Feedback Form
Home Features Mastermind Forums About Advertise Blog Network Contact Be An Author

Kickstarting a Brand New Team

Kickstarting a Brand New Team

Do you remember the last time you attended the initial meeting of a new task force or project team at work? No one could agree on the goals. A couple of people complained about all their other work demands. Someone was pushing a personal agenda to become the team “leader.” After a couple of hours of struggle, with the “team’s” wheels totally spinning, you began to ask yourself why you were here.

In high performance organizations with project-oriented environments, ad hoc teams are becoming the norm. Examples are companies like Levi Strauss, ABB, and 3M.

Temporary teams differ from permanent teams. Most importantly, they have high demands placed on them to produce results quickly and then disband. Their mandate and authority (e.g. can they make final decisions? can they implement them?) are often unclear. And if the team is also cross-functional, it will have complex goals affecting many parts of the organization and beyond.

And then there are the team members! They come with varying degrees of commitment, different agendae, functional backgrounds, perspectives, and loyalties. But they all wonder whether their efforts here will be rewarded at performance review time.

The ad hoc team faces a unique challenge. It must sort out its human dynamics issues early, get everyone aligned on a common mandate, and build the genuine commitment of all members to that goal quickly! devote to the project. They need to get on with the task–asap!

Yet, again and again experience has shown that when team members do not address the human dynamics part right at the beginning, team performance suffers seriously later on.

So, what should your project or ad hoc team do to maximize its performance? Its first meeting is crucial. Plan to invest just one day, up front, on its “process” issues. This initial session should be facilitated by a skilled person who is not a team member. As a guide, here is what my one-day “kickstart” program typically covers:

Purpose/mission
Why was the team created? What goals and deliverables (e.g. design a process to reduce wastage by 18%) are expected of it? Ensure that all members understand and accept these objectives and their related time-lines.

Champion(s)
To which manager, board or steering committee does the team report? What support has this champion promised? What information/updates do they expect from the team? How will the team liaise with the champion?

Team Members
What skills, knowledge, and experience do they bring? Identify and discuss each person’s hopes, desired benefits, expectations, concerns, and initial degree of commitment to the team. Make it OK not to be committed at the outset.

Operating Guidelines
Determine how leadership will operate within the team. Is there one leader? What is his/her role? How will the team make decisions? How often will they meet? How will they communicate amongst one another? What is expected of each member? Can someone miss a meeting? What happens if someone fails to meet a commitment?

Next steps
Now it is time to turn the group to its task. Here members start developing a plan of action and assign responsibilities. The day should end with this underway.

The above fills a very productive day. A facilitator will fast track the team to performance by:
  1. providing structure and leadership
  2. training members on group dynamics
  3. helping them through the startup energy-draining issues around power
  4. ensuring that they stay focused
A good facilitator will leave the team with tools and techniques to address interpersonal issues whenever they obstruct team performance downline.

What about your temporary teams? Can they afford a slow acceleration to maximum performance?





Kickstarting a Brand New Team - To learn more about this author, visit Ian Cook's Website.

Like this article? Share it with your friends

Article Feedback
 Article Feedback No article feedback found.
  Leave Your Feedback
article feedback

Article Feedback
Dianne Crampton

Dianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here.

Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009.  Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010.  To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here.

- Visit Dianne Crampton's Website

Kim Castle
With nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website

Stephanie Robey
Stephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals.

She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com   Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences.  Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University.

Read Steph's Blog
Meet Steph and Dave
Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich
- Visit Stephanie Robey's Website


To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us.

About The Author


Ian Cook
(Visit Ian's Website) Ian helps managers become the "best bosses" their employees ever had.

Through his keynote presentations, highly interactive training workshops, team building facilitation and individual coaching, he helps his clients develop strong leaders at all levels of their organization.

Ian works primarily with managers, mid-level to executive. His programs introduce cutting-edge skills and concepts around

- transforming managers into leaders
- fostering superior team performance.

