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What does it take to build a collaborative highly effective team?
What is team effectiveness?
Team effectiveness is the ability of the members of a group to work together to fulfill their goals and common objectives. It entails overcoming obstacles and producing results and expected performance
When a team is operating effectively what is the evidence of that effectiveness?
There is faster completion of the teams’ goals. The members are eager and look forward to team meetings. The members resolve their conflicts quickly. Every person in the team is aware of his or her responsibilities.
What are the characteristics of an effective team?
All the team members are aware of their roles and responsibilities. There is minimal conflict in the team. The members are clear about the team’s objectives and their duties towards realizing the team’s goals. There are clear communication lines in the team. Members are eager to perform their duties and they work towards a common purpose. There is a relaxed atmosphere and individual contribution is valued. The team members are not afraid to raise their suggestions and they work towards resolving any misunderstanding and conflicts. The members talk and listen to each other in equal measure, connect with each other, engage in energetic conversations, and they look for more information that will work towards their purpose (Pentland)
What are the characteristics of an ineffective team?
Ineffective teams are characterized by lack of a common purpose, inequality, and conflict (Reis 114). There is a lot of misunderstanding in the team. Some of the members feel more superior and they tend to direct and control the team meetings. Some of the members fail to participate in any way and they do not have meaningful contributions towards the team’s purpose. It is easy for some people to feel left out in such teams and this may prevent them from participating.
When a new team of people who have not worked together before is put in place, what must each team member do to build team effectiveness?
Each team member has to work towards forming the team. This includes taking the effort to know each other and identify the leaders. It is the responsibility of each team member to let the others know of his strengths and weaknesses concerning the issue in question. This will help in delegating the team duties. The team members should work towards team cohesiveness, as this will ensure minimal conflict (Kennedy and Nilson).
When discussions among team members break down, there is lack of clarity in communications or some members are highly emotional, or in some way conflict develops among team members, what should the team leader do? What should all team members do?
The team leader has the responsibility of ensuring that there is effective communication in the team. The leader should have good people skills and get along with all the members of a team. He directs the team and leads them towards finding the right solution to the problem. Therefore, the team leader should be able to deal with the emotional members. He should take action when one team member disrupts the others from performing their work. He should find better ways of communication. Using different channels of communication and asking the members to confirm any communication they have received is important as it ensures that all the members have the intended message. All the team members should contribute towards the success of the team. They should show their willingness towards realizing their purpose. They should show their belief in the team by being committed. They should also play their part by ensuring that communication with their leaders is a two way process (McKenna 338).
What must a team do to build a highly effective team? What role does the leader play in this situation? What role does each team member play?
Every team member has to be willing to make positive and meaningful contributions to a team. Members must be willing to get along with each other and to agree on issues and ways of resolving conflicts. Members have to take drastic disciplinary action when they are dealing with a person whose intent is to destroy the team or to slow it down. The team leader should be strong and firm when making decisions. Team leaders should not just be concerned about becoming popular with the team members to the extent that they do not instill any discipline. The leaders should identify the right course of action to take when solving solutions. They should delegate duties based on the member’s strengths and accessibility to resources. They should also motivate the team members and recognize any contributions that the team members make such as the completion of a goal.
What behaviors are most effective in building a strong effective team?
All the team members are energetic, eager, and enthusiastic towards completing the team’s mission. They motivate each other and they are willing to push each other to achieve the desired results. They are willing to go the extra mile towards realizing their mission by taking on more responsibilities and improving their performance at every level.
What behaviors work against building an effective team?
Team members sometimes engage in behaviors that may end up destroying any cohesiveness that a team is trying to build. These behaviors work against developing an effective team. This happens when some of the members only want all the attention and focus to be on them. They do not allow the other members to contribute anything. Others engage in behaviors that are aimed at destroying the team. Other people fail to take any discussions seriously, do not complete any of their assigned projects, and always joke and play around when the team is holding serious discussions. Other members focus on identifying the mistakes, shortcomings, and weaknesses of the other members (Biech 475).
What behaviors do you sometimes demonstrate that work to build team effectiveness?
I am a good communicator and I always ensure that every person has received the intended message. I will to any lengths to ensure that I have received feedback from everyone in the communication channel. I am a good listener and observer and this makes it easy for me to identify people’s strengths.
What behaviors do you sometimes demonstrate that work against team effectiveness?
I am a quiet person and this means that I do not participate in many discussions. I fail to contribute to the team because I am afraid that any suggestions I have might not be good enough for the team.
What specifically will you do to ensure your team is a highly effective team and one that produces high quality course project results?
I will work towards improving my
areas of weakness so that I can be a good team member. I will encourage others
towards full participation in the team. I will conduct extensive research to
ensure that the goals that the team set are challenging enough. I will also
ensure that I work harder on my assigned duties and that I look for different
perspectives when researching for solutions.
Works Cited:
Biech, Elaine. The Pfeiffer Book of Successful Team-Building Tools: Best of the Annuals. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print
Kennedy, Frances A. and Linda, Nilson B. Successful Strategies for Teams. 2008. Web. 20 Aug. 2015
McKenna, Eugene F. Business Psychology and Organizational Behavior: A Student’s Handbook. New York: Psychology Press
Pentland, Alex S. “The New Science of Building Great Teams.” Harvard Business Review. April 2012. Web. 20 Aug. 2015
Reis, Matthew. A Manager’s Guide to Human Behavior. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn, 2010. Print