Building Skills For Working In Teams

INTRODUCTION

Teams seem to be appearing everywhere in the workplace. They may not call themselves teams; they may use terms like task force, committee, group, or panel. But regardless of what they call themselves, the success of these groups depends on whether or not they learn to function as a team. Effective teams are made up of effective members. Teams that accomplish little and have minimal impact are usually made up of individuals who are more concerned with their own performance or who do not understand what it takes for a team to succeed.

If you are new to the team concept or part of a team that does not always function as well as it could, or if you want to be a more effective team member or want to learn about being a team leader, this course is for you. It addresses all of these interrelated topics and provides lots of practical examples of what you can do for yourself and your team.

KEY BENEFITS/OBJECTIVES

• Understand the difference between a team and a work group
• List the benefits that teams have over individuals
• Determine why teams fail and how to prevent your team from failing
• See how team members encourage each other to achieve high levels of performance
• Recognize how team members need to communicate interpersonally
• Learn the process for team conflict resolution
• See how successful teams manage the resistance to change
• Determine you team member style and how it impacts on your success and the success of your team
• Learn the different roles and responsibilities that team members have
• Describe how to run an effective team meetings
• See how highly effective team members build trust and believability
• Determine how to set and monitor team goals

COMPETENCIES

The competencies taught in this course include:

• Team Decision Making and Consensus Building
• Communicating Effectively and Using Active and Reflective Listening Skills
• Determining Roles and Responsibilities of Each Team Member
• Learning How to “Flex” Your Team Member Style
• Handling Difficult Team Situations
• How to Get a Team Unstuck
• How to Get Other Team Members to Trust and Believe You
• How to Write Team Vision, Goals and Objectives
• Recognizing the Stages of Team Development and How to Move Your Team From One Stage to the Next

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This program is intended for all individuals who have a stake in building successful teams. Managers and leaders will learn how to develop and lead teams and avoid the pitfalls of unsuccessful teams. Individual contributors will learn how to be effective team players. Human resource professionals will also benefit greatly from this course. They will learn how to recognize when a team is working well together and what to do if the team is not.

COURSE OUTLINE

Day 1

The Team Concept

• Why organizations need to develop teams
• Reaping the benefits of teamwork
• The difference between teams and work groups
• Why teams fails and how to proactively prevent these failures
• Identifying the qualities of effective team members and team leaders
• Identifying the different roles and responsibilities of team members
• Determining how to move a team forward based on its stage of development

Day 2

Getting Organized and Working Together

• Conducting and participating in team meetings
• Establishing process and task ground rules
• Getting team members involved
• Building trust and believability
• Handling team member conflicts
• Managing resistance to change and recognizing the three phases of change
• Time management and priority management strategies

Day 3

Handling Difficult Team Situations and Difficult Team Members

• What is the team never seems to get anything done?
• What if one person is too aggressive and dominates the team?
• What if a team member is not pulling his or her weight?
• Using two-way communication and listening skills to build team rapport
• Giving team members positive and corrective feedback
• Dealing with a difficult team leader or manager
• Interdepartmental and inter team conflicts

Day 4

Capitalizing on Team Diversity and Talents

• Avoiding subtle exclusion of team members
• Become comfortable with team member diversity
• Use Equity Checking to manage your assumptions about us
• Build a spirit of cooperativeness, not competitiveness
• Fostering team creativity
• Celebrating team successes
• How to end a team and move on

Day 5

A Closer Look At Leading Teams

• Using the learning curve to develop team members and teams
• Developing team members by delegating
• Build a motivating environment
• The organization’s responsibility in team building
• Team building success stories
• Individual Team presentations
• Course summary and feedback