handout management final oz

8/8/2019 Handout Management Final Oz

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Contents

Building a Successful TeamWhat is a team and what makes a teamTypes of TeamStages of Team BuildingDeveloping a Winning Vision or Purpose

Team Leadership-Legitimate PowerThe Trusted Leader Self-AssessmentTeam Leadership StylesLeadership functions

Building TrustHow to maintain trustThe critical role of the leader or supervisorCreating trusting environment within team

Why Teams Fail?Common problems with teamsConflicts- major common problem within teamsResolving inter-team conflictConflict Resolution StylesComplaints and GrievancesAlternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) ProceduresGuidelines for Resolving Complaints and Grievances

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Building a Successful Team

What is a team and what makes a team

Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.

(Henry Ford)

A team is a group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal.

The task is split into parts appropriate to each individual's talents. Each member of the team has a shared responsibility for getting the job done. Their cooperation is essential for success of the group.

Teams are particularly good at combining talents and providing innovative solutions to possible unfamiliarproblems; in cases where there is no well established approach/procedure, the wider skill and knowledgeset of the team has a distinct advantage over that of the individual.

In general, however, there is an overriding advantage in a team-based work force which makes it attractiveto management: that it engenders a fuller utilization of the work force.

A team can be seen as a self managing unit. The range of skills provided by its members and the selfmonitoring which each member performs makes it a reasonably safe recipient for delegated responsibility.

Even if a problem could be decided by a single person, there are two main benefits in involving thosepeople who will carry out the decision.

Firstly, the motivational aspect of participating in the decision will clearly enhance itsimplementation. Secondly, there may well be factors which the implementer understands better than the singleperson who could supposedly have decided alone.

More indirectly, if among middle level to entry level management echelons of the workforce each becometrained, through participation in collective decision making, in an understanding of the companysobjectives and work practices, then each will be better able to solve work-related problems in general.Further, they will also individually become a safe recipient for delegated authority.

From the individual's point of view, there is the added incentive that through belonging to a team each canparticipate in achievements well beyond his own individual potential. Less idealistically, the team providesan environment where the individual's self-perceived level of responsibility and authority is enhanced, in anenvironment where accountability is shared: thus providing a perfect motivator through enhanced self-esteem coupled with low stress.

Finally, a word about the "recognition of the worth of the individual" which is often given as the reason fordelegating responsibility to groups of subordinates. While we can agree with the sentiment, it is doubtful

that this is a prime motivator - the bottom line is that the individual's talents are better utilized in a team,not that they arent wonderful human beings. A successful team is collective collaboration. There are fewpoints to keep in mind in fostering creative collaboration:

1. Everyone has ideas

Good ideas emerge after throwing all sorts of bad ideas into a pot where they can merge and reform intosomething unexpected and new.

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2. A shared vision of a compelling challenge

All of the team members need to have a clear, shared vision of where they are going. The team shouldunderstand how it fits into the overall business of the organization. Team members should know theirroles, feel a sense of ownership, and can see how they make a difference.

3. A rich flow of easy access to information

If team members can only receive information on a need-to-know basis, innovation is stifled.

4. Trust, respect, and participation

Teams may include members of all different ranks and levels of seniority and expertise. In order forsuccessful work on a task, everyone on the team must participate fully and take risks, such as askingdumb questions or suggesting silly ideas. An environment in which the team members feel safe isneeded to encourage such risks. Team members have faith in each other to honor their commitments,maintain confidences, support each other, and generally behave in a consistent and predictably acceptablefashion.

5. Commitment

Team members see themselves as belonging to a team rather than as individuals who operateautonomously. They are committed to group goals above and behind their personal goals.

6. Communication

Communication refers to the style and extent of interactions both among members and between membersand those outside the team. It also refers to the way that members handle conflict, decision making, andday-to-day interactions.

7. Involvement

Everyone has a role in the team. Despite differences, team members must feel a sense of partnership witheach other. Contributions are respected and solicited, and a real consensus is established before committingthe team to action.

8. Process orientationOnce a team has a clear purpose (why its together and where its going), it must have a process or meansto get there. The process should include problem-solving tools, planning techniques, regular meeting,meeting agendas and minutes, and accepted ways of dealing with problems.

