Facilitating Teamwork

There are thirteen (13) characteristics common to all effective teams. Team leaders and managers should understand the value and basis of each of these characteristics so they can cultivate them within their teams and workplaces. 

As you now know, healthy, cohesive teams that can dedicate themselves to accomplishing their shared goals are the foundation of a successful business. Yet, teams are made up of individuals, and that makes them complex structures that can thrive only within a balanced workplace ‘ecosystem’. 

It will occasionally be necessary for you and your team to counteract the issue of low productivity – low productivity is a primary characteristic of an ineffective team. You will need to learn how to cultivate the positive qualities covered in the previous chapter, including developing norms, shared goals, motivation and strong leadership.

Developing a working norm

If your team has not yet developed a state of comfortable but constructive normalcy and a way of working together that is known and accepted by all, it may be a sign that your team is still developing.

Acknowledging where your team lies in its development process is your booster block for cultivating, assisting and spurring your team’s development to optimal performance, resulting in high productivity.

A useful approach is considering the five (5) stages of team development postulated by an acclaimed psychologist, Bruce Tuckman, in his 1965 paper ‘Developmental Sequence in Small Groups’.

The five (5) stages are:

Watch

Watch the following 6-minute video to learn more about the five (5) stages of team development:

Familiarity with the Tuckman model can be of great benefit to you as a leader, as it will not only allow you to recognise which stage of development your team is passing through or stuck in but also allow you to adjust your leadership style to cater to your team’s unique developmental needs.

Because a leader is such an intrinsic part of the team, the role of leadership develops or changes as the team’s structure, dynamics and productivity levels change and develop. The leader is tasked with driving and responding to the team’s upward evolution through each of the five stages.

The following table states how the role of leadership changes through Tuckman’s five phases of team development:

Putting goals into focus

Good teamwork is built on the foundation that team members have a shared commitment to common objectives. Without this shared commitment, all other modes of team building will have little impact.

It is essential that a shared commitment to common objectives is determined and agreed upon by the team before the implementation of team-building activities and exercises are explored.

A good place to start is by aligning your team with the vision, mission and goals of the overarching organisation.

You can achieve this by:

• Clarifying team goals and revealing how they fit into the organisation’s goals and vision
• Facilitating team ownership of those goals and showing all members the value of their unique contribution
• Identifying any issues that inhibit the team in their efforts towards goal achievement.

Use transparency and thorough project briefings to help your team to understand how the team goals and objectives fit into the greater scope of the organisational goals and objectives.

Use role clarification and task briefings and, if necessary, one-on-one attention to help each member understand exactly how their individual objectives affect the greater project and team goals. This will facilitate ownership, as every team member will see the value and the importance of the task assigned to them.

Motivating the team

Motivation is a powerful force that drives employees to pursue their goals and consistently produce quality results.

Motivating teams of people is a leadership skill that extends outside of the scope of straightforward team management. Successful leaders arm themselves with a comprehensive knowledge of what propels a motivated workforce. Leaders must understand the various motivating forces and factors they should cultivate in their team and workplace.

Only by facilitating sustained motivation can a team leader maximise worker productivity, development and success.

Setting and defining goals, outlining clear expectations, offering recognition, facilitating and providing feedback, and encouraging words and actions from management can increase and maintain your team’s motivation.

Motivation is a proven and leading driver of productivity and is necessary for success, but it flourishes only in a positive work environment where work is imbued with meaning.

Some of the features and factors influencing motivation levels in the workplace are as follows:

Watch

Watch the following 18-minute TED talk by Dan Pink, career analyst who examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think.

Becoming a true leader

Your team leadership is one of the most important factors affecting your team’s productivity. Do you transcend management as a leader of people? This is what you will need to do to help your team reach its full potential.

The following leadership tips will make your work team and individual team members more confident and productive daily, improving your team’s effectiveness, outcomes and career potential:

Consensus is a decision-making process where all group members come to a mutual agreement or understanding. It means that everyone involved in the decision has had an opportunity to voice their opinions and that the group has reached a decision that everyone can support. 
Consensus decision-making is often used in collaborative settings where everyone's input is valued.

Structuring your approach

Problems can be identified when productivity lags, and results are inconsistent, quality is poor, deadlines are missed, mistakes are frequent and too much time is spent on breaks, calls or personal matters. When your team members look exhausted, withdrawn or disinterested, or resources are being squandered, this means that there are performance problems within your team. 

Strategies for gaining consensus

The 'Quaker model' and 'Consensus-oriented decision-making model' are two (2) strategies that can be used to gain consensus within a team to prioritise communication, collaboration, and mutual understanding when making decisions. 

Quaker model:

1. Prepare: Ensure everyone is aware of the decision that needs to be made and understands the process.
2. Gather information: Encourage team members to gather information and research the issue at hand.
3. Open discussion: Allow team members to voice their opinions and concerns, encouraging open and honest communication.
4. Listen deeply: Use active listening skills to understand each team member's perspective.
5. Seek understanding: Ask questions and seek to understand the reasoning behind each team member's position.
6. Look for common ground: Identify areas of agreement and common goals.
7. Seek a joint solution: Work together to find a solution that meets the needs of all team members.
8. Test the solution: Assess the potential impact of the solution on all parties involved.
9. Reach consensus: Achieving consensus means that everyone is in agreement and committed to the solution.

