Team Building Through Effective Communication: 10/16/2011 Amity Univeristy Khushboo Natholia
Team Building Through Effective Communication: 10/16/2011 Amity Univeristy Khushboo Natholia
Ms Mokshda Bhushan
February 2011
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Apart from individual efforts, the success of any project depends largely on the encouragement of many others involved directly and indirectly. I take this opportunity to express my heartfelt gratitude to the people who have been influential in the progress of this project. I consider it my pleasant duty to acknowledge my deep sense of gratitude to my Faculty Guide- MR. ANNIRUDH VASHISHTHA for his continuous guidance and direction to the exercise. I am equally thankful to my friends for their valuable and timely inputs in the progress of the project.
Ms Mokshda Bhushan
AMITY LAW SCHOOL I-2 BLOCK, AMITY UNIVERSITY NOIDA (U.P.)
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project work entitled Team building through effective
communication is submitted Amity University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
award of the degree of B.COM. LLB (Hons.) is a record work by Khushboo Natholia (A3221610072). During the period 2010-2015 under my supervision & guidance and the project has not formed the basis for the award of any degree or other similar title to any candidate of any University.
Signature of Candidate
Signature of Guide
INDEX
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Introduction to team building Team Building exercise Characterstics of High Team performance Significance of effective communication Conclusion & suggestion Bibliography
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Unit 1 INTRODUCTION
Team Building refers to a wide range of activities, presented to businesses, schools, sports teams, religious or non-profit organizations designed for improving team performance. Team building is pursued via a variety of practices, and can range from simple bonding exercises to complex simulations and multi-day team building retreats designed to develop a team (including group assessment and group-dynamic games), usually falling somewhere in between. It generally sits within the theory and practice of organizational development, but can also be applied to sports teams, school groups, and other contexts. Team building is not to be confused with "team recreation" that consists of activities for teams that are strictly recreational. Teambuilding is an important factor in any environment, its focus is to specialize in bringing out the best in a team to ensure self development, positive communication, leadership skills and the ability to work closely together as a team to problem solve. Work environments tend to focus on individuals and personal goals, with reward & recognition singling out the achievements of individual employees. "How to create effective teams is a challenge in every organization"[1] Team building can also refer to the process of selecting or creating a team from scratch. Reasons for Team Building Reasons for Team Building include
Improving communication Making the workplace more enjoyable Motivating a team Getting to know each other Getting everyone "onto the same page", including goal setting Teaching the team self-regulation strategies Helping participants to learn more about themselves (strengths and weaknesses) Identifying and utilizing the strengths of team members Improving team productivity Practicing effective collaboration with team members
What are Team Building Exercises and what is their purpose? Team building exercises consist of a variety of tasks designed to develop group members and their ability to work together effectively. There are many types of team building activities that range from kids games to games that involve novel complex tasks and are designed for specific needs. There are also more complex team building exercises that are composed of multiple exercises such as ropes courses, corporate drumming and exercises that last over several days. The purpose of team building exercises is to assist teams in becoming cohesive units of individuals that can effectively work together to complete tasks. Types of Team Building Exercises Communication Exercise This type of team building exercise is exactly what it sounds like. Communications exercises are problem solving activities that are geared towards improving communication skills. The issues teams encounters in these exercises are solved by communicating effectively with each other. Goal: Create an activity which highlights the importance of good communication in team performance and/or potential problems with communication. Problem Solving/Decision Making Exercise Problem Solving/Decision making exercises focus specifically on groups working together to solve difficult problems or make complex decisions. These exercises are some of the most common as they appear to have the most direct link to what employers want their teams to be able to do. Goal: Give team a problem in which the solution is not easily apparent or requires the team to come up with a creative solution Planning/Adaptability Exercise These exercises focus on aspects of planning and being adaptable to change. These are important things for teams to be able to do when they are assigned
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complex tasks or decisions. Goal: Show the importance of planning before implementing a solution Trust Exercise A trust exercise involves engaging team members in a way that will induce trust between them. They are sometimes difficult exercises to implement as there are varying degrees of trust between individuals and varying degrees of individual comfort trusting others in general. Goal: Create trust between team members Subgroups of Team Building Exercises
