Team Dynamics

While it is important to recognize your weaknesses, what you are not good at doing; it is far more effective to focus on your strengths, what you do more naturally and excellently. Businesses and organizations will have outstanding results when each individual's strengths are recognized and roles assigned based on their talents and not only their knowledge and skill.

Connect with your willingness to identify your own strengths and/ or your team members' strengths and make necessary changes. Assess what results you have been experiencing. Determine if you wish to do informal self assessments or invest in professional assistance for the assessment. Take action immediately to identify strengths and make reassignments as needed. Expect to experience successful results and you will.

Have you ever been in a position where you feel less than competent, and in a different position you shine? A likely explanation is that the first position requires you to perform at what you have little or no talent for and the second position drew on your strengths.

While it is important to recognize your weaknesses, what you are not good at doing; it is far more effective to focus on your strengths, what you do more naturally and excellently. Businesses and organizations will have outstanding results when each individual's strengths are recognized and roles assigned based on their talents and not only their knowledge and skill.

Focus on strengths: Everyone wins. Individuals are empowered and goals are achieved more easily. Individuals as well as teams perform at a higher level. Productivity increases with more ease. Creative ideas emerge more often than not; investment in individuals development has a greater return. It is more fun for everyone.

Focus on weaknesses: Individuals feel demoralized and goals may be achieved with great difficulty. They feel very stressed. Individuals and teams do not perform optimally. Much time and resources are spent on what may not be sustained changes. There is no room for creative ideas to emerge readily. Investment in training to overcome or fix weaknesses when assessed may be wasted dollars. It is not a fun environment to be in.

Teams can have unofficial, informal roles too. Some are helpful and some are not so helpful. The list below summarizes some common, informal roles in teams.

Helpful Roles

The Expert - A knowledgeable subject matter expert who can clarify technical issues.

The Summarizer - Often, a "big picture" person who helps to sum up items.

The Bridge Builder - Experienced negotiators who can help bring opposing views together.

Not Always Helpful Roles

The Joker - Always telling jokes to the extent that others can't accomplish their goals.

The Blocker - Hates to make decisions, or reach closure; always looking for more information or wants to "think things over a little bit."

The Busier Than Thou - Always busier, harder working and has more responsibilities than others.

The Disrupter - If they aren't interrupting for some reason, Disrupters like to hold side conversations or generally disturb the group.

The Loner - Doesn't like to participate, rarely contributes.

Teamwork"

"We work as a team around here."

"Let's put together a team and see what happens."

You've probably heard comments like that before. Maybe you have said them yourself! Teams get a lot of talk, but what is it about some groups that makes them effective? What's the reason some groups accomplish goals and others stumble and sputter?

Good communication is critical to effective teamwork. Communicating is far more than talking and listening. It is sometimes a complex and puzzling process. However, effective communication is possible with the right approach, techniques and some practice.

This section of the lesson is broken down into four areas. Upon completing this section, you will be able to:

* List various communication skills.

* Develop open-ended questions to facilitate dialogue.

* Turn negative comments into positive statements.

* Use the feedback formula for facilitating dialogue.

* Call for a timeout and resolve breakdowns.

All teams make decisions. Some decisions are big and impact the entire organization(How should next year's budget be allocated among our units?). Some are small and have only minimal impact on employees (Where should next week's meeting be held?). How to make a decision is what this module is all about. At the end, you will be able to:

* List the various kinds of decision making.

* List the elements of consensus.

* Recognize