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Module1. Active Listening (adapted from Langlois, 2010)

                 Developing  effective  listening  skills  is  a  basic  competency  for  managing  teams.  Questioning  and  observing  other  team  members  facilitates  sharing  of  important  personal  information.    Talking  without  focus  can  be  distracting.    The  more  focused  the  listening  process,  the  more  likely  team  members  will  explore  alternative  ways  for  doing  the  project,  making  the  team  perform  successfully,  and  discussing  individual  problems.       Active  listening  is  a  prerequisite  for  effective  team  management.    When  team  members  fail  to  listen,  the  team  can  become  discouraged  effecting  self-­‐exploration,  discussions  about  pertinent  issues,  while  creating  impatience  about  having  to  discuss  and  analyze  the  task  and  team  processes.                          Active  Listening  consists  of  four  listening  skills  that  maintain  constructive  listening  techniques.    Active  listing  techniques  support  the  successful  formation  of  relationships  and  ultimately  the  effectiveness  of  the  team’s  collaboration.    Improving  communication  skills  requires  team  members  to  “listen”  to  both  verbal  and  nonverbal  messages.    Neutrality  maximizes  communication  skills.    Specifically,  refrain  from  making  judgments  and  giving  advice,  resist  distractions,  and  avoid  asking  too  many  questions.       The  following  are  examples  of  past  students’  comments  when  students  observed  their  listening  skills  while  trying  to  actively  listen  to  another  student  when  describing  their  project.       “By  doing  this  exercise,  I  have  realized  how  easily  and  how  often  my  mind  wanders  when  someone  is  talking  to  me.    I  am  on  my  own  time,  and  in  my  own  one-­‐track  mind.    But  since  I  was  forced  to  make  a  summary  of  what  they  were  saying,  I  paid  more  attention,  and  had  to  ask  more  questions,  and  they  had  to  help  me  along  with  my  summary.    It  is  important  to  be  a  good  listener  when  you  are  a  team  leader,  so  I  have  found  that  I  need  to  improve  on  that.    I  am  also  not  that  great  at  communication,  because  I  don’t  speak  enough  in  formal  terms,  I  usually  talk  to  friends  and  don’t  need  to  think  that  much  and  use  that  much  vocabulary.    But  I  was  having  a  hard  time  explaining  my  experiment  to  Lilah  in  very  clear  and  technical  terms,  I  could  only  describe  it  very  simply.”    

    “Today’s  listening  activity  was  more  productive  than  I  thought  it  would  be.    I  was  a  little  skeptical  at  first.    But  after  actually  making  an  attempt  to  listen  with  all  my  focus  on  the  speaker,  I  realized  that  there  is  quite  a  big  difference  between  conversational  listening  and  active  listening.    The  big  difference  being  that  in  active  listening  I  am  paying  attention  to  what  the  speaker  is  saying,  trying  to  

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remember  it,  and  store  it  away.    I  think  I  should  actively  listen  more  when  I’m  in  lecture,  because  that’s  the  time  when  I  find  myself  paying  the  least  attention…”      

    “…The  clarification  step  is  the  most  useful  in  my  opinion.  Many  times,  we  are  told  something  and  we  think  that  we  understand  it,  but  actually  don’t  understand  it  the  way  it’s  supposed  to  be  understood  or  the  way  that  the  person  who  told  us  understands  us  to  understand  it.    By  repeating  it  back  to  them,  or  clarifying,  we  ensure  that  the  message  is  understood  in  exactly  the  way  that  it  was  intended  to  be.    Summarizing  what  you  learned  is  also  useful.    I  consider  this  to  be  mostly  a  supplement  to  the  clarification  step.    I  think  that  a  great  deal  of  summarizing  goes  on  during  the  clarification  step…  I  have  a  problem  with  active  listening.    I’m  more  of  a  passive  listener  and  I  often  skip  the  clarification  step,  to  the  detriment  of  my  understanding.    Now  that  I  know  the  problem,  I  can  employ  my  new  active  listening  skills  to  overcome  the  problem  and  to  become  competent  in  everyday  activities  related  to  basic  communication.  “    

Active  Listening  Skills  consists  of  the  following  four  stages.  (Langlois,  2010)    1. Clarification:    asking  open-­‐ended  questions  that  help  to  clarify  ambiguous  words,  phrases,  or  statements,  e.g.,  “What  do  you  mean  by  (ambiguous  word)?”    “Can  you  explain  that  a  little  more?”  Intended  Purpose:  To  encourage  more  elaboration,  check  out  the  accuracy  of  what  you  heard  being  said,  and  clear  up  vague,  confusing  messages.  2.    Paraphrase:    deals  with  the  content  of  the  communication,  rephrasing  content  as  closely  as  possible  to  highlight  message  that  was  heard,  and  describes  a  situation,  event,  person  or  idea.    Intended  Purpose:  To  help  the  speaker  focus  on  the  content  of  his/her  message,  and  highlight  content  when  attention  to  feelings  is  premature  or  self-­‐defeating.  3.    Reflection:    deals  with  the  feelings  associated  with  the  content;  serves  to  label  feelings  correctly  and  to  encourage  further  expression;  refers  to  the  affect  part  of  the  message.  Intended  Purpose:   To   encourage   speaker   to   express  more  of   his/her   feelings,   experience  feelings  more   intensely,  become  more  aware  of   feelings   that  dominate  him/her,  help   the  speaker  acknowledge  and  manage  feelings  and  discriminate  accurately  among  feelings.  4.     Summarization:     ties   the   whole   communication   together   by   restating   both   content  [paraphrase]  and  feelings  [reflection]  in  an  integrated  manner;  conveys  the  impression  that  team  member  has  been  heard.  Intended   Purpose:   To   tie   together   the   multiple   elements,   identify   a   common   theme   or  pattern,  interrupt  excessive  rambling,  and  review  progress.    

