Improving Team Performance Through Effective Dialogues

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 dialogues. Here’s how to achieve them.

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. That includes communication media. Email may be acceptable for information exchange, but issues should be discussed in person or, if that’s not practical, by phone. Guidelines should cover:

·         Using a common language (especially important for global teams)

·         Identifying trigger words and phrases to avoid

·         Emphasizing effective listening strategies

·         Promoting an understanding and appreciation of varying communication styles

·         Scheduling regular meetings

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 periodic “check in” through 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.

Lead on,

Rebecca

Improving Processes Through Diverse Viewpoints

The ability to build rapport and communicate effectively with others is a key skill for any role in the organization. It leads to more productive sales conversations with clients, enables teams to reach the “performing”stage more quickly, and helps leaders engage and retain their employees.  In previous blogs I’ve shared with you some examples of how Lumina Spark  has contributed to results for individuals and teams in the areas of sales, leadership and team development.  Lumina learning tools can also have an impact across the broader organization. 

Many organizations today are employing Lean Six Sigma principles to improve their processes and the quality of their products and services. Effective communication is a key component in Lean Six Sigma thinking and doing. To better understand this, I spoke with Nancy Barlett, Six Sigma Green Belt and President of The Barlett Alliance, a Texas-based consulting firm that works with organizations in the public sector to improve process efficiencies and organizational performance.  Here’s what she said:

“When organizations are using Lean Six Sigma in their work, that translates into deploying many different people over a variety of functions to solve process problems. Typically, the members of each team are working on a process/problem that they have in common, but often they have never worked together before. We know how tricky communication can be with people we know, so imagine how much more complicated it is when we have “strangers” coming together for a relatively short period of time to solve a common problem. 

“In case a picture of that doesn’t readily come to mind, consider the following. The FranklinCovey Company surveyed thousands of employees around the globe. People were asked if they agreed or did not agree with a number of statements. One of those statements was: I actively seek out differing viewpoints. The percent of respondents who “agreed” with that statement? Only 32%!

“Lumina learning tools can be of significant assistance when that’s exactly what we need people to do to improve the process: seek out different viewpoints. When individuals can speed read each other and quickly discern why and how they can approach the work from a variety of perspectives, that turns into a true asset for teams that have a powerful but short shelf life!”

Lead on,

Rebecca

For more information, please contact me at RebeccaBales@luminalearning.com.

Lumina Spark – Improving Sales Through “Speed Reading”

In my last blog I talked about personality assessment tools and how one in particular – Lumina Spark – is taking a much more innovative and comprehensive approach by focusing on traits, not types.

Lumina looks at each individual as a unique combination of 24 qualities, some of which may be in direct opposition to one another. We are, after all, complex characters. But what does all of this mean, and how can you use this information to improve the effectiveness of individuals, teams, organizations?  This is the first in a series of blogs where I’ll talk about some examples of how Lumina has helped individuals, teams and organizations improve their communication, their leadership effectiveness, their sales and, by extension, their overall business results. 

Bringing new managers up to speed quickly can be a challenge in and of itself, but when you are one of the world’s largest global franchisors it can be especially daunting. Conveying policies, procedures and brand across a variety of owner/manager cultures is one thing. Add to that creating an environment for success – both with internal colleagues and external customers – and it becomes much more complex. 

When Lumina Spark was added to the company’s 3-day orientation program, the job got easier. Starting with a foundation of self-awareness, participants learned how to “speed read” others and adjust their interactions to more quickly build rapport and make a connection. They role played typical retail scenarios looking for clues such as body language, tone, and content of conversation to guide them in the appropriate approach to the other person to achieve a positive outcome. Speed reading helped them communicate more effectively, accelerate rapport and increase their ability to meet the customer’s needs. It set the stage for their sales success. 

If you’d like to learn more about how Lumina can help your organization, please contact me for your local Lumina Learning Affiliate.  You can reach me at RebeccaBales@luminalearning.com.

Lead on,

Rebecca

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 for Leading Cross-Functional Teams

A cross-functional team approach can provide a significant advantage in project and product development by bringing together and leveraging diverse ideas, expertise and perspectives.  A cross-functional team is defined as a group of people with different expertise working toward a common goal. The team may include representatives from finance, marketing, operations, human resources and may even have members from outside the organization such as customers, suppliers or consultants.

While these teams can improve outcomes, they are not without their challenges. Especially for the cross-functional team leader.  If you are leading a cross-functional team, here are 5 tips to help you guide your team toward true collaboration and success.

1.       Recognize and value diversity. Each functional area brings to the team their own ideas, perspectives and ways of doing things.  Set the stage for collaboration versus conflict by creating a forum during one of the first meetings where each group describes their function and specific role on the project.

2.       Set clear goals and objectives. This is essential for any team, but especially so for cross-functional teams whose members often have competing responsibilities in their respective departments.  If possible, work with the functional managers to make the success of the cross-functional project one of their departmental goals. This alignment provides more motivation for the members and increases the likelihood of success. 

3.       Clarify expectations.  Make clear to each team member and their functional manager how much time they need to spend on the project relative to their departmental work. Be sure that each member of the team understands their role and that the team as a whole understands expectations around performance, and around processes such as conflict resolution, decision making, etc.

4.       Foster an open dialogue.  Encourage open, honest feedback and communication among team members.  Set the example for these dialogues by communicating frequently and openly with the team and with individual team members. Use open-ended questions to stimulate discussion and uncover and address any issues or concerns. Encourage team members to focus on the issue and solutions rather than pointing fingers at each other.  

5.       Provide the appropriate resources and support.  Ensure that you have – and maintain – the full support of management, and that the cross-functional project is seen as a priority. Report progress, issues and solutions on a regular basis to both your leadership and the various functional managers.

Leading a cross-functional team requires understanding your own leadership style, and adapting that style to the needs of the individuals and functions on the team.  Developing this ability will contribute not only to your success, but to the success of your team and the organization as a whole.

Lead on,

Rebecca