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teams

team dynamics….

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Collaborative LeadershipSept 25, 2006

“Nothing important gets done alone.” - Goleman“Together we are stronger.” - Lefebvre

All we’ve got to work with is people.

today’s topics:• “teamship”: dynamics and skills

• meeting management competencies

• conflict analysis paper due Oct. 3

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Understanding leadership and management – some basic definitions…

• to lead: to influence others in order to help create positive change; to exercise influence by deploying power – personal, relationship, position, task, knowledge (Lombardo 2004)

• to manage: to plan, to organize, to lead (staff & direct), & to control resources to achieve group goals

• organization: a group of persons organized & tasked for some purpose; a tool of power to create social reality

• power: ability to do or act

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more distinctions….

• social vs positional power

• goal-oriented vs task-oriented

• “Go” vs “Let’s go”

• Leaders discern what should & should not be changed.

• Born leaders are just people who aren’t able to go anywhere by themselves. - Saskatchewan River valley grafitti

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in a nutshell….

• Lead people.

• Manage work.

• Understand both.

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summing up – a good communicator….

• focusses on interests not positions• listens, responds• helps others succeed• owns the 3 most powerful expressions in our culture:

– Hello. [and infinite variations, all with a ]– Thank you. [and infinite variations of recognition, praise,

positive reinforcement, celebration. “Well done.” “Good job.”]– I’m sorry. [and infinite variations of acknowledging errors. “I

made a mistake.” “I regret what happened.”]

• celebrates!• helps make more leaders

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key concepts of collaboration & teamwork:

• group interaction to accomplish a goal

• shared ownership

• team values orientation

• team developmental stages

• team multiple roles and common expectations

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team values orientation

task focus ……………………………….. ego focus(externalized) (internalized)

(client (client service)service)

balancing perspectives:

client, task, people, self

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5 developmental stages of a team:

• forming – searching for group identity – anxiety, resistance

• storming – defining group task – conflicts, personal agendas

• norming – coalescing, identifying with group, goal• performing – processing, producing, working together effectively

• fifth stage: assimilating – changing, adapting, e.g., absorbing new members

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meeting management skills:

- multiple roles in a meeting….• facilitator (chair) is the leader of conversation flow• recorder is the leader of words• members are the leaders of ideas & analysis

- and common expectations….• timeliness• advance preparation• constructive participation• follow-up & follow-through on commitments

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meeting management skills:3 phases of every meeting….

• pre-meeting – review past meetings (minutes), invite agenda items, plan agenda, plan time allocations

• the meeting – ground rules; monitor the clock; bring closure to each agenda item; action plans recorded

• post-meeting – process feedback at end and later, monitor progress on action items

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meeting management skills:facilitator (chair) responsibilities….

• ensure sight lines – room & furniture setup conducive to interaction

• facilitate emotional safety for all team members

• help team manage their time – optimum time-productivity balance

• keep focus on team task

• ask for process feedback – verbal or anonymous checklist

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types of goals and strategies for meetings:“One size doesn’t fit all.”

• sharing information

• brainstorming

• making decisions – building agreement, buy-in– problem solving: problem definition & decision making– planning and agreeing on roles and tasks

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meeting management skills:brainstorming….

• ideas are voiced one at a time – no interruptions, no debate – “dynamic listening”

• enjoy short silences

• invite every participant to have a full say

• encourage participants to reflect for more ideas

• sense when to seek permission to bring closure – value of input peaks but time continues, so sense when to stop

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meeting management skills:making decisions…

• remind team that all ideas are now group ideas - discuss ideas with team not originator

• keep focus on issues and interests not baggage - turn negatives into positives, criticism into concerns

- integrate good points from everyone’s input- sum up areas of agreement regularly

• ask for “sign-off” (buy-in) by each team member on major decisions

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examples of turning negatives into positives, criticisms into concerns:

(“We tried that years ago but it didn’t work.”)

• Seek clarification: “What’s in this version that wasn’t in the one that didn’t fly?”

• Seek common understanding• Seek common interest • Help to resolve conflict• Seek consensus: “What can we all agree on?”

• Get rid of the “buts” • Confirm understanding

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Summing up…..

- The single most important factor distinguishing effective from ineffective teams is the ability of team members to listen to each other. – Thomas Quick 1992

• Listen 80% of the time, speak 20%.

• You can think out loud, but you can’t listen out loud.

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for next week:

• list 3 or 4 core values that you hold about libraries or archives

• find one library or archives vision or mission statement, and identify the values reflected in it

• speaker intro for Linda Cook by Friday 10 am

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passion, values,

principles,vision,

mission

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