Debra's Blog

Team Work

Debra Templar-Group - Thursday, December 31, 2009

There's lots of talk about teams and teamwork in today's workplace.  But the truth is, if you have a hopeless team leader, you usually have a disfunctional team.

Over the years, I've found that every team has two components that team members must pay attention to if the team is going to succeed.

The team must pay attention to the content (or goals or outcomes expected) and it must also carefully shape and monitor the team process that it uses to accomplish these goals. 

The team process includes:

 

• How team members interact with and communicate with each other,
• How the team members communicate with employees not on the team, and
• How team members will be responsible and accountable for moving projects forward and accomplishing the goals

 

These team norms or ground rules are established with all team members of the team participating equally. The manager of the team or the team's sponsor or champion is included in these discussions and must agree to practise the relationship guidelines created.

Here are 9 team 'norms' that might help you get started in developing your own:

 

1. Treat each other with dignity and respect.
2. Transparency: avoid hidden agendas.
3. Be genuine with each other about ideas, challenges and feelings.
4. Trust each other.  Have confidence that issues discussed will be kept in confidence.
5. Manager will open up a space in which people have information and are comfortable asking for what they need.  Team members will practice a consistent commitment to sharing all the information they have. Share the complete information that you have upfront.
6. Listen first to understand and don't be dismissive of the input received when we listen.
7. Practice being open-minded.
8. Don't be defensive with your colleagues.
9. Rather than searching for the guilty, give your colleagues the benefit of the doubt; have a clean slate process.

 

Each team is different so it is important that individual teams build their own 'norms'.  What is right for one team may not necessarily be right for another...

What are some of the 'norms' you'd like to see built into your team?

 

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