simple social activities - to encourage team members to spend time together group bonding sessions - company sponsored fun activities to get to know team members (sometimes intending also to inspire creativity) personal development activities - individual programs given to groups (sometimes physically challenging) team development activities - group-dynamic games designed to help individuals discover how they approach a problem, how the team works together, and discover better methods psychological analysis of team roles, and training in how to work better together
(And combinations of the above) Team interaction involves "soft" interpersonal skills including communication, negotiation, leadership, and motivation - in contrast to technical skills directly involved with the job at hand. Depending on the type of team building, the novel tasks can encourage or specifically teach interpersonal team skills to increase team performance. Communication is the foundation of all human interaction and the basis of all training programs. From team building and leadership to customer service and supervisory training, communication is a fundamental skill that should be integrated into all types of training
Committed, members are optimistic about the future. There is a sense of Excitement about individual and team accomplishments as well as the Way team members work together. The team spirit is high.
Events Team-building should continue throughout the project. As with the events during mobilisation, these would normally be a mixture of directly work-related activities, and other social, team building. Building good team spirit is not just a matter of organising entertainment for the team. As well as the special events, the routine work of a project typically gives rise to many opportunities for human interaction - meetings, informal discussions, chance encounters, written messages, etc. Each of these is an opportunity to enhance the effectiveness of the team by displaying the right attitude and saying the right things. MBWA MBWA is a famous management theory - it means "Management by Walking About". What it means is that a good manager operates, at least in part, by getting out seeing what the team is doing whether or not there is a specific reason to do so. It is very easy for a busy Project Manager to shut the door and concentrate on consolidating the plan or reviewing the deliverables. You must reserve enough time for direct interaction with the team. It should be a two-way, collaborative process. Here are some of the things you should be aiming to achieve:
motivate individuals and sub-teams promote the right attitudes and behaviours: team spirit, collaboration, sharing knowledge, focus, etc gain an improved understanding of the project: requirements, designs, quality, issues, progress, etc Provide better guidance: steer thinking, suggest ways forward, intercept potential problems, coach individuals, etc.
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Brownie points It may be possible to promote good team behaviour using recognition and reward mechanisms. In most organisations there will be some form of formal performance assessment and reward process. This would normally address the major objectives of the individual. The current project might, or might not, be one a significant factor in those objectives and/or the performance assessment. It may also be possible to introduce additional incentives directly relating to the project, for example, bonuses paid for beating deadlines. Formal reward processes usually focus on the individual's prime objectives. They are rarely able to promote good behaviour across all aspects of the work to do so would require complex analysis of all desirable behaviours and a carefully constructed performance measurement system to balance the competing goals. The Project Manager may be able to find other ways to recognise promote and reward good behaviour, particularly where it lies outside the individuals' main reward system. Recognition itself is very valuable in promoting good behaviour. Remembering to say "thank you" is the cheapest and easiest way to improve team performance. Make sure it sounds (and preferably is) genuine: "thank you that was really useful". In the right situations, secondary recognition mechanisms can be administered by the Project Team. Where there are significant financial rewards involved, this must be done properly with the agreement of the project's sponsor and the overall organisation. It will normally be subject to tax and legal requirements. It is also important to ensure that it is acceptable in the overall organisation and environment; for example, do people not working on the Project Team consider it unfair? One potential solution is to use rewards and recognition with no direct financial value. There does need to be some belief that the reward or recognition has value - but value can be established in many ways. For example:
the Project Manager guarantees to communicate positive feedback to the individual's line management fun fantasy league table of sub-team or individual Brownie Point performance token gifts or treats (subject to whatever financial limits are appropriate in the environment) eg bottle of Champagne, shopping voucher, airline
