Diploma in

Professional
Competence
Module: Team Working
Content

• Teams Vs Groups
• Effective Teams
• Human behaviour and psychology of behaviour in groups
• Power and influence
• Your own style of team working
• Stages of a team’s development
• High performing teams
• Best practice in team results
• Challenging behaviour and how to deal with it
Describe what’s happening?
Characteristics of Effective Teams

1. There is a clear unity of purpose.

2. The group is self-conscious about its own operations.
3. The group has set clear and demanding performance goals
4. The atmosphere tends to be informal, comfortable, relaxed.
5. There is a lot of discussion in which virtually everyone participates
6. People are free in expressing their feelings as well as their ideas.
7. There is disagreement and this is viewed as good.
8. Most decisions are made at a point where there is general agreement.
9. Each individual carries his or her own weight,
10. Criticism is frequent, frank and relatively comfortable.
11. The leadership of the group shifts from time to time.

Sources: The Human Side of Enterprise, by Douglas MacGregor The Wisdom of Teams,
by Kaztenbach and Smith
What is the value of Teamwork?

What is your key strength in a team environment?

What are problems you have encountered while working in Teams?

Team Effectiveness Profile:
Rubin, Plovnick, and Fry (1977).

Team and Individual Goals –

Goals Vision/Strategy/Focus

Team Roles and Functional Roles

Roles – Responsibility, Accountability and
commitment to team

Team Processes
Processes Communication, Problem solving, Strategy,
Resource allocation, Conflict mgt etc.

Relationships Interpersonal Relationships

Feedback, Synergy, Coaching,
leadership
Effective Teamwork

Achieve the
Task John Adair

Build & Develop

Maintain the
the Team Individual
Why is teamworking important?

Encourages
Fosters
multi-
flexibility &
disciplinary
responsiveness
working

Empowers Pleases
people customers

Promotes
Creates
synergy Teamwork leaner
structures
Benefits of teams in organisations
Characteristics of Effective Teams

PERFORM:
• Productivity
• Empathy
• Roles & Goals
• Flexibility
• Outward looking
• Recognition
• Morale
PDP: T/F Reflection….

Topic: ____________________________

______________________________________
• Continue doing

_______________________________________
• Start doing
_______________________________________

• Stop doing
_______________________________________

_______________________________________
Diploma in
Professional
Competence

Human behaviour & psychology of

behaviour in groups
Team Builder Driver Creator

Team Roles

Completer No ones perfect Networker

….but a team can be.

Evaluator Implementer Organiser

 The Organiser
General approach:
Has a strong sense of the overall objectives. Is able to keep an
open mind and value contributions from any source.

Good at controlling and coordinating resources. Democratic and

encourages participation, but willing to take responsibility for
decisions.

Sometimes seen as reserved, detached and perhaps

manipulative.

The Organisers ability to remain objective is valuable when

directing the efforts and activities of others towards an overall
goal or objective.
 The Driver
General Approach:
Strong sense of drive and urgency. Readiness to challenge
inertia, ineffectiveness, complacency, self-deception and
general lack of progress.

Prone to provocation, irritation and impatience. Strong

preference to lead from the front with an inner need to control
decisions and actions personally.

Can be seen as aggressive and want to see own ideas

implemented, and quickly. Hates rules and regulations.

A ‘natural’ leader in some ways, and can command respect and

generate enthusiasm and energy in others.

Can be sceptical of others and yet be overly sensitive to

criticism of own ideas
 The Creator
General Approach:
The Creator has the ability to generate lots of ideas, many of
which may lead to success while many may not.

They can be the source of the teams creativity, with a fertile

and intelligent mind, with plenty of original ways of looking at
things. They are concerned with the challenge of the new and
can be obsessive.

Often seen as having a head in the clouds, can be unaware of

the need for sensitivity towards others. They may not have
much time for protocol or the proper way of doing things, nor
be terribly concerned with the practical implications of own
schemes.

Tends to be self sufficient however, can also be caught up in a

wave of enthusiasm and can be swept along with general team
euphoria.
 The Evaluator
General Approach:
The Evaluator is a highly intelligent team member whose principal
team asset is an ability to process large amounts of information in
an analytical, objective way.

Possesses good judgment and shows a ‘hard headed’ shrewd

approach to issues and ideas. Is cautious, perceptive and highly
critical of flawed thinking in others.

Is the most likely person in a team to spot the fatal error in a

scheme that everyone else has missed. The Evaluator can as a
result be seen as the ‘wet blanket’ to ideas dampening down
team enthusiasm.

Can be seen as being overly critical and negative. Nevertheless the

role is crucial to successful team outcomes
 The Networker
General Approach:
The Networker is the teams ambassador in its dealings with the world
beyond the teams boundary. Has a capacity for making highly
effective. Will respond to new situations as exciting challenges, but
can also lose interest quite quickly if progress is slow or once the
initial fascination has passed.

