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Posts Tagged ‘teamwork skills’
Monday, June 8th, 2009
 When you think of a team, what comes to mind? A basketball, football or soccer team? Or simply a group of professionals working together? Have geese ever come to mind as a working team? My mother once wrote a poem about a flock of geese and simply stated, why they fly together and it reminded me of the saying, “Birds of a feather, flock together.”
Birds of a feather, flock together:
Have you e’er been walking and seen in the sky
A flock of geese flying and perhaps wondered why?
They fly in a V-shape—not in some other form
Such as small groups or large groups or straight as the norm.
No feathered brain fowl, these geese really know
How to travel efficiently where e’er they go.
The V has a purpose, aerodynamically smart,
Those birds are good buddies; each one does its part.
They’ve got a neat system that’s often been shown
To provide for hurt geese so they’re not left alone.
And although their squawking won’t make a sweet song,
They honk to encourage each other along.
There’s rarely a goose with its neck out of joint
Cuz each one gets its chance to fly at the point.
So there’s never a leader too tired to lead
For each goose is primed for its turn when there’s need.
All of the creatures live lives that can teach
Us humans some lessons! And geese surely preach
How to learn and to lead, to build up and to bond
Why geese can show teammates how they could respond
To each other like geese as they fly. Don’t you think?
We could be Team Honkers and teammates in sinc?
By Linda Pederson 3/29/94
This simple poem has some very powerful advice regarding teams and teamwork:
• Teamwork sometimes requires an individual sacrifice. Just as the geese make sure that if one of their group needs to fall back, another is with them, such should be the motto of a team. No one is left behind; in idea sharing, team building or assignments.
• There is not a universal definition of a team. Teams are made up of people, animals, sub-groups, etc. The authors of the Team Approach , Dr. Steven Stowell and Stephanie Mead also contend that there are stunning parallels of the forces of teamwork , which are observable, between nature and what we see in modern organizations. They make the case that a team’s success is everyone’s responsibility.
Next time your eyes gaze upwards at the flying V in the sky, remember…all this “teamwork stuff” is not simply for the birds.
Tags: motivation, teamwork, teamwork development, teamwork in the workplace, teamwork skills
Posted in character, motivation, teamwork | No Comments »
Monday, May 11th, 2009
Recently, I was leaving a local arena with my family after attending a hockey game. Our local winter weather tears our roads apart and therefore created some necessary road work to be done that was in currently in progress. Therefore, instead of two lanes leading north out of the parking lot there was only one lane and it didn’t take very long until several cars including ours were boxed in.The car in front of us was crowded with young people eager to get going. In order to get out of the parking spot and into the traffic, a girl stepped out of the car to direct traffic. She stood in front of the next car in the exit line blocking the car. An act, we often see.
 However, the act infuriated the blocked car’s driver. With a smirk on drivers face and a “me first” attitude, the driver eased the car forward almost pinning the young girl between the two cars. While people in both cars were too impatient for the situation, the driver’s action was potentially dangerous. Had the driver accidentally pressed the gas pedal instead of the brake, the girl would have been badly injured if not killed. This driver’s “me first” attitude was noticed by several other drivers. In an unspoken group effort, the errant driver was deliberately boxed in for several extra minutes while others exited.
With the all the negative news on television, radio and newsprint, many people may demonstrate this “me first” mentality. We can understand their fear, as no one wants to lose their job, income, or current standard of living. Yet, this mentality harms not only harms team members and the organization, but that person’s competence and performance as well. When their intentions are to prove their personal importance, they tend to make less desirable decisions, sabotage other’s efforts, and in the end bring their fear to fruition.
As a leader you can do many things to help avert this “me first” behavior. Consider the following as you choose your course of action
- Remain positive in your speech and actions. Your team will reflect your attitude; if you are positive, team members will feel more secure.
- Keep communication lines open with everyone. Don’t keep secrets. Secrets have a way of being shared and peoples trust in you can be lost.
- Give constant and honest feedback. Don’t lie; people recognize a lie very quickly. Lies generate fear.
- Encourage innovation and creativity. Ask them to look for processes that can streamline, boost efficiency, or increase savings. Make them a part of the solution.
- Impress on individuals that through team effort the organization can survive a negative environment. There is power in numbers if corrective action is taken.
- Encourage employee development through training. Training increases the feeling of security (If the organization values me enough to train me, then I am important).
If you remain optimistic, the members will respond in a like manner. Your team will not continue to perform proficiently but serve as a model of teamwork to others in the organization.
