Ch2

Section1: Communicating Effectively in Team

Collaboration-working together to meet complex challenges-has become a core job responsibility for roughly half the U.S.

Team is a unit of two or more people who share a mission and the responsibility for working to achieve a common goal.'

Problem-solving teams and task forces assemble to resolve specific issues and then disband when their goals have been
accomplished. Such teams are often cross-functional, pulling together people from a variety of departments who have different
areas of expertise and responsibility. Task forces often with members from more than one organization.

Committees are formal teams that usually have a long-life span and can become a permanent part of the organizational structure.
Committees typically deal with regularly recurring tasks, such as an executive committee that meets monthly to plan strategies
and review results

When teams are successful, they can improve productivity, creativity, employee involve- ment, and even job security. Teams are often at the core
of participative management, effort to involve employees in the company's decision making. A successful team can provide several advantages:

Advantages
Increased information and knowledge. By pooling the experience of several individuals, a team has access to more information
in the decision-making process

Increased diversity of views. Team members can bring a variety of perspectives to the decision-making process-as long as these
diverse viewpoints are guided by a shared goal

Increased acceptance of a solution. Those who participate in making a decision are more likely to support it and encourage
others to accept it

Higher performance levels. Working in teams can unleash new levels of creativity and energy in workers who share a sense of
purpose and mutual accountability. Effective teams can be better than top-performing individuals at solving complex problems.

Disadvantages
Groupthink, Like other social structures, business teams can generate tremendous pressures to conform with accepted norms of behavior.
Groupthink occurs when peer pressures cause individual team members to withhold contrary or unpopular opinions. The result can be decisions
that are worse than the choices the team members might have made individually

Hidden agendas. Some team members may have a hidden agenda-private, counter- productive motives, such as a desire to take control of the
group, to undermine someone else on the team, or to pursue a business goal that runs counter to the team's mission

Cost. Aligning schedules, arranging meetings, and coordinating individual parts of a project can eat up a lot of time and money.

Effective teams: can pool knowledge, take advantage of diverse viewpoints, and increase acceptance of solutions the team
proposes.
Characteristics of Effective Teams
Effective teams
• Have a clear objective and a shared sense of purpose
• Communicate openly and honestly
• Reach decisions by consensus (decision making)
• Think creatively
• Know how to resolve conflict

Ineffective teams
• Get bogged down in conflict
• Waste time and resources pursuing unclear goals

Two of the most common reasons cited for unsuccessful teamwork are a lack of trust and poor communication.
Group dynamics P73
Group dynamics the interactions and processes that take place among the members of a team. Productive teams tend to
develop clear norms, informal standards of conduct that members share and that guide member behavior. Group dynamics are
influenced by several factors: the roles that team members assume, the current phase of team development, the team's success in
resolving conflict, and the team's success in overcoming resistance.

1- Assuming Team Roles P73

Members of a team can play various roles, which fall into three categories (see Table 2.1 on the following page). Members who
assume self-oriented roles are motivated mainly to full-fill personal needs, so they tend to be less productive than other
members. "Dream teams" composed of multiple superstars often don't perform as well as one might expect because high-
performing individuals can have trouble putting the team's needs ahead of their own. In addition, highly skilled and experienced
people with difficult personalities might not con- tribute for the simple reason that other team members may avoid interacting
with them."

Each member of a group plays a role that affects the outcome of the group's activities.

Far more likely to contribute to team goals are members who assume team-maintenance roles to help everyone work well
together and those who assume task-oriented roles to help the team reach its goals." 13

2- Allowing for Team Evolution P74

1. Orientation. Team members socialize, establish their roles, and begin to define their task or purpose. Team-building
exercises and activities can help teams break down barriers and develop a sense of shared purpose. For geographically
dispersed virtual teams, creating a “team operating agreement" that sets expectations for online meetings,
communication processes, and decision making can help overcome the disadvantages 15 16 of distance.

