Chapter 8 – Team Communication

Chapter 8 – Team Communication Effective team communication is the linchpin for collaborative triumph in the workplace. It can be the catalyst that propels a team toward its objectives or the stumbling block that hinders progress. The impact of teamwork on your organization’s overall performance and long-term prosperity is undeniable, and at the heart of every high-achieving team lies a foundation of effective communication. “Positive relationships between parties, will always result in healthier communication.” In this chapter, we delve deep into the complexities of team communication, exploring the intricacies of interactions that occur when individuals work together towards a common goal. While the preceding chapter highlighted the fundamental principles of general communication, communicating in a team environment introduces a level of complexity that requires additional skills and strategies. Throughout this chapter, we will build upon the communication skills discussed earlier, adapting them to the unique challenges and dynamics of team settings. While some aspects may overlap, we encourage you to use it as a reference as we navigate the complexities of team communication. Whether you are working as part of a team or leading one, understanding how to master team communication is paramount. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 7 – Communication

Chapter 7 – Communication Effective communication has always been complex and time-consuming subject to explore. Achieving consistent success in workplace communication is challenging and requires continuous effort. Unfortunately, it’s common for individuals and organizations to underestimate the importance of communication as a skill that should be nurtured and refined, considered that all progress is a result of effective communication. Therefore, dedicating time, energy, and resources to enhancing communication is essential to maximize understanding among all participants in order to achieve your desired outcomes. “Communication can be complicated, even amongst ourselves. Think about the process of transforming thoughts into written words, or thoughts into what your eyes see.” One of the reasons for this neglect is the multitude of forms that communication can take and how easily it can be misinterpreted, leading to potentially negative results. To achieve this, two-way dialogue should be prioritized over one-way interactions, whether through spoken words, written messages, media information, signals, writing, or non-verbal cues. Generally, it is better to leave dialogue open for exchange between parties, else it quickly breaks down and then nothing will be achieved. Speaking, writing, listening, and observing as people exchange ideas, emotions, and feelings are all components of two-way communication. Professionals should grasp this fundamental concept and recognize the need to continually invest in developing this in order to become effective communicators. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 6 – Team Types

Chapter 6 – Team Types Now that we have an understanding of the background of teams and potential strengths of individuals that can be utilized in a team environment, we can begin our exploration into what types of teams there are and how they can be best utilized.  This is important, because, just as a cricket team would certainly lose against a baseball team in a game of baseball and vice versa, this concept applies equally to the work place. The different types of teams that exist in the workplace are crucial for achieving organizational goals and maintaining organizational health. And each team has varying roles to accomplish tasks, solving problems, and drive innovation. “People can be part of multiple teams with multiple team structures and management goals.” This is not to say that employees cannot be on more than one team in the same workplace. Humans are quite versatile, especially when they feel respected. Businesses will always be in competition, and most leaders understand the importance of adapting in order to continually move forward. This is naturally merged with an understanding that there are basic things that are mostly static that must be achieved to maintain the existing system, while there needs to be a certain amount of research and development for the business to remain sustainable in the future. A well-known example of managing this was Google’s implementation of the ‘20% time’ policy. Google allowed its employees to dedicate 20% of their workweek to pursue self-directed projects of their choice. This policy aimed to provide individuals with the autonomy and freedom to explore their own ideas and passions, even if unrelated to their current job responsibilities. Notably, projects such as Gmail emerged from this initiative, showcasing the potential for breakthrough innovations when employees are given dedicated time for personal exploration. The employees’ other work hours were spent on existing projects that were either already bringing income into the company, or projects that had been signed off by upper management in the hope that they would become profitable in the future. We are not advocating that all companies should follow this same formula, but for Google, through combining these two concepts, they were able to create an environment that embraces both structured teamwork and individual autonomy. This balance also helped to foster a culture of collaboration, empowerment, and continuous improvement. So following this example, we have categorized teams into two broad groups: Project Teams and Self-managed Teams. Each of which are then delineated into sub-teams. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 5 – Importance of Team Roles

