Building Powerful and Effective Teams

Building teams is a challenge. And yet, when prospective team members are properly prepared for the experience and coached along the way, they are willing to embrace the process in order to achieve the benefits, which are profound. Effective teamwork can make an enormous contribution to an organization s productivity and development. Effective teams outperform individuals. They can achieve more, of a better quality, more quickly and efficiently than the most competent individual can alone. This workshop covers how to build effective teams and how to manage them. It looks at the structure and development of successful teams, and the processes and behaviors that stimulate best performance. The responsibilities and skills demanded of each member are also identified to provide a framework for the leader to build an effective team. Teamwork is most effective when tasks are too large or complex for an individual to achieve alone. Forming teams to allow the discussion, analysis and completion of tasks, can lead to new and innovative solutions that have a pay-back in other areas, e.g. greater efficiency, improved morale, and increased productivity. Operating costs, stress and employee turnover rates are reduced and the organization s public image is strengthened. Once established, an effective team becomes self-perpetuating. A crucial aspect of team-building is understanding group process. We have found, as have many others, that Bruce Tuckman s four-part process very accurately describes what happens. The four stages in forming a team are: forming, storming, norming, and performing. Workshop participants learn what to expect in each of these stages, and how to effectively work through each one. This one or two-day experiential workshop will prepare participants to fully participate as members of work teams. The workshop will explore each of the nine (9) dimensions of team success: 1. Clear objectives and agreed-upon goals 2. Openness and confrontation 3. Support and trust 4. Cooperation and conflict 5. Decision-making procedures 6. Appropriate leadership 7. Regular peer review of the team s performance 8. Individual development 9. Positive and constructive intergroup relations This course is tailored to help develop knowledge and understanding of the dynamics of team building. Through in-class team building exercises, discussion, and interpretation of theoretical concepts, participants are given a first-hand experience of the dynamics that go on in teams. These experiences result in increased awareness, skills and competencies that make one a more effective team member.