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 Module 2.1

THOMAS‐KILLMAN CONFLICT MODE INSTRUMENT LEARNING TO MANAGE CONFLICT

Assignment:    

Managing  conflict  in  a  team  is  an  important  aspect  of  managing  a  project  successfully.  In  this  course  you  take  one  assessment  –  The  Thomas-­‐Killmann  Conflict  Mode  Instrument,  abbreviated  to  TKI.  The  TKI  is  on  line  and  is  one  of  the  homework  assignments  for  the  evening  of  February  3rd  2014.  

 Please  complete  by  February  7th    at  11  AM.    

When  filling  out  the  Inventory  please  do  the  following:    

THINK  OF  A  CONFLICT  YOU  HAVE  HAD  AT  WORK  OR  SCHOOL  AND  ANSWER  THE  QUESTIONS  USING  THAT  CONFLICT  ONLY.  DO  NOT  USE  A  PERSONAL  CONFLICT.    

 The  URL  is:  may  have  to  cut  and  paste  to  gain  access  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdXLUR2RmVySkF3SEVwUWx4eUc4VGc6MQ              

Module 2.2 Thomas Killman Conflict Mode Inventory

TKI Readings: (Read before Entrance Conference)

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      The  Thomas  Killman  Conflict  Mode  Instrument  (TKI)  is  not  a  personality  assessment  and  should  not  be  referred  to  as  your  thinking  or  learning  style.    It  is  an  indicator  of  how  you  manage  conflicts  and  is  used  to  help  you  individually  clarify  yours  and  others  negotiation  skills.    Learning  to  negotiate  successfully  includes  understanding  the  concept  of  interest-­‐based/principle-­‐centered  vs.  positional  bargaining,  the  actual  bargaining  structure,  and  strategies  with  an  emphasis  on  win-­‐win  bargaining,  as  well  as  knowing  when  to  avoid  a  negotiation.    The  TKI  is  employed  to  support  your  understanding  and  self-­‐assessment  of  the  different  approaches  to  conflict  resolution  resulting  from  the  research-­‐based  and  highly  popular  "Thomas  -­‐  Kilmann  Conflict  Mode  Inventory"  and  theory.    Once  an  understanding  of  the  TKI  is  mastered  your  understanding  of  when  it  is  appropriate  to  use  each  conflict  style  and  how  to  flex  your  preferred  style  to  respond  appropriately  for  consensus  building  will  be  enhanced.  

INTERPRETING  THE  THOMAS-­KILMANN  CONFLICT  MODE  INSTRUMENT  (reprinted  with  permission  Thomas  &  Killman;  CPP)  *Scores  are  graphed  in  relation  to  the  scores  of  the  original  norm  group,  composed  of  managers  at  middle  and  upper  levels  of  business  and  government  organizations.    

 The  Five  Conflict  Handling  Modes       The  Thomas-­‐Kilmann  Conflict  Mode  Instrument  is  designed  to  assess  an  individual's  behavior  in  conflict  situations.  "Conflict  Situations"  are  situations  in  which  the  concerns  of  two  people  appear  to  be  incompatible.  In  such  situations,  we  can  describe  a  person's  behavior  along  two  basic  dimensions:  (1)  assertiveness,  the  extent  to  which  the  individual  attempts  to  satisfy  his/her  own  concerns,  and  (2)  cooperativeness,  the  extent  to  which  the  individual  attempts  to  satisfy  the  other  person's  concerns.  These  two  basic  dimensions  of  behavior  can  be  used  to  define  five  specific  methods  of  dealing  with  conflicts.  These  five  "conflict-­‐handling  modes"  are  shown  below:  

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     *This  two  dimensional  model  of  conflict  handling  behavior  is  adapted  from  "Conflict  and  Conflict  Management"  by  Kenneth  Thomas  in  The  Handbook  of  Industrial  and  Organizational  Psychology,  edited  by  Marvin  Dunnette  (Chicago:  Rand  McNally,  1976).  Another  valuable  contribution  in  this  field  is  the  work  by  Robert  Blake  and  Jane  Mouton  in  The  Managerial  Grid  (Houston:  Gulf  Publishing,  1964).        

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Five  Conflict  Management  Styles  Summary  (Thomas,  K.W.,  &  Kilmann,  R.  H.)    

1. Accommodating  is  cooperating  to  a  high-­‐degree,  although  it  can  be  at  your  expense,  actually  working  against  your  own  goals,  objectives,  and  desired  outcomes.    This  effective  use  of  this  approach  is  when  you  understand  that  the  other  party  is  an  expert  or  has  a  better  solution.    You  can  also  implement  this  style  when  you  want  to  preserve  future  relations  with  the  other  party,  knowing  that  utilizing  this  style  will  be  at  your  expense.  

