TEAM WORKING SKILLS

Objectives
By the end of the lesson, learners should:

 Develop a greater awareness of own role as a team player

 Value differences in other team members
 Identify obstacles to teamwork and how to avoid them
 Develop a teamwork scenario and evaluate it
 KEY WORDS
• Cooperation
• Delegation
• Fairness
• Utilizing each others’ strength
• Dealing with difficulties
What is a Team?

•Two or more individuals with a high degree of

interdependence geared towards the achievement of a
goal or the completion of a task.

•Teams make decisions, solve problems, provide support,

accomplish missions, and plan their work.
 How is a Team Different from a
Group or Committee?
• Teams embody a collective action arising out of task
interdependency

• Members of the team agree on the goal

• Members agree that they must work together to achieve the goal

• Each member is viewed as having one or more important roles

to play to successfully achieve the goal

• There is less hierarchy within the unit than in most work groups
 Examples of Teams

• Athletic Team – people working together to win a game

• Natural Work Group – people working together every
day in same office with similar processes and equipment
• Business Team – cross-functional team overseeing a
specific product line or customer segment
• Improvement Team – ad hoc team with responsibility for
improving an existing process
• Healthcare Team – several healthcare professionals
working closely together for the benefit of a patient or
group of patients
 Understanding group behavior

• Group Content - what is being said, the words, the

discussion

• Group Process - how the group works, methods, ways of

making decisions, how people participate
 Aspects of Group Process:
Communication
• Who talks to whom?
• Who interrupts and how is it handled?
• How are quiet members treated?
• High and low participators? Shifts in participation
levels?
• Do people look at each other when they talk?
• How are new members treated?
 Aspects of Group Process:
Decision -making
• What process does the group use to make decisions?
• Is the process agreed upon by everyone?
• Does the process change as group proceeds?
• Does anyone make a decision and carry it out without
agreement from the others?
• Is there evidence of a majority pushing a decision
• Are minority opinions heard?
 Aspects of Group Process:
Problem-solving
• Does the group take time to understand the
problem?
• Is the problem well articulated?
• Is there time for brainstorming creative
solutions?
• Can the group move to from problem
identification, identifying possible solutions, to
selecting solutions and implementation?
 What are Characteristics of
Effective Teams?

• Members have a clear goal

• The focus is on achieving results
• There is a plan for achieving the goal
• Members have clear roles
• Members are committed to the goal
• Members are competent
• They achieve decisions through consensus
• There is diversity among team members
• Members have effective interpersonal skills
• They know each other well and have good relationships
Effective Team-Building Takes Time

• There must be frequent and prolonged contact

• Team members come together around a specific

goal or project

• Effective teams go through four stages of team

development
Four Stages of Team Development

• Forming
• Storming
• Norming
• Performing

• Every effective team goes through these life

cycle stages
 Forming

• Team members are introduced and begin

getting to know each other
• Goals and tasks are established
• Generally polite behavior among members
• Norms are not understood
 Storming

• Members are sizing each other up and may feel

more comfortable and voice their views
• Members may compete for team roles
• May argue about goals or how they should be
accomplished
• May choose sides against other members
 Norming

• Once issues are resolved, agreement occurs

around team norms and expectations
• Trust and common interests are developing
• Roles and objectives are clarified and
understood
 Performing
• Members make contributions and are
motivated by results
• Leadership is shared according to members’
knowledge and skills
• Norms and culture are well understood
• Tasks get accomplished effectively and
efficiently
 Recognizing Dysfunctional Behavior

• Blocking
• Aggression
• Dominating
• Withdrawing
• Out of field behavior
Types of Behaviors In Teams

• Challenging Behaviour - Under participator

- Distracting participator
- Over participator

• Functional Behaviour - Effective

Types of Behaviors In Teams

• Under participators: - silent/shy, inattentive, inarticulate

• Distracting participators: - chronic talker,

argumentative/dominator/aggressive, side
conversationalist/negative member

• Over participators: - Too eager, Obstinate (stubborn)

Functional behaviour

Effective participators :
• are articulate wait for their chance to contribute
• allow different opinions to be expressed
• do not deviate from task at hand

Effective participators are the ideal team mates

Class Activity 1:
Dealing with problem situations/group members

• Chronic talker
• Dominator/distracter
• Rescuing group member
• Negative group member
• Resistant member
• Group member who tries to “get the leader”
• Dealing with silence
• Dealing with sexual feelings between group members
• Dealing with crying in the group
• Asking a member to leave the group
 References
• Thiagarajan, S. and Parker, G. (1999). Teamwork and
Teamplay. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

• Dean, P., LaVallee, R., & McLaughlin, C. (1999). Teams

at the core of continuous learning in McLaughlin, &
Kaluzny, A. (eds.) Continuous Quality Improvement in
Health Care: Theory, Implementation, and Applications,
147 – 168.