Depending upon the nature of work and structure of the organization, we can identify teams in three majorcategories

Types of Team

Problem-Solving Teams: Meet to improve quality, efficiency and the work environment

Self-Managed Teams: Take on responsibilities such as planning work schedule, collective control, and

operating decisions

Cross-Functional Teams: Accomplish a task and exchange information, develop new ideas, solveproblems and coordinate in complex projects

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Stages of Team Building

Team building is not an incident, rather it is an activity and process which starts and takes different shapesbefore it reaches its full bloom. The stages which every successful team goes through are:

Stage Feelings Behaviors

Forming -theorientation stage

Excitement, optimism, pride, initialattachment to the team

Suspicion, anxiety about the jobahead

Attempts to organize and define thejob/tasks; to define group behavior

Lofty or abstract discussions ofconcepts, and some impatience withsuch discussions

Storming- thedissatisfaction stagemost difficult stage

Resistance to the tasks and thevariety of approaches of individualsin the team

Sharp fluctuations in attitudes

Increased arguing; defensiveness and"choosing sides"

setting unrealistic goals disunity, increased tension, and

jealousy

Normalizing-theresolution stage

Ability to express criticismconstructively

Acceptance of the team; relief in the belief that "everything is going towork out."

Attempts to gain harmony by avoidingconflict (avoid Groupthink, though!)

More friendliness and personal sharing;sense of common team spirit

Establishing and maintaining teamground rules. (This latter is a crucialelement for team success.)

Performing-theproduction stage

Insight into members' abilities

Satisfaction at the team's progress

Constructive self-change Ability to prevent/handle group

problems; attachment to the team

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Developing a Winning Vision or P urpose

The meaning of vision which concerns you as a supervisor/manager is: an idea of what the future shouldbe. This has nothing to do with prediction but everything to do with hope. It is a focus for the team'sactivity, which provides sustained long-term motivation and which unites your team.

Higher management is primarily responsible for formulating and defining a companys strategic vision andensuring its implementation. In some companies particular individuals have been given the specific task ofensuring that a corporate vision remains current and vital.

A vision should capture the essence of what a company is all about. At the start of the new millenniumSteve Ballmer became CEO of Microsoft. His predecessor Bill Gates a co-founder of the company assumedthe title of chairman and chief software architect. The latter role allows Gates to return to his roots and theactivities he most enjoys. It also reflects the importance of a strategic vision in the development of newtechnologies.

A stretching, distinctive and compelling vision that paints a picture of a future, desired and attainable stateof affairs can engage and motivate. A clear vision is of value internally and externally. Internally itmotivates people to achieve and focus their efforts, while externally the vision should differentiate acompany from its competitors.

Some visions motivate more than others. Staff at the BBC became much more engaged when the publicbroadcasters vision was changed from to be the best managed organization in the public sector andbecame to be the worlds most creative organization. A vision and a mission statement should balance theneeds of both individuals and the organization along the lines of Amazons Work Hard, Have Fun, MakeHistory.

Internally and externally, the common and shared element of a vision should be a unifying factor. It shouldhold a diverse, complex and network form of organization together and provide its people with a sense ofcommon purpose. Yet while a vision can inspire, it can also result in disillusionment and distrust if it isincomplete or incapable of achievement, and there is a gap between aspiration and attainment.

A vision has to be something sufficiently exciting to bind your team with you in common purpose. Thisimplies two things:

You need to decide where your team is headed You have to communicate that vision to them

Mission

Now, this vision thing, it is still a rather nebulous concept, hard to pin down, hard to define usefully; avision may even be impractical (like "zero defects"). And so there is an extra stage which assists in itscommunication: once you have identified your vision, you can illustrate it with a concrete goal, a mission.This leads to the creation of the famous mission statement.

Let us consider first what a mission is, and then return to a vision.

A mission has two important qualities:

It should be tough, but achievable given sufficient effort It must be possible to tell when it has been achieved Measurable, Quantifiable

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Quality

If you are stuck for a mission, think about using Quality as a focus since this is something on which youcan build. Similarly, any aspects of great management which are not habitual in your team at the momentcould be exemplified in a mission statement. For instance, if your team is in product design, your missionmight be to fully automate the test procedures by the next product release; or more generally, your teammission might be to reduce the time spent in meetings by half within six months.

No Time Limit

In general, your vision should be un-finishable, with no time limit, and inspirational; it is the driving forcewhich continues even when the mission statement has been achieved. Even so, it can be quite simple: WaltDisney's vision was "to make people happy". As a manager, yours might be something a little closer toyour own team: mine is "to make working here exciting".

Vision should be:

Well Communicated

Once you have established a few possible mission statements, you can try to communicate (or decide upon)your vision. This articulates your underlying philosophy in wanting the outcomes you desire. Not, pleasenote, the ones you think you should desire but an honest statement of personal motivation; for it is only thelatter which you will follow with conviction and so of which you will convince others.

Communicating a vision is not simply a case of painting it in large red letters across your office wall(although, as a stunt, this actually might be quite effective), but rather bringing the whole team to perceiveyour vision and to begin to share it with you. A vision, to be worthy, must become a guiding principle forthe decision and actions of your team.