Consensus-oriented decision-making model:

1. Define the issue: Clearly articulate the issue that needs to be resolved.
2. Gather information: Encourage team members to gather information and research the issue.
3. Brainstorm: Allow team members to brainstorm and generate a range of possible solutions.
4. Evaluate alternatives: Assess the potential impact of each solution on all parties involved.
5. Negotiate: Use negotiation skills to find a solution that meets the needs of all parties involved.
6. Reach consensus: Achieving consensus means that everyone is in agreement and committed to the solution.
7. Implement: Put the solution into action.
8. Review and evaluate: Regularly review and evaluate the decision to ensure that it is meeting the needs of all parties involved.

In both models, it is important to foster an open and collaborative team culture where team members feel comfortable expressing their opinions and working together to find solutions. By using active listening skills and seeking to understand the perspectives of others, team leaders can create a positive and supportive work environment that leads to better outcomes for employees, clients and the organisation.

A leader needs to understand how they and their team can structure an approach to inspect, target, solve and reflect on performance problems before they do lasting damage to the organisation.

A leader must also know how to engage their team empathically and support them in overcoming challenges.

Structuring your approach

Problems can be identified when productivity lags, results are inconsistent, quality is poor, deadlines are missed, mistakes are frequent and too much time is spent on breaks, calls or personal matters. When your team members look exhausted, withdrawn or disinterested, or resources are being squandered, this means that there are performance problems within your team.

The most important thing to realise is that performance problems are not yours to solve alone; they are team concerns and, as such, must be addressed by the team. However, as a leader, you can implement problem resolution by first helping your team become aware of the problem and identify its source.

Support your team members as they strive to understand and overcome the issues. Express concern for performance but do not issue threats. Instead, ask your team for their input by following these steps to identify and solve problems:

Empathic problem-solving

Empathic problem-solving means acknowledging the feelings and perspectives of each team member throughout the problem-solving process.

By understanding the root cause of poor performance (or even conflict or bad behaviour) in this way, you become better equipped to work through the problem and achieve a sustainable solution that allows development and growth.

Empathic problem-solving is as much about your own thoughts and feelings as it is about the thoughts and feelings of team members. It means that you share your own feelings, show gratitude for shared feelings and insights, show interest in each member, encourage and support everyone equally, and never take sides, make judgements or jump to conclusions.

It also means that you make considered choices regarding what to communicate and what not to. It means that you consider what would be hurtful and constructive, what needs to be treated sensitively and what needs to be omitted.

In empathic problem-solving, you should:

• Engage in discussions with team members – they are more likely to know the reasons behind any performance problems, as they are directly engaged in the work tasks and everyday team dynamics
• Discuss the problems that are specific to the team, and support them in voicing their thoughts and insights on these issues
• Ask team members for suggestions on possible solutions and, if possible, give them the responsibility of implementing the solutions that have been agreed upon
• Engage your team and communicate with them empathically through this process, ensuring that you think empathically, regardless of your first impressions or snap internal judgements.

Follow these tips to engage and support your team with empathy:

• Do not assume that any one person is at fault
• Try to understand why team members may not be performing as expected
• Focus on the issue and the reasons behind low performance
• Remember that the issue is a team issue and not a personal one – try not to single someone out, and if the issue identified is due to one team member, be responsible and sensitive to the issue and treat the person with respect and discretion.

As a leader, you will be called upon to inspire and act as a role model and compass for your team and exemplify your organisation’s ideals for all stakeholders.

Becoming a leader and role model

The roles, responsibilities and characteristics of managers and leaders are different. A manager can manage without leading, just as a leader can lead without managing. The most effective managers and leaders, however, are those who learn to do both: They know when to lead people and when to manage them. 

Where leadership of a work team is concerned, especially a team that is still in the earliest phases of development, management will be vital much of the time. Still, leadership will be vital throughout all phases of a team’s existence. 

The managers who challenge themselves to develop leadership traits and skills can rally and enrich their teams in new and exciting ways because their leading function sees them more concerned with the team’s continued progress and development than simply getting the job done. 

Becoming a role model for your team involves exemplifying the traits and assuming the responsibilities of a leader. By doing so, you will not only widen the field of your team’s potential exponentially but also widen your own. 

The most effective managers are those who do not lose sight of their own potential for development.

Cultivating leadership traits

As a leader or manager (or both) in an organisation, you are the link in the communication chain between you and other departments in the organisation. 

Both management and leadership work to form networks or relationships to aid staff in taking action. 

However, the two roles, and the processes behind them, have some mutually exclusive elements. 

Some of the differences between the key functions and features of management and leadership are listed in the following table: 

40 Traits of effective leaders

Many leadership experts agree that born or budding leaders who are effective in what they do tend to display certain traits and characteristics. 

The good news is that a leader need not possess all of these traits to be a profoundly positive influence on their team, nor do they need the traits they possess to be inherent in their nature. 

In fact, almost all of the traits of effective leaders can be learned and cultivated by managers and developing leaders. Managers can become good leaders, and good leaders can become exceptional leaders. 

The following table lists the 40 traits that are often prevalent in effective leaders: 

Revisit Topic 1.5 to review the qualities that make a good role model.

Answer the following multiple-choice questions to check your understanding: