Team Communication

Question 1

What is emotional intelligence?

Answer 1

defines how one interacts with other beings and how that person resolves differences of opinions

Question 2

Why is leadership EI important?

Answer 2

defines team culture and interactions

Question 3

Trust is ________ to achieve and very ________ to lose.

Answer 3

difficult, easy

Question 4

What are ways to build trust? (9)

Answer 4

1) Treat everyone fairly
2) Lead by example
3) Moderate extremes and avoid group think
4) Commit to and practice open and transparent communication
5) Build and recognize small successes
6) Respect each participant’s gifts, skills, experience, and self-worth
7) Facilitate development of ground rules and adherence to the ground rules
8) Have principled, authentic, and wise interactions
9) Manage conflict effectively

Question 5

Why is trust so important?

Answer 5

it is required for open interactions which facilitate knowledge and information sharing so all the facts are readily available

Question 6

What is a RACI diagram?

Answer 6

a diagram for documenting team communication as a part of ground rules

Question 7

What is “responsible” on a RACI diagram?

Answer 7

the person who completes the work

Question 8

What is “accountable” on a RACI diagram?

Answer 8

the person who makes sure the item is completed

Question 9

What is “consulted” on a RACI diagram?

Answer 9

the person whose subject matter expertise is required to complete the work

Question 10

What is “informed” on a RACI diagram?

Answer 10

the person who needs to be kept informed of the status of completion

Question 11

What is a pitfall of a RACI?

Answer 11

in a dysfunctional organizational culture, the RACI may become a hindrance because it can be used to promote individual agendas and interests

Question 12

Any initiative, particularly cross-functional, requires the ________, _________, and __________ of a broad range of resources.

Answer 12

involvement, support, and efforts

Question 13

What are some formal written communications? (7)

Answer 13

1) Project Status Report
2) Communication Plan
3) Meeting Minutes
4) Tollgate Reviews
5) Team Charters
6) Teams Roles & Responsibilities
7) Lessons learned documentation

Question 14

What is the purpose of a project status report?

Answer 14

to communicate progress, performance, issues, risks, and constraints to all constituencies

Question 15

What are the components of a project status report?

Answer 15

1) Executive summary with accomplishments, performance, escalations, and overall status
2) Completed tasks/activities
3) Next period’s tasks/activities
4) Summary of the project budget and schedule
5) Summaries of important issues, constraints, and risks

Question 16

At what intervals are project status reports distributed?

Answer 16

weekly, monthly or quarterly, based on the predetermined communications plan

Question 17

What are the three groups status reports are shared with?

Answer 17

1) entire project team
2) other audiences, those with upstream or downstream dependencies
3) leadership of affected areas

Question 18

What is a communication plan?

Answer 18

a living document that encompasses:
- all individuals, entities and orgs touched by a project
- the type of message required by each one
- who will communicate the message
- the means and method of communication
- how often the messages are communicated

Question 19

What are meeting minutes?

Answer 19

tool for keeping project members up-to-date

it should include information on all outstanding action items and responsibility for each item

Question 20

What is a tollgate review?

Answer 20

at the end of each Six Sigma phase, the project team assesses its completed work and determines if risks associated with the project phase are sufficiently mitigated to move on

Question 21

What is a project charter?

Answer 21

a living document that summarizes project goals, boundaries, scope and deadlines

Question 22

What are team roles & responsibilities?

Answer 22

document that clarifies each person’s role on the team and serves as a historical record should similar projects be undertaken in the future

Question 23

What is lessons learned documentation?

Answer 23

collection of lessons learned during the course of a project as a reference for future process improvement teams

Question 24

What is a risk assessment/mitigation plan?

Answer 24

documents possible project risks and provides plans for overcoming them, such as changes to project scope, timeline, personnel, and budget

Question 25

What is a project scope change request?

Answer 25

it documents how or why a project scope has changed and communicates the need for the change to organizational decision makers

Question 26

What is a team elevator speech (pitch)?

Answer 26

to clearly, quickly, and consistently communicate the team’s work to others

Question 27

What is a project review meeting?

Answer 27

a team communication tool for each team member to update the larger project team on their progress and roadblocks