Time LimitedTo maintain an impetus, it might also have a time limit so that people can pace their activity rather thangetting winded in the initial push. The scope of your vision depends upon how high you have risen in themanagement structure, and so also does the time limit on your mission statement. Heads of multinationalcorporations must take a longer view of the future than the project leader in divisional recruitment; theformer may be looking at a strategy for the next twenty-five years, the latter may be concerned withattracting the current crop of senior school children for employment in two-three years. Thus a new

manager will want a mission which can be achieved within one or two years.

There is no real call to make a public announcement of your vision or to place it on the notice board. Suchaffairs are quite common now, and normally attract mirth and disdain. If your vision is not communicatedto your team by what you say and do, then you are not applying it yourself. It is your driving motivation -once you have identified it, act on it in every decision you make.

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Team Leadership-Legitimate P ower

The Trusted Leaders Self-Assessment

The purpose of this self-assessment is to give you a starting point to use in the process of becoming (orremaining) a Trusted Leader. Some of the questions may seem, at first blush, to have a "right"

answer. That is not always the case, however. Many of these questions are designed purely tomake you reflect, or to force you to hear the views of those who might be better suited to providean objective response. Those two activities, reflecting on one's own progress and hearing theobjective views of others, are part and parcel of trusted leadership. The self-assessment has 20multiple choice questions grouped and will take only a few minutes to complete. In this section,please indicate your level of agreement or disagreement on the 1-Disagree totally to 5-Agreestrongly scale shown and find out in the ratings where you fall after calculating your response.

Statement Level of

disagreement /agreement

1 2 3 4 5

1. My subordinates genuinely like me professionally and personally.

2. The people currently reporting to me are smarter or more talented than I am.3. I have played a significant role in the development of people in this

organization who are outside of my direct area of responsibility.

4. At least two or three people in the organization would regard me as anactive yet informal mentor.

5. I give people more latitude for error than do most other executives.

6. The people I lead have a clear, explicit understanding of the desiredleadership characteristics of the organization.

7. I openly praise the people who work for me.

8. People working for me feel free to disagree with me publicly.

9. People understand the evaluation and reward standards I have established,and consider them equitable.

10. I am considered highly trustworthy by my direct reports.

11. I trust my direct reports implicitly.

12. There is a succession plan in place for me, and I have shared it explicitlywith someone who could implement it if necessary.

13. I have explicitly told my potential successor how valuable he is to theorganization and to me personally as well.

14. I know what my legacy to this organization will be.

15. The individuals in this organization could easily articulate what my legacyto this organization will be.

16. This organization (or my part of it) would be in fine shape tomorrow iftoday were suddenly my last day.

17. This organization (or my part of it) would be in fine shape two years henceif today were suddenly my last day.

18. Everyone in this organization knows how we make money.

19. Conflicts are resolved in my organization in a healthy and timely fashion.

20. I explicitly discuss the importance of trust with the people in theorganization.

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The Trusted Leader Self- Ratings

Below are the ratings for the assessment, kindly read the description under the range that you fall in.

00-60

Either you are way too self-critical, or you have got some work ahead of you. It makes sense for you to do

some close looking at why the numbers are where they are. Are all your subsection averages 3.5 or below?Is it just in one or two particular subsections that they fall into this category?

61-80

You are in a range of where the plurality of people in leadership roles falls. You may be a good performerin a particular environment, thus the question that arises is how easily you would make the transitionshould that environment or the surrounding circumstances change.

81-90

You are probably working with some clear successes in the realm of trusted leadership. You are probablyfinding more of your challenges to be specific, identifiable ones rather than general issues of overalleffectiveness.

91-100

You are doing very well, and given that, it would be helpful for you to examine how to raise the bar ofperformance for your entire organization.

At the same time, remember that this is a self-assessment. With this high a score, it makes sense for you tohave a number of people rate you anonymously on these dimensions. If your self-assessment matches theirratings, then you truly are a trusted leader.

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Team Leadership Styles

The most important task of the team leader is to help the team through the development stages. The firsttwo leadership tasks are:

1. Diagnosis.

2. Delivery of Appropriate Leadership Style.

The team leader assesses the level and stage of development achieved by the group, and provides guidanceaccordingly. Each stage requires a different type of leadership. The team leader diagnosis theneed of the group, and provides the right style of leadership to prepare the members for thefollowing stage. Adaptability is an essential element of effective leadership.

Leadership styles

Leadership could be autocratic, democratic or it could be situational, depending on the requirement of thegroup.

1. Autocratic Leadership - Telling people what to do, how and when to do it.

2. Democratic Leadership- Listening, interacting, boosting morale, motivating.

These two styles may swing continuously subject to the level of understanding prevailing among the teammembers, and the amount of responsibility they are prepared to own, and their capability to workwithout supervision.

