Team Talk: Effective Dialogues for Improved Performance

In today’s workplace teams come in a variety of flavors: department teams, project teams, virtual teams, global teams, cross-functional teams, permanent teams, temporary teams, task force teams, self-directed teams and combinations thereof.  Each of these has its own inherent challenges.  Common among them, however, is the need for effective dialogue. Here’s how to achieve it.

Establish communication standards.  Whether it’s about sharing ideas or resolving conflict, it’s essential to develop and implement guidelines that encourage and support open communication. This means using a common language (especially important for global teams), identifying trigger words and phrases to avoid, emphasizing effective listening strategies, and promoting an understanding and appreciation of varying communication styles. These guidelines should also include regularly scheduled meetings and recommended communication media. For example, email may be OK for information exchange, but issues should be discussed in person or, if that’s not practical, by phone.

Identify and address barriers to open communication. Barriers to communication generally fall into three categories: physical, emotional and environmental.  Support effective dialogues by removing any physical distractions (these could range from a noisy conference room to a bad telephone connection). Work to understand and appreciate the diverse styles of your team and create opportunities for the team to develop a mutual understanding of each other. As they learn to consider each other’s style and frame of reference, they’ll learn to minimize the emotional reactions that get in the way of effective dialogues.

Create guidelines for managing conflict. A certain amount disagreement on a team is natural, and necessary for innovation and optimal performance. The key is how you channel and manage it.  Give your team tools for dealing productively with conflict by working together to create conflict management guidelines. Emphasize respect and active listening. Include feedback best practices. Encourage a dialogue that begins with points of agreement and develops from there. Ensure that the focus is on the issue at hand rather than personalities. State the team goals and expectations clearly and concisely and remind the team of their mutual commitment to those goals.

Evaluate and improve. Like any relationship, team relationships need to be nurtured. Make time for a “check in” periodically for an open dialogue specifically around how team communication is going. Encourage those who are typically less vocal to weigh in. Identify areas – from team feedback and your observations – where improvements could be made. Then make them.

What are you doing to promote effective dialogues on your team?

Lead on,

Rebecca

5 Tips to Fast Track Your Team's Journey from Forming to Performing

If you’ve ever led a team, you know that teams typically go through several stages before they begin to gel into a productive unit. Bruce Tuckman, a professor of educational psychology, summarized these stages into his now well-known model of Forming, Storming, Norming and Performing.

In the Forming stage, individuals are learning about each other and are still dependent on team leadership as they transition to “member” status. In the Storming stage, members may express resistance to the task and compete with one another as roles and expectations are clarified. By the time the team reaches the Norming stage, members are communicating better with one another and have a shared sense of purpose and commitment. At the Performing stage, members have established working guidelines, are less dependent on their leader, and are on their way to achieving team goals.

The length of time it takes for a team to move from Forming to Performing varies, and does not always go in a straight line. When a new member joins, for example, the team may revert back to Forming or Storming temporarily. As a team leader, there are several things you can do to accelerate the journey and make it smoother.

1.       Establish a foundation of trust. Outline goals and expectations at the first meeting. Be timely and consistent in how you evaluate expectations and provide feedback. Be fair. Do what you say you’re going to do. Be the example of the team member you want to lead.

2.       Promote an appreciation of diversity.  Recognize and share the value that each individual brings to the team. Convey that while skill sets, competencies, personalities may be different they are complementary and necessary for the optimal outcome. Provide structured or unstructured opportunities for team members to get to know each other beyond their roles on the team.

3.       Communicate early and often. Have regular meetings to discuss status, issues and any changes to goals, schedules or resources. Support – and demonstrate – an environment of honest, open communication for sharing of ideas and resolution of issues. Circumvent the rumor mill and its spoils by sharing information as soon as possible.

4.       Listen and learn. Strive to understand the communication and behavior style of each team member and adapt your style accordingly. Encourage team members to give you feedback. Listen. Demonstrate a willingness to learn from them and they will be more open to learning from each other.

5.       Recognize and reward. Recognize individuals for their contributions, but more importantly recognize the team. Don’t wait until the project is finished or for an annual department event. Recognize the strides they’ve made in working together, a team issue they were able to resolve on their own, an innovative idea that resulted from a brainstorming session. Sponsor a team outing, buy them lunch, bring in donuts. Celebrate the small stuff.

Want to learn more about your personal style and those of your team?  Please contact me, Rebecca Bales, at RebeccaBales@luminalearning.com.

Lead on,

Rebecca