Tags: teamwork, teamwork in the workplace, teamwork skills
Posted in Leadership Development, Uncategorized, leadership, qualities of leadership, teamwork | No Comments »
Monday, April 13th, 2009
Teamwork Is Combined Effort: Part 1
Recently I related a story about a burger chain and the combined effort of 5 employees to make one 20 ounce cup of Joe. The number of people needed to fulfill the task grew as each team member added his/her expertise to the task at hand, and together the team found the direction to go. Eventually, with the help of a team approach, the task was completed. As we dig a bit deeper into the realm of Teamwork, there were 2 additional elements that I found important as I related the incident. Teamwork is not merely a “good idea” but essential in today’s fast paced, ever-changing world.
 In their book, The Team Approach, Dr. Steven Stowell and Stephanie Mead give two key points on just how important teamwork is in our everyday lives – first, Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility, and second, Teamwork must have a direction- not only a solution.
Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility. Helen Keller said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” How can we consider ourselves a member of a team and yet, watch as one of our members’ struggles without help? We have to ask ourselves are we truly a team or simply observers? As I watched (as an observer) employee #1 struggle with the task at hand, he was at a dead end within seconds of starting. The more team members who got involved in the completion of the task, the narrower the margin of error became, the less time it took to complete the task, and the lower the level of negative emotions. It is said that “Two heads are better than one” well…what about 3, 4, or 5?
Teamwork must have a purpose. This implies that each member of the team must have a clear direction as well as a solution. A goal is a great starting point, but how do you reach your goal without some sense of direction? The team I observed had a very obvious purpose: to fulfill the order of a customer. However, the direction soon became unclear when employee #1 had trouble completing the goal. As each additional member became involved, teamwork approached evolved and the pathway to the goal grew shorter. More work done in less time.
I never thought I would see the day when it would take 5 people to make one 20 ounce cup of mocha coffee, but what a learning experience it was for me. It showed me how to be a more effective team member in my own realm of work, home and civic responsibilities. As we remember that Teamwork is everyone’s responsibility and do whatever it takes to achieve a purpose, it may take 10, 20, 50 people to complete what we see as one of the most common tasks. The end result however, is to be a part of the team, not merely an observer.
Tags: developing teamwork, learning teamwork, teamwork, teamwork effectiveness, teamwork skills, teamwork work
Posted in teamwork | No Comments »
Monday, September 15th, 2008
During the past few months I have facilitated several team development training sessions. Teamwork is a favorite topic of mine and one I have a lot of passion for. World class teams, in my opinion, are something that can be achieved as long as the right ingredients are present and consistently used. Lately, I have recognized an interesting pattern in these team development sessions – one or more individuals will approach me during a break with the same question. Their question goes something like this, “I am on this team that just doesn’t quite reach its potential. What can I do about it?”
The benefit of this question is that at least one member of the team recognizes some flaws and is looking for guidance on how to influence and change the team for the better. Of course from my standpoint, I need more information to give appropriate suggestions as to what to do. But, after digging a little deeper and getting more information, the same problems seem to be occurring within the majority of teams. The common themes typically are:
1. The team isn’t very focused.
2. Team meetings are not effective.
3. Certain members are working harder than others on the team, causing frustration and negatively impacting cohesion and unity.
Within these themes, the element that is commonly missing, which causes these symptoms to surface, is processes. I have found that when teams have frustration, it can often be traced to lack of processes, or processes not being used, or processes that are outdated, or even processes not being followed correctly. Regardless of the problem, teams need to take a serious look at their processes.
One of the reasons process improvements continues to be a vital aspect of an organization is because of frequent changes in the marketplace. Paradigms change and the goals of the organization and the team change regularly. Because of change, processes must be in place to ensure stability and constancy.
Teams with process issues need to be prepared to question them. Some of my recommended questions would be:
1. What processes do we need to create and follow to have efficient meetings that produce the results we are all seeking?
2. What processes do we need to eliminate or modify that are hindering our success currently and will continue to affect us in the future if we don’t so something about it now?
3. Does the whole team understand our processes and are we committed to following them from now on?
 Processes are the playbook by which teams operate. When team members don’t understand the playbook, the rules, and the tools that are in place to create success, teams do not reach their potential. If your team is not quite reaching its full potential take a hard look at your processes and see how well your team is following and using your playbook.
Tags: improve teamwork, teamwork, teamwork conflict, teamwork development, teamwork in the workplace, teamwork skills
Posted in accountability, problem solving, teamwork | No Comments »
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