 2. Avoiding  is  when  you  simply  evade  the  issue  by  hindering  the  other  party’s  ability  to  

reach  their  goals  or  assertively  pursuing  your  own.    This  style  is  effectively  used  when  the  issue  is  trivial,  when  you  have  no  chance  of  winning,  or  when  pursuing  the  issue  would  be  very  costly.    Another  effective  use  of  this  style  is  when  the  atmosphere  is  emotionally  charged  and  you  need  to  create  some  space,  but  sometimes  avoiding  because  the  situation  is  emotionally  charged  can  escalate  rather  than  diffuse  the  situation.  Sometimes  issues  will  resolve  themselves,  but  “hope  is  not  a  strategy”,  and,  in  general,  avoiding  is  not  a  good  long-­‐term  strategy.  

 3. Collaborating  is  when  you  partner  or  pair  up  with  the  other  party  to  achieve  both  of  

your  goals.    Collaborating  allows  you  to  break  free  of  the  “win-­‐lose”  paradigm  and  seek  the  “win-­‐win.”    This  can  be  effective  for  complex  scenarios  where  you  need  to  find  a  novel  solution.    This  can  also  mean  re-­‐framing  the  challenge  to  create  a  bigger  space  and  room  for  everybody’s  ideas.    The  downside  is  that  it  requires  a  high-­‐degree  of  trust  and  reaching  a  consensus  can  require  a  more  time  and  effort  to  get  everybody  on  board  and  to  synthesize  all  the  ideas.  

 4. Competing  is  the  “win-­‐lose”  approach.    You  act  in  a  very  assertive  way  to  achieve  

your  goals,  without  seeking  to  cooperate  with  the  other  party,  and  it  may  be  at  the  expense  of  the  other  party.        This  approach  may  be  appropriate  for  emergencies  when  time  is  of  the  essence,  or  when  you  need  quick,  decisive  action,  and  people  are  aware  of  and  support  the  approach.  

 5. Compromising  is  the  “lose-­‐lose”  scenario  where  neither  party  everything  they  want.    

This  requires  a  moderate  level  of  assertiveness  and  cooperation.    It  may  be  appropriate  for  scenarios  where  you  need  a  temporary  solution,  or  where  both  sides  have  equally  important  goals.      The  trap  is  to  fall  into  compromising  as  an  easy  way  out,  when  collaborating  would  produce  a  better  solution.  

           By  acknowledging  the  styles  you  underuse  can  help  improve  your  self-­‐awareness.    Once  you  are  aware  of  your  own  patterns,  you  can  pay  attention  to  whether  they  are  working  for  you  and  you  can  explore  alternatives.    By  using  a  scenario-­‐based  approach,  you  can  choose  more  effective  conflict  management  styles  and  test  their  effectiveness  for  you  and  your  situations.  

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Interpreting  Your  Scores                Usually,  after  getting  back  the  results  of  any  test,  people  first  want  to  know:  "What  are  the  right  answers?"  In  the  case  of  conflict-­‐handling  behavior,  there  are  no  universal  right  answers.  All  five  modes  are  useful  in  some  situations:  each  represents  a  set  of  useful  social  skills.  Our  conventional  wisdom  recognizes,  for  example,  that  often  "two  heads  are  better  than  one"  (Collaborating).  But  it  also  says,  "Kill  your  enemies  with  kindness"  (Accommodating),  "Split  the  difference"  (Compromising),  "Leave  well  enough  alone"  (Avoiding),  "Might  makes  right"  (Competing).  The  effectiveness  of  a  given  conflict-­‐handling  mode  depends  upon  the  requirements  of  the  specific  conflict  situation  and  the  skill  with  which  the  mode  is  used.                Each  of  us  is  capable  of  using  all  five  conflict-­‐handling  modes:  none  of  us  can  be  characterized  as  having  a  single,  rigid  style  of  dealing  with  conflict.  However,  any  given  individual  uses  some  modes  better  than  others  and  therefore,  tends  to  rely  upon  those  modes  more  heavily  than  others,  whether  because  of  temperament  or  practice.                  The  conflict  behaviors  which  individuals  use  are  therefore  the  result  of  both  their  personal  predispositions  and  the  requirements  of  the  situations  in  which  they  find  themselves.  The  Thomas-­‐Kilmann  Conflict  Mode  Instrument  is  designed  to  assess  this  mix  of  conflict-­‐handling  modes.                    To  help  you  judge  how  appropriate  your  utilization  of  the  five  modes  is  for  your  situation,  we  have  listed  a  number  of  uses  for  each  mode  –  based  upon  lists  generated  by  company  presidents.  Your  score,  high  or  low,  indicates  its  usefulness  in  your  situation.  However,  there  is  the  possibility  that  your  social  skills  lead  you  to  rely  upon  some  conflict  behaviors  more  or  less  than  necessary.    To  help  you  determine  this,  we  have  also  listed  some  diagnostic  questions  concerning  warning  signals  for  the  overuse  or  underuse  of  each  mode.                    Conflict  management  styles  do  not  solve  conflict.    Once  you  develop  an  understanding  that  differences  of  opinion  are  context  specific,  you  can  identify  whether  the  persons  involved  are  managing  the  conflict  effectively.    People  have  fifteen  options  when  managing  a  conflict.  When  faced  with  a  difference  of  opinion  with  others  you  choose  from  five  management  styles  to  settle  the  conflict.    Your  decision  is  usually  predicated  upon  what  style  you  are  most  comfortable  with  and  have  used  many  times  in  the  past  rather  than  the  most  effective  style.    Choosing  the  appropriate  style  is  the  major  factor  in  whether  the  conflict  is  settled  appropriately  or  not.      People  are  usually  unaware  that  they  are  choosing  a  style  that  they  are  either  under  using,  over  using  or  appropriately  using.    If  in  the  survey  your  score  is  lower  than  50%  then  the  person  under  used  the  style,  over  50%  over  used  the  style  and  if  the  score  is  50%  used  the  style  appropriately.                                  

