WHAT IS TEAM.

A true team is a living, constantly changing, dynamic

force in which a number of people come together to

work. Team members discuss their objectives,

assess ideas, make decisions, and work towards

their targets together.

UNDERSTANDING
HOW
TEAMS WORK?
 WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEAM
 Remember that each member has something
to add to your team.
 Formulate team objectives carefully, and
always take them seriously.
 Remember that team members must support
each other.
 Break long-term aims into short-term
projects.
 Allocate a clear deadline for each of your
projects.
 MATCHING TEAM TO TASK
 Decide early on what style of team is appropriate
for your objectives.
 Try to form strong bonds with other members of
formal or informal teams.
 Find a sponsor-a senior individual who can promote
the team’s work.
 Remind members that they are all team
participants.
 Fix goals that are measurable to keep your team
focused.
 Make use of the great power of friendship to
strengthen a team.
 ANALYSING TEAM ROLES
 Always choose leaders on merit, regardless
of other considerations.
 Look for a strong team commitment from a
leader.
 Always reward merit, but never let errors go
unremarked.
 Remember that everyone in a team thinks in
a different way.
 BALANGING SKILLS
WITHIN A TEAM
 When recruiting people for a team, look for
their growth potential.
 Pay close attention to lack of relevant
experience in group members.
 Take people out of the team if they do not
perform.
 Find people with a good level of personal
skill, and help develop them.
SETTING UP
A TEAM
 SETTING GOALS

 Set challenging goals that are still realistic in

view of your deadlines.

 Consider the aims of individual team members

when setting targets.

 Do not let failure of one part of a project

jeopardize its overall success.

 PROVIDING SUPPORT
FOR A TEAM
 Insist on having IT support that gives you

exactly what you want.

 Treat external consultants as team

members.

 Keep your team sponsor informed of

progress.
 ESTABLISHING TEAM TRUST
 Keep tasks to yourself only if you know
that no-one else can do them.
 Do not delegate any unnecessary work –
scrap it.
 Give your team the freedom to make its
own decisions.
 Encourage positive contributions from team
members.
 MAXIMIZING PERFORMANCE

 Acknowledge, publicize, and celebrate all

team successes.
 Find an easily accessible way of displaying
team progress daily.
 Encourage people to form working partner-
ships within the team.
 CREATING A
SELF-MANAGED TEAM
 Encourage natural leaders to lead and
develop their leadership skills.
 Never reject a team idea without
explaining why, frankly and fully.
 Make sure that the team keeps in
contact with its customers.
 TAKING ON AN EXISTING
TEAM
 Show your team who is in charge by being assertive,
but not aggressive.
 Think of ways to make an instant good impre-ssion
on a new team – but without being over-eager.
 It you ask people for their advice, be prepared not
only to welcome it, but also to act on it.
 IMPROVING
TEAM EFFICIENCY
 ANALYZING TEAM
 DYNAMICS
Help your team find a way to change obstructive group
behaviour.
 Look for ways to use conflict constructively.
 Remember that everyone deserves some fun during work
hours.
 Always conduct a thorough, open analysis when pro-jects
go wrong.
 Have an open-door policy if you want to be accessible.
 Ask people who bring you problems to bring solutions.
 Meet informally as well as formally to discuss your team’s
progress.
 Use dispassionate fact-finding as the best method of
defusing conflict.
 COMMUNICATING
EFFECTIVELY
 Keep the team members in close proximity to ease
communication.
 Set aside areas in which people can meet and talk
informally.
 Encourage the free flow of communication between
colleagues.
 Invest in the most appropriate technology, and keep
it up to date.
 RUNNING TEAM MEETINGS
 Change the chairperson at each meeting to involve
everybody.
 Try to delegate as much as possible to other
members of the team.
 Distribute agendas in advance of the meeting to give
your team time to prepare.

 NETWORKING A TEAM
 Cultivate all relationships that may be useful to the
team.
 Try to keep all team relationships on an even keel.
 Make sure that good news is heard and clearly
understood by all the relevant people.
 If trouble is brewing in any team relationship, deal
with it quickly.
 SHARING INFORMATION
OUTSIDE A TEAM
 Arrange social contacts with other parts of the
organization.
 Find out which technology can deep you in touch
with sponsors.
 Keep a record of contacts with valuable people you
meet outside the team or office.
 Award team roles carefully so they do not overlap.
 THINKING CREATIVELY
 Look for the good points in an idea, and never
criticize ideas in public.
 Look for people with experience when seeking
problem-solvers.
 Analyze the roles that people play within your team.
 Never dismiss brainstormed ideas out of hand – that
is disheartening and stops the flow of creativity.
 DEALING WITH PROBLEMS
 Treat everyone in the team equally to avoid causing any
resentment.
 Regard disruptive team members as innocent until they are
proven guilty.
 Telling individuals they are doing a good job will build
team morale.
 Always treat team members with respect, even those who
may be creating problems for you.
 Avoid direct conflict with team members.
 Remember to be tough on the problems, not the people.
 Ensure that the whole team is able to learn from solving
problems.
IMPROVING STANDARDS
IN A TEAM
 Go for some large, quick, quality wins to encou-rage
further effort.
 Ensure that team members know about other roles
within the group.
 Work out the cost of failure before the cost of
quality.
 Build significant improvement targets into every
budget and every team action plan.
 IMPROVING STANDARDS
IN A TEAM
 Go for some large, quick, quality wins to encou-rage
further effort.
 Ensure that team members know about other roles
within the group.
 Work out the cost of failure before the cost of
quality.
 Build significant improvement targets into every
budget and every team action plan.
WORKING FOR
THE FUTURE
 MEASURING PERFORMANCE
 Tell each member of a team which measure-ments
set the standards.
 Ensure that all improvements and new targets are
maintained.
TRACKING TEAM PROGRESS
 Circulate all relevant facts and figures before
team reviews.
 Never make personal attacks on individuals
during reviews.
 Remember that relationships will change over
time
 Avoid the trap of minimizing or ignoring bad
news.
 TRAINING A TEAM
 At the end of every day, ask if the team has moved
forwards.
 Listen to the feedback given by trainees about
training courses.
 Find the best and best-equipped training facilities.
 Use consultants to develop in-house training
courses.
 Use mealtimes on away days to plan informally.
 SETTING TARGETS
 Involve everybody in target-setting to foster
teamwork and consensus.
 Motivate teams by allowing them to decide how to
meet targets.
 Ensure that team targets enthuse team members, and
change them if they do not.
 A team without stretch goals will under-perform one
that has them.
 REWARDING
PERFORMANCE
 Allow your staff to have a say when it comes to

setting reward levels.

 Avoid using league tables the team member at the
bottom will become resentful.
 ADAPTING TO CHANGE
 Appoint someone to monitor any relevant changes
in the market.
 Be prepared to change even the most fundam-ental
elements of a plan.
 Remember that some people are afraid of change.
 Look for team members who can advance change.
 PLANNING FUTURE
GOALS FOR A TEAM
 Conduct personal career progress appraisals at
regular intervals.
 Remember that encouragement of the individuals
will help the team.
 Agree career plans with team members and give
them any support they need.
 Keep in touch with team members after they
disperse – you may well want to work with them
again.