Session 3 - Teamwork

Session 3 - 16th January

Developing Leaders - Teamwork

The sessions started by analysing what is Good Teamwork. My initial ideas are below:

Shared goals

Equality

Adaptability

Effective communication

Trust

Humour

Friendliness.

In groups we then used our own ideas to complete the table below which looked at teamwork and what it looks, sounds and feels like.
 
Teamwork

Looks like	Sound like	Feel like
Relaxed atmosphere	Ideas sharing	Eustress
Efficient	Laughter	Happy
United	Holding to account	Valued

 The theory for this session surrounded Meredith Belbin's  9 Team roles. These are:

·         Coordinator

·         Plant

·         Resource investigator

·         Shaper

·         Monitor evaluator

·         Teamworker

·         Implementer

·         Completer finisher

·         Specialist

 Each team contains these members and I feel that after the tasks I am a Plant, Shaper and Teamworker.

A Plant is creative, imaginative, free-thinking. New ideas are Generated and difficult problems are solved. There are some allowable weaknesses such as ignoring incidentals and sometimes you can be too preoccupied to communicate effectively.

To do: Come up with ideas and suggestions for solving problems and working out solutions. Invent a new way of tackling the issues in hand. Create an original piece of work. Look at things from a different angle.

Not to do: Evaluate your own ideas. Have strong ownership of your own ideas when co-operation would yield better results.

A Shaper is challenging, dynamic and thrives on pressure. A shaper has the courage to overcome obstacles. The allowable weaknesses are being prone to provocation and offending peoples feelings.

To do: Get things moving. Stop complacency and laziness. Be honest and straight forward and open with others. Make sure the team is achieving goals. Push things forward.

Not to do: Hold grudges, become overbearing. Lose you sense of humour when the going gets tough.

A Teamworker is co-operative, perceptive and diplomatic. Can listen to others and avert friction. Allowable weaknesses are that you can be indecisive in crunch situations and avoids confrontation.

It is easy to identify these roles in team situations and knowing the allowable weaknesses allows you to delegate and co-ordinate much more effectively as you can plan for this.  

To do :  Promote good team atmosphere by reacting to the needs of others. Support members of the group when necessary. Become a broker in times of argument and defuse any hostility.

Not to do:  Avoid situations that may entail pressure. Side wit h the most dominant in  a desire to please.

 

It was useful to have the roles of a team broken down in order to see how a team works effectively and how to plan to ensure that  you know how to deal with each team member to get the best out of them.