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Module 2.5 Principled Negotiation

Negotiation  is  a  basic  means  of  getting  what  you  want  from  others.    A  back-­‐and-­‐forth  communication  designed  to  reach  an  agreement  when  you  and  the  other  side  have  some  interests  that  are  shared  and  others  that  are  opposed.  Negotiation  serves  two  primary  purposes  for  a  team.  

1. A  method  of  resolving  conflict  within  the  team    

2. An  integral  part  of  the  team  decision-­‐making  process  

 

The  Four  Points  of  Principled  Negotiation  

PRINCIPLE  #1    Separate  the  people  from  the  problem.    Learn  to  separate  people  difficulties  from  substantive  issues.    "Be  soft  on  the  people  and  hard  on  the  problem.  “Use  psychological  tools  to  handle  psychological  difficulties;    analytical  tools  to  address  substantive  issues.    PRINCIPLE  #2      Focus  on  interests,  not  positions.      Positional  bargaining  causes  people  to  "dig  in  their  heels”  and  maintain  their  position  to  avoid  losing  face.    Learn  to  look  behind  positions  for  interests,  some  of  which  you  may  share.    PRINCIPLE  #3      Invent  options  for  mutual  gain.      Work  with  your  partner  to  create  additional  options  to  explore.    Use  brainstorming  techniques  to  create  a  larger  number  of  quality  ideas  to  serve  your  common  interests.    PRINCIPLE  #4        Insist  on  objective  criteria.      Appeal  to  objective  standards  and  outside  sources  to  judge  the  quality  of  your  agreements.    This  not  only  helps  "separate  the  people  from  the  problem”,  but  also  allows  negotiators  to  work  together  to  identify  possible  measures  of  fairness.  (Fisher,  R.,  Ury,  W.  &  Patton,  B.,  1991)      

 “BATNA”  -­‐  Best  Alternative  To  a  Negotiated  Agreement:    (from  Roger  Fisher,  William  Ury  and  Bruce  Patton,  Getting  to  Yes:  Negotiating  Agreement  Without  Giving  In)  

Goals  of  a  “wise”  negotiation:    Protect  yourself  from  making  an  agreement  you  should  reject.    Make  the  most  of  your  assets  so  that  any  agreement  that  you  reach  will  satisfy  your  interests  as  well  as  possible.  

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The  Bottom  Line  vs.  BATNA  The  Bottom  Line:    Limits  your  ability  to  benefit  from  what  you  learn  during  negotiation.    It  inhibits  imagination  and  is  likely  to  be  set  too  high.  Creating  your  BATNA:  Determines  what  will  you  do  if  you  do  not  reach  an  agreement.  It  invent  a  list  of  actions  you  might  conceivably  take  if  no  agreement  is  reached  and  it  improves  some  of  the  more  promising  ideas  and  convert  them  into  practical  alternatives.    Selection  should  be  made  tentatively,  by  brainstorming  and  narrowing  to  one  alternative  that  seems  the  best    BATNA  for  the  situation.  Remember:    BATNA  in  action  gives  you  the  confidence  to  reach  a  “wise”  agreement.  Judge  every  offer  against  your  BATNA.    The  better  your  BATNA  the  greater  your  ability  to  improve  the  terms  of  any  negotiated  agreement.  How  to  Use  a  BATNA        

 BATNA,  an  acronym  (Fisher  &  Ury)  for  Best  Alternative  to  a  Negotiated  Agreement  is  the  alternative  action  that  can  be  taken  if  a  proposed  agreement  with  another  party  will  result  in  an  unsatisfactory  agreement  or  when  an  agreement  fails  to  materialize.    When  the  potential  results  of  a  current  negotiation  only  offers  a  value  that  is  less  than  the  BATNA,  then  negotiations  can  cease  and  the  BATNA  should  be  implemented.      When  using  a  BATNA,  prior  to  the  start  of  negotiations,  each  party  should  determine  their  own  individual  BATNA.  (www.negotiations.com)  A  BATNA  is  not  a  bottom  line  but  an  alternative.      BATNAs  assist  in  establishing  a  reasonable  end  point  to  reaching  an  agreement.    A  BATNA  does  not  help  create  any  objectives  in  a  negotiation,  but  rather  determines  the  course  of  action  if  an  agreement  is  not  reached  within  a  person’s  established  time  frame.    BATNAs  are  a  gauge  used  to  determine  what  is  being  offered  by  the  other  side  is  reasonable  and  of  better  value  than  ending  the  negotiation.    BATNAS  are  a  support  system,  which  aids  a  person  from  accepting  an  unfavorable  agreement  or  one  that  is  not  in  their  best  interests  because  it  provides  a  better  option  outside  the  negotiation  or  allows  the  person  to  know  what  to  expect  if  they  do  not  accept  an  unfavorable  offer.  

                   A  party  should  generally  not  accept  a  worse  resolution  than  its  BATNA.  Care  should  be  taken,  however,  to  ensure  that  deals  are  accurately  valued,  taking  into  account  all  considerations,  such  as  relationship  value,  time  value  of  money  and  the  likelihood  that  the  other  party  will  live  up  to  their  side  of  the  bargain.  These  other  considerations  are  often  difficult  to  value,  since  they  are  frequently  based  on  uncertain  or  qualitative  considerations,  rather  than  easily  measurable  and  quantifiable  factors.  

