Building Effective Teams

1. Building Effective Teams or “How to create trust, good communication, clear goals, defined roles, solidarity of purpose, commitment and loyalty among your staff when the grant is due, the state conference needs a speaker on ROSC tomorrow, the GPRA numbers are down, a staff member is on maternity leave, and the National Office has just sent out two COB requests” Jan Wrolstad, M.Div. Associate Director Mid-America ATTC 2010 ATTC Network Meeting Long, Beach, CA

2. How not to build team . . . . • You Tube video: more funny moments from the office • You Tube video: Innovation, Comedy & Balance – Rob Peck – Juggling Speaker Rob Peck

3. “Teamness” • Not found in the dictionary • Useful in a discussion about building effective teams • For this purpose it means: A state or level of effective and meaningful productivity among a group of persons engaged in a common goal

4. What makes good “teamness”? Complete the two sentences: • I would feel more part of a team in our office if . . . . • I believe the three most important elements in building effective teams are . . . . If you are a manager, indicate so by checking the box in the top right corner of the sheet. Put the half sheet of paper in the box at the front of the room.

5. Gap Analysis Current 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Ideal 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Reality 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7)

6. Effective Team Model Participation Openness Effective Team Interpersonal Relationships Collaboration Facilitation Flexibility Commitment Sensitivity Risk taking From Medley Consulting handout

7. Ten Characteristics of High Performance Teams • Clear Goals • Defined Roles • Open and Clear Communication • Effective Decision Making • Balanced Participation • Valued Diversity • Managed Conflict • Positive Atmosphere • Cooperative Relationships • Participative Leadership From The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Team-Building Tools, Second Edition, 2008, p.13.

8. Ten Characteristics of High Performance Teams Participative Leadership Positive Atmosphere Cooperative Relationship Managed Conflict Balanced Participation Valued Diversity Effective Decision Making Clear Goals Defined Roles Open & Clear Communication From The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Team-Building Tools, Second Edition, 2008, p.13.

9. Ingredients of Team Building: • Clear communication* • Managed conflict* • Building of trust* • Defined roles • Positive atmosphere • Solidarity of purpose

10. Ingredients of Team Building: • Clear communication • Managed conflict • Building of trust • Defined roles • Positive atmosphere • Solidarity of purpose

11. Communication from http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/102425/Body_Language:_A_Key_to_Success_in_the_Workplace

12. Perspective • time flies • you can’t • they move too fast

13. Constructive feedback guidelines • Acknowledge the need for feedback • Give both positive and negative feedback • Understand the context • Know when to give feedback • Know how to give beedback From Medley Consulting handout

14. How to give feedback • Be descriptive • Don’t use labels • Don’t exaggerate • Don’t be judgmental • Speak for yourself • Restrict your feedback to things you know for certain/have observed From Medley Consulting handout

15. Starter phrases for good communicating • “When you . . . .” • “I feel . . . .” • “Because I . . . .” • “I would like . . . .” • “Because . . . .” • “What do you think?” Remember Stephen Covey’s 5th Habit of Highly Successful People: “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”

16. Ingredients of Team Building: • Clear communication • Managed conflict • Building of trust • Defined roles • Positive atmosphere • Solidarity of purpose

17. Dealing with conflict • Conflict is inevitable • Conflict is not all bad • Depending on the focus, conflict needs to be addressed, dealt with, embraced . . . . even welcomed

18. Determine first whether conflict is people-focused or task focused People-focused • Rooted in anger, personal friction, personality clashes, ego and tension • Detrimental to healthy team functioning because it interferes with completion of tasks

19. Determine first whether conflict is people-focused or task focused Task-focused • Consists of argumentation about the merits of plans, ideas and projects • Benefits team because it can imrpove decision-making outcomes and decision quality through devil’s advocacy roles, constructive criticism, and stimulation of discussion of options

20. Five conflict styles • Avoid • Compete • Accommodate • Compromise • Collaborate There are a number of conflict style assessments that could be useful for your staff to go through and then share outcomes.

