team member accurately and not "edit" or evaluate them.
 Devil's Advocate/Skeptic - This is someone whose
responsibility is to look for potential flaws in an idea.
 Optimist - This is someone who tries to maintain a
positive frame of mind and facilitates the search for
solutions.
Continue….
 Timekeeper - Someone who tracks time spent
on each portion of the meeting.
 Gate Keeper - This person works to ensure
that each member gives input on an issue. One
strategy to do this is to ask everyone to voice
their opinion one at a time. Another is to cast
votes.
 Summarizer - Someone who summarizes a list
of options.
STAGE 2: STORMING
 During the Storming stage team members:
▪ Realize that the task is more difficult than they imagined
▪ Have fluctuations in attitude about chances of success
▪ May be resistant to the task
▪ Have poor collaboration
 Storming Diagnosis
▪ Do we have common goals and objectives?
▪ Do we agree on roles and responsibilities?
▪ Do our task, communication, and decision systems
work?
▪ Do we have adequate interpersonal skills?
Continue….
 Negotiating Conflict
▪ Separate problem issues from people issues.
▪ Be soft on people, hard on problem.
▪ Look for underlying needs, goals of each party
rather than specific solutions.
 Addressing the Problem
▪ State your views in clear non-judgmental language.
▪ Clarify the core issues.
▪ Listen carefully to each person’s point of view.
▪ Check understanding by restating the core issues.
STAGE 3: NORMING
 During this stage members accept:
 Their team, team rules and procedures, their roles in
the team, the individuality of fellow members
 Team members realize that they are not going to
crash-and-burn and start helping each other.
 Behaviors
 Competitive relationships become more
cooperative. There is a willingness to confront
issues And solve problems.
 Teams develop the ability to express criticism
constructively. There is a sense of team spirit.
Continue….
 During this stage, you should encourage team
members to:
 Do detailed planning
 Develop criteria for completion of goals
 Build on positive norms and change unhealthy
norms
 Encourage continued team spirit
 Now that the team is working well, it is important
for team members to learn to communicate with
each other including how to constructively criticize
when necessary.
 Continue….
 Giving Constructive Feedback
 Be descriptive -- relate what you saw or heard the other
person do. Give specific recent examples
 Don’t use labels -- Be specific and unambiguous. Don’t
use words like immature, unprofessional, irresponsible
which are labels attached to behavior. For example, say “
You missed the deadline we had agreed to meet rather than,
“You’re being irresponsible and I want to know what you
are going to do about it.
 Don’t exaggerate-- Be exact. To say, “You’re always late
for deadlines” is probably untrue and unfair. It invites the
receiver to argue with exaggeration rather than respond to
real issue
Continue….
 Don’t be judgmental. Don’t use words like good,
better, bad, worst or should which place you in the
role of controlling parent. This invites the receiver
to respond as a child.
 Speak for yourself--Don’t refer to absent,
anonymous people. Avoid references like “A lot of
people here don’t like it when you…” Encourage
others to speak for themselves.
 Use “I” messages. Restrict your feedback to things
you know for certain. Help people hear and accept
your compliments when giving positive feedback.
 Continue….
 Talk first about yourself, not about the other person.
Use a statement with “I” as the subject not “you”.
People are more likely to remain open to your message
when an “I” statement is used. Phrase the issue as a
statement, not a question. “I” statements allows the
receiver to see what effect the behavior had on you.
Restrict your feedback. Don’t present your opinions as
facts.
 Help people hear and receive positive feedback. Many
people fell awkward when told good things about
themselves. It may be important to reinforce the
positive feedback and help the person hear it,
acknowledge it and accept it.
Continue….

 Receiving Feedback
 Listen carefully: Don’t interrupt, don’t discourage the
feedback-giver.
 Ask questions for clarity: You have the right to
receive clear feedback. Ask for specific examples.
 Acknowledge the feedback: Paraphrase the message
in your own words to let the person know what you
have heard and understood what was said.
Continue….
 Acknowledge the valid points: Agree with what is true.
Agree with what is possible. Acknowledge the other
person’s point of view and try to understand their
reaction. Agreeing with what’s true or possible doesn’t
mean you agree to change your behavior or mean
agreeing with any value judgment about you. You can
agree that your reports are late without thereby agreeing
that you are irresponsible
 Take time to sort out what you heard: You may need
time for sorting out or checking with others before
responding to feedback. It is reasonable to ask the
feedback-giver for time to think about what was said and
how you feel about it. Don’t use this time as an excuse to
avoid the issue.
STAGE 4: PERFORMING
 Team members have:
 Gained insight into personal and team process
 A better understanding of each other’s strengths and
weaknesses
 Gained the ability to prevent or work through group
conflict and resolve differences
 Developed a close attachment to the team
 During the performing stage, the team is now an
effective and cohesive unit. As a team, the emphasize
quality work; utilize each member’s talents; meet
deadlines; and continue to work on team
commitment.
Continue….
 Examples of the results of good team work
can be seen on the Video tapes and CDs from
the National Expos. The presentation itself is
an example of team work.
 The duration and intensity of these stages vary
from team to team.
 Sometimes Stage 4 is achieved in a meeting
or two; other times it takes months.
Understanding the stages of growth will keep
you from overreacting to normal problems
and setting unrealistic expectations.
Continue….
 Recipe for Successful Team
 Commitment to shared goals and objectives,
Clearly define roles and responsibilities
. Use best skills of each
. Allows each to develop in all areas
 To summarize, even though these points are
addressing teams in the workplace, they are
applicable in the classroom setting. They can also
form part of the rubric to evaluate the team’s
performance. Clarity in team goals: has a clear vision
and can progress steadily toward its goals.
Continue….

A work plan: helps team determine what

advice, assistance, and other resources they
need from teachers, mentors or research
Clearly defined role: Uses each member’s
talents and involves everyone in team
activities so no one feels left out.
Effective systems and processes
 Clear communication: Speak with clarity and be
succinct. Listen actively; explore rather than
debate each speaker’s ideas. Avoid interrupting.
 Beneficial team behaviors: Should encourage
all members to use the skills and practices that
make discussions and meetings more effective;
suggest procedures for meeting goals clarify or
elaborate on ideas; keep the discussion from
digressing.
 Well-defined decision procedures: discuss how
decisions will be made; use data as a basis of
decisions; explore important issues by polling
Continue….
 Balanced participation: Everyone should
participate in discussions and decisions, share
commitment to the project’s success and
contribute their talents
 Established ground rules: Establish ground
rules for what will and will not be tolerated in
the team
 Awareness of group process: Be sensitive to
nonverbal communication; be aware of the
group process and how the team works
together.
Two Common Kinds of Team
 1.Self-Managed Teams - teams that make
decisions that were once reserved for managers
or a group of people working together in their
own ways toward a common goal which is
defined outside the team.
 2.Multicultural Teams-Multicultural groups
represent three or more ethnic backgrounds.
Diversity may increase uncertainty, complexity,
& inherent confusion in group processes.
Culturally diverse groups may generate more &
better ideas & limit groupthink.
Empowerment Skills
COMPONENTS OF THE SELF-
MANAGED TEAM
 A. Team Sponsor: Provides direction by
establishing goals, Gives timeframes for
completion of objectives, Determines “what”
the team does, but not “how” the team does it.
 B. Team Leader: The team leader is equal
with other members of the team in terms of
power..
Continue…
C. Team Member: Composed of all positions
from traditional hierarchy, Ideally composed
of 5-12 members, but could be up to 20,
Determines how objectives given by sponsor
are accomplished, Any member should be able
to lead the team.
END