Autocratic style stifles initiative. Controlling is never conducive to creativity. Its application amounts to 'Iam right you are wrong', or 'you don't know, do what you are told and when you are told'.

Democratic style is participative, encourages suggestions, joint solutions and team work. However, if over

used it could degenerate into reduced performance, though every body feels good and socializesfreely. Controlling is essential, but not in an autocratic way. Controls ought to be built into thesystem. Set targets performance and quality levels, cost and waste limits. It is a self evaluatingprocess. You don't have to have managerial controls.

Situational leadership

* Directing. * Coaching. * Supporting. * Delegating.

When the team starts, their barrel of knowledge is empty, though they are enthusiastic and eager to learnand to do well. They need directing.

After directing and coaching the team members' barrel of knowledge is full, but someone needs to draw the

knowledge out of the members, organize and apply it. That is the second and final part ofcoaching. The dissatisfaction stage.

The group reaches stage 3. They are on their way to regain confidence, commitment and motivation. Themembers need to be listened to. They need to be supported in their efforts to interact creativelyand find solutions to problems together.

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We have reached the final frontier: the stage of performance. The team is now ready and operatingsmoothly. Leadership must delegate and fall along the sidelines. The leadership must be versatileand change with the changing conditions.

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Leadership functions to be performed by the group

1. Task Functions - Selling the agenda to the group.

Establishing goals and roles.

Giving direction.

Scheduling and setting time limits.

Seeking, sharing and summarizing information.

2. Maintenance Functions - Developing and maintaining:

Harmony

Cohesiveness

Recognition

Listening habit

Encouraging participation

Managing conflict

Building relationships

These functions are to be performed by the team members. It is not the job of the leader to undertake suchtasks permanently. He is always available to direct and guide. Only the delegated representatives(it could be one of the executives on the team or a manager) must take over as quickly as they areready to do so.

No team can manage the transition or development through to stage 4 without guidance. The team leadermanages the journey of the group from orientation through to dissatisfaction, to resolution and onto production stage. All groups must go through all the stages without exception.

The team leader diagnosis the level of development and provides guidance accordingly. It is his job to takethe group to the team status with the help of correct diagnosis of development, adaptability to therequired system and then delegate and empower the team. It means that the team leader preparesthem first and then slowly delegates authority to make decisions, determine, define and solveproblems interdependently. Development and leadership styles go in synchronization.

The group moves from orientation to dissatisfaction stage quickly. A good leader may reduce the degree ofdissatisfaction, but he or she can not eliminate it altogether. Certain amount of uncertainty is

bound to affect every member of the group.

As the members begin to express opinions and air their problems, differences are bound to emerge. Someof the members, as a result, get competitive with one another engaging in power struggle, somewithdraw, and others get discouraged and frustrated with the difficulty of the task. The reality ofthe hard work sets in. The group is struggling during dissatisfaction stage for a sense of purposeand independence. It is a time of turbulence. It is the most creative and dynamic stage as well. Itis an adolescence stage in the groups life from which they would mature into adulthood, achieveteam status and independence.

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At this stage, the morale and commitment of the group is declining. The team leader must find ways to getthe group to do good things find the right solutions, build their skills and knowledge. The groupmust learn to communicate, and master decision-making skills. It must complete ground rules forlistening, for managing conflicts, for encouraging every body's input. The leader's job is toinculcate behavior conducive to team action, that the group may not be able to provide itself. Thatis why the groups have to go through all of the stages and need leadership to see them through.

Leader's involvement does limit his or her capacity to judge the progress of the group's development. Theleader must keep him or herself fully aware of the content or the agenda, but he or she must becapable of stepping back as an observer to assess the level of development the group has achieved.A team leader's job is therefore highly versatile and difficult to fulfill. It continues to change fromone end to the other and from one theme to the other.

There is another way for the team leader to keep track of the development without abandoning his or herinvolvement with decision-making or problem-solving with the group. The job may be assignedto one of the group members to act as the process observer, and report to the leader periodically onthe major areas of concern.

Once a member is designated to act as group's observer he or she can not get involved in discussions. It isimportant to clarify the two roles at the very beginning, and make it a part of the ground rules.However, if at any stage the observer should wish to participate in the group proceedings, he orshe must hand over the observer's role to some one else with the consent of the leader. In fact it isbeneficial for the members, to rotate the observer's role. The members would understand how thegroup functions a lot better.

Process observation is beneficial in many ways. It helps to understand the problem areas. It makes thegroup members aware of their behavior that enables them to get through the development stagesmore effectively. It reveals: Who talks? Who talks to whom? Who follows whom? Whointerrupts? Who wastes the group's time? In short, it helps to establish the right approach andconduct in the meetings.