2. Conflict. Team members begin to discuss their positions and become more assertive in establishing their roles.
Disagreements and uncertainties are natural in this phase

3. Brainstorming. Team members air all the options and fully discuss the At the end of this phase, members begin to
settle on a single solution to the problem. Note that while group brainstorming remains a highly popular activity in
today's companies, it may not always be the most productive way to generate new ideas. Some research indicates that
having people brainstorm individually and then bring pros and cons. ideas to group meeting is more successful.
4. Emergence. Consensus is reached when the team finds a solution that all members are willing to support (even if they
have reservations).

5. Reinforcement. The team clarifies and summarizes the agreed-upon solution. Members receive their assignments for
carrying out the group's decision, and they make arrangements for following up on those assignments.
Another common model, proposed by Bruce Tuckman:
Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning

3- Resolving Conflict
Conflict in team activities can result from
 Competition for resources
 Disagreement over goals or responsibilities
 Poor communication
 Power struggles
 Fundamental differences in values, attitudes, and personalities

Conflict is not necessarily bad

Conflict can be constructive if it

 Forces important issues into the open
 Increases the involvement of team members
 Generates creative ideas for the solution to a problem

Conflict can be destructive if it

 Diverts energy from more important issues
 Destroys morale of teams or individual team members
 Polarizes or divides the team

Destructive conflict can lead to win-lose or lose-lose outcomes, in which one or both sides
lose, to the detriment of the entire team

If you approach conflict with the idea that both sides can satisfy their goals to at least
some extent (a win-win strategy), you can minimize losses for everyone.

For the win-win strategy to work, everybody must believe that

 It’s possible to find a solution that both parties can accept
 Cooperation is better for the organization than competition
 The other party can be trusted
 Greater power or status does not entitle one party to impose a solution

Conflict can be resolved through

1- Proactive management: deal with minor conflict before it becomes major conflict
2- Communication: get those involved with the conflict actively involved in resolution
3- Openness: Get feelings out into the open before dealing with main issues
4- Research: Get the facts before attempting a resolution
5- Flexibility: Do not let anyone lock into a position before considering all possible solutions
6- Fair play: Insist on a fair outcome that does not hide behind rules
7- Alliance: Unite the team against an “outside force” instead of each other
 4- Overcoming Resistance
One particular type of conflict that can affect team progress is resistance to change. Sometimes this resistance is clearly irrational,
such as when people resist any kind of change, whether it makes sense or not. Sometimes, however, resistance is perfectly logi-
cal. A change may require someone to relinquish authority or give up comfortable ways of doing things. If someone is resisting
change, you can be persuasive with calm, reason- able communication:

1- Express understanding. You might say, "I understand that this change might be difficult, and if I were in your position, I
might be reluctant myself." Help the other person relax and talk about his or her anxiety so that you have a chance to offer
reassurance.

2- Bring resistance out into the open. When people are noncommittal and silent, they may be tuning you out without even
knowing why. Continuing with your argument is futile. Deal directly with the resistance, without accusing. You might say, “You
seem to have reservations about this idea. Have I made some faulty assumptions?" Such questions force people to face and define
their resistance."

3- Evaluate others' objections fairly. Use active listening to focus on what the other person is expressing, both the words and
the feelings. Get the person to open up so that you can understand the basis for the resistance. Others' objections may raise
legitimate points that you'll need to discuss, or they may reveal problems that you'll need to minimize.

4- Hold your arguments until the other person is ready for them. Getting your point across depends as much on the other
person's frame of mind as it does on your arguments. You can't assume that a strong argument will speak for it- self. By
becoming more audience centered, you will learn to address the other person's emotional needs first.

When you encounter resistance or hostility, try to maintain your composure and address the other person's emotional needs.

Section 2: Collaborating on Communication Efforts P76

When teams collaborate, the collective energy and expertise of the various members can lead to results that transcend what each
individual could do otherwise.

However, collaborating on team messages requires special effort.

Guidelines for Collaborative Writing

In any collaborative effort, team members coming from different backgrounds may have
different work habits or priorities, for example

 A technical expert to focus on accuracy and scientific standards

 An editor to be more concerned about organization and coherence
 A manager to focus on schedules, cost, and corporate goals

Remember that the ways in which team members differ in writing styles and personality
traits can complicate the creative nature of communication

To collaborate successfully, follow these guidelines:

Select collaborators carefully. Whenever possible, choose a combination of people who together have the experience, information, and
talent needed for each project

Agree on project goals before you start. Starting without a clear idea of what the team hopes to accomplish inevitably leads to frustration
and wasted time.

