Teaming Skills for Success

Don Heer
10/8/08
Adapted from Terri Fiez, Director,
School of EECS
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Outline
Why Teams?
Get to Know Yourself & Your
Teammates
Life Cycles of Teams
Team Roles and Responsibilities
Team Meetings
2

Why Teams?

Teams Can Outperform Individuals

Complex tasks
Creativity needed
Path forward unclear
More efficient use of resources needed
Fast learning required
Task/process cross functional
4

Learning from the Geese

Analogy

When each bird flaps its wings, it creates an

uplift for the bird immediately following. By
flying in a V formation, the whole flock adds at
least 71% greater flying range than if each
bird flew alone.
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Goose Falls Out of Formation

When goose falls out to seek more favorable

conditions rest of flock leaves space open
as encouragement.
If a more favorable conditions are found, flock
reforms around the loner.
If not, the flock slows its pace to allow the
loner back into position.

Loner Stays Out

No effort is made to return, flock closes
ranks.
Loner either tires from drag/resistance
and tag onto end of V or will be lost to
flock.

Goose Rotation
When a goose gets tired, it rotates back
in the flock and another goose takes
over the point.
Geese honk from behind to encourage
those in front to keep up their speed.
Honk, honk

Sick/Wounded Goose
Two other geese fall out to follow and
protect sick/wounded goose.
Stay with goose until recovers or can
not longer continue.
Then launch out on their own or with
another formation to catch up with their
flock.
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Get to Know Yourself & Your

Teammates

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Knowing Yourself & Your

Teammates
Personality styles: Myers-Briggs
Social Styles

Why? Aids in improving communication with peers

and supervisors
How does it help? Influences how you act on what
you say or do and your effectiveness in
communication.
What it is not Innermost workings of your
personality or beliefs or values!!!
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Behavioral Dimensions & Strengths of 4

Basic Social Styles
Task Oriented

Analytical

Driver

(Strengths: Logical,
Thorough, Serious,
Systematic, Critical,
Precise, Prudent)

(Strengths: Independent,
Candid, Decisive,
Pragmatic, Determined,
Efficient, Objective)

Assertive

Reflective

Amiable

Expressive

(Strengths: Cooperative,
Loyal, Supportive,
Diplomatic, Patient,
Easygoing, Respectful)

(Strengths: Imaginative,
Friendly, Enthusiastic,
Outgoing, Excitable,
Persuasive, Spontaneous)

People Oriented
Key here: No single social style works best
Flexibility in working with others of other social styles
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is important for success

Teams Often Require 4 Types

The people person (Amiable)
The thought person (Analytical)
The action person (Driver)
The front person (Expressive)

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Weaknesses of Social Styles

Style

Strengths

Weaknesses

Amiable
(Stretch)

Supportive
Easygoing

Conforming
Permissive

Analytical
(Decide)

Precise
Systematic

Exacting
Inflexible

Driver
(Listen)

Determined
Objective

Dominating
Insensitive

Expressive
(Restrain)

Enthusiastic
Imaginative

Undisciplined
Unrealistic
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Basic Social Styles & Communication Orientation

Analytical

Driver

(Process-Oriented)
Communicates about:
Facts & Figures
Policies & Organization
Planning & Forecasting
Analysis & Control

(Action-Oriented)
Communicates about:
Getting Things Done
Objectives & Results
Performance & Productivity
Efficiency & Moving Ahead
Decisions & Achievements

Amiable

Expressive

(People-Oriented)
Communicates about:
Needs & Motivations
Teamwork & Team Spirit
Feelings & Beliefs
Values & self-Devleopment

(Idea-Oriented)
Communicates about:
Innovation & Change
New Ways of Doing Things
Creativity & Possibilities
Alternatives or Options

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Flexing to Different Social Styles