A questionnaire may be given to each of the members periodically to monitor each other's individualprogress as well as the group's collective progress. It promotes mutual understanding and mutual

responsibility. The questionnaire may be adopted for the future monitoring of the team's progresswhen it operates independently.

Third party monitoring is also beneficial. It is a useful strategy favored by some organizations withencouraging results, as the observation is more objective.

The manager or the team leader must at all times be ready and willing to counsel, encourage and guide theteam members. Empowering means helping teams develop their skills and knowledge, andhelping them to use their talents without hindrance.

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Team Roles and Individual Characteristics

There are some roles within teams which are taken voluntarily by different team members and as teamleader or supervisor you have to be aware of those roles and degree of commitment each role demands

Driver(Develops ideas, directs & Innovates) Be Sure To:Listen to ideas & criticism from other

members

Dont just drive; check progress, resources &skills

Resolve details as well as the big decisions

Think role not function

Take more time over people

Make major decisions for the team

Set objectives for team tasks & development

Establish directions for team development

Assign responsibilities to team members

Get the team moving

Think growth for, People, Skills, Influence, Team Maturity

Planner (Estimates needs, plans strategies & Schedules) Be Sure To:

Take & know teams strategic aims to bits

Set concrete goals and realistic performancetargets

Expect problems, but try to anticipate them

Stay in touch with the plans to theircompletion

Allow for contingencies

Take the teams strategic aims to bits

Get to know them thoroughly

Assess the environment in which these aims must beachieved and consider

The team that you have now, and

The support that you will get

Set concrete goals and realistic performance targets

Expect problems, but try to anticipate them, take steps toprevent them, also plan how to respond them.

Enabler (The fixer manages resources, promotes ideas &

negotiates)

Be Sure To:

Acquire best resources available

Identify what resources have been used in thepast and make sure for the better usein future

Develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes ofteam members

Use every opportunity to motivate teammembers

Works hard to convert people to accept their view point

Acceptor of anything new

Will take new plan and make sure that the team gets all theavailable resources

Comfortable in one-to-one relationship Meets strangers with assurance and ease

Converses well and takes pains to make others feel at ease

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Executive(The producer, co-ordinates & maintains the team) Be Sure To:

Handle teams administrative tasks

Make sure that team members have work to doand systems with which to do it

Identify the knowledge, skill and attitudes thejob demands

Balance the work to be done and the ability todo it

Maintain good relationship between theindividual team members

Make decisions both on observation & how they feel aboutwhat they see

Capable of turning instruction into action

Work systematically, patiently and completely, aligningand interlocking individual plans

Live in the present and recognize what needs attentionnow

Little influenced by what has gone on in the past

Effort to ensure that the team works in harmony to getthings done

Controller(Records, audits & evaluates progress) Be Sure To:Resist the temptation to let the creation of rulesof conduct become your maincontribution

Dont let data gathering be used for destructivepurposes

Dont say you cant do it because of the rules

Make allowances for those who want towork the fast track

Dont prescribe a way of working withoutregard to the person

Analytical thinker

Base their decision on a careful analysis of what happenedin the past

Able to use their experience and knowledge to give adviceand guidance

Set targets on the identification and solution of problem

Assess cost in detail costs incurred by teams operation

Spot teams errors through their careful monitoring

There are certain qualities an individual should have, to play these roles effectively. Moreover, in order tobe a successful team member, supervisor/manager or leader, one has to inculcate or develop the qualitiescompletely on self-discipline basis. An effective member of a successful team has to be:

Dependable Informal

Organized Supportive

Logical Encouraging

Flexible Candid

Forward-Looking Ethical

Visionary Adventurous

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Building T rust

Trustthe state of readiness for unguarded interaction with someone or something

Trust. You know when you have it; you know when you dont. Yet, what is trust and how is trust usefullydefined for the workplace? Can you build trust when it doesnt exist? How do you maintain and build upon

the trust you may currently have in your work place? These are important questions for todays rapidlychanging world.

Trust forms the foundation for effective communication, employee retention, and employee motivation andcontribution of discretionary energy, the extra effort that people voluntarily invest in work. When trustexists in an organization or in a relationship, almost everything else is easier and more comfortable toachieve. Trust means:

Provide correct information Perform an operation correctly Keep a secret

Perform a protocol correctly Not to misuse information or resources

Dr. Duane C. Tway, Jr. says, There exists today, no practical construct of Trust that allows us to design

and implement organizational interventions to significantly increase trust levels between people. We allthink we know what Trust is from our own experience, but we don't know much about how to improve it.Why? I believe it is because we have been taught to look at Trust as if it were a single entity.

(A Construct of Trust-1993)

Trust is constructed of three components:

The capacity for trusting means that your total life experiences have developed your current capacity andwillingness to risk trusting others.

