PROMOTE TEAM WORK

Definition of key terms

• Performance expectation: They are the requirements of
an employee including actions, behavior and expected
results.
• Forms of communication: Various ways of exchanging
information, ideas, thought, feelings and emotions.
• Conflict: It is a disagreement among groups or
individuals characterized by antagonism and hostility.
• Gender Mainstreaming: A strategy of realizing gender
equality.
• Healthy relationships: It is having good interactions with
fellow employees and working in harmony to achieve the
set goals.
Performance expectations for the team.
Setting performance expectations is to move
towards a specific goal and creating workplace
accountability from one employee to another. It is
applied to assess the progression and position
expectations as performed by individual employees.
To communicate and manage expectations
effectively is important to know what is expected
from the employees and teams and set realistic
reasonable tasks.
Team performance expectations
Team expectations are similar to individual expectations
except that team expectations are something every member
of the team should be accountable for while also holding
others accountable. They are shared expectations. They are
behaviors that occur while the team accomplishes said tasks.
They are for the team to be productive and work cohesively.
Each member of the team should be accountable for the
following:
• Respect each other and be courteous.
• Be flexible about job and tasks assignments.
• Ask for help when needed.
• Work safely together.
• Be motivated and reliable.
How team performance expectations are set.
Setting expectations for a team for excellent
performance communicating clearly about the
specific tasks being assigned, results that should be
accomplished, the degree of accomplishment, the
expectation of each step and how it will be
monitored. By knowing the specific requirements
of each task, the expectation at each step in the
process the employee will have no doubt about
what the task that is about. Expectations are set in
the following steps:
• Having standards: Standards are levels or degree
to which all are expected to strive. This is mostly
referred to as a norm. It is for the good of the
company and all the team members must work
towards it.
• Set goals: The goals are set with a direction,
connection to the company standards. The goals
may be challenging but realistic and set up to
reach levels that are a progression upwards.
• Objectives are set: These are steps on a timeline
that keep the workers towards moving the goal in
a specific and measurable way.
Requirements of performance expectation
• A requirement to conform to the core values of an
organization.
• Compliance to laws, regulations, standards and
policies is a requirement.
• Adhere to the norms of professionalism in the areas
of specialization.
• Be adoptable which the ability to embrace change
and learn.
• Compliance with applicable standards external or
internal.
• High standards of work produced by the team.
Assigning duties and responsibilities.
This means putting a person in charge of tasks. When team leaders
assess the scope and feasibility of the work assigned to the team.
Assigning roles and responsibilities improve the work of the team in
the following ways:
• Productivity: Productivity is enhanced when the responsibility
assigned closely align with team members’ strength.
• Morale: Issuing of duties and responsibility to team members
gives each person a sense of ownership. They become invested in
projects outcome hence increasing their effort to create quality
product. Without assigning roles to members, they may grow
disinterested and detached.
• Efficiency: Assigning responsibilities boosts efficiency having a
clear understanding of the work roles allows leaders to develop
timelines. This lists who is in charge of which task and when the
specific portion of the work is expected to reach completion.
Guidelines for delegating tasks to team
members/assigning duties
• Identify key opportunities for delegation: Not all can be
delegated. A leader has to determine which duties and
responsibilities can be assigned or delegated.
• Establish a clear set of objectives for each task- no matter
the task being delegated; make sure all the objectives are
clarified so as the task can be accomplished.
• Construct timelines: Timelines keep people focused and
hold all members of the group accountable to meeting
goals on time.
• Establish authority and respect: When assigning duties, it
is important to set the tone for your position in the
relationship. This sets a tone of respect o they understand
they are being relied upon and appreciated.
Identifying Team parameters and relationships.
Team parameters and relationships is how the team
members engage with each other. This will highly
be influenced by how the leaders engage with the
time. Team parameters and relationships involves
finding a balance point. In order to achieve this, a
team leader shouldn’t lead a team too highly or too
loosely.
Ways of finding a balance point in the team.
• Encourage discussion but not too much of it- discussion and the
exchange of ideas allow for greater creativity and innovation.
Through dialogue a team expands its problem-solving capability.
• Celebrate the collective and recognize the individual- team leaders
have to maintain a sense of who contributes what to the team.
Team can be celebrated for completing major tasks but the team
members who accomplished and made significant contributions
should be celebrated.
• Give autonomy but define parameters- the team should know the
general direction, where it is heading and trusts everyone enough
to carry on. If the work is going too far off the rails, the leader has
to step in and keep everyone on track and moving forward.
• Encourage opposing views but beware of obstructions – opposing
views are important to energizing teams and stimulating creativity.
However, there is a thin line between well-meaning critics and
obstructionist rhetoric.
• Forms of communication establishing
These are the various ways of establishing and exchanging
of information, ideas, thoughts and feelings.
Communication is categorized into two:
• Informal communication: This is any communication
that takes place without following the formal channels
of communication. It is often referred to as grapevine as
it spreads without the organization and in all directions
without any regard to the levels of authority.