Flexing to Amiables

Flexing to Analyticals

Flexing to Drivers

Flexing to Expressives

Be

Be

Be

Be

relaxed & moderately

paced, have comfortable
posture, speak softly, avoid
harshness in voice
Make person-to-person
contact when possible. Be
genuine. Dont engage in
lengthy small talk
Communicate patiently
Mutually agree on goals
Offer personal assurance
Maintain ongoing contact
more than with other social
styles

on time.
Be moderately paced; lean
back somewhat; avoid loud
voice.
It is better to be more rather
than less formal in clothing,
speech manners.
Get to business quickly; be
prepared, systematic, factual,
logical, exact but still keep a
human touch.
Show why this approach is
best and has relatively little
risk. Dont exaggerate the
advantages; these people are
turned off by overstatement
When possible, allow them
to proceed deliberately, even
slowly.
When they are too
indecisive, encourage them
to make a decision but refrain
from making it for them.

on time
Be energetic and fast paced;
have erect posture and direct
eye contact.
Get to business quickly, use
time efficiently.
Be specific, clear, and brief.
Dont over explain, ramble, or
be disorganized. From the
beginning to end, focus on
results.
Select the key facts, and use
them when making your
case. Present them logically
and quickly.
Provide a limited number of
options so that the Driver can
make his or her own choice.
Provide data about the
plusses and minuses of the
options.
Stay on the topic; keep the
pace up; and honor time
limits.
If at all appropriate, ask
directly for a decision.
Depart quickly buy
graciously.

energetic and fast paced;

have erect but not stiff posture
and direct eye contact.
Allow time for socializing. Talk
about experiences, opinions,
and people. Tell about
yourself, too. To a degree,
adopt their entertaining, funloving behavior.
Expressives like arguments,
to a point. Avoid becoming too
dogmatic even when they are.
Discover their dreams and
intuitions.
In support of your ideas, use
testimonials from people they
like or see as prominent.
Focus first on the big
picture. Follow up with action
plans and details
Tap their competitive spirit.
Find a way to have fun while
achieving the objective.
Paraphrase agreements.
Keep a balance between
flowing with the Expressive
and getting back on track.

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Exercise
Break up into design teams and
determine what social style each of you
are.
Share these styles and discuss how
you will work together to complete your
project.

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Life Cycles of Teams

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Life-Cycles of Teams
Four Stages Teams go through
Each

stage (and how it is managed)

impacts the teams effectiveness

Forming

Performing

Storming

Norming
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Time Life-Cycle
Stage

Characteristics

Task

Leadership
Style

Forming

Testing,
Dependence,
Accommodating

Orientation

Directive;
Expert

Storming

Intra-team conflict,
competing,
differentiating

Organization

Selling,
Encouraging;
coach

Norming

Development of
team cohesion;
mutuality

Reconciliation
Acceptance
Cohesion

Supportive
facilitator (work
with we)

Performing

Functional role,
relatedness,
collaborating

Synergistic,
Problem
solving

Delegation
Consultant

(Relationship
Issues)

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Team Life-Cycle: Forming

Feelings
Anxious, excited, fearful,
anticipation
Who are the others?
Whats going to happen?
Will I have an influence?
Will I be accepted?
How will we function?

Behaviors
Polite communications
Leader-dependence
Conformance
Attempts to determine how
to deal with group
problems
Attempts to define the task
and potential solutions
Attempts to determine
acceptable group behavior

Members of a team want to know that they have a chance of being successful,
And that someone has a plan and enough information to get them off to a good
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Start toward that success.