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A "Brownie Point" system, if it is to be taken seriously, needs to be administered by the Project Office. Members of the team at any level can nominate a colleague as deserving a number of Brownie Points for doing something special which contributed towards the success of the project. It could relate to the quality of the work, getting things done on time, the social life of the team, relationships with external parties, etc. You might also set up tariffs for specific actions you wish to encourage, for example, the submission of issues or completing timesheets on time. The nomination or submissions would be scrutinised by the Project Office to make sure it is genuine and appropriate. Individual scores feed into whichever for of reward mechanism is in operation. Meetings Two common complaints from project teams are: "too many meetings" and "not enough communication". Senior management often react to the latter of these by organising more meetings. Let's distinguish between formal meetings and the gatherings of work groups. Some rules about formal meetings can be found in the Control and Reporting section. The gathering together of people for the practicalities of working together is bound to involve a large number and wide range of meetings over the life of a project. In some cases, regular scheduling makes sense in order to overcome natural reluctance to communicate, to share knowledge, and, in particular, to admit to failings. Some people inevitably feel that any disturbance from their main task is unwelcome and/or unhelpful. Group members frequently dislike interaction with others outside that group. Here is a typical pattern of recurring Project Team meetings... In other cases, meetings will be arranged around specific activities or issues and will involve only the people concerned. If you take another look at the picture of the collaborative project team, you will see that there will be many different workgroup relationships and consequent needs to gather together the right people. Here is the ideal (but unachievable) mental picture of how the collaborative team works: The fundamental rule should be to get optimum value from people's time. Do not have meetings where the presence of certain attendees adds no value for a
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majority of the time - maybe separate meetings or approaches would work better. Do not waste time on routine matters that could effectively be conveyed in a more efficient way. Avoid the tendency to involve every possible person in every discussion - you will make more progress with a small number of the right people. It is not just a waste of time, resources and money. Wasting time at meetings often leads to cynicism, demotivation and a lack of confidence in the leaders. Videoconferencing Much productive time can be lost travelling to meetings. Face-to-face meetings usually provide the best channel for discussion, information exchange and relationship building. These benefits should be balanced against the lost productive time. In general a mixture of physical and virtual meetings provides the best compromise. Arranging telephone conferences should be simple. Most major organisations already have facilities available. Alternatively, the telephone service provider should be able to make the arrangements. There are two main styles of Videoconferencing: using specialist videoconference facilities or using desktop software from your PC. The ideal scenario is to be able to hook up with other participants through the network at any time without leaving your desk. Although this is technically feasible, relatively few organisations have the bandwidth and controls to operate it efficiently. The alternative is for attendees to gather at their nearest video conference suite (internally or externally - eg conference centres, press agencies). Two-way links are just dialled directly. Multiple link ups can be achieved through "bridges" everyone connects to the bridge which combines and controls the multiple video and audio links.
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Here is a project meeting with participants at five locations in four different countries. Videoconference links are combined through a "bridge" provided by the external telecoms provider. Further participants are connected to the bridge through audio channels (i.e. normal telephone dial in).
As well as the videoconferencing, the participants are connected through the organisation's global network. They are able to:
Non-verbal communication There will be a range of channels available for communication within the project team and with external participants. The objective is to share information, knowledge, thoughts, concerns, feelings, etc in the most efficient way. Remember that people often feel they have insufficient time to read all the written material that is sent to them - at least with face-to-face communication you can see that they can hear you (but not necessarily whether they are listening). Some of the uses and channels of communication would normally have been considered and agreed as part of a Communications Plan and, generally, as part of the Change Management process. This is particularly the case where communications are made to people outside the Project Team. Here are some tips...
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Channel Email
Commentary Undoubtedly the conveyor of most ad-hoc written messages. Not everyone reads all their mail, so make sure its content and importance is clear in the title. For those people who like to scan message previews, make sure the most important facts appear in the first few words (don't waste the first two lines with "Dear Fred" and a blank line). For important communications, track that recipients have read and/or responded as required.
