8. Team Dynamics Flashcards
Coaching P. 100
A process by which a more experienced individual helps enhance the existing skills and capabilities that reside in a less experienced individual.
Translate the theoretical learning into applied learning.
Particularly useful in providing guidance regarding team conflict and facilitation issues.
Mentoring P. 100
Help provide guidance, wisdom, and a possible road map to career advancement.
Conflict Management P. 103
- Venting emotions.
- Resolving issues.
- Avoid (when issue cannot be resolved profitably)
- Accommodate (when keeping the peace is more important than solution)
- Compromise
- Compete (least desirable means)
- Collaborate (based on data, fact, and trust)
Intervention P. 103.
An intervention is an action taken by a leader or a facilitator to support the effective functioning of a team or work group.
Conditions for Intervening P. 104
- A participant is not listening or paying attention or is distracting other participants.
- One or more side conversations are taking place.
- Participants are interrupting one another.
- Personal attacks, discourtesy, or incivility is occurring.
- The discussion is drifting off track.
- Violation of team norms or ground rules occurred.
- Violation of organization policy has occurred.
Meeting Management P. 105
- Form agenda committee.
- Publish timed meeting agendas.
- Publish project timeline.
- Publish actions assigned.
- Publish reminders of assigned actions.
- Maintain “parking lot” list.
- Starting on time.
- Require pre-work.
- Ensuring that the right people and resources are available.
- Assign prescribed roles.
- Create the team norms.
- Conduct in-meeting process checks.
- Conduct end-of-meeting process check.
Team Decision-Making Methods P. 107
- Consensus building
- Nominal group technique (NGT)
- Multivoting
- Force-field analysis
Consensus Building P. 108
- Integrate and summarize complex ideas to the satisfaction of the group.
- Gain buy-in to the purpose of the meeting from all members.
- Link people’s ideas together.
- Record ideas on a flip chart so group members can see how they have contributed.
- Draw out everyone’s input into a clear goal and objective.
Nominal Group Technique (NGT) P. 108
- Ideas
- Prioritize by ranking
- Summarize ranking total for the idea
Multivoting P. 109
- Ideas
- Prioritize by 100 points allocation
Force-Field Analysis P. 110
Technique for analyzing the forces that aid or hinder an organization in reaching an objective.
Driving forces (increase) and Restraining forces (reduce)
Obstacle: A person or group dominates the discussion
- Ask each person for one comment or reaction
- Ask dominating people to summarize their positions
- Ask their ideas first or adopt the “no judgments allows”
- Request in making sure all voices are heard
Obstacle: A person or group is reluctant to participate
- Welcome and express appreciation every comment
- Form small subgroups
- Make action assignments, with brief reports at the beginning of next meeting.
- Request in making sure all voices are heard
Obstacle: A tendency exists to accept opinions without data
- Emphasize the importance of basing decision on facts from the first meeting onward.
- Raise questions about data.
Obstacle: Groupthink (seek consensus too early or members are more concerned with avoiding a conflict)
- Provide full opportunity for the expressions of all views.
- Seek out dissenting views
- Ask individuals to play devil’s advocate by opposing early consensus.
- Be sure a preliminary written conclusion includes dissenting views.
- Ensure that the team ground rules call for multiple alternatives to be examined.
Obstacle: Team members begin to air old disputes
- Make sure ground rules state the need for a fresh start, keeping history in the past.
- Have a printed agenda.
- Assign team members the job of collecting data regarding the issue in dispute.
Obstacle: The team is floundering because it has lost sight of its goals and objectives.
- Make sure goals and objectives are clear and well understood at the first team meeting.
- Start meetings by revisiting goals and objectives.
- Use graphics based on PERT and Gannt Charts.
- Bringing an outside voice.
- Consider using a facilitator.
Obstacle: The team is rushing to meet its milestone without a thorough study or analysis.
- (Sub-optimizing) Encourage the team to study a far-ranging list of approaches and solutions.
- (Unintended consequences) When a change is studied, be sure it is clearly communicated to all who might be impacted. Actively seek input regarding possible unintended consequences.
- (Missing root causes) Try toggling the root cause on and off and observe whether the problem is toggling also.
Obstacle: The team becomes troubled over the issue of attribution
- If an idea comes from outside the team, that should be acknowledged.
- If an idea was advanced before the team was formed, that should be acknowledged.
- If ideas and concepts developed was responsible by a person or group, that should be acknowledged.
Obstacle: The team digresses too far from its goals and objectives.
- Assign and individual or group to follow through on a side topic.
- Set a specific time as a deadline beyond which no effort will be spent on the topic.
