![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
We got our written assignments back, the evening class averaged 71% and there were 4 high distinctions over 77 students (afternoon and evening class). Mine was called Trust and Relationship Building in Successful Virtual Teams, I got 80%, and I'm really pleased.
We did a bunch of exercises this seminar - all around working in and developing teams. I definitely wasn't at my best, I'm sick, foggy and not tracking well. One of the Nicks had to nudge me to back off in one of the exercises (and teased me about it after - in a good way) and the trust-based exercise nearly reduced me to tears.
Team versus Groups: All teams are groups but not all groups are teams, teams have interdependent tasks and must interact with each other to accomplish shared objectives. I'd call AD&T a team, but we're not all that far from being a management group. Interestingly the proposed ideal size for a team may be as small as four whereas AD&T varies between 6-12 depending on the (constantly changing) life circumstances of the committee members. Teams may be formal (defined by the organisational structure) or informal (arising from a need for social contact). Some common types of teams include:
Groups tend to solve problems and identify opportunities more quickly than individuals working alone, they share information and coordinate tasks, they provide superior customer service and can improve motivation towards group goals.
Team Effectiveness Model - pretty version.
Teams Need: A Reward system (possibly made up of several different rewards), Communication Systems (heh, as many a possible), Physical Space (teams need to be able to interact easily), Organisational Environment (high expectations on teams from organisation often leads to high results), Organisational Structure (teams work better without a massive hierarchy - flatter organisation) and Organisational Leadership (resources, time, social norms). Team Tasks: need to be clear, easy to implement, share common inputs, work processes or outcomes (interdependence). Team Composition: must have the motivation and skills to do the job in a team environment and the right amount of team diversity
Homogeneous teams have higher satisfaction, less conflict, faster team development, more efficient coordination and perform better on simple tasks. Heterogeneous teams have more conflict, slower team development, better knowledge and resources for complex tasks, tend to be more creative and have higher potential for support outside the team.
Team norms are the informal things we do that form group behaviour (explicit statements, critical events, initial experiences, beliefs, values etc.). You start off trying to understand them, get reasonably comfortable and then start performing once you've got a sense of what's expected. You can influence/change them by introducing them when forming teams, selecting members who already have them, discussing the undesirable ones, rewarding the desired ones and in extreme cases, disbanding dysfunctional teams.
Stages of Team Development: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. We did some group exercises designed to walk through those stages starting with grabbing a random person (2) and finding four things you had in common, merging with another team (4) and finding two things you had in common then merging again (8) and finding one thing you all had in common - we weren't allowed to use 'we're doing an MBA'. This was demonstrating the forming stage where everyone is very polite and radiating willingness to get along.
Stage two was trading one team member out and getting one back who hadn't been through that process with you who then became your judge for the next exercise. A synchronised photo finish where all seven teams members have to step over a rope at exactly the same time. *grins* we discussed a lot, did one trial, fixed a couple of problems then got it right on the second try. This was the Storming phase where you start to jostle a bit more and work out what kind of social roles you're going to take.
Stage three was partnering up and doing an exercise where one person stood in front with their eyes closed and was guided through the room by the other person. I opted out and told my partner that I would not be doing it, but that I was happy to assist should he want to. He wanted to know why not and after reiterating that I would not be doing it I eventually just said I didn't want to discuss it. I'm tired and sick and a bit vulnerable so I found it disproportionately distressing. I still think a little more backing off would have been good, some of us don't like playing trust games where we can't see and people are behind us. Technically we were Norming, after having developed trust.
Stage four was getting back with your eight member group and trying to pass a ball to all members as quickly as possible without passing to the person adjacent to you. I was fading pretty badly by then and could really feel the lack of clarity. Still, we had fun. This was the Performing stage where you all know each other, know what you're trying to achieve and know how to work together.
Team Cohesion is about how teams stay together and is characterised by team members wanting to remain, being willing to share information, having strong interpersonal bonds, wanting to support each other, effectively resolving conflict and lowered stress. There's a difference between Task Cohesion where group members work together on goals and objectives and Social Cohesion where members form attractions to each other.
Our final exercise was a container of blocks, a ruler, a little man and some graphs (Material: number of blocks used versus profit/loss, Height: height of tower versus profit/loss and Efficiency: number of seconds to build versus profit/loss . The challenge was to work out what your team could build and how to maximise profit. We were terrible at it! It was fun trying though and the lessons were pretty straightforward
We did a bunch of exercises this seminar - all around working in and developing teams. I definitely wasn't at my best, I'm sick, foggy and not tracking well. One of the Nicks had to nudge me to back off in one of the exercises (and teased me about it after - in a good way) and the trust-based exercise nearly reduced me to tears.