Variety and People are the essential diet of the Networker, who also
has the ability in turn to stimulate and motivate others.

The need for new stimuli can often result in a butterfly mind, flitting
quickly from one thing to another very rapidly, and there can be a
lack of self discipline and failure to follow things through.

It has been said that the Networker is either on the phone or is out
meeting people and hates doing anything else
 The Implementer
General Approach:
The Implementer is the team member who, above all, will be
able to foresee how the teams ideas and plans will work out in
practice. The Implementer tends have a knack of knowing what
practical issues need to be faced. They are naturally
conservative and has to be convinced that an idea is a good one
not just because it is new but because it is of genuine worth.

They have real organising ability and plenty of practical

common sense. They are hard working and strongly self-
disciplined but can sometimes lack flexibility. They are
systematic and thorough and tangible results are the
Implementers yardstick for effectiveness.

Happy when involved with, or designing, rules and procedures

for implementation and tends to be less effective when
procedures and objectives are unclear. The Implementer has
the ability to bring things down to earth, sometimes with a
nasty bump.
 The Teambuilder
General Approach:

The Team builder is he fabric that helps bind the team together.
Promotes team spirit. Makes people laugh, is sensitive to others
feelings and to overall team mood.

Is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of others and responds

appropriately to peoples differing needs. The most likely person to
know about personal issues of other team members.

Can be indecisive in a crisis and may lack the necessary toughness

in certain situations, but ability to ‘read’ others and to recognize
own differing abilities promotes high morale and a good sense of
co-operation.
 The Completer
General Approach:
The Completer is the team member who crosses the T’s and dots
the I’s. A strong capacity for follow through coupled with a
striving for perfection causes much anxiety. Will worry over small
items but, overall, accomplishes tasks well and on time.

The nervous energy which is invested in the team’s final product

results in a high standard. As leader can sometimes get bogged
down in detail which can lower team morale.

However, the completer Finisher is dogged and persistent and

will not give up until satisfied with own high standards
Summary of Role types

• Audience Participation Please……

• Contributes original and creative ideas
• Brings a stimulating presence to the team
• Often radical and unorthodox
• Good at ideas, but not good on follow through
• Can be excessively focused on their own ideas
• Always “knows” someone who can help out
• Brings a sense of fun to the team
• Relaxed, sociable, gregarious
• Acts as salesperson and liaison officer to the team
• Takes a lively interest in anything that is happening anywhere
• Assimilates and evaluates large quantities of complex
information
• Prevents the team from committing itself to bad decisions
• Mulls over things before deciding
• Readily finds fault in proposals from others
• Brings an analytical logic to problems
• Very performance orientated
• Competitive – wants to win
• Quick to challenge and respond to challenges
• Tends to be self confident
• Interested only in results
• Promotes progress and involvement
• Clarifies goals and objectives
• Set priorities
• Promotes decision making
• Brings out the best in others
• Good Communicator
• Motivates the team
• A practical organiser who turns ideas into
manageable tasks
• Self disciplined, reliable and efficient
• Doesn’t like speculation and “airy fairy” ideas
• Methodical and systematic
• Reliable, responsible and hardworking
• Concentrates on schedules and targets
• Searches for errors, omissions and oversights
• Likes to check detail
• Brings a conscientious approach to quality and standards
• Maintains a sense of urgency
• Promotes unity and harmony in the team
• Brings friendliness and sensitivity to the team
• Smoothes over friction between team members
• Listens to others and builds on their ideas
• Brings people into the discussion
Team Roles Profile Sheet
Least Preferred Manageable Natural Roles
Roles Roles
Plant X
RI X
Chair X
Implementer X
ME X
Team builder X
Shaper X
Completer X
Finisher
Team Task: Make your Pitch!
 Implementer

Teambuilder
Networker
Organiser

Evaluator

Finisher
Creator
Driver
Seamus 4 9 16 8 3 12 14 4

Conor 16 18 7 5 2 7 13 2

Paul 9 7 5 3 12 21 5 7

Sinead 13 16 0 7 8 6 18 2

Q1: Based on the combination of the role types (as outlined above) create a narrative as to
what are the key strengths that this team would have in undertaking a key business project

Q2: Based on the combination of the role types (as outlined above) identify what may be
missing in the balance of the team and suggest how you could remedy this without having
the option of recruiting another team member.
PDP: T/F Reflection….

