team_building

� ���������������������������� ���� � � �� ������� � �� ������� � �� ������� � �� ���������� ���� ���� � �� �� ���� �� �� �� ���� �� �� �� ���� �� �� �� ���� ����� About this Booklet This booklet has been designed as an aid, to help you begin the process of team building. It is a notebook in which to capture your thoughts, your feelings and the lessons that you learn over the next few weeks as your new team develops. It will then become a reference work to which you can return and refresh yourself at any time in the future. 'You are the only person who can take responsibility for your learning and development' You are on a continuous path of learning which will not stop when today’s introductory session finishes. To ensure that you gain the maximum benefit from your time, it is important that you develop a discipline of filling in your log and not lose the lessons that you learn. Using this log in the future will help you build on your experience and continue to develop your knowledge, skills and confidence. The format of the booklet is straightforward and space is provided so that you can make additional notes. 'The discipline of writing something down is the first step towards making it happen. ' Initial Thoughts Your thoughts at the start of the session, including personal aims, objectives and concerns. Learning Styles Some background notes on the Kolb Learning Cycle and the Emotional Learning Curve Activity Log Designed to capture your thoughts, feelings about activities. Action Planning Using the notes collected over the next few weeks, you need to address the key issues facing you. How are you going to take them forward? What is your development plan and what actions are you going to take? Reference Notes These are provided as a quick reference to some important models. INITIAL THOUGHTS Expectations (My thoughts at the start of the team-building process) Concerns (My fears, doubts about the process, tutors or team members) Goals (What do I wish to get out of the team experience?) Learning Styles Processing Generalising Experiencing Applying Learning is such a fundamental process that many people take it for granted, assuming that they learn how to learn as they grow up. Your job and your role in the team requires you to learn a vast array of new things and should be a journey of learning and development for yourself. But what is leaning and how do you learn? Learning has occurred when you can demonstrate that you know something you didn't know before or when you can do something you could not do before. Sometimes we learn through structured activities such as lectures, case studies and books and most people associate the word learning with the gathering of facts and knowledge. But just as important is the way we learn from our experiences, by doing things. Now, think about the various skills that you use to help you learn - your ability to listen, to write notes, to imagine, to discuss, to research, to practice. You will use a combination of all these skills depending on your ability, approach and needs. Each individual will have different skills and coupled with their learning style will determine how effectively they learn in a particular situation. The term learning style is used as a description of the attitudes and behaviours which determine an individual's preferred way of learning. Most people are unaware of their learning style preferences. They just know vaguely that they feel more comfortable with, and learn more from some activities that others. For instance, some people like to do things whilst others like to think a while before taking action. Although every person will have a preferred leaning style , the intention is not to put people in a box. By understanding your learning style you will be able to influence the way in which you learn and also understand how to develop you attitudes and behaviours to be able to learn in every situation. The descriptions of the stages of learning given originated from the work of David Kolb (additional notes on Kolb's Learning Cycle are given later). Subsequent work by Honey and Mumford resulted in the development of the learning styles questionnaires. Four stages of learning were identified: 1. having an experience; 2. reviewing the experience; 3. concluding from the experience; 4. planning the next steps. and these were seen in a continuous cycle or spiral of learning - highlighting its continuous nature: Reviewing the experience Concluding from the experience Having an experience Planning the next steps Cycle Reviewing Concluding Experiencing Planning Reviewing Concluding Experiencing Planning Reviewing Concluding Experiencing Planning Spiral The four stages of learning - experiencing, reviewing, concluding and planning are mutually supportive. None is effective as a learning process in its own right. However, most people develop preferences for certain stages over others. As various, strategies, tactics and methods have proved successful in their learning, these have been repeated whilst others which were not so successful have been discontinued. As a result certain behavioural patterns develop and become habitual in the leaning process. Here are brief descriptions of the four learning styles: Activists Activists involve themselves fully and without bias in new experiences. They enjoy the here and now and are happy to be dominated by immediate experiences. They are open minded, not sceptical and their approach is 'I'll try anything once'. They tend to act first and consider the consequences afterwards. As soon as the excitement of one activity has died down they are busy looking for the next. They tend to thrive on the challenge of new experiences but are bored with implementation and longer term consolidation. In general, they are gregarious people but in doing so seek to centre activities around themselves. Reflectors Reflectors like to stand back to ponder experiences and observe them from many different perspectives. They collect data and prefer to think about it thoroughly before coming to any conclusion. They will tend to postpone reaching a definitive conclusion for as long