21. Ingredients of Team Building: • Clear communication • Managed conflict • Building of trust • Defined roles • Positive atmosphere • Solidarity of purpose

22. Trust • One of the most important team competencies • Fundamental emotion in a team is not “liking” but “trusting” • Each team member must be both trustworthy and trusting of others • Key to trust is making agreements and then following through on those agreements From Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Fourth Edition, 2007, pp. 57-59

23. Trust Trust typically takes a long time to build, but can be lost quickly. B u i l d i n g o f t r u s t Loss of trust From Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Fourth Edition, 2007, pp. 57-59

24. Questions to ask about Team Trust • What is the current level of trust in the team? • What specific actions and commitments need to be made to increase trust? • How will the team hold team members accountable for their commitments? • What should we do when someone on the team fails to keep a commitment and trust is undermined? • What should our process for regaining trust in the team and team members? From Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Fourth Edition, 2007, pp. 57-59

25. In discussion groups: • What causes lack of trust among staff members? • What helps build trust among staff members?

26. Results of sentence completion • What managers said . . . . . • What other employees said . . . . .

27. From ATTC curriculum • Leadership Institute • The Training Point • Recovery-Oriented Systems of Care (ROSC) Training of Facilitators (TOF) manual • Motivational Incentives—Promoting Awareness of Motivational Incentives

28. Leadership Institute • Competency: Team Building • Behavior #75: Inspires pride and team spirit among team members

29. Leadership Institute • Competency: Team Building • Behavior #76: Promotes an environment that encourages collective problem-solving and participative decision-making

30. Leadership Institute • Competency: Team Building • Behavior #77: Seeks consensus among diverse viewpoints to build commitment

31. The Training Point Dialogue is a process of openly exchanging ideas and opinions about a subject. To promote respective, honest dialogue, we ask that you use only “I” statements and that you practice active listening. From page 16 of the “Trainer Manual” of The Training Point

32. The Training Point, cont. “I” statements mean that you only refer to yourself, and don’t make generalizations. For example, don’t say “We believe that this is the best way, when you really mean that you believe it. From page 16 of the “Trainer Manual” of The Training Point

33. The Training Point, cont. Active listening means that you really take time to listen to what another person is saying when he/she is talking. Don’t jump to conclusions, make snap judgments, monopolize or interrupt. Listen fully, pay attention and try to understand. From page 16 of the “Trainer Manual” of The Training Point

34. Recovery-Oriented Systems of CareTraining of Facilitators slidesMinimizing Attrition #1 Is there anything the program could have done differently so that you would have continued attending? Laudet, Stanick, & Sands, JSAT 2009

35. Recovery-Oriented Systems of CareTraining of Facilitators slidesMinimizing Attrition #1 What could have been done differently so that you would have continued attending (among ‘yes’)? Laudet, Stanick, & Sands, JSAT 2009

36. Motivational Incentives • Motivational Incentives is a term synonymous with Contingency Management. It is based on behavioral research indicating that when a behavior is reinforced, it increases in frequency. • Positive reinforcement involves the presentation of a positive stimuli after a desired behavior occurs. from PAMI, Slide #10, presenter notes

37. The bottom line . . . . • What a few members of each team have learned here today cannot effective entire teams • We may not have much influence on how our colleagues back at the office work more effectively on teams • The only person I can change is myself • What is needed is personal reflection

38. A reflective person . . . . • Will step back and analyze his or her emotions when under pressure • Able to put him or herself in someone else’s place to understand reactions • Thinks before responding impulsively • Counts the cost of not being honest and forthright in responses

39. A reflective person . . . . • Knows which battles to pick • Thinks ahead; is proactive rather than reactive • Does not personalize a task-focused conflict • Does not make something mean something; in the absence of data we tend to make it up! • Others?

40. A responsible colleague . . . . • Completes tasks on time or explains well in advance why there will be a delay • Is quick to apologize for a mistake, a misspoken word or a missed detail • Will communicate honestly and directly • Is not hooked by argumentative reactions • Others?

41. Mahatma Gandhi said . . . . • Be the change you want to see in the world. We can . . . . • Be the team member we want others to be in our office.

42. All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten • Share everything • Play fair • Don’t hit people • Put things back where you found them • Clean up your own mess • Don’t take things that aren’t yours • Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody • Wash your hands before you eat • Flush • Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you • Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and dray and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some • Take a nap every afternoon From All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: Uncommon Thoughts on Common Things, 1986, pp.4-6

43. Group activity: • At your tables chose among the following: • a saying, • an acronym, • a picture, or • a poem, etc. to create a reminder of the main elements your group believes are at the core of Building Effective Teams • Summaries will be posted on the wall • Select a person to report on your creation

44. Resources “Teamness” Assessment • From The Five Dysfunctions of A Team: A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni, 2002: Jossey-Bass, pp. 191-194 • Includes scoring form Working Together Effectively Worksheet

45. Ingredients of Team Building: • Clear communication • Managed conflict • Building of trust • Defined roles • Positive atmosphere • Solidarity of purpose