Give your team time to bond before diving in. If people haven't had the to work together before, ake sure they can get to know each other
before being asked to collaborate.

Clarify individual responsibilities. Because members will be depending on each other, make sure individual responsibilities are clear.

Establish clear processes. Make sure everyone knows how the work will be managed from start to finish.

Avoid composing as a group. The actual composition is the only part of developing team messages that usually does not benefit from group
participation. Brainstorming the wording of short pieces of text, particularly headlines, slogans, and other high-visibility elements, can be an
effective way to stimulate creative word choices. However, for longer projects, you will usually find it more efficient to plan, research, and
outline together but assign the task of writing to one person or divide larger projects among multiple writers. If you divide the writing, try to have
one person do a final revision pass to ensure a consistent style

Make sure tools and techniques are ready and compatible across the team. Even minor details such as different versions of
software can delay projects.

Check to see how things are going along the way. Don't assume that everything is working just because you don't hear anything negative.

Successful collaboration on writing projects requires a number of steps, from selecting the_ right partners and agreeing on project goals to
establishing clear processes and avoiding writing as a group.

Technologies for Collaborative Writing

Among the simpler collaboration tools are group review and editing features in

 Word processing software

 Adobe Acrobat (PDF files)
 Web-based document systems such as Google Docs

More complex solutions include content management systems that organize and control
the content for many websites (particularly larger corporate sites).

A wiki is a website that allows anyone with access to add new material and edit existing
Material

Key benefits of wikis include

 Simple operation
 Freedom to post new or revised material without prior approval

This approach is quite different from a content management system, in which both the
organization of the website and the workflow are tightly controlled.

Groupware is an umbrella term for systems that let people simultaneously

 Communicate
 Share files
 Present materials
 Work on documents

Cloud computing expands the ways in which geographically dispersed teams can
collaborate.

Shared workspaces are “virtual offices” that

 Give everyone on a team access to the same set of resources and information databases, calendars, project plan,
 Are accessible through a web browser
 Control which team members can read, edit, and save specific files
 Can allow only one person at a time to work on a given file or document to avoid
getting edits out of sync
 May include presence awareness

The terms intranet (restricted internal website) and extranet (restricted, but with outside
access) are still used in some companies.

Social Networks and Virtual Communities

Social networking technologies are redefining teamwork and team communication by
helping erase the constraints of geographic and organization boundaries.

Two fundamental elements of any social networking technology:

 Profiles—the information stored about each member of the network
 Connections—mechanisms for finding and communicating with other members

Most significant social network for business professionals is LinkedIn.

Virtual communities or communities of practice link employees with similar professional interests throughout the company
and sometimes with customers and suppliers as well.
Social networking can also help a company maintain a sense of community even as it grows beyond the size that normally
permits a lot of daily interaction.

Giving—and Responding to—Constructive Feedback P79

Constructive feedback, sometimes called constructive criticism, focuses on the process
and outcomes of communication, not on the people involved.

Destructive feedback delivers criticism with no guidance to stimulate improvement.

When you give feedback, try to

 Avoid personal attacks
 Give the person clear guidelines for improvement
Make it constructive by focusing on how the material can be improved.

When you receive constructive feedback, try to

 Resist the urge to defend your work or deny the validity of the feedback
 Disconnect emotionally from the work and see it simply as something that can be made better
 Step back and consider the feedback before diving in to make corrections
 Don’t assume that all constructive feedback is necessarily correct
Keep your emotions in check and view it as on opportunity to improve

Section 3: Making Your Meetings More Productive P79

Well-run meetings can help you
 Solve problems
 Develop ideas
 Identify opportunities

Meetings are unproductive when they

 Wander off the subject
 Lack an agenda
 Run too long

To ensure a successful meeting decide on your purpose ahead of time, select the right participants, and set a clear agenda.

Preparing for Meetings

To increase the productivity of meetings, prepare carefully:
 Identify your purpose—whether you need an informational or a decision-making meeting.
 Select participants whose presence is essential.
 Choose the venue and time and prepare the facility.
 Set the agenda.