• Formal communication: This is the type of
communication that flows through official channels
designed in the organization chart.it may take place
between a superior and a subordinate, a subordinate and
a superior or among the same cadre of employees or
managers.
Formal communication can be classified into:
• Vertical communication: As the name suggests,
information flows vertically upwards or
downwards through formal channels. Downward
communication flow is communication from
superior to subordinate while upward
communication flows from the subordinate to a
superior.
• Horizontal communication - this occurs between
members of equal rank or positions like between
heads of departments or units. It helps to
maximize achievements of the set goals.
Carrying out Communication
There are three basic methods of communication:
• Written communication: this is one of the most important and
frequently used mode of communication in organizations.
Written communications includes: letters, electronic mail, fax
transmissions or other device that is transmitted via written
words or symbols.
• Oral communication: this type of communication is through
word of mouth. This can be in meetings, or in any other event.
• Nonverbal communication /silent communication: This is the
non-word human response and the perceived characteristics
of the environment through which the human and non-verbal
messages are transmitted. There are two forms of non-verbal
communication i.e. physical/symbolic language and body
language.
Team performance is supervised
• Supervision is an act or instance of directing,
managing or oversight. Supervision is focused on
directing people to get work done where team
leadership is focused on developing an environment
where people are motivated to do their work. There are
two capabilities required in team supervision:
• Leading people capabilities: This includes giving
feedback, coaching others, performance management,
managing reward and recognition and setting
measurable objectives, and Managing work
capabilities: This includes: Planning work, monitoring
progress, setting measurable goals and facilitating
meetings.
Team performance supervisors may play different roles
which include:
• Advocate: Responsible in representing the employee’s
requests to management and representing the employees’ case
for deserving a reward.
• Boss: The supervisor is deemed to be the boss when people in
the department are ultimately looking for direction and
guidance in their job.
• Coach: supervisors might guide their employees to increase
performance and satisfaction in various ways such as advising
them.
• Facilitator: The work of a supervisor is to support a group
hence making the supervisor a facilitator.
• Trainer: The supervisor is often the first person who is
considered when a new employee needs to learn the job. The
supervisor is responsible to ensure that training occurs.
Collecting and analyzing feedbacks on
performance.
• Feedback is the sharing of perspectives on work
experiences in the organization by employees.
Importance of collecting feedback
• This is to ensure that employees are engaged and
satisfied. These leads to:
• More production.
• Improve customer experience
• Employees become advocates for the company.
Ways of collecting and analyzing feedback.
• Anonymous surveys- it can be in house or via survey
form solutions which can be distributed.
• Non anonymous surveys- it creates an open culture
based on open honest and respectful feedback to
replace fear in the workplace.
• Pulse surveys. - They are shorter surveys distributed
more frequently.
• Suggestion boxes- employees who are hesitant to
express unpopular ideas may want to leave feedback in
an anonymous way, but feel like surveys haven’t been
a good idea to express them.
• Feedback meeting – they are a great way to connect
staff and managers in more effective ways.
Conflict resolution between team negative feelings.
members • Recognizing triggers of episodes
• This is the process by which two of conflicts.
or more parties engaged in • Interventions of third parties such
disagreements, dispute or debate as human resources
to reach an agreement resolving representatives or higher level
it. managers to mediate.
Conflict resolution process • A willingness by one or both
• Recognition by the parties parties to compromise.
involved that a problem exists. • Agreement on a plan to address
• Mutual agreement to address the differences.
issue and find some resolution. • Monitoring the impact of any
• An effort to understand the agreement for change.
perspective and concerns of the • Disciplining or terminating
opposing individual or group. employees who resist diffusing
• Identifying changes in attitude, conflicts.
behavior and approaches to work
• Undertaking Gender mainstreaming.
It is a strategy towards realizing gender equality.
Gender mainstreaming requires both integrating a
gender perspective to the content of the different
policies and addressing the issue of representation of
women and men in the given policy area. An
effective implementation of gender mainstreaming
requires preparation and organization. People in
decision making positions can make a particular
difference as they have more power to introduce
changes. The changes introduced they should at all-
time distribute them across both genders in a
balanced way.
Adhering to Human rights.
Human rights are basic right of each human being
of independent of race, sex, political affiliation,
religion, social status or any other character.
Human rights provide a universal benchmark for
minimum standards of behaviour. Many national
laws and regulations have evolved as a result of a
state’s obligation to implement human rights
standards. Businesses must also observe such laws
in all countries and jurisdictions in which they
operate. If the human rights are not adhered to, it is
against the law and action should be taken against
those not adhering to them.
Developing and maintaining healthy
relationships.
• It is having a good interaction with fellow
employees and working in harmony to achieve
the set goals. Developing a work relationship
involves the actions that create a positive
empowering motivational work environment for
people. It also entails helping other employees to
achieve this greatness.