|
|
Like this article? PLEASE +1 it! |
|
Five Ways to Improve Your Team Building Success
Written by: Dianne CramptonArticle Overview: The key to minimizing conflict and maximizing team building success is to pay attention to the following five important team functions. These functions are critical for every stage of the team building process and for every step the team takes to complete its mission.
![]() |
Free Download - Bullying - From The Playground To The Workplace By Dianne Crampton |
Five Ways to Improve Your Team Building Success
Teams, regardless of size and mission, often become snared in conflict when seeking solutions to problems. This is true in both the public and private sector, and it's true whether teams are working at the community level or addressing national issues.
The key to minimizing conflict and maximizing team-building success is to pay attention to the following five important team functions. These functions are critical for every stage of the team building process and for every step the team takes to complete its mission.
Activity 1: Maintain Communications
Effective team communication involves not only an accepted way to communicate among team members, but also with the stakeholders the team serves.
For example, if a team serves a community development function, the team should devise a way to keep all working team members informed of internal team activities. At the same time, the team's communication plan should include updated information - progress reports, announcements -- to external stakeholders, i.e. the mayor, community members, sponsors, media, and other interested parties.
The purpose of internal team communications is to build trust and to keep team progress moving forward. Communications should be related to the team's goals, roles, and relationship maintenance, and aimed at encouraging all members' involvement and contributions.
The nature of external team communications is to build trust with stakeholders and keep them informed in advance of activities that might impact them.
Effective communications reduce suspicion, mistrust, and the potential for procedural, goal and relationship conflict.
Activity 2: Document Problems and Problem Solving
Problems surface in every team effort. From time to time they disappear and then resurface. The reason for keeping good problem solving records is to leave a history of what solutions have been tried in the past and to document results. Otherwise, teams must reinvent the wheel every time the same problem arises in the future.
Activity 3: Record Successes
Once a problem arises, failure to document the changes made in the process that led to success could result in the inability to repeat the process. The question the team should ask itself is, "Great result! Can we repeat it?" Keeping a record of good results will create more good results.
Activity 4: Look Beyond the Immediate Problem for Solutions
Most problems that surface are due to issues that occurred earlier in the process.
For example, a surgical nurse began dropping surgical tools in surgery. After two reprimands were sent to the Human Resources Department, a team member discovered that the Purchasing Department had changed glove venders and that a code suffix had been left off the most recent purchase order for surgical gloves. The nurse had been forced to use the wrong gloves for her tasks. The glove order was the problem, not the team member.
Activity 5: Fix Obvious Problems
Effective problem solving involves studying processes. If you see a way to correct a simple step in a process, it makes sense to do so.
But before making a change, it is wise for the team to ask and answer the following questions:
- 1. What is the worst thing that can happen if this change doesn't work?
- 2. Does this delay other activities that need to get done?
- 3. How expensive is this change?
- 4. How much time will it take to make the change?
- 5. How will the change disrupt or inconvenience other people?
Related Articles
Article Tags: communications, conflict, important team, team building, team building success, team culture, team functions
|
About the Author: Dianne Crampton RSS for Dianne's articles - Visit Dianne's website Dianne Crampton helps leaders build teams of employees who are as engaged and committed to the organization's success as the leader is. As one of North America's leading authorities on business team culture, she is a team culture consultant, author, professional speaker and founder of TIGERS Success Series, a trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. Because you found this article in the jungle of all the articles that are out there, use the code October234 to receive 50% savings on our most recent book, TIGERS Among Us - Winning Business Team Cultures and Why They Thrive Here. To download a Complimentary CD series that discusses the TIGERS cooperative values and a white paper that discusses how to measure these principles in teams, click Here. To view Dianne's latest team tips video on how to build team commitment, click Here. To join Dianne's newletter to receive these tip videos on a regular basis click Here. Click here to visit Dianne's website What Makes Fast Teams Too Slow What Leaders Facilitators and Coaches Have In Common Risk Making the leap 7 Skills Needed For Effective Leadership Team Development What Constitutes An Effective Apology |
Related Forum Posts
Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.
Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.
Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!
Civility in the Workplace---Is it Decreasing?
How to Set Sales Goals that Work
How to Develop Your Powers of Thought.
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.