Using  a  BATNA  as  the  alternative  to  what  a  negotiated  agreement  would  be  permits  far  greater  flexibility  and  allows  much  more  room  for  innovation  than  a  predetermined  bottom  line,  which  is  used  in  hard  bargaining  and  not  in  principled  negotiations.  Having  a  strong  BATNA,  allows  a  party  to  exert  more  influence  because  if  an  acceptable  agreement  is  not  achieved  they  can  institute  their  BATNA.    In  contrast,  a  bottom  line  signifies  the  worst  possible  outcome  that  can  be  accepted.  The  bottom  line  acts  as  a  final  barrier  to  an  agreement  and  narrows  the  ability  of  the  person  to  negotiate,  while  a  BATNA  foster  flexibility,  creativity  innovation,  and  incentive  to  seek  

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tailor  made  solutions  to  settle  differences.    When  creating  a  BATNA,  a  person  should:  

1. Brainstorm  a  list  of  all  available  alternatives  that  might  be  considered  should  the  negotiation  fail  to  render  a  favorable  agreement.  2. Chose  the  most  promising  alternatives  and  expand  them  into  practical  and  attainable    alternatives.  3. Identify  the  best  of  the  alternatives  and  keep  it  in  reserve  as  a  fall  back  during  the    negotiation.  

 A  viable  BATNA  that  is  well  conceived  and  clearly  defined  can  be  advantageous  

and  act  as  an  insurance  policy  when  a  negotiation  must  be  ended  because  it  is  clear  that  a  beneficial  outcome  is  not  possible.    A  BATNA  allows  you  to  know  the  consequences  should  the  negotiation  fail.    Having  the  ability  to  break  off  a  negotiation  allows  a  person  to  adopt  a  more  firm  and  forceful  stance  when  proposing  ideas  and  interests  as  the  basis  for  an  agreement.    Once  your  BATNA  is  established  then  it  is  important  to  create  what  you  think  the  other  side  is  creating  as  their  BATNA.    

The  next  step  is  to  decide  when  to  reveal  your  BATNA  and  when  not  to  disclose  it.    There  are  times  when  revealing  your  BATNA  to  the  other  side  can  be  beneficial.    Usually  this  will  depend  on  the  strength/attractiveness  of  the  BATNA.  If  your  BATNA  is  strong,  disclosing  it  may  be  beneficial,  so  the  other  parties  will  understand  a  viable  alternative  exist  for  you  if  they  do  not  come  to  an  agreement.  However,  if  your  BATNA  is  weak,  it  may  be  prudent  not  to  disclose  the  BATNA,  especially  if  the  other  party  is  over-­‐estimating  their  own  BATNA.    If  you  learn  that  the  other  party  is  over-­‐estimating  its  BATNA  before  the  start  of  a  negotiation,  you  will  be  able  to  effectively  use  this  information  to  lower  the  negotiation  expectations  of  the  other  party.  

In  situations  where  both  parties  possess  a  strong  BATNA,  it  is  wise  to  acknowledge  these  BATNAs  to  the  other  party  and  then  discuss  if  proceeding  is  practical.    The  parties  may  decide  that  there  is  very  little  incentive  to  reach  an  agreement.    When  both  parties  possess  strong  BATNAS  an  acceptable  alternative  is  to  decide  to  accept  their  BATNAS  and  not  reach  an  agreement  amongst  themselves.  

In  the  reverse  situation,  what  can  you  do  with  a  weak  BATNA?  Can  your  turn  the  tables?   Yes,   there   are   two  ways   this  might   be   accomplished.   The   first   possibility   is   to  strengthen   your   own   BATNA.   The   second   way   is   to   reduce   the   BATNA   of   your  counterpart.  

1. Be   Creative   -­‐   Simply   ask   yourself   what   other   options   you  might   employ  that   could  increase   your   bargaining   position.   Brainstorm   the   situation   with   all   the   key  players  in  your  organization.  Your  planning  must  also  factor  in  your  counterpart's  interests  and  options.  

2. Improve   Your   BATNA   -­‐   Endeavour   to   expand   your   options.   One   possibility   is   to  consider   bringing   into  the   mix,   other   interested   third   party   partners.   A   third  parties  interests  may  coincide  with  key  components  of  your  interests,  or  of  your  

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counterpart's.  For  example,  this  might  entail  creative  financing  which  presents  a  more  attractive  option  to  your  counterpart.  If  you  weaken  the  other  side’s  best  alternative  by  injecting  another  element  into  the  mix,  the  game  takes  on  a  whole  new  slant.  