The perception of competence is made up of your perception of your ability and the ability of others withwhom you work to perform competently at whatever is needed in your current situation.

The perception of intentions is your perception that the actions, words, direction, mission, or decisions aremotivated by mutually-serving rather than self-serving motives.

Thinking about trust as made up of the interaction and existence of these three components makes trusteasier to understand.

The trust of a speaker by the listener is based on the listener's perception of three characteristics of thespeaker. These three characteristics to be

The intelligence of the speaker correctness of opinions, or competenceThe character of the speaker reliability /a competence factor, and honesty /a measure of intentionsThe goodwill of the speaker favorable intentions towards the listener

Additional research shows that trust is the basis for much of the environment you want to create in your

work place and especially in teams. Trust is the necessary precursor for:

feeling able to rely upon a person cooperating with and experiencing teamwork with a group taking thoughtful risks experiencing believable communication

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How to maintain trust

The best way to maintain a trusting team work environment is to keep from injuring trust in the first place.The integrity of the leadership of the team is critical. The truthfulness and transparency of thecommunication with sub ordinates is also a critical factor. The presence of a strong, unifying mission andvision can also promote a trusting environment. Providing information about the rationale, background, andthought processes behind decisions is another important aspect of maintaining trust. Another isorganizational success; people are more apt to trust their competence, contribution, and direction when partof a successful project or organization.

Yet, even in an organization in which trust is a priority, things happen daily that can injure trust. Acommunication is misunderstood; a production order is misdirected and no one questions an obviousmistake. In many teams, people are taught to mistrust as they are repeatedly misinformed and misled.

The critical role of the leader or manager/supervisor

Simon Fraser University assistant professor Kurt Dicks studied the impact of trust in team success. Aftersurveying the members on 30 teams, he determined that members on successful teams were more likely totrust their supervisor/manager. He found these members were more likely to believe that their leader knewwhat was required for them to win. They believed the leader had their best interests at heart; they believedthe leader came through on what he promised. (Something to think about: trust in their teammates washardly deemed important in the study.)

Del Jones of the Gannett News Service reports that in a March, 2001 Wirthlin Worldwide study ofemployees, 67 percent said they were committed to their employers. Only 38 percent felt their employerswere committed to them.

In another study, by C. Ken Weidner, an assistant professor at the Center for Organization Development atLoyola University Chicago, findings suggest several implications for organizational performance andchange.

Weidner found that a supervisors/managers skill in developing relationships that reduce or eliminatedistrust, have a positive impact on employee turnover. He feels that turnover may be a result oforganizations failing to draw people in. He also found that trust in the supervisor/manager is associatedwith better individual performance.

Creating trusting environment within team

You cannot always control the trust you experience in your larger organization, but you can act in ways that promote trust within your immediate team work environment. The following are ways to create andpreserve a trusting team environment.

Develop the skills of all employees and especially those of current supervisors and people desiringpromotion, in interpersonal relationship building and effectiveness.

Keep team members truthfully informed. Provide as much information as you can comfortablydivulge as soon as possible in any situation.

Act with integrity and keep commitments. If you cannot keep a commitment, explain what ishappening in the situation without delay. Current behavior and actions are perceived by employeesas the basis for predicting future behavior. Supervisors/managers who act as if they are worthy oftrust will more likely be followed with fewer complaints.

Confront hard issues in a timely fashion. If an employee has excessive absences or spends worktime wandering around, it is important to confront the employee about these issues. Otheremployees will watch and trust you more.

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Protect the interest of all employees in a team. Do not talk about absent employees, nor allowothers to place blame, call names, or point fingers.

Display competence in supervisory/managerial and other work tasks. Know what you are talkingabout, and if you dont knowadmit it.

Listen with respect and full attention. Exhibit empathy and sensitivity to the needs of staffmembers.

Set reasonably high expectations and act as if you believe team members are capable of living upto them.

Trust is built and maintained by many small actions over time. Marsha Sinetar, an author, said Trust is nota matter of technique, but of character; we are trusted because of our way of being, not because of ourpolished exteriors or our expertly crafted communications.

So fundamentally, trust is the cornerstone, the foundation for everything you'd like your team to be nowand for everything you'd like it to become in the future. Lay this groundwork well.

Trust is telling the truth, even when it is difficult, and being truthful, authentic, and trustworthy in yourdealings with team members.

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Why Teams F ail?

For centuries, Teams have been set up and run to allow collective responsibility rather than efficientdecision making. It is assumed that Teams will err on the side of caution and are no better at achieving thecorrect answer than individuals. However, teams have the potential to make better decisions and make iteasier for those decisions to be transferred into action after the team has finished its work.