Leadership Response to Forming

Leadership Strategy: Get
team Oriented

Stress personal
responsibility for
contributing
interdependently
Stress assisting others &
effective relationships
Positive confrontation
Build trust and role clarity
Provide structure, specificity
& next steps

Suggested Tactics
Initiate introduction
Clarify task/goals & product or
services
Define general operating
procedures
Make assignments
State & give examples of your
expectations
Set expectations that integrate
with the work, NOT add to it
Reward conformity
Organize the group
Solicit questions & give as much
information as necessary to get
everyone oriented
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Team Life-Cycle: Storming

Feelings
Why should I conform?
I dont want to take personal
responsibility
Id rather just keep doing the
things Im confortable
doingStatus quo
Resistance to change
Self-centeredness & selfinterest

Behaviors
Arguing, positioning
Counterdependence &
independence
Challenge authority of
leadership
Criticizing
Comparing
Complaining
Competing
Style differences clash,
especially on the diagonal
Attempt to differentiate from
the group & create autonomy
Defensiveness
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Leadership Response to
Storming Stage
Leadership Strategy:
organize, coach, &
encourage

Accept storming behaviors

as natural
Help members establish
their autonomy &
individualism
Coach in problem solving &
conflict resolution that uses
team goals as the
denominator
Strive to get team members
to commit to each others
success

Suggested Tactics
Solicit issues
Confront individual & team issues
Listen, reason & negotiate (winwin)
Use a consistent model for
problem solving
Use goals as the basis for
solutions
Ensure operating structure &
principles are understood
Give members encouragement
one-to-one or privately
Clarify roles & contributions of
respective members
Coach & model desired approach
to problem solving &
collaboration
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Team Life-cycle: Norming

Feelings

Behaviors

Conflict avoidance
Leader-dependence change
to member-dependence
Procedures imposed
internally
Mutually established
Acceptance of team
membership
Constructive criticism
Peacekeeping
Collaboration
Ownership of task
Norms & principles are
adhered to & monitored
Once theyve got their issues addressed and their roles clear, they need
Opportunities to go to workcollaborativelyand have a few successes. 25

Sustained optimism
Sense of common purpose
Sense of achievement

Leadership Response to Norming

Leadership Strategy:
facilitate the work & continue
building

Create & facilitate team

efforts where appropriate
Move toward greater
participation & team
operation of the work
Foster & reward
collaboration
Strengthen relationships

Suggested Tactics:
Create opportunities for
collaboration & success
Reward collaboration
Acknowledge in private the
growth & efforts of individuals
Solicit ideas from the team
Share decision making as
appropriate
Create opportunities for dialogue
Keep activities in the context of
the work
Employ mehtodologies that
safely force participation &
contribution
Pull team into participation in
assessing the teams
effectiveness & making
improvements
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Team Life-Cycle: Performing

Feelings

Personal commitment to
each other
High trust, regard, &
respect
Ownership of goals &
role
Synergy, pride &
gratitude

Behaviors

Support & assistance to

each other
High dependability
Heightened productivity
Excellent role execution
Effective management of
controversy & conflict
Balanced task &
relationship concerns

Then, get out of the way. An effective targeted team doesnt

Need a leader meddling in the work; they need a leader who is out ahead
Of them removing barriers, garnering support, touting their
Achievements, and verifying the strategic direction.

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Leadership Response to
Performing Stage
Leadership Strategy:
Provide organization aircover & be a consultant to
the team

Hand-off more of the

ownership & operations to
the team
Maintain effectiveness &
productivity of the team
Provide organization aircover
Act as consultant on major
issues
Promote the teams
capabilities & achievements

Suggested Tactics

Delegation
Create opportunities for team
to dialogue
Share leadership
Effective use of team
members compensating
strengths & expertise to your
own
Eliminate impending barriers
for the team
Obtain support & resource for
the team
Publicize teams
accomplishments
Periodic reality checks of
strategic directions/efforts
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Roles & Responsibilities