PC / web chat Real-time brief text messages exchanged between two or more participants. Can be services very useful for brief exchanges. Provides instant check that the other person has read the message and responded. This works best if team members have access to a directory of chat addresses for all project participants. If something important or relevant to others comes up, copy and paste the text into an Email or document. Circulars There will be frequent needs to communicate messages to sub-sets of the Project Team - whether by paper, by Email or by other methods. The Project Office would normally maintain circulation lists and other contact information. Make sure you communicate valuable information to people who need to know, otherwise your messages become resource-wasting junk mail.
Team newsletter Can be motivating, fun, informative, etc. The two main uses are to build team spirit
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and to communicate general information about the project. There is a danger that they achieve neither of these goals and become a waste of resources. Encourage people to read them with useful, valuable content - eg social calendar, bonus dates, competitions. Project newsletter This is primarily aimed at participants outside the team. The objective will be to raise awareness and support for the project. In the latter stages of the project, more specific information, instructions and schedules will be conveyed. The use of external communications should be agreed as part of the Change Management planning.
Project Website Many projects create a web site to hold a wide range of information that participants may wish to access. On the front page will be headline messages. Reference information would be accessible through indexes. Communication through this channel will be particularly effective if participants have to visit it - for example, if the (compulsory) timesheets are entered through the same portal. Documentation All projects generate great volumes of documentation, hopefully in a sharable electronic format. Easy, controlled access to the project documentation is the best way to enable communication of detailed information. Where there is something new or amended that particular team members need to be aware of, a process should be in place to draw their attention to it.
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Certain forms of communication are Formalised communication controlled through specific processes and media, for example timesheets, progress reports, change requests, issues, etc. See the specific guidance for these. Phase-end and project-end activities Celebrating the completion of major phases of work or the overall project is an important element of team building. In some cases it might be argued that it is too late to affect outcome, but there are still good reasons to celebrate. A key element of building an effective team is to focus the group on their goal. The importance of the goal is reinforced by the idea that it is a cause for celebration and a time to applaud the team's achievements. This understanding will help to motivate and focus the group. It is an implicit promise that completion will be celebrated and a wise manager will not break a promise even if there is no reason to believe the same people will work together again in the future. Project celebrations are also a valuable tool in spreading the message of the project's success. To achieve a successful business solution, the organisation, senior leadership, end users, management and interested third parties all need to believe in its achievements, importance and relevance. As with any other team-building event, ensure that the plans and expenditure are appropriate and agreed. Chapter 3 Importance of communication....... The importance of communication is generally overlooked by most teams and businesses. At some point everyone on your team will need to communicate what they know-they should be able to communicate well. Not only is the way you communicate important to effectively sharing your ideas within your team, how you speak, write, and relate sets the guidelines by which your organization will operate.
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Effective communication is the key to getting the results you want. In the hierarchy of building a strong business, the importance of communication is the number one factor determining your success. What Do You Expect? Having high expectations for how you and your team communicates and reinforcing these expectations with focused training and communication exercises will go a long way in determining how effectively your team communicates. Which in turn determines the level of cooperation, happiness, content at work, productivity? Look at the teams that struggle. How do you think their employees would characterize communication within the organization?
The Self-Imposed Barriers to Communication Success Successful communication starts by getting real with yourself, you must start really making deep connections with your team on an emotional level. Some people will resist this suggestion. But if you want to break down the barriers that are stopping your team from achieving its goals, you must first break down the barriers to honest effective communication. The place to start is determining where your team's communication challenges and hang-ups lie: Is information shared openly and honestly? Do you have an "open door" policy or at least a way that your team can communicate with you? Increasing Commitment and Connection
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The closer someone feels to a specific group the more commitment and affinity they will have to engaging and helping out within the group. If you want your team to act and produce results for the betterment of the whole, you must acknowledge the importance of communication skills. So what obvious benefits will increased communication have?