Chapter 5 – Importance of Team Roles Watching young children play sport is a sport in itself. Once while watching primary school boys play five per side football, most kids would run after the ball in a pack-like a herd of sheep. There were two however, though less skilled foot-wise than most of the others, would work together by each running up the field on each side and would just pass the ball to each other whenever the heard of boys came close to the one controlling the ball. They always won. As the years moved on, each of the boys in the original heard learned that it’s better to pass than to always hold in order to get the team better results. The original two then, were unable to keep up. “Across multi disciplinary measures, being able to remove assumptions, understand and focus on true statistics and clear results can allow you to create a better team.” Assumptions are easy to make at any age. After hearing this childhood story, it’s easy to think “well I’ve grown up now, and I don’t make silly assumptions any more.” This is far from the truth, and I want to recap the story from Moneyball where Billie Bean has to fight against traditional assumptions in order to beat the status quo. Though baseball has fewer variables than teams in the work place, it can still offer useful glimpses into what is possible, especially with utilizing math and an understanding of statistics rather than only social science studies. Though the movie Moneyball makes it appear that this was a short experiment. Bean and his economics Harvard educated Paul DePodesta with strengths in mathematics and psychology actually had more than a decade of data and previously researched opinions to build upon. The book rather than the movie provides the full picture for those interested. The issue began when a baseball fan Bill James began self publishing pamphlets in the 1970’s arguing that the stats which Major League Baseball (MLB) was keeping on fielding had no value at all when trying to assess the quality that the players gave to the team. With DePodesta’s help, using statistics that were now becoming more readily available due to the internet, eventually they were able to narrow all assumptions of what a good player is for a team down to a single thing. How often can a player get on base, which is a direct correlation to how often they can hit or walk without striking out. Though many of the expensive big hitters could hit harder, faster, and further, they tended to strike out more often resulting in bringing down the average team runs. When Bean was scouted in his teens, he was quickly brought into the Major League due to having better stats across all parameters required at the time. As a teen he never lost, but being placed so quickly with seasoned players, his fear of failing got the better of him and frustrated his performance on the field. As a manager, he saw that this was true of many players, and he continually makes it clear to his peers that people are who they are, and that personality matters when measuring performance. Bean was finally vindicated when the Oakland A’s drew a crowd over 50,000 to watch them win their 20th game in a row, breaking the record while having the lowest budget in MLB. However, despite the statistics both in developing the team, and their ability to win so often with such a low budget, most managers of other MLB teams continued to think that their science was bunk. Basically, they wanted to continue in their assumptions rather than look at the new data collated over the previous two decades. Some even continued in their traditional assumptions while losing money over their seasons. We’re using this example of Moneyball for the reason that due to the low variations because of sports rules, it is easier to ascertain a truth. This is not true in a work place where there are more variations than can be calculated than chess for instance, due to requests and needs by multiple parties and then multiplied by differing personalities. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 4 – Enabling Effective Teamwork

Chapter 4 – Enabling Effective Teamwork Everything is continually evolving, and so it’s important to remember to recognize that teams are guided by a dynamic process, even if we wish for them to remain constant. Now with the rate of change nowadays in the digital and science world seemingly on a non-linear rise, it’s likely that team members are even more subject to change than they were in the past. As Heraclitus was recorded by Plato as saying “The only constant in life is change,” over two millennia later, we can see clearly that he was right. “The increasing speed in the dynamic change in teams makes it difficult to determine core needs cross-disciplinary team types, but human nature allows for a base start point to allow positive development from that point.” This idea of constant change however can make it difficult to set scopes to develop teams that can be taught and used by leadership or managers over a longer period of time. This chapter will focus on what enabling conditions a team needs, while still allowing for a dynamic process. In the 1970s, organizational behaviour pioneer J. Richard Hackman began researching teams across many disciplines including The Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Apollo 13 Mission Control Team, T he U.S. Navy SEALs, Pixar Animation Studios, and working with US Intelligence in war games on Project Looking Glass. These are only a few examples of his studies. Through studying teams across so many disciplines, Hackman was able to make revolutionary discoveries during his tenure. While there were some differences in what made these teams successful, he was able to observe and codify three broader core themes relevant to all teams in all disciplines that helped enable each team to perform. Hackman observed that the team members’ personalities, attitudes, or behavioral styles are not what matter most when it comes to teamwork. Instead, what he calls ‘enabling conditions’ are what teams require to succeed. He codified these as the team needing a compelling direction, a strong structure, and a supportive context. While these are the core fundamentals which can be encouraged and supported externally. There was an internal study in 2012 by Google ‘Project Aristotle’, led by Julia Rozovsky, Google employee at the time, which questioned why some of the work teams were more high performing and sustainable than others. The results to this in-depth study showed that teams who feel comfortable enough with each other to take risks, produce more, and achieve better results than teams who do not. So instead of members thinking in terms of ‘me vs. you’, or ‘us vs. them’ they had a common mindset that trust between members was very important. Google called this concept Team Psychological Safety (TPS). However, it was Amy C. Edmondson who f irst introduced the concept of psychological safety in the early 1990s and published by the end of the decade. In her work, Edmondson explored the importance of creating a psychologically safe environment within teams for promoting learning and innovation. Since then, the concept has gained widespread recognition and has been influential in discussions about team dynamics, leadership, and organizational culture. The notion that “A shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking, creates higher performing teams” has become even more important due to the need for creativity in the computing and sciences sectors. And with the technology changing so quickly, trust has become more important than ever between members in this fast changing world. Though we have shown briefly what core conditions help to enable a productive team environment, to maintain these core conditions, there needs to be continual reviewing of the external structures and internal evaluation of the teams. This is best done in an off-handish manner to continue allow for the dynamic process and productivity of the team. This will be discussed at the end of the chapter before the conclusion. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 3 – Team Size

