Team Building

Overview

A team is a special type of group.  Whilst a group has identifiable unifying characteristics such as they all work for the same employer or have the same political opinions, a team is a group that is engaged in activities to meet a common purpose. As an example, a family might be described as a group but would only become a team if they set about trying to achieve a task in a unified way. 

Traditional approaches to using groups of people required managers or technical experts to analyse a task and divide it up into small activity units that were performed by individuals. Activities were linked in such a way that individuals working separately would, together, be able to complete the entire task.  It was the role of managers to design and control the system. It was the role of workers to complete their allotted tasks. However, this approach was dependent on the task not being too complex and on the willingness of the workers to perform simple routine tasks under controlled conditions.

In the modern world, tasks do not always meet these criteria. Where tasks are complex, requiring a focus not just on productivity but also customer service, or where there is a desire to identify improvements or respond rapidly to changing requirements, team-working provides a better option.  As distinct from traditional methods, this places much of the decision making in the hands of the team members requiring them to have a much broader view of the total process and the impact their actions can have on the whole system.

This programme looks at the factors that contribute to the effectiveness of a team in a dynamic environment where task are complex, non-routine and subject to rapid change, and where there is an additional focus on quality and/or customer service.

Aims

The aims of the workshop are to provide participants with an understanding of the factors that contribute to making an effective team, with the expectation that they will be able to apply their learning to their own team environment.

Learning Objectives

On completion of this programme, you will be able to:

• Explain the difference between a working group and a team, the different types of teams and why organisations use them
• Explain the critical success factors for team effectiveness
• Explain the stages of team development and the role of the team leader supporting the team through the transition
• Explain Action-Centred Leadership and identify the factors that contribute to or detract from team motivation
• Explain the importance of team cohesion and how it can be enhanced
• List the nine classic team roles and describe their strengths and allowable weaknesses
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of cooperation and competition within teams
• Explain the role of communication in building trust 
• List tips for giving and receiving feedback in a non-confrontational style
• Describe the types of conflict encountered within teams and the steps a team member can take to prevent conflict escalation
• Apply the learning to their own team environment.

Pre-Workshop Assignment Content

• Team dynamics exercise
• Self-reflection

Workshop Content

• Successful teams
• Stages of team development
• The building block of successful teams
• Overcoming difficulties
• Team task
• Applying the learning