Use  Experts  -­‐  Neutral  parties  with  their  own  relevant  expertise  might  be  able  to  unravel  your  problem  into  a  newly  designed,  but  more  attractive  perspective.  If  your  side  lacks  some  area  of  expertise,  get  the  experts  to  lend  a  hand.  (www.negotiations.com/articles/best-­‐alternative/)  3.  When  parties  fail  to  explore  their  BATNAs,  they  expose  themselves  to  hard  bargaining  

practices,  which  create   strong   internal  pressure   to  make  an  agreement.    Being  unaware  of  what  will  happen  should  the  negotiation  fail  allows  narrow  options  to  persist  such  as:  a. Being   overly   optimistic   about   proposed   agreements   that   can   result   in  

associated  costs  not  being  fully  appreciated;  b. Becoming  too  committed  to  reach  an  agreement,  making  the  parties  

unaware  of  alternatives  outside  the  negotiation,  fostering  pessimism  about  prospects  if  the  negotiation  fails  

c. Committing  to  the  premise  that  when  persons  agree  to  something  this  is  entirely  dependent  on  the  attractiveness  of  the  available  alternatives.  (http://www.negotiationtraining.com.au/articles/next-­‐best-­‐option/)  ((adapted  from  Venter  D.,  BATNA  Explained,  www.negotiationtraining.com.)  

 Failing  to  have  available  options  during  a  negotiation  is  simply  unwise.  Having  a  

good  alternative  empowers  you  with  the  confidence  to  either  reach  a  mutually  satisfactory  agreement,  or  walk  away  to  a  better  alternative.  (www.negotiations.com/articles/best-­‐alternative/)  

 

3.3  Team  Entrance  Conference  Agenda    Time  and  Date  of  Meeting:    Basement:  66-­‐0006    Duration:  1  hour  Attendees:  All  Team  Members,  Teaching  Assistant,  and  Team  Coordinator      Key  Topic  of  Meeting:  Forming  your  Team  Importance:  Team  must  be  formed  before  Individual  Proposal  is  written    1.  Socialize                                         2  minutes  2.  Project  Information            a.  Understanding  the  Project                   5  minutes  

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         b.  Proposal                                                     3  minutes            c.  Team  Culture  to  Effectively  Manage  Project               5  minutes  3.  Questions  about  the  Course                         5  minutes  4.  Ground  Rules                                                       5  minutes                  a.  Systems  for  Ground  Rules                       i.      Writing  the  Technical  Papers                       ii.    Managing  Conflict                       iii.  Meetings                       iv.    Team  Role  Responsibilities                       v.      Oral  Presentation  5.  Reporting  Activities                                     5  minutes                  a.  Weekly  Progress  Reports                  b.  Agendas                  c.  Team  Leader  Transition  and  Completion  Report                  d.  Activity  Lists  6.  Team  Life  Cycle  and  Rotating  Roles           5  minutes    7.  Thomas  Killmann  Conflict  Mode  Inventory  and  MBTI  

   a.  Read  before  Conference                                  10  minutes                    8.  Time  Management  Issues  Team  will  be  encountering              5  minutes  9.  Mission  Statement             5  minutes  10.  Summary               5  minutes  

3.4 Instructions for Entrance Conference

Go  to  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15wYuJuKC9gTDJCeejgLS-­‐V92aqQrJ3ckbLp-­‐YtOPEbE/viewform#start=invite  and  sign  up  for  your  Entrance  Conference.    Entrance  conferences  are  held  in  the  second  and  third  weeks  of  the  course  to  help  the  individual  teams  familiarize  themselves  with  the  organization  of  the  course  and  teambuilding  activities.  Individual  teams  meet  with  the  team  coordinator  once  they  have  accomplished  the  following:    

1. Uploaded  their  Rotation  Schedule  website  1026/27/29/  Rotation  Schedule  accessed  through  the  teambuilding  website  Announcements.  

2. Set  up  their  Drop  Box  and  invited  faculty  advisor,  team  coordinator,  teaching  assistant  and  any  other  relevant  person  to  view  your  Dropbox.  Don’t  forget  to  allow  the  team  coordinator  access  to  the  electronic  collaborative  Dropbox  space.    

3. Completed  the  TKI  Survey  (may  have  to  cut  and  paste  url)  at  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dDdXLUR2RmVySkF3SEVwUWx4eUc4VGc6MQ      

4. Had  a  team  meeting  and  created  Ground  Rules  Systems  (Module  5)  as  a  reference  and  upload  Ground  Rules  into  Dropbox.  

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5. Met  with  Faculty  Advisor,  Teaching  Assistant  and  Industrial  Consultant  (if  your  project  has  one  assigned).  Had  a  discussion  about  the  faculty  advisor’s,  teaching  assistant’s  expectations  of  the  team  and  upload  expectations  you  listed  in  the  Entrance  Conference  Team  Booklet  and  expectations  you  have  gathered  from  interviewing  your  faculty  advisor,  teaching  assistant  and  industrial  consultant  if  you  have  one  into  the  Dropbox.  

6. Mission  Statement  has  been  created  at  a  team  meeting  and  uploaded  into  Dropbox.  

7. Exchanged  schedules  and  recorded  on  calendar.  8. Complied  the  team  member’s  individual  strengths  and  weaknesses  and  

uploaded  into  Dropbox.  9. Read  Module  1  and  2.a.      10. Completed  the  TKI.    11. Read  the  assigned  modules  3,  5,  6,  7,  8,  11  and  12.  12. Completed  the  Safety  Questionnaires  on  the  EHS  website.  13.  Scheduled  a  Library  Tour.  14. Made  an  initial  appointment  with  the  CIM  Instructors.  15. Became  familiar  with  laboratory  space  for  your  project.  16. Decided  upon  when  and  where  the  faculty  and  team  meetings  will  be  held.  