Healthy conflict resolution More effective decision making Improved perception of your business Long-term employee retention
If you cannot communicate you cannot lead. You set the standard for your team, how you communicate will naturally rub off on others. You will be emulated and reflected by your employees, so it pays to act in such a way you maximize everyone's effectiveness. Does this mean you can't be yourself? No. All good leaders have their own unique style of leadership, are your authentic self, but keep these three things in mind:
Always be consistent: Everyone loses when the rules of the game change day after day. If you want people to trust you, and want them to be consistent in their words and actions, keep the rules the same every day. Clarity is Key: Like consistency, clarity is essential to understanding your wants and needs. You must be clear in your intentions, wants, and needs. Strive for clarity in your communications and have people repeat back to you if there's question. Respect others: No one person is more important than anyone else, regardless of title. People deserve and respond when they're treated with respect. Always. This sets the tone for how your team will communicate with one another, clients, and customers.
The importance of communication is not always clear, but it's always a significant indicator of a team's health. Discovering how to lead people is essentially a matter of learning how to communicate effectively.
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The Importance of Communication the first leg Communication is such an important factor in a teams success that it should be a critical focus in any corporate team building program. What is a team without communication really? Effective communication in the workplace: 1. 2. 3. 4. Strengthens relationships among team members Clarifies goals, expectations and responsibilities Prevents misunderstandings Encourages, motivates and inspires the team.
All teams simply must focus on the importance of communication and implement strategies to achieve effective communication in the workplace. Otherwise, team performance will suffer. So what should this part of your corporate team building program include? 1. Assess the teams communication capability. 2. Evaluate the functional communication systems in place. 3. Identify any barriers to effective communication There are a variety of tools to assess communication skills of team members, and most teams can identify barriers to effective communication themselves through some facilitated discussion. But what is meant by functional communication systems? A functional communication system might include the structure that supports in-person communication (i.e., meetings or updates). It might also include the methods used to make sure communication happens and succeeds (agenda protocols, meeting minutes, action plans, etc.). If all the right communications systems and procedures are in place and being used properly, a team has the tools for clear and direct forward movement. Teamwork Collaboration the second leg The importance of communication in effective team building may be number one, but team leaders also should give priority to assessing the strength of teamwork collaboration within the group.
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Patrick Duffy of Big Futures Inc. uses a definition of collaboration that means more than working together: In the sense I use it, it means working together in a mutually beneficial way creating a win-win, as Stephen Covey, the most famous of the leadership gurus, would put it, Patrick says. It is up to leaders to build the desire in their people to collaborate, and recognize where and how team members can work together. Collaborative strategies can and should encompass many ideas and approaches. For example, leaders and their teams need to understand each members preferred style in getting things done. Say that one member is great at researching the physical sciences. Another is particularly talented at project management. And a third builds beautiful prototypes. It looks to me like youve got a small team that can build a rocket! What chance does any one team member have in building a rocket without help? A slim chance. Teams can also look inside themselves to identify personality types or communication styles. Members, with the help of their leader, will uncover the synergies and collaborative opportunities they hold. They can train each other in different areas, too, and they can take on special projects that might not otherwise be tackled. With all this communication and collaboration, you could say that you and your people are well into becoming their own community. Which is, of course, the final C in our system.