In order to take advantage of the clear benefits of teamwork, it is important to manage the team properly.This involves understanding how to construct a team and how it is likely to behave. Generally teams fail:

When they are not given authorityWhen they do not understand how to use their combined abilitiesBecause of vested interestsWhen they do not understand team working

If the team is not taken seriously or given a clear remit and authority to take decisions, nothing will beachieved. Even with a clear purpose and commitment from directors, the team still needs to understandhow to work together

Common problems with teams

Getting confused or wondering what actions to take next.o Remedy: Use project planning discussions, agendas, minutes and timetables to organize

the team's work.

Overbearing team members who use authority to overrule discussion or solutions.o Remedy: Use team consensus instead.

Dominating team members who talk or bully their way into getting the group to go along.o Remedy: Use consensus and make sure that everyone is active.

Reluctant team members who are never heard from!o Remedy: Make sure everyone participates in issues about the project.

Acceptance of opinions as facts.o Remedy: Make sure that sources are noted and opinions are stated as they actually

are/were.

Rush to accomplishment trying to finish too quickly with work that is too shoddy.o Remedy: Plan out the work; assign responsibilities and deadlines.

Assigning motives to others ("He's trying to sabotage our work!").o Remedy: Check for understanding; ask!

Ideas that are not acknowledged by others on the team.o Remedy: Develop a procedure for listing and later addressing each idea.

Having arguments with team members who bring their "issues" in from outside.o Remedy: Be reasonable and honest, what is wrong is wrong and what is right is right.

When people get together to work for a common purpose as a team ,conflicts happen. Actually conflictis one of the major common problems of teams. Team members/supervisors/managers/leaders take

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conflict in negative sense, whereas, conflict is neither negative nor positive itself. Conflict is what youmake of it, what you make out of it and how you deal with it.

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Conflicts- major common problem within teams

Conflicts are a natural and inevitable part of people working together,sharing diverse thoughts, concerns, perspectives, and goals. As ateam supervisor/manager, youre going to have to deal with conflict

situations both as a mediator (to help resolve conflicts betweenothers) and as a participant (when you, yourself, are in conflict withsomeone). These situations can be complex and difficult to managesuch as an ongoing personality clash with a co-workeror simpleand easy to managesuch as two associates disagreeing over ameeting agenda.

Unfortunately, team supervisors/managers often make the mistake oftreating all conflicts as destructive confrontations that should beavoided or resolved as quickly as possible. In reality many conflictsprovide an important opportunity to improve business results.Hardto believeconflict a good thing? Yes. Disagreements and differingpoints of view, when managed properly, are essential to an innovative workplace.

For the most part, conflicts are not big, emotional blowouts or scenes of physical violencealthough thesecan and do occur, especially in workplaces in which conflict is not managed well. Conflicts usually involvethe small stuff that continuously grinds down working relationships in teams. These can include:

Loud radios, talking, or other noises that distract co-workers Someone grabbing the last table available in canteen at lunch Someone barging into your office and interrupting your work Someone leaving the copy machine with the message refill paper tray Someone discounting what you say in a meeting

Getting along with people in the workplace and in teams -- with bosses, customers and co-workers, isntjust about dealing with conflict when it occurs, but about learning how to prevent destructive conflict fromhappening in the first place.

Defusing hostile, manipulative people is important, since there will be situations where, unprovoked,people will treat you badly no matter what you do. A good amount of workplace conflict simply isntnecessary. It is created because people (and that means all of us) do and say things that are likely to causeconflict. Usually we dont do so intentionally. We do so because we arent aware of how our own behavior;the ways we communicate, actually contribute to creating problems for ourselves and for those around us.

While we arent always aware of how we create interpersonal problems, we all know enough aboutlanguage and communication to know what helps us work well with others, and what contributes to rockyrelationships. Its just that we dont use more cooperative approaches consistently. Sometimes we forget, orare frustrated and annoyed, or have a bad day. Then we slip up, and create conflict that isnt necessary.

Resolving inter-team conflict

As it has been stated before that disagreements are a part of work place and teams. There are two types ofconflicts:

Substantive conflict (disagreements over issues-policies, professional priorities, authority,responsibility)

Personalized conflict (emotionally laden, has more to do with the personalities of the individualsthan actual issues)

Conflict does not pop up from nowhere there are certain elements within workplace and teams that prove tobe the sources of different conflicts such as:

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Communication breakdowns Competition over scarce resources Structural problems Unclear job boundaries

Inconsistent applications of policies Unrealized expectations Time pressures

Conflict Resolution StylesThe key to success is in resolving the conflict for better performance; different conflicts need to be resolvedwith different approach. It is the conflict resolution approach that makes it constructive or destructive.Listed below are the approaches to conflict resolution.

Withdraw/avoid Appropriate when the issue is perceived to be minor and the costs of solving theproblem are greater than the benefits derived.