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Roles & Responsibilities

Leader/Facilitator
Recorder
Reporter
Reflector

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Team Leader/Facilitator
Responsibilities
Keep meeting focused & moving
Open meeting
Review agenda & move through agenda
Facilitate discussions
Manage participation
Help team use appropriate discussion
methods
Close the meeting
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Skills and Abilities associated

with Leaders*
Technical: knowledge about the teams
specific tasks or activities (THINGS)
Interpersonal: knowledge of how to
work with others and to help others
work with each other (PEOPLE)
Conceptual: knowledge about ideas,
concepts, ability to hypothesize (IDEAS)
*Katz (1955), Muford, Zacarro, Harding (2000)
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Recorder Responsibilities
Capture key points for each agenda
item
Highlight decisions and action items
Collect future agenda items
Distribute or post minutes

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Reporter Responsibilities
Capture the key results from discussion
Present these results to the group when
solicited

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Reflector Responsibilities
Monitor the process the team is using in
activity
Present to the group the effectiveness
of team activity. Reflect on the process:
Areas of strength, rough areas and
areas for improvement

35

Group Meetings

36

Setting Team Meeting Ground

Rules
Attendance & Lateness
Norms
Participation & Information Sharing
Interruptions
Decision Making
Quality of Work
Others
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Basic Team Issues

Goals What is the team trying to accomplish?
Roles What should each member be doing to help
the team accomplish its goals?
Interpersonal How are we going to get along and
what are we going to do when were not getting
along?
Synergy How can we best learn from each other?
Sanction How will we handle situations when
people are not following the team charter and/or not
fulfilling their obligation to the team, including doing
their portion of the project?
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Guidelines for Teams

Meet at least weekly
Meeting should be used to:
Share

results of individuals
Review upcoming activities
Check teams progress

Identify specific roles

Prepare, conduct and determine what
happens between meetings
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Meetings
Be prepared
Come on time
Participate
End on time
Be prepared to drop a topic
Keep records
Value diversity
Maintain positive group dynamics
Listen and have an open mind
Summarize decisions and future plans before leaving
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Exercise
Get into team
State

project goals
Name your team
Share contact information
Establish timeline and assign tasks
Establish ground rules

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Evaluation of Group Activities

How did this meeting go?
How was the pace, flow, and tone of the meeting?
Did we handle items in a reasonable sequence? Did
we get stuck?
How well did we stay on topic? Discuss information?
Respond to others questions?
What might we do differently? What should we do
that we didnt do? Do more of? Do less of ? Not do
at all?
What was just right and should continue as is?
Other comments, observations, recommendations?
Use round-robin comments, written evaluations, open discussion,
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thumbs up, sideways, down.

References
http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/teams/

Benefits of Teamwork | Roles on a Team | Organizing Project Work | Team Meetings | Communicating in Teams | Conflict
Resolution Tips | Bad Behaviors - Dealing with Unproductive Team Member

http://www.foundationcoalition.org/home/keycompone
nts/student_teams.html

Understanding Conflict and Conflict Management

Effective Interpersonal/Intrateam Communication
Understanding Small-group Dynamics

http://www.schreyerinstitute.psu.edu/pdf/PuzzledAbo
utTeams.pdf#search=%22puzzled%20about
%20teams%22

Puzzled about teams

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Why Brainstorming?
Builds interpersonal expertise because all
students participate
Quiets the loudest talker and prevents
quick solutions
Develops a skill that is useful in project
management
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Verbal Brainstorming:
Procedure
Present a carefully designed problem
Appoint a facilitator to safeguard the
process and a recorder to capture ideas
Recorder copies all suggestions on
board/easel as they are named
Take a moment to think about the problem
before addressing it verbally
Ground rules: No discussion, no reaction,
no judgment

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Non-Verbal Brainstorming:
Why Brainwrite?
Sometimes called brainwriting instead of
brainstorming
Useful with controversial, emotionally charged
topics, or when building upon ideas is more
important than creating a wide range of
options

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Brainwriting: Procedure
Pass around sheet of paper with topic
to be addressed written at the top. First
person WRITES an idea and each other
team member builds on, or adds, to
ideas noted
Done

silently
Cycle paper 3-4 times around group or
until people run out of ideas
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