Ian began his training and consulting firm, Fulcrum Associates Inc., in 1988, following seventeen years of corporate experience in both the high-tech manufacturing and transportation industries. He has a Bachelor of Commerce from McGill and a Masters degree in the field of Human Resources Management from Cornell University. Ian holds the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation and is a presenter to Vistage International groups.

Ian Cook is a Platinum author on EvanCarmichael.com
About The Author

View Author Blog
Build Best Bosses - Musings about Leadership from Ian Cook.
Build Best Bosses
View Author Blog

View Author Video
View Author Video

Free Downloads


Ian Cook's

Complete
List Of
Leadership
Articles

Name
Email
If you enjoyed this article, get Ian Cook's Complete List of Leadership Articles For FREE!

More Ian Cook
The Other Way Beyond Technology to Leverage Your Investment in Your People
You Gotta Getem To Wanna 6 Roles the Modern Leader Plays
BOOK REVIEW The Practice of Adaptive Leadership By Ronald Heifetz Et Al Harvard Business 2009
Kickstarting a Brand New Team
BOOK REVIEW The SetUpToFail Syndrome How Good Managers Cause Great People to Fail By JeanFrancois Manzoni JeanLouis Barsoux Harvard Business School Press 2002 ISSBN 0875849490
BOOK REVIEW Mindset The New Psychology of Success By Carol S Dweck Random House 2006 ISBN 1400062756
Whats Your Current Edge for Development
Choice Accountability The Bedrock of Superior Performance
BOOK REVIEW Influencer the Power to Change Anything By Kerry Patterson et al McGraw Hill 2008 ISBN 9780071484992
BOOK REVIEW Joy at Work A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job By Dennis W Bakke PVG 2005 ISBN 0976268604
Free Downloads

Referred by: http://upwardaction.com



 
 
 


Evan Elite Authors
Dave Kurlan  
Linda Richardson  
Jay Kubassek  
Evan Elite Authors

Become An Author
Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details.
Become An Author

Evan's Latest Video
Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media
Evan's Latest Video

Business Opportunities
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"

How to Start An Online Business

Click Here To Learn More
Business Opportunities



Evan's Newsletter
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Name:
Email:
Evan`s Newsletter

Free Downloads
Powerful Living Icon Powerful Living
Essence of Leaders Icon Essence of Leaders
Telemarketing Success Icon Telemarketing Success
Learn From Success Icon Learn From Success
Why Business Owners Quit Icon Why Business Owners Quit
Free Downloads - Complete List

Entrepreneur Tools and Guides
Email The Reporters
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder
 
Guide To ERP Software / Business Management Software
Guide To ERP Software
Business Management Software
 
Entrepreneur Tools and Guides

SEO For Africa
SEO For Africa
Edem Gbodui Wome, Togo,
Edem Gbodui
Wome, Togo
SEO For Africa

If I Were A Startup...
John Zarei and Shaan Parekh , $516k to $1.5 Mil in 2 years
John Zarei and Shaan Parekh
$516k to $1.5 Mil in 2 years
Stephen Pollack, $1.2 to $16.2 Mil in 3 Years
Stephen Pollack
$1.2 to $16.2 Mil in 3 Years
If I Were A Startup... - Complete List

Famous Entrepreneurs
Estee Lauder, Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder
Estee Lauder
Tom Monaghan, Domino's Pizza
Tom Monaghan
Domino's Pizza
Famous Entrepreneurs - Complete List

Entrepreneur Advice
Keith Ferrazzi, Never Eat Alone
Keith Ferrazzi
Never Eat Alone
Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup
Jack Canfield
Chicken Soup
Entrepreneur Advice - Complete List

Popular Articles
(Premium Authors)

     Present with Pizzazz
By Mathew Georghiou
     60 Seconds to Brief and Focused Meetings
By Mathew Georghiou
     Why Does My Photo Print So Badly
By Mathew Georghiou

Have A Suggestion?
Toronto Salsa Classes / Toronto Salsa Lessons Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
Have A Suggestion?

More Evan Carmichael
More Information