Families, Workplaces and Communities Effective Teams Families, Workplaces and Communities

Once Upon A Time… A team of students had four members called Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done. Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done. - Graham Gibbs, “Learning in Teams”

Achieve Team members work together to achieve a common goal. Understanding how to be a team member will help an individual achieve success in their families, workplaces, and communities. Teams exist in our everyday life. (Families, Communities and Workplaces) We work in teams without the thought of how these teams exist and are interconnected. Understanding this content will equip an individual for personal, community and workplace success.

Work Group Work Team Individual accountability Individual and mutual accountability Come together to share information and perspectives Frequently come together for discussion, decision making, and problem solving, and planning. Focus on individual goals Focus on team goals Produce individual work products Produce collective work products Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks Define individual roles, responsibilities, and tasks to help team do its work; often share and rotate them Concern with one's own outcome and challenges Concern with outcomes of everyone and challenges the team faces Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by manager Purpose, goals, approach to work shaped by team leader with team members Work Groups- Interact after individual information is shared and decisions are made within the area of responsibility. No joint effort required for result of project. Work Teams- A collaborative effort of individual inputs for a positive outcome. Teams are forms of work groups, but not all work groups are teams. There are more work groups than teams.

Building Effective Teams Team Purpose Team Structure Context Process Leaders whether they exist in families, workplaces, or communities have to work with teams to accomplish tasks.

Building Effective Teams Team Purpose What is the goal the team is to accomplish? How much freedom does the team have? How much collaboration is appropriate? Are we working toward completing a whole and identifiable task/product? Does the task/project have a substantial impact on others? In order to build effective teams leaders need to think through these questions to establish clear goals and expectations of the teams. Ask students- What is the purpose of your family? Does the tasks of the family have a substantial impact on others?

Building Effective Teams Team Structure How big should the team be? What roles need to be assigned? What are the team members personalities? Is the team diverse? How much flexibility is appropriate? Once the team or leader has set clear goals and expectations she can begin to formulate what the team should look like. The leader will need to build a team that is competent, dependable, and where team members trust each other. Ask students- What is the structure of your family? Do certain personalities in your family conflict? What roles exist in your family?

Building Effective Teams Context What resources do we need to be successful? What style of leadership is appropriate? How do the team members get along? How are we evaluating performance? What rewards exist to provide motivation? How can we get rid of conflict and social loafing? Once the team is structured then the leader and team should ask himself these Context Questions. They help to determine if there is a supportive environment for the team to be successful. As the team is working it may be necessary to re-evaluate the Context along the way to address issues that have emerged. Ask Students- What resources does your family have? What rewards are in place for family members? Think of a time when you family had to overcome a conflict- how did they do it? Is anyone in your family guilty of social loafing?

Building Effective Teams Process What are our specific goals? What is our timeline and plan of work? How can we work efficiently? How will we monitor progress? Lastly the team needs to outline the process for accomplishing their task. Managing time and resources is a key part of the process component of effective teams. Effective teams manage time and resources efficiently, monitoring progress and maintaining focus. Ask students- What specific goals exist in your family? How does your family accomplish the tasks it needs to get done? How does each family member contribute to those tasks? What are your responsibilities and what timelines are you on (i.e.-graduation)?

Team Roles Linker who coordinates and integrates the work of others. Creator who initiates creative ideas and experiments. Promoter who champions ideas after they’re initiated. Every work team has positions. Member assume roles to facilitate the teams work and contribute to achieving the goal.

Team Roles Assessor who offers insightful analysis of options. Organizer, who establishes and implements ways of making things work. Producer who provides direction and follow-through.

Team Roles Inspector who controls and audits the working of systems. Maintainer who upholds and safeguards standards and processes. Adviser who encourages the search for more information.