Topic: ____________________________

______________________________________
• Continue doing

_______________________________________
• Start doing
_______________________________________

• Stop doing
_______________________________________

_______________________________________
Diploma in
Professional
Competence

Stages of a team’s development

Tuckman’s Theory
Performing

Norming

Storming

Forming
Stages of Team Development
Bruce Tuckman
Measuring teamwork

Goals
• Have we a common understanding?
Roles
• Is there a clear allocation of roles?
Interactions
• Do we communicate openly and listen?
Processes
• Do we plan our tasks and use the most appropriate resources?
Style
• Is our leadership style conducive to good teamwork?
Effective Teams

• Informal, comfortable, relaxed

• Task understood & accepted
• Listen to each other
• Everyone involved
• Express ideas and feelings
• Conflict around task not people
• Group is self conscious
• Decisions by consensus
• Actions and assignments

Douglas Mc Gregor
 Team Development
Dysfunctional Teams……Functional
Teams
The Five Dysfunctions include:

▪ Absence of Trust

▪ Fear of Conflict

▪ Lack of Commitment

▪ Avoidance of Accountability

▪ Inattention to Results
 Focusing
on Results

Embracing
Accountability

Achieving
Commitment

Mastering Conflict

Building Trust
Teams with trust……

• Admit their weaknesses and mistakes

• Ask for help
• Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility
• Give one another the benefit of the doubt before arriving at a negative
conclusion
• Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
• Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences
• Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics
• Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
• Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group

What could you practically put in place to help

develop this function in your team?
Teams that engage in conflict…

• Have lively, interesting meetings

• Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members

• Solve real problems quickly

• Minimise politics

• Put critical topics on the table for discussion

What could you practically put in place to help

develop this function in your team?
Teams that commit……

▪ Create clarity around direction and priorities

▪ Align the entire team around common objectives
▪ Develop an ability to learn from mistakes
▪ Take advantage of opportunities before competitors do
▪ Move forward without hesitation
▪ Changes direction without hesitation

What could you practically put in place to help

develop this function in your team?
Teams that have accountability ….

▪ Ensure that under performers are coached and encouraged to improve

▪ Identify potential problems quickly by questioning one another’s approaches

without Hesitation

▪ Establish respect among team members who are held to the same high
standards

▪ Avoid excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective

action

What could you practically put in place to help

develop this function in your team?
Teams that have a collective focus….

▪ Retain achievement-oriented employees

▪ Minimise individualistic behaviour
▪ Enjoy success and suffer failure acutely
▪ Benefit from individuals who subjugate their own goals/interests for
the good of the team
▪ Avoids distractions

What could you practically put in place to help

develop this function in your team?
 Focusing
on Results

Embracing
Accountability

Achieving
Commitment

Mastering Conflict

Building Trust
Diploma in
Professional
Competence

Pitfalls and Problems

 Why teams don’t work
Problem Symptom Solution
Mismatched needs People with private agendas working at Get hidden agendas on the table by asking
cross purposes what people want, personally, from teaming

Confused Goals People don’t know what theyre supposed Clarify the reason the team exists, define its
Cluttered Objectives to do, or it makes no sense purpose and expected outcomes

Unresolved Roles Team members are uncertain what their Inform team members what is expected of them
role is
Bad decision making Teams may be making the right decisions Choose a decision making approach
but the wrong way appropriate to each decision

Bad policies, obsolete procedures
Personality Conflicts
Bad Leadership
Team is at the mercy of an employee
handbook from hell
Team members do not get along
Leadership is tentative, inconsistent, or
lacks the ability to lead
Throw away the book and start making sense
Resolve the conflict
Start valuing and using differences
The leader must learn to serve the team and
keep its vision alive or leave leadership to
someone else
 Why teams don’t work
Problem Symptom Solution
Anti team culture The organisation is not really committed to the Team for the right reason or don’t team
idea of teams at all. Never force people onto a team

Insufficient Feedback and Information
Ill conceived reward systems
Performance is not being measured: team
members are groping in the dark
People are being rewarded for the wrong
things
Create system of free flow of useful
information to and from all team
members
Design rewards that make teams feel
safe doing their job: reward teaming as
well as individual behaviours

Lack of Team trust The team is not a team because members are Stop being untrustworthy, or disband or
unable to commit to it reform the team

Unwillingness to Change The team knows what to do but will not do it Find out what the blockage is; use
dynamite or vaseline to clear it
The wrong tools The team has been sent to do battle with a Equip the team with the right tools for its
slingshot tasks, or allow freedom to be creative
PDP: T/F Reflection….

Topic: ____________________________

______________________________________
• Continue doing

_______________________________________
• Start doing
_______________________________________

• Stop doing
_______________________________________

_______________________________________
Sample Question

Describe the characteristics of high performing teams (10 marks)

Describe the group dynamics during the 4 stages of team development and outline the interventions
a Leader could make to make the team more effective. (35 marks)

Discuss Meredith Belbin’s team roles and their relevance to team effectiveness, giving practical
examples. (55 marks)
Sample Question

Describe the characteristics of high performing teams. (25 marks)

What is the difference between a group and a team? (25 marks)

Discuss Meredith Belbin’s team roles and their relevance to team effectiveness, giving practical examples.
(50 marks)
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