|
Team building must be:
|
Team building
must NOT be:
|
- a way of life
- the responsibility
of every Team Member
- a continuous process
- about developing a
clear and unique identity
- focused on a clear
and consistent set of goals
- concerned with the
needs and ambitions of each team member recognizing
the unique contribution that each individual can make
- an awareness of the
potential of the team as a unit
- results oriented
- enjoyable
|
- a short term, flavor
of the month
- imposed without
regard to peoples’ feelings
- spasmodic
- reserved for only
some members of the team
- an excuse for not
meeting personal responsibilities
- a process where
actions clearly contradict intentions
- seen as a chore
|
GROUPS VERSUS TEAMS
| Groups |
Teams |
- little communication
- no support
- lack of vision
- exclusive cliques
- the whole is less
than the sum of its parts
- seeks to hide its
identity
- leaves new members
to find their own way but insists on conformity
- leader manipulates
team to own ends
|
- Plenty of
opportunity for discussion
- plenty of support
- process of discovery
supported by openness and honesty
- tactical and work
groups combine easily into a single team
- the whole is greater
than the sum of its parts
- seeks to discover
its identity
- welcomes new members
by showing them existing norms and openness to change
leader seeks team decisions by serving the team as a
focus for two way communication
|
STAFFS VERSUS TEAMS
|
Characteristic |
|
Staffs |
|
Teams |
| Goals and decisions |
|
Made by the boss |
|
Made jointly by team
and boss |
| Assignments |
|
Made by the boss |
|
Made jointly by the
boss and subordinates |
| Communications |
|
In a meeting are
primarily between the boss and a subordinate |
|
Are open among all
team members |
| Role of subordinate |
|
Primarily to carry out
assignments |
|
Team members initiate
action, make suggestions, and help in planning |
| Primary virtues |
|
Loyalty and being a
"good soldier" |
|
Trust, helping, and
creativity |
| Sharing of data |
|
Data shared on the
basis of what people feel the boss wants |
|
All relevant data
shared |
| Critical feedback |
|
Rare and anxiety
provoking |
|
Regarded as important
to improvement |
| Differences and
conflicts |
|
Avoided or smoothed
over |
|
Regarded as enriching,
worked through |
| Work |
|
Each staff person
responsible for own work |
|
Team members feel
responsible for one another |
| Goal |
|
Boss’s primary goal is
to get the job done |
|
Team leader works to
get results and develop team members |
CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS
Some of the factors that
lead to poor communication among cross-functional team
members include the following:
- Lack of appreciation of
the contributions of other functions. For example, in
telecommunications projects, some engineers do not value
the input provided by human factors psychologists.
- Plain old-fashioned turf
battles. Some departments play out their competitive games
on the field provided by the cross-functional team.
- Different jargon. For
example, line department users often do not understand the
terminology and technology employed by computer
programmers.
- Different work
orientations. For example, researchers tend to take a
long-term view and have an informal work climate;
operation people are more short term and formal;
salespeople are usually informal and have a short-term
focus. While one may argue with these generalizations, it
is clear that each department or function develops it own
work style, which may clash with other styles from other
functions.
- Different degrees of
interest in the team’s outcome. Some cross-functional team
members are simply more interested in the team’s purpose
and may have more to gain from a successful outcome. In
one government agency, team embers from one bureau have
more interest in the outcome of the team because it
affects their client group more than it does the other
bureaus represented on the team.
- Mistaken goals. Some
team members mistakenly see harmony as the goal of
cross-functional teamwork. As a result, they are afraid to
express a contrary point of view for fear that it will
destroy the positive feelings among team members. The new
result is a false consensus and a less than satisfactory
outcome.
While these factors explain
lack of trust and communication on cross-functional teams,
they do not excuse it. Members of cross-functional teams are
there because they have something to contribute. They must
be allowed and even encouraged to share their ideas,
information, and opinions without restrictions. Open
communication is an absolute requirement for successful
cross-functional teamwork. The concept of the
cross-functional team is that the outcome -- the product,
the system, the service -- will be better because it has
been created by the combined expertise of people from a
variety of functions. Viewing a problem or an issue from
many vantage point is the strength of the cross-functional
team. However, the value of divergent views can only be
realized when there is a free flow of information.
LEADERSHIP AND PARADIGMS
A leader is a person you
will follow to a place you wouldn’t go by yourself.
You manage within a
paradigm (Paradigm enhancement). Give a good manager the
system (the rules, the guiding principles, the system, the
standards, the protocols.) and he/she will optimize it. We
spend 90% of our lives doing just this -- evolution.
You lead between paradigms
(Paradigm shift). Leaders, with their intuitive judgment,
assess the seeming risk, determine that shifting paradigms
is the correct thing to do, and instill the courage in
others to follow them. This kind of change occurs during
less than 10% of our lives.
Paradigm shifting without
the follow-on skills of paradigm enhancing leaves you
vulnerable to the paradigm pioneers who practice Total
Quality. Paradigm enhancement without the skills of paradigm
shifting will lead you to continually improve obsolete
products and services. Nobody will buy obsolete excellence.
| The manager
administers |
|
The leader innovates |
| The manager has a
short-range view |
|
The leader has a
long-range perspective |
| The manager asks how
and when |
|
The leader asks what
and why |
| The manager has his
eye on the bottom line |
|
The leader has his
eye on the horizon |
| The manager accepts
the status quo |
|
The leader
challenges it |