as possible often seeking more information resulting in a cautious philosophy. They will tend to take a back seat in discussions and meetings preferring to listen to others and get the drift of the discussion before making their own points. They tend to act with a low profile and have a slightly distant, tolerant and unruffled air about them. Theorists Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex but logically sound theories. They think problems through in a logical way assimilating disparate facts into coherent theories. Tending to be perfectionists they will not rest until everything fits into a rational scheme and therefore they are keen on basic assumptions, principles, theories and models. They tend to be detached, analytical and dedicated to rational objectivity rather than anything subjective or ambiguous. Their approach is consistently logical and they will rigidly reject anything that does not fit. Therefore they will feel uncomfortable with subjective judgements, lateral thinking and anything flippant. Pragmatists Pragmatists are keen to try out ideas, theories and techniques to see if they work in practice. They positively search out new ideas and take the first opportunity to experiment with applications. They like to get on with things and act quickly and confidently on ideas that attract them. They tend to be impatient with ruminating, open ended discussions. They are essentially practical, down to earth people who like making practical decisions and solving problems and they see problems and opportunities 'as a challenge'. Their philosophy is: 'There is always a better way'. Each style connects with a stage on the continuous learning cycle: Reviewing the experience Concluding from the experience Having an experience Planning the next steps Activist Pragmatist Theorist Reflector Learning NOW LATER Intellectual Route Emotional Route Awareness Acceptance Application Growth Understand Non-coping Do Coping Feel Intellectual Route can only support and enhance the Emotional Route - it cannot stand alone! Risk Frustration Disappointment Anger Hurt Pride Fear Exposure Reward Awareness Pride Morale Control Confidence Realisation Ground Rules for CS3015 Team Building • Take responsibility for your own learning, thoughts, actions and reactions. • Speak for yourself. • Be as open and honest as you can be. • Keep an open mind. • Respect others which requires you to: - listen to their points of view and try to understand them; - be constructive and support their ideas; - maintain confidentiality within the group - no names. ACTIVITY LOG Activity: My Reactions (Feelings, Behaviour, Thoughts) What did we do well? What could be improved? What will I need to do differently? ACTIVITY LOG Activity: My Reactions (Feelings, Behaviour, Thoughts) What did we do well? What could be improved? What will I need to do differently? ACTIVITY LOG Activity: My Reactions (Feelings, Behaviour, Thoughts) What did we do well? What could be improved? What will I need to do differently? ACTIVITY LOG Activity: My Reactions (Feelings, Behaviour, Thoughts) What did we do well? What could be improved? What will I need to do differently? Adair’s Functional Approach Group Functions Setting standards Maintaining discipline Building team spirit Giving a sense of purpose Encouraging, motivating Appointing sub-leaders Ensuring communication within the group Training the group Individual Functions Attending to personal problems Praising individuals Giving status Recognising and using individual abilities Training the individual Task Needs Group Needs Individual Needs Task Functions Defining the task Making a plan Allocating work and resources Controlling quality and tempo of work Checking performance against plan Adjusting the plan The “Chalybeate” Problem Solving Model First ensure that you select somebody to act as co-ordinator otherwise you might not even start the problem solving process. PISPAR Purpose - Ensure that you have a purpose. Understand what you are trying to achieve. Everybody needs to have a common and clear definition of what the group is trying to achieve. Identify the problem and not just the symptoms. Information - Gather as much information as possible about the problem. How much time do you have? How many resources and people do you have? If the problem is complex, break it down into manageable sections. Check to see what skills you have within the group. You may find that somebody has valuable experience that can be applied. Gather ideas, get people building on each others information by being positive and constructive rather than negative. What is available outside your group in terms of experience and resources? What are the constraints, are they real or imagined ? Solutions - Transform the information into possible solutions. It will involve the generation, testing and evaluation of solutions. It is vital to keep an open mind, but very easy to become single tracked and bogged down with an idea that may not work. Ensure that everybody has a say, they may be keeping the best solution to themselves, not because they want to, but because they do not believe in it. You need the whole group committed to the generation of solutions and especially the one that is Selected. Check that the selected solution satisfies the requirements of the problem and the criteria for success. Is it possible to test the solution? Plan - The design and communication of what is to be done, how it will be achieved, when it will be achieved and by whom. With a large and complex problem there will need to be a plan for each section or stage. Can the smaller plans run in parallel? Are there critical events that must happen at a certain time? Test the plan against the solution and against the problem. Action - Is progress being measured against the success criteria? Does the plan need modifying, especially if new information is obtained. Has the problem changed in any way? Communicate progress to ensure that the team knows what is going and whether their plans and responsibilities have changed. Review - Not just the final stage, but at anytime during the whole problem solving process. Have