Leading
Teams - introduction & Free Information
Not
much can be done without others;
• Cooperation
• Support
• Assistance
A group of individuals that work together can only be considered
a team when, all members have common goals & a shared sense
of purpose and identity.
The
definition of a true team only occurs when, the group of individuals
depend on each others key attributes to achieve their goals –
‘round peg round hole’
The
role of a team leader
• Conflict manager
• Coaches
• Facilitators
• External communicator
• Troubleshooter
General
benefits of teams
• Cost savings
• Gains in productivity
• Increased customer satisfaction
• Improved job satisfaction
• Increased efficiency
Teams
are not to be rushed into; business risks building teams for the
wrong reasons or for the wrong function.
Types of Teams
Qualty
Circles – They meet regularly to solve problems generally
of a ‘system’ function or productivity issue. –
Total Quality Management.
Problem
Solving Teams – Usually a temporary team formed to solve
a specific problem and then disbanded.
Management
Teams – These teams consist of managers who come from various
job functions, and the aim of this team is to coordinate work
strategy across the company – cross functional teams
Work
Teams or Self Managed Teams – Work teams are small groups
of people charged with achieving certain tasks, if they are powered
to make their own decisions they are deemed self managed teams.
Virtual
Teams – Are groups of employees from different locations,
these teams are becoming more frequent with the innovation in
business communications.
Matrix
Teams – An organization may have employees that are involved
in several teams at once ie an employee may be part of the state
sales team, but also involved in a team relating to a strategic
business unit.
Merged
Teams – Employees from once competing organizations are
asked to work together harmoniously, a lot more business take
overs and mergers are happening these days making this type of
team increasingly common. Problems occur commonly with merged
teams as people;
• Mourn the old
• Come to terms with the new
• Cope with new people, systems & procedures
Project
Teams – Are another form of temporary teams who are generally
deemed ‘cross functional’. Projects may include introduction
of new technology, designing business systems etc.
Team
Goals & Standards
For
teams to work goals must be agreed upon. - Key result areas, aimed
at achieving and overall job purpose and team purpose.
Team
Purpose
A team needs to have a short clear statement of intent –
a team purpose statement. Why?
• Keeps a team moving in the same direction
• Shows employees what they are aiming for
• Team vision
• A touch stone for decision making & day to day behaviour
Team
purpose statements should be written and agreed upon by all team
members.
Job
Purpose
• Individual accountabilities and contributions are an essential
element of a successful team.
• It is worthwhile for every team member to write their
own purpose statement, and read it to the team & redefine
where required.
Key
Result Areas
• Main areas of accountability
• Results are not tasks or goals, they are groups of tasks
that together achieve results in an important area of responsibility
• Most jobs should have 5-9 KRA’s
‘SMART’-
measures of success
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time framed
All
SMART goals need to be positive
Not
SMART – reduce defects to a minimum
SMART – Increase the number of passed finished goods to
99% by the end of the current quarter
Matrix
Organisations
It
may be difficult to measure results in outcome-based success measures
in a matrix organization. Employees may instead be measured in
terms of an employees ability to ‘add value’ through
their expertise. Subjective reportables.
Non
Task Goals
Tangible
and intangible non task goals are required for employees to perform
effectively.
• Be innovative
• Finish one task before moving onto the next
• Keep work area clean
• Play nice in the ‘sand pit’
• Share information
Bottom
line team rules
As
the leader of a team all team members must understand the bottom
line rules that exist to be part of the team.
• Team members must be clear on the rules
• Team leaders must not play favourites
• Rulings must be consistent
• ‘coaching’ should be delivered immediately
& in private
The
hot stove principal – a common way to achieve the fore mentioned
objectives.
The
hot stove should be considered as the ‘wrong thing’
•
Advanced warning – you can always feel that a stove is hot
prior to touching it
• Immediate – you get burnt straight away when you
touch a hot stove
• Consistent – every time you touch a hot stove you
get burnt
• Impartial – everybody gets burnt when they touch
a hot stove
Examples
of coaching using the hot stove principal is as follows
• Immediate – Fred I notice you are late
• Advance warning – You know we have all committed
to being on time
• Consistent – We covered this last meeting
• Impartial – Everyone needs to be on time
Unlock
peak performance & productivity
To
help people to do the good job that they want to, a team leader
must make sure;
1.
They know what to do
2. They want to do it
3. They know how to do it
4. They have a chance to do it (time)
5. They are led to do it effectively
What
to
Job
Framework
• Job purpose
• KRA’s
• SMART goals
Non
Task Goals
The
Hot Stove Principal
Want
to
• Job Design
• Job Placement
• Motivation
Job
design & job placement is a very important element of motivation,
people need to want to be playing their part in the team.
How
to
• Training & experience
• Job purpose & task importance
• Learning environment
Chance
to
85% of poor performance and low productivity can be found in the
work environment and are not the direct fault of the worker –
Personal issues & ‘acts of god’ make up the remaining
15%
•
Tools & equipment
• Work systems and procedures
• Time, information & other resources
• Support from team members
• Acts of god 85/15 rule
Led
to
Managers need to provide leadership to ensure high performance.
The following represents the main leadership aims
• Self-esteem
• High standards
• Challenging goals
• Proactive
• Focus
• Interpersonal skills
Motivating others
Motivation
– Definition
How willing we are to expend effort or energy into a certain job
or task
Job
Design
A large influencer on performance is job design – the way
a job is structured, specific duties, responsibilities & tasks
• Clear objectives
• Control of job holder
• Job holder is able to complete the job or piece of job
• Contribution to the organization
• Variety
Job
Enlargement
• Multi skilling
• Expanding a job vertically ie up skilling
• Empowerment – responsibility
Job
Placement
Assigning duties to best suit an employee’s skills, knowledge,
work style & interests
‘ square pegs for square holes and round pegs for round
holes’
Basic
Needs
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
According to Abraham Maslow, human beings have certain physiological
& psychological needs, which he grouped into six categories
and arranged it in a hierarchy. Lower level needs must be satisfied
before the next level can emerge
Needs give us
Motives to take
Actions to obtain
Goals which satisfies
Needs
Physiological
needs – air, food, water
Security needs – shelter, continuity of food & water,
safety
Social needs – The company of others, affection
Esteem needs – self respect, autonomy & achievement
Self Actualisation needs – self-improvement, learning, development
Self transcendence – the need to rise above the self and
become part of a whole
Herzbergs
work related two factor theory
Hygiene
factors – factors in the surroundings or environment of
a job which, when satisfactory put people in ‘neutral’
and when not satisfactory can demotivate
• Working conditions
• Remuneration
• Training
• Health & Safety
• Office furniture
• Office environment
Motivation
factors – factors in the job itself, which encourage satisfaction
and encourage people to perform enthusiastically.
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