CHAPTER 3 – Team Size For centuries, societies and military organizations have grappled with the challenge of determining the ideal size for a group. Interestingly though, across all cultures, societies tended to from similar sizes. For instance, pre-modern villages around the world tended to grow to approximately 300 people and where roughly 20 miles apart, which was close enough to walk to and back in a day in order to visit a doctor or achieve something that could not be done in your own village. In military, the smallest Roman cohort started with 10 men consisting of 1 leader, 7 soldiers and 2 slaves. These days a Marine squad consists of 13 soldiers divided into 3 teams of 4 with a squad leader. “There is a limit to how many individuals can effectively communicate and coordinate with one another, but generally, the ideal team size is typically 6 or 7 members to prevent an excessive number of connections and ensure effective collaboration.” Historical examples suggest that there is a limit to how many individuals can effectively communicate and coordinate with one another. But the question of how many is too many is not just an issue of social organization or military strategy. It also has important implications for innovation and problem-solving in modern workplaces, where interdisciplinary teams are increasingly being relied upon to generate new ideas and tackle complex challenges. And yet, as with any group, the ideal team size sometimes remains elusive, and is influenced by a range of factors including the team’s primary aim and the relationships between its members. In this chapter, we’ll explore some of the key considerations when determining the ideal team size, and offer some practical strategies for assembling effective teams in a variety of contexts. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 2 – Teamwork

CHAPTER 2 – TEAMWORK With a firm understanding of what teams are, we can begin discussing what it is that actually helps to make teams work together well. It seems that all industries now accept that team work is important. For instance, it is common for job advertisements to include requirements for a ‘team player’ or ‘team worker’. This implies that the company desires that the successful candidate will be able to work effectively with others and contribute to a positive work environment. This is commonly used in job advertisements across a range of industries, as teamwork and collaboration are important skills in many professional settings. “Healthy collective cooperation within a group is necessary for the group to transform into a team that works efficiently. Understand that the goal of cooperation is crucial.” So, even though the term team work is used frequently, it is unfortunately often used in an ambiguous manner, usually to sell an idea rather than to achieve something tangible. These terms are often used in a manipulative manner in advertising, and especially in employment contexts. Managers, Human Resources, or job advertisements often use these terms to appeal to people’s desire to work collaboratively and to emphasize the team-oriented nature of a job or company culture. So obviously it is something an employee may like to hear because they feel that it would be a safe environment to work in. However, after working some time in their new position they discover that there is no structure or guidance in the work place to create a team environment. Though it is often used ambiguously across all industries and departments, throughout this publication we will only be using it in the positive sense and with the understanding that the reader or users have a genuine desire to create and maintain healthy teams for the benefit of all. Getting back to definitions, there are many publications written in the past few decades on teams, how to lead teams, teamwork, and how to establish a team etc., but there is not yet a universally accepted one. Not that we are arguing for a centralized definition. But by the end of this chapter the reader should have a clear understanding of what teamwork is, what are the most desired traits in a team that makes that team work well, the benefits of teamwork, and some drawbacks to be aware of. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free

Chapter 1 – Teams

CHAPTER 1 – TEAMS For millennia, flora, fauna, and human-kind have had the need to do things in groups to achieve objectives in order to survive and develop. So it is no surprise that a word such as ‘team’ developed in many languages and has become a commonly used term across many disciplines; from sport, to academia, in the work place and even in family life. It is always used when we are grouped together with the intention to try and achieve something. “A collection of people who cooperate together in order to achieve a common goal.” This definition has an active proponent to it. To achieve something, means that something must be done. Unlike a group, which can have a passive feel to it. No one calls friends to team up for coffee, and even if they did, all casual observers would say “what a large group of people all drinking coffee together”. Though drinking coffee together may be a goal in itself, it isn’t very active or productive. A group of persons does not automatically become a team. The group might exist without a unified purpose, aims, or goals, and with disparate attitudes and ways of thinking which they may refuse to deviate from. This all may look like unnecessary semantics, and to an extent, it is. Defining differences between these words in this case, is only used to show how important it is to understand the definition of term ‘team’ that should be understood by the reader as it will be used for the contents of this book. The famous French philosopher Voltaire often said “If you wish to converse with me, define your terms.” And abiding with this sensible rule, a glossary of important terms that may be ambiguous are provided in the back of this book. Read Full Chapter Unleash the secrets to successful Teamwork by keeping up with our chapters as they become available. Get Free