formal and informal reviews to check progress towards a particular goal; check the teams’ understanding and that they are still committed; check there is still a problem; evaluate the performance; and pass on anything that has been learned to help in other tasks. The “Chalybeate” Planning Model Situation - An outline of the situation from which the plan arises and those key factors which will affect that plan. Aim - The aim is vital and time must be spent getting this information right. The aim should include what is to be achieved, how - in general terms, by when and why. Concept - The Overall View Objective Task - 3 Task - 2 Task -1 Objectives Resources Team Success criteria Target Target Start Time The plant gives direction and brings order; it must be simple, clear and understood. The path to the aim should be broken down into tasks which are manageable (time and scale) with the resources available. Each task can then be allocated the resources required to complete it. In this format, each task can be related to the 'whole', each person can see how their effort fits into the pattern This overall view should be relayed all those involved. Individual Tasks This is the detailed part of the plan which enables every individual to know: • What is expected of me - what I am doing - and what resources I have to do it (people, time, money, equipment). • How I am going to do it - whether these are detailed instructions or a statement that I am to determine the best way myself. • Why I am doing this - this demonstrates the value of my work and helps determine how much scope there is for initiative and change. • Who I am responsible to and how much authority I have to change things. Co-ordination & Control The more complicated the overall project and the more tasks there are, the greater the need for control. The mechanism for co-ordinating the overall effort and use of resources needs to be detailed here. Levels of authority and where that authority lies must be clear. Confusion and frustration will result if people are not clear on their role, their responsibility and where there lead is coming from. Brainstorming Brainstorming is used to help a group create as many ideas as possible in as short a time as possible; it taps ideas from all members and tends to generates more good ideas than other less structured methods. With more good ideas to choose from, groups tend to develop better solutions to problems. It is a great technique for energising a meeting by involving everybody in the process. However, it requires some rules to be effective: Groundrules • Define the purpose of the brainstorm clearly. • Criticism or evaluation of ideas not allowed during the brainstorming session. • Large quantity of ideas is desirable. • 'Wild' and 'Crazy' ideas welcome. • Combining/improving of ideas encouraged, e.g. piggybacking on others ideas. • Set a time limit 2-3 mins for the brainstorm but allow a lot longer to handle the output, do not waste ideas. • Plan ahead and 'manage' the data from a brainstorm - use of a flipchart. Ways to Brainstorm Build up the energy and enthusiasm of the group to participate, set the groundrules, ensure there is plenty of space to capture all the ideas, get members of the meeting to help write up ideas, set a target number of ideas. • Silent ideas generation where each member writes ideas on paper and then share their information. • Unsequenced participation where each member shares their ideas at random. Sequenced participation members share ideas, one at a time, in order. An alternative approach is the generation of positive and negative ideas one after the other. The Guidelines for Feedback There is no set format but there are some guidelines which can help when you both give and receive feedback. Remember that the person receiving the feedback may not know the guidelines! Guidelines for Giving Feedback • As a Gift - make sure that you are giving the feedback for the benefit of the other person, not for your own. Think - how would they want to receive this feedback? • Speak for yourself - this is a personal statement, do not hide behind the anonymous 'we' or 'they'. You are not a judge, speak simply from your heart. • Be objective - this is not someone else's feedback or opinion it is based an your observations, needs and values. • Be constructive - what do you want this person to do, how can they improve? • Be balanced - no good news is bad, all good news is not good. People learn from mistakes and from formative feedback • Be specific - vague generalities do not help. 'You need to be more confident' helps nobody. What specifically do they need to do? • Be timely - now may not be appropriate, days later may not be either. Guidelines for Receiving Feedback • Listen - to what they are saying, not just to the words. Remember there is a communication gap - you need to listen to what lies behind the words. • Do not defend - they are only sating what they think and feel. You cannot change that, it is arrogance to argue and believe that they should think like you. • Do not justify • Do not blame • Do not attack • Do clarify - make sure that you are as clear as you can be on what they are saying. • Accept the gift - whoever is giving it and however it was given. • Reflect and if it is appropriate, change. Team Roles Experience shows that awareness of the need for team roles occurs in the early stages of team development and during this session often during the reviews of the first couple of tasks. There is a perceived need for some form of co-ordination during the tasks. Depending on the experience and maturity of the group, different labels will be used to define this role - leader, co-ordinator, chairperson, manager, etc. Sometimes a group will shy away from the use of the team 'leader' due to a negative perception of this role. Words like dictatorial, bossy, powerful and controlling are frequently used to describe this function. It is important to redress the balance and understand the positive qualities of the 'leadership' role together with a raising of awareness of the other roles that need to be present in the team, if it is to be effect