Members  should  be  on  time  for  their  conferences.    If  a  team  member  cannot  attend  the  meeting  the  team  coordinator  and  other  team  members  should  be  contacted  at  least  four  hours  before  the  conference  and  an  alternative  date  needs  to  be  planned  via  e-­‐mail.    The  team  building  Teaching  Assistant  will  send  available  times  for  the  team  for  the  team  to  choose  from  regarding  the  new  conference  time.      Teaching  Assistants  should  come  to  the  Entrance  Conferences.    If  not  attending  they  should  notify  team  and  the  team  coordinator  via  e-­‐mail  24  hours  in  advance  of  the  conference.  

   

  Module  4.1  Exit  Conferences      

Exit  conferences  are  held  the  last  two  weeks  of  the  course.  Individual  teams  attend  and  all  team  members  must  be  present.  Please  invite  your  teaching  assistant  to  attend.    The  conference  is  one  hour  in  duration.    Your  team  will  be  able  to  sign  up  for  your  conference  on  the  fourth  week  in  April.  Your  team  must  choose  a  time  you  can  all  meet.  A  schedule  will  be  created  by  the  Teaching  Assistant  and  the  URL  to  sign  up  for  the  conferences  will  be  sent  to  individual  teams  as  well  as  be  posted  on  the  course  website.    

 

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  The  Team  Leader  creates  the  agenda  for  the  Exit  Conference.  The  Team  Leader  should  have  a  team  meeting  to  discuss  what  issues  the  team  wishes  to  be  articulated  in  the  Completion  Report.    Although  the  Team  Leader  is  writing  the  report  it  should  reflect  what  the  entire  team  wants  to  suggest  as  improvements.  The  Team  Leader  also  e-­‐mails  the  Completion  Report  the  night  before  to  the  team  and  the  team  coordinator.  Hard  copies  for  attendees  are  brought  to  the  conference.  By  the  time  of  the  conference  most  teams  are  in  either  the  Accomplishment  Stage  or  the  Completion  Stage  of  team  development.    Please  also  refer  to  Module  11.    STAGE  4.  ACCOMPLISHMENT    1. Members  skillfully  discuss  their  strengths  and  weaknesses    2. Members  use  knowledge  of  strengths  and  weaknesses  to  accomplish  task    3. Team  is  strategically  aware  of  what  they  are  doing  and  why    4. Shared  vision  is  established    5. Team  members  understand  their  roles  on  the  team    6. Conflict  is  managed  skillfully  Team  makes  necessary  changes  to  ground  rules  and  

scope  Team  members  are  satisfied  with  the  team’s  progress    7. Members  are  committed  to  the  team’s  goals    8. Team  as  a  unit  can  implement  change    9. Members  are  effective  at  problem-­‐solving  and  decision-­‐making    10. Dialogue  amongst  team  members  is  established    STAGE  5.  COMPLETION    1. Team  members  assess  if  team  reached  their  goals,  both  collectively  and  personally    2. Members  emotionally  accept  situations  where  their  expectations  were  not  met  on  

the  team    3. Members  acknowledge  the  personal  goals  they  did  not  attain  4. Members  acknowledge  their  personal  goals  they  attained    5. Team  members  discuss  openly  changes  they  would  make  the  next  time  they  are  on  

a  team    6. Members  say  goodbye  to  each  other    7. Archival  materials  are  stored  and  given  to  proper  authorities    8. Communication  systems  used  by  the  team  are  closed  down  

Module 5.1 Ground Rules - Meeting the Team's Expectations Team  Formation  Model  Step  5.  Creation  of  ground  rules  including  expectations  of  individual  team  members,  faculty  and  consultants.      

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Assignment Instructions: 1. Ground  rules  are  established  during  the  initial  team  meeting.      2. Create  ground  rules  for  your  team  in  the  following  areas:  

a. Knowledge  teams  working  in  laboratories  are  responsible  for  six  major  activities:    laboratory  duties,  writing  papers,  individual  oral  presentations,  communicating  with  your  faculty  advisor  and/or  industrial  advisor,  and  the  team  coordinator,  team  and  faculty  meetings,  and  conflict  management.      

3. A  list  of  past  ground  rule  examples  are  provided  on  the  Collaboration  Toolbox  website  Module  5.2.  Use  these  rules  to  create  your  ground  rules.    

4. Copies  of  the  ground  rules  are  attached  to  your  first  Weekly  Progress  Report  and  are  uploaded  into  your  Dropbox.      

Systems  Thinking  theory  (von  Bertalanffy,  L)  analyzes  individuals  and  organizations  

within  the  context  of  their  environments  by  comprehending  the  fundamentals  of  how  a  team  functions,  as  a  system  within  a  set  of  larger  organizational  systems,  making  it  possible  to  work  through  the  complexity  of  these  interactions  and  arrive  at  real,  effective  solutions  to  difficult  individual,  team,  business,  or  organizational  problems.    Individuals,  teams,  and  an  organization  do  not  exist  as  an  island,  but  as  part  of  a  larger  matrix  of  systems  that  function,  more  or  less  independently,  yet  are  interdependent.  Systems  Thinking  theory  (von  Bertalanffy,  L)  states  that  a  system  maintains  its  existence  over  time  through  the  mutual  interaction  of  its  parts.    Two  such  systems  are  collaborative  and  hierarchal.    Hierarchies  are  developed  through  the  mutual  interaction  of  the  power  dynamic,  while  collaborative  systems  are  developed  through  problem  solving  and  agreed  upon  boundaries.        