An effective agenda answers three questions:

 What do we need to do in this meeting to accomplish our goals?
 What issues will be of greatest importance to all participants?  What information must be available in order to discuss these issues?

Conducting and Contributing to Efficient Meetings

Ensure a productive meeting by

Keep the discussion on track. A good meeting leader draws out the best ideas the group has to offer and resolves differences of
opinion while maintaining progress toward achieving the meeting's purpose and staying on schedule.
Follow agreed-upon rules. The larger the meeting, the more formal you need to be to maintain order. Formal meetings use
parliamentary procedure, a time-tested method for planning and running effective meetings. The best-known guide to this
procedure is Robert's Rules of Order (www.robertsrules.com).
 Encourage participation. On occasion, some participants will be too quiet and others too talkative. The quiet participants may
be shy, they may be expressing disagreement or resistance, or they may be working on unrelated tasks. Draw them out by asking
for their input on issues that pertain to them.
Participate actively. If you are a meeting participant, look for opportunities to contribute to both the subject of the meeting and
the smooth interaction of the group. Speak up if you have something useful to say but do not monopolize the discussion or talk
simply to bring attention to yourself.
Close effectively. At the conclusion of the meeting, verify that the objectives have been met or arrange for follow-up work, if
needed. Either summarize the general conclusion of the discussion or the actions to be taken. Make sure all participants have a
chance to clear up any misunderstandings.

In formal meetings, one person is appointed to record the minutes.

In small meetings, attendees often make their own notes on their copies of the agenda.
The minutes of a meeting summarize
 The important information presented
 The decisions made
 The people responsible for follow-up action

Section 4: Using Meeting Technologies

Replacing in-person meetings with long-distance, virtual interaction can
 Dramatically reduce costs and resource usage
 Reduce wear and tear on employees
 Give teams access to a wider pool of expertise

Minutes written summary of the important information presented and the decision made during a meeting.

Virtual meeting that take place online than in person.

Virtual teams have members who work in different locations and interact electronically
through virtual meetings.

Basic teleconferencing involves three or more people connected by phone simultaneously.

Videoconferencing combines live audio and video letting team members see each other, demonstrate products, and transmit
other visual information.

Telepresence is the most advanced feature in which the interaction feels so lifelike that participants can forget that the person
“sitting” on the other side of the table is in another city.

Web-based meeting systems combine the best of instant messaging, shared workspaces, and videoconferencing with other
tools such as virtual whiteboards that let teams collaborate in real time.

Technology continues to create intriguing opportunities for online interaction:

 Online brainstorming allows companies to conduct “idea campaigns” to generate new ideas from people across the
organization.
 Some companies are experimenting with virtual worlds such as Second Life; employees can create their own character (known
as avatars) and can attend meetings, training sessions, sales presentations, and other activities.
 Other virtual worlds more closely simulate real-life facilities (e.g., Figure 2.7).

Section 5: Improving Your Listening Skills

Strengthens organizational relationships
 Enhances product delivery
 Alerts the organization to opportunities for innovation
 Allows the organization to manage growing diversity
 Gives you a competitive edge
 Enhances your performance and influence within your company and industry

Recognizing Various Types of Listening

You will become a more effective listener by learning to use several methods of listening:
 Content listening emphasizes information and understanding, not agreement or approval.
 Critical listening emphasizes evaluating the meaning of the speaker’s message on several levels (logic of the argument,
strength of evidence, validity of conclusions, implications of the message, intentions of the speaker, and omission of any
important or relevant points).
 Empathic listening emphasizes understanding a speaker’s feelings, needs, and wants (without advising or judging).
 Active listening means making a conscious effort to turn off their own filters and biases to truly hear and understand what the
other party is saying

Understanding the Listening Process

Most people aren’t very good listeners—in general, people
 Listen at or below a 25 percent efficiency rate
 Remember only about half of what has been said in a 10-minute conversation
 Forget half of that within 48 hours
 Mix up the facts when questioned about material they’ve just heard

The listening process involves five separate steps:

1. Receiving. You start by physically hearing the message and acknowledging it. Physical reception can be blocked by noise,
impaired hearing, or inattention. Some experts also include nonverbal cause these factors influence the listening process as well.

