Working in Teams - Professional Development

Working in Teams

·        7 components of teams that need to be functioning for the team to work:

o   Raison d‟etre: clear idea of what the team is therefore

o   Rules: each person needs to know them

o   Roles: same person often adopts the same role in different teams

o   Relationships

o   Rituals: joining and farewell rituals, birthdays, etc

o   Rewards

o   Results: do you achieve your raison d‟etre

·        Developmental cycle:

o   Forming:

§  Becoming acquainted: polite, impersonal, hierarchical

§  Trial and error: pairing, turf guarding, role conflict, ambiguity (still working as individuals)

o   Storming: 

§  Collective indecision: covert anger, decision by default, poor morale, no accountability/leadership

§  Crisis: open anger, recognition of conflict, leadership assumed

§  Maintenance: commitment to team work 

§  Performing: management of conflict, sharing information, tolerance or ambiguity/difference, flexibility, breaking down of inter-professional rivalries

·        Power in groups:

o   Always ask „who holds the power‟

o   Positional (assigned from outside the group), assigned, knowledge, personal, factional

·        Group processes:

o   Problem solving

o   Decision making: who, when, how, what

o   Conflict management:

§  Competing: It‟s win/loose and I‟m going to win

§  Accommodating: I don‟t mind loosing

§  Avoiding

§  Compromising

§  Collaborating