Team versus Groups: All teams are groups but not all groups are teams, teams have interdependent tasks and must interact with each other to accomplish shared objectives. I'd call AD&T a team, but we're not all that far from being a management group. Interestingly the proposed ideal size for a team may be as small as four whereas AD&T varies between 6-12 depending on the (constantly changing) life circumstances of the committee members. Teams may be formal (defined by the organisational structure) or informal (arising from a need for social contact). Some common types of teams include:
- Production Team (formal, permanent)
- Management Team (formal, permanent)
- Task Force (formal, temporary)
- Skunkwork (formal, temporary - never heard of these before!)
- Friendship group (informal, permanent)
- Community of practice (informal, temporary)
Groups tend to solve problems and identify opportunities more quickly than individuals working alone, they share information and coordinate tasks, they provide superior customer service and can improve motivation towards group goals.
Team Effectiveness Model - pretty version.
Teams Need: A Reward system (possibly made up of several different rewards), Communication Systems (heh, as many a possible), Physical Space (teams need to be able to interact easily), Organisational Environment (high expectations on teams from organisation often leads to high results), Organisational Structure (teams work better without a massive hierarchy - flatter organisation) and Organisational Leadership (resources, time, social norms). Team Tasks: need to be clear, easy to implement, share common inputs, work processes or outcomes (interdependence). Team Composition: must have the motivation and skills to do the job in a team environment and the right amount of team diversity
Homogeneous teams have higher satisfaction, less conflict, faster team development, more efficient coordination and perform better on simple tasks. Heterogeneous teams have more conflict, slower team development, better knowledge and resources for complex tasks, tend to be more creative and have higher potential for support outside the team.
Team norms are the informal things we do that form group behaviour (explicit statements, critical events, initial experiences, beliefs, values etc.). You start off trying to understand them, get reasonably comfortable and then start performing once you've got a sense of what's expected. You can influence/change them by introducing them when forming teams, selecting members who already have them, discussing the undesirable ones, rewarding the desired ones and in extreme cases, disbanding dysfunctional teams.
Stages of Team Development: Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing. We did some group exercises designed to walk through those stages starting with grabbing a random person (2) and finding four things you had in common, merging with another team (4) and finding two things you had in common then merging again (8) and finding one thing you all had in common - we weren't allowed to use 'we're doing an MBA'. This was demonstrating the forming stage where everyone is very polite and radiating willingness to get along.
Stage two was trading one team member out and getting one back who hadn't been through that process with you who then became your judge for the next exercise. A synchronised photo finish where all seven teams members have to step over a rope at exactly the same time. *grins* we discussed a lot, did one trial, fixed a couple of problems then got it right on the second try. This was the Storming phase where you start to jostle a bit more and work out what kind of social roles you're going to take.
Stage three was partnering up and doing an exercise where one person stood in front with their eyes closed and was guided through the room by the other person. I opted out and told my partner that I would not be doing it, but that I was happy to assist should he want to. He wanted to know why not and after reiterating that I would not be doing it I eventually just said I didn't want to discuss it. I'm tired and sick and a bit vulnerable so I found it disproportionately distressing. I still think a little more backing off would have been good, some of us don't like playing trust games where we can't see and people are behind us. Technically we were Norming, after having developed trust.
Stage four was getting back with your eight member group and trying to pass a ball to all members as quickly as possible without passing to the person adjacent to you. I was fading pretty badly by then and could really feel the lack of clarity. Still, we had fun. This was the Performing stage where you all know each other, know what you're trying to achieve and know how to work together.
Team Cohesion is about how teams stay together and is characterised by team members wanting to remain, being willing to share information, having strong interpersonal bonds, wanting to support each other, effectively resolving conflict and lowered stress. There's a difference between Task Cohesion where group members work together on goals and objectives and Social Cohesion where members form attractions to each other.
- High performing sporting teams do not require social cohesion to perform well.
- High cohesion does not necessarily mean the team will be effective, you also have to align with the organisation's goals.
Our final exercise was a container of blocks, a ruler, a little man and some graphs (Material: number of blocks used versus profit/loss, Height: height of tower versus profit/loss and Efficiency: number of seconds to build versus profit/loss . The challenge was to work out what your team could build and how to maximise profit. We were terrible at it! It was fun trying though and the lessons were pretty straightforward
- Have clear goals
- Agree on your goals and process as a team
- Establish clear roles and responsibilities
- Design tasks that are doable
- If you establish a milestone - stick to it
no subject