2. Decoding, your next step is to assign meaning to sounds, which you do according to your own values, beliefs, ideas,
expectations, roles, needs, and personal history.

3. Remembering. Before you can act on the information, you need to store it for future processing. As you learned in Chapter 1,
incoming messages must first be captured in short-term memory before being transferred to long- term memory for more
permanent storage.

4. Evaluating, your next step is to evaluate the message by applying critical thinking skills to separate fact from opinion and
evaluate the quality of the evidence.

5. Responding. After you've evaluated the speaker's message, you react. If you're communicating one-on-one or in a small
group, the initial response generally takes the form of verbal feedback. If you're one of many in an audience, your initial response
may take the form of applause, laughter, or silence. Later on, you may act on what you have heard.

Overcoming Barriers to Effective Listening

Good listeners look for ways to overcome potential barriers.

Selective listening is one of the most common barriers to effective listening. Listening to only part of what a speaker is saying ignoring the
parts one doesn’t agree with or find interesting.

Defensive listening—protecting your ego by tuning out anything that doesn’t confirm your beliefs or your view of yourself—is even worse.

To become a good listener, recognize and overcome potential barriers throughout the
listening process:
 Avoid interrupting or creating nonverbal distractions that make it hard for others
to pay attention.
 Avoid selective listening, in which you pay attention only to those topics in
which you have an interest
 Focus on the speaker (because people think faster than they speak, their minds tend
to wander).
 Avoid prejudgment and listen with an open mind.
 Avoid misinterpreting messages because of the lack of common ground.
 Do not rely on your memory.

To remember material, you must first capture it in short-term memory, then successfully
transfer it to long-term memory.

Use four techniques to store information in long-term memory:

 Associate new information with something closely related
 Categorize new information into logical groups
 Visualize words and ideas as pictures
 Create mnemonics

Section 6: Improving Your Nonverbal Communication Skill P85

Nonverbal communication is the interpersonal process of sending and receiving information,
both intentionally and unintentionally, without using written or spoken language.

Nonverbal cues affect communication in three ways:

 Strengthen a verbal message
 Weaken a verbal message
 Replace a verbal message

Recognizing Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication can be grouped into six general categories:

Facial expression. Your face is the primary vehicle for expressing your emotions; it reveals both the type and the intensity of your feelings.
Your eyes are especially effective for indicating attention and interest, influencing others, regulating interac- tion, and establishing dominance.

Gesture and posture. The way you position and move your body expresses both specific and general messages, some voluntary and some
involuntary. Many gestures-a waves of the hand, for example-have specific and intentional meanings. Other types of body movement are
unintentional and express more general messages. Slouching, leaning forward, fidgeting, and walking briskly are all unconscious signals that can
reveal whether you feel confident or nervous, friendly, or hostile, assertive or passive, powerful or powerless

Vocal characteristics. Voice carries both intentional and unintentional messages. A speaker can intentionally control pitch, pace, and stress to
convey a specific message. For instance, compare "What are you doing?" and "What are you doing?" Uninten- tional vocal characteristics can
convey happiness, surprise, fear, and other emotions (for example, fear often increases the pitch and the pace of your speaking voice).

Personal appearance. Although an individual's body type and facial features impose limitations, you can control grooming, clothing,
accessories, piercings, tattoos, and hairstyle. To make a good impression, adopt the style of the people you want to impress.

Touch. Touch is governed by cultural customs that establish who can touch whom and how in various circumstances. In the United States and
Great Britain, for instance, people usually touch less frequently than people in France or Costa Rica do. Even within each culture's norms,
however, individual attitudes toward touch vary widely. A manager might be comfortable using hugs to express support or congratulations, but
his or her subordinates could interpret those hugs as a show of dominance or sexual interest. Touch is a complex subject. The best advice When
in doubt, don't touch

Time and space. Like touch, time and space can be used to assert authority, imply intimacy, and send other nonverbal messages. For instance,
some people try to demon- strate their own importance or disregard for others by making other people wait; others show respect by being on time.
Similarly, taking care not to invade private space, such as standing too close when talking, is a way to show respect for others. Keep in mind that
expectations regarding both time and space vary by culture.