Accommodate/oblige Encourages cooperation because it implies the rule of reciprocity; that is,you give up something now to eventually get something of value in return.

Compromise win some, lose some. Problems arise when one is known to compromise all of

the time. The other side will inflate their demands and waste valuable time. Compete/force/dominate I win, you lose. and may foster resentment and cause long-term

problems.

Collaborate/integrate/problem solving Win-win.because both sides collaborate to get whatthey want. This encourages mutual trust and respect, but is time-consuming and is not applicableto all types of conflict.

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Complaints and Grievances

Team members, who are in a position where they need to supervise/manage staff, have to deal with thesetwo culprits in order to develop and maintain healthy professional relationships in teams. Supervisorsshould handle employee complaints and grievances in a systematic and professional manner. Before goingto the problem solving techniques lets see how the two elements differ from each other.

Complaint Any individual or group problem or dissatisfaction the employees can channel upward tomanagement

Grievance A formal complaint involving the interpretation or application of the labor agreement in aunionized setting

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Procedures

ADR may utilize approaches such as:

Ombudsman or counselor Mediator (often third party)

A jury or panel of employees andmanagers Med-arb

These approaches are types of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), which means complaints are processedand decided on internally. ADR can prevent lawsuits.

Moreover, open and frank communication at the first step is usually the key element in finding an amicableresolution of the problem. Supervisors/managers should strive to handle employee grievances at the firststep.

Guidelines for Resolving Complaints and Grievances

Below are some tips for resolving work place and team conflict

Make time available. If a hearing does not occur quickly, the team member could becomefrustrated and feel resentful.

Listen patiently and with an open mind. The supervisor/manager should not become preoccupiedwith defending and justifying his or her own position. Open discussion will often defuse or workout the situation.

Distinguish facts from opinions. Be cautious about relying on hearsay and opinionated statements.Take the time to gather information, while being mindful of making a quick decision.

Determine the real issue. What is the employee really concerned about? If the real issue is notdefined and settled, complaints of a similar nature are likely to be raised again.

Check and consult. Consult the appropriate labor agreement, manual, or human resourcesdepartment before making a decision.

Avoid setting precedents. The supervisor/manager should make a decision thats consistent withestablished procedures. The supervisor/manager must explain departures from previous decisions.

Exercise self-control. Emotions, arguments, and personality clashes can distort communication.Supervisor/manager should not lose control of their emotions, and should consult with higher-level managers or HR if necessary.

Minimize delay in reaching a decision. An employee should know when management will make adecision. Postponements will make the employee feel ignored and cause further resentment.

Explain the decision clearly and with sensitivity. The supervisor/manager should give astraightforward answer and be as specific as possible about the reasons for the decision.

Keep records and documents. Documentation can be very supportive in case an appeal to thedecision is made.

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Do not fear a challenge. Supervisor/manager should make every effort to resolve the problem attheir level. Never grant a request or settle a complaint just to avoid an argument.

Action Plan for Self Improvement

Below are major topics discussed during this two day training. In order to use this training as a productivetool for improvement, you can identify your present skill level and prepare your own action plan with

strategy and timeline to improve where feel less competent in order to be an effective part of a successfulteam. It is simply a matter of self discipline that how accurate you evaluate yourself and then analyze thatin which area you need to improve.

Area Existing skill level

01-Low 02 03 04-High

Tram formation processTeam vision & goalsTeam roles and individual characteristicsEffective team supervisor/memberTrust within teamCommon problems of teamResolving conflicts in team

Develop a strategy in your group with specific actions list

Area Our Strategies

Team formation process

Team vision & goals

Team roles and individual characteristics

Effective team supervisor/member

Trust within teams

Common problems of team

Resolving conflicts in team

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Story begins...

A mouse looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package; what foodmight it contain?He was shocked to discover that it was a mouse trap!

Moving back to the farmyard, the mouse announced the warning, "There is a mouse trap in the house, thereis a mouse trap in the house." The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, Ican tell you this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me; I cannot be bothered be it."

The mouse turned to the goat and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the house." "I am so very sorry Mr.Mouse," sympathized the goat, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray; be assured that you are inmy prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow, who replied, "Like wow, Mr. Mouse, a mouse trap; am I in grave danger,Duh?"

So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected to face the farmer's mouse trap alone. That

very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its victim.The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a poisonoussnake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital.She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so thefarmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so thatfriends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock.

To feed them, the farmer butchered the goat. The farmer's wife did not get well, in fact, she died, and somany people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat.

So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you,remember that when the least of us is in danger, we are all at risk.

Albert Einstein says:The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the peoplewho don't do anything about it."

ACCORDING TO QURAN:"You are the best nation ever to be produced before mankind.You command the right, forbid the wrong and believe in Allah."

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