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The Team as a Community - Last but not Least After the importance of communication, Id probably rank a sense of community both within and surrounding a teams success as the next most vital part of building a high performance team. Community can feel like an abstract thing. But according to Big Futures, it doesnt need to be: We need rituals and events to remind us just how compelling and real community is. Community can mean many things to many teams, but it seems most effective when it has common goals. A common community goal can be sponsoring a charity, driving innovative trends within an industry, or engaging in a special project. This is what feeds the teams spirit and elevates it to a whole new level, beyond merely working together. When President Kennedy focused on the moon project as a common community goal, he joined all three of these aspects. Is it any wonder that the U.S. reached the moon as quickly as it did? Creating opportunities to improve the sense of community and team spirit in your team can be fun! Thats because it is important that that teams derive their sense of community through experience. You cant just say, look, were a community, and, voila, become one. You and your people need a compelling, shared experience. Look for a community goal or experience that reflects the fundamental make-up of the team:
The shared values of the team members The desire to pursue peak experiences the passion to achieve purposeful results
Individual participation in a common goal solidifies the basic desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves. How a team experiences community often gives it a real sense as to what it means and what is most fulfilling about it. One option is some form of philanthropic team building activity. Your teams community projects may become metaphors for everything else your team does.
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Conclusion
A team is formed when individuals with a common goal come together on a common platform. The team members must complement each other and avoid silly conflicts among themselves. Communication plays a very important role in team building and extracting the best out of the team members. A team member must clearly understand what his fellow team members are up to. He should be very clear about his roles and responsibilities in the team. It is the duty of the team leader to delegate responsibilities as per the interest and specializations of the team members without imposing things on them. Never confuse any employee. Verbal communication sometimes may create misunderstandings and confusions, thus it is always better to rely on written communication for better clarity and transparency. Communication is effective when the information is passed on through emails. Emails are more reliable. Do not send the mails to individuals separately as they might assume that you want to hide something from them. This way they tend to interfere in each others work, trying to find out what extra is written in their fellow members mail. The mails should be sent with all the participants in loop. Also invite suggestions from them. It is not always that you are correct; your team members might come out with a brilliant idea as well. Ask them to participate in discussions, this way they feel motivated and indispensable for their team and as well as the organization. Conference room, board room or a suitable place must be used for meetings and discussions. It is always better that the issues are discussed on an open forum and the participants are allowed to speak freely. Avoid a noisy place. The agenda of the meeting should be prepared well in advance and must be circulated among the team members. Ask them to come prepared so that they do not sit blank in the meeting. The speaker should take the help of white board, marker or a pen and paper so that he doesnt miss any point. One should not attend any meeting empty handed. Carry something to note down the important points for future reference. Confusions and misunderstandings are nullified this way and people start trusting each other. The goal and the objective of the team should not be set only by the team leader itself. Every employee should contribute equally and give his valuable inputs. The team members must not fight among themselves and try to reach to a conclusion best suited to all. The goal must be very well communicated to all
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the team members and they must be very clear from the beginning what they are supposed to do to avoid problems later. The goal can never be achieved unless and until all of them work hard together and contribute their level best. Your idea however brilliant it is fails to work unless and until it is implemented in the correct way. The strategies, methods, concepts not communicated in the correct way can lead to severe confusions and have adverse effects. The decisions, thoughts, strategies must be communicated to one and all very clearly. One should not play with words or pass on only half the information. Teams must not be too complicated with a simple hierarchy where the subordinates have an easy access to their team leaders. Policies and strategies must be made taking into consideration each and everyones suggestions and should be communicated in an effective way. Every individual should have the freedom to speak. Do not keep things within yourself and crib later. If you feel that your fellow colleague is going wrong somewhere and needs to be corrected, go ahead. Do not hesitate, after all his mistakes will also affect your work also. Do not shout or criticize him, but make him realize his mistakes in a polite but convincing way. If you feel that you need to go for a vacation, please discuss with your superior. Dont just assume that your boss will know things on his own and grant you holidays. You need to communicate to him, instead of cribbing and spreading negativity. Effective Communication reduces the chances of conflicts and fights among team members. No body has ever gained anything from fights. Communication improves the relations among the team members and they feel fresh and motivated the whole day at work
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
Social Psychology R.A. Baron Psychology /: An Introduction J.R. Gnow Organizational Behaviour Stephens P. Ronnins Organizational Behaviour business organization and management- c.b. gupta
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