Using Nonverbal Communication Effectively

To be a better speaker and listener, pay closer attention to nonverbal cues in every situation:
 Be aware of the cues you send when you are talking.
 Be aware of the cues you send when you are not talking (through clothing, posture, and so on).
 Be aware of the cues you receive when you are listening

If something doesn’t feel right, ask the speaker an honest and respectful question

Section 7: Developing Your Business Etiquette P88

Etiquette is now considered an essential business skill.

Poor etiquette can

 Destroy morale and drain productivity
 Drive away customers, investors, and other critical audiences
 Limit your career potential

1- Business Etiquette in the Workplace

Workplace etiquette includes a variety of behaviors, habits, and aspects of nonverbal communication.
Personal appearance may be thought of as an element of etiquette and sends a strong signal to managers, colleagues, and
customers.

Personal appearance guidelines include

 Matching your style of dress to the situation
 Dressing modestly and simply
 Paying close attention to cleanliness and avoid using products with powerful scents
 Following company policy regarding hairstyle
 Smiling genuinely at appropriate times

Mobile phones can be disruptive, and some employers have banned or restricted their use.

Your phone habits say a lot about how much respect you have for the people around you.

Disrespectful choices that will reflect negatively on you:

 Selecting obnoxious ring tones
 Talking loudly in open offices or public places
 Using your phone right next to someone else
 Making excessive or unnecessary personal calls during work hours
 Invading someone’s privacy by using your camera phone without permission
 Taking or making calls in restrooms and other inappropriate places
 Texting while someone is talking to you
 Allowing incoming calls to interrupt meetings or discussions

2- Business Etiquette in Social Settings

When meeting people, learn about their cultural customs beforehand.

When introducing yourself, include a brief description of your role in the company.

When introducing two other people, remember to

 Speak both their first and last names clearly
 Offer some information to help them ease into a conversation
 Introduce the lower-ranking person to the senior-ranking person

When conducting business over a meal, be sure that you

 Choose foods that are easy to eat
 Avoid ordering alcoholic beverages or save them until after business is concluded
 Leave business papers under your chair until entrée plates have been removed
 Avoid using your cell phone in public
 Choose topics of conversation carefully (avoid politics, religion, other emotional topics)
 Avoid going overboard when chatting about personal interests
 Don’t complain about work
 Avoid profanity
 Avoid deeply personal questions
 Be careful with humor

3- Business Etiquette Online

Learn the basics of professional online behavior to avoid mistakes that could hurt your company or your career.

Avoid personal attacks. The anonymous and instantaneous nature of online com- medication can cause even level-headed people to strike out
in blog postings, social networks, and other media.

Stay focused on the original topic. If you want to change the subject of an email exchange, a forum discussion, or a blog comment thread,
start a new message.

Don't present opinions as facts, and support facts with evidence. This guideline ap- plies to all communication, of course, but online
venues in particular seem to tempt people into presenting their beliefs and opinions as unassailable truths.

Follow basic expectations of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. Sending care- less, acronym-filled messages that look like
you're texting your high school buddies makes you look like an amateur.
Use virus protection and keep it up to date. Sending or posting a file that contains a computer virus is rude.

Ask if this is a good time for an IM chat. Don't assume that just because a person is show- ing as "available" on your IM system that he or
she wants to chat with you right this instant.
Watch your language and keep your emotions under control. A moment of indiscretion could haunt you forever.

Avoid multitasking while using IM and other tools. You might think you're saving time by doing a dozen things at once, but you're
probably making the other person wait while you bounce back and forth between IM and your other tasks.

Never assume privacy. Assume that anything you type will be stored forever, could be forwarded to other people, and might be read by your
boss or the company's security staff.
Don't use "reply all" in email unless everyone can benefit from your reply. If one or more recipients of an email message don't
need the information in your reply, remove their addresses before you send.

Don't waste others' time with sloppy, confusing, or incomplete messages. Doing so disrespectful.

Respect boundaries of time and virtual space. For instance, do not start using an employee's personal Facebook page for business
messages unless you've discussed it before- hand, and don't assume people are available to discuss work matters around the clock, even if you do
find them online in the middle of the night