Viewing  a  project  as  a  collaborative  system  of  mutual  interactions  allows  a  team  to  create  systems  that  support  understanding  of  the  project  and  allow  each  individual  to  contribute  to  creating  successful  projects.    Often  the  understanding  is  an  emergent  result  of  trial  and  error.    The  ground  rules  are  a  tool  to  help  the  team  develop  agreement  on  how  the  team  will  work  collaboratively  to  complete  the  project.  Ground  rules  are  systems  of  behavior  that  the  team  uses  to  establish  boundaries,  clarify  task  implementation,  and  promote  understanding  of  the  project,  including  creating  patterns  of  behavior  that  result  in  successful  completion  of  the  tasks  involved  in  reaching  the  team’s  goals.    Ground  rules  support  the  team  members  in  understanding  the  framework  or  structure  of  the  team.  Ground  rules  help  to  establish,  clearly  define,  and  develop  mutual  understanding  about  the  team's  culture.  “Norms”  (rules  which  will  predicate  how  you  will  act  as  a  team  member)  will  need  to  be  established  in  all  five  areas.  The  rules  are  specific,  clear,  concise,  and  are  written.    

 Once  the  team  members  commit  to  the  project  the  leader  manages  the  needed  

underlying  structure  being  created  so  that  all  members  take  responsibility  for  their  behavior  in  the  context  of  working  on  a  successful  project.    Being  collaboratively  interested  in  successfully  completing  a  project  and  understanding  the  underlying  

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structure  enable  the  team  to  identify  the  most  appropriate  rules  that  define  the  optimum  behavior  that  will  support  effective  project  management.    This  is  the  ground  rules  system.  The  first  step  in  creating  the  system  of  ground  rules  is  to  define  each  situation  the  team  will  encounter  while  doing  the  project.    

   1. Are  you  going  to  write  a  collaborative  paper  or  are  their  papers  being  written    2. individually?    What  rules  will  be  needed  to  make  this  task  run  smoothly?      3. Who  will  be  the  spokesperson  for  the  team  and  will  the  spokesperson  be  

determined  by  technical  expertise  or  by  appointment.    4. How  will  tasks  be  delegated?      5. When,  where,  and  how  will  the  team  meet?      6. How  will  the  team  meetings  be  organized  and  will  one  person  take  notes?    

 The  ideal  is  to  have  the  team  learn  to  anticipate  problems  they  may  encounter  

while  doing  the  project  and  incorporate  solutions  to  these  problems  into  the  ground  rules.  Asking  the  right  questions  is  imperative  to  success.      If  initial  discussions  are  data  focused  then  data  focused  rules  will  be  created.    If  the  discussions  are  relationship  focused,  i.e.  cause  and  effect,  then  the  ground  rules  will  seek  to  establish  “cause  and  effect”  relationships.    However,  if  the  team  leader  can  promote  discussions  that  find  solutions  to  understanding  these  patterns  responsible  for  the  situations  the  team  will  encounter  then  the  ground  rules  will  support  knowledge  of  the  project  and  the  individuals  performing  the  tasks  associated  with  the  projects.  (adapted  from  http://www.systems-­‐thinking.org,  Gene  Bellinger.  Z  2009)  

 One  of  the  most  important  aspects  of  a  ground  rules  system  is  a  collaborative  

feedback  loop.    In  many  teams  the  feedback  loop  created  is  a  negative  rather  than  collaborative.    Team  Leaders  are  responsible  for  creating  positive  collaborative  feedback  loops  that  are  incorporated  into  the  ground  rules  system.    It  is  essential  when  deciding  what  activities  need  to  be  clearly  defined  to  determine  where  to  draw  boundaries.  Limiting  and  expanding  will  always  create  compromises.    Excessively  limiting  what  activities  need  to  be  clearly  articulated  may  narrow  the  rules  as  to  omit  some  of  the  relevant  interactions  essential  to  making  the  ground  rules  relevant  to  managing  the  team.  For  example,  we  have  observed  in  this  course  that  some  teams  create  cultures  with  extensive  ground  rules,  which  work  exemplary,  while  others  create  few  ground  rules  ultimately  running  into  problems  as  behaviors  emerge  that  were  not  well  defined  in  the  ground  rule  system.    Therefore,  when  we  see  unarticulated  ground  rules  your  team  will  be  asked  to  have  another  meeting  and  transform  the  rules  into  more  functional  rules.    

Revisiting  the  ground  rules  on  a  regular  basis,  especially  during  times  of  stress,  will  initially  support  the  team  to  question  if  changes  to  the  ground  rules  system  are  needed  to  make  working  together  more  effective  and  efficient.    The  ground  rules  system  should  include  a  combination  of  balancing  and  reinforcing  structures.    An  example  of  a  balancing  and  reinforcing    ground  rules  sytems  is;  

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 Faculty  Advisor  Meetings:  These  are  guidelines  that  should  be  implemented    1. Weekly  meetings  with  the  faculty  advisor  will  be  held  _______;  Place________.    2. All  participants  must  have  read  the  Weekly  Progress  Report  before  the  meeting.  3. If  there  are  any  ambiguous  statements  in  the  Weekly  Progress  report  then  the  recorder  

will  clear  up  the  ambiguities  at  the  meeting  (agenda  item)  or  via  e-­‐mail  before  the  meeting.  

4. Items  on  the  agenda  will  be  discussed  at  the  meeting.  5. The  items  are  those  pre-­‐selected  from  the  team  meetings  and  each  member  can  add  to  

them  24  hours  before  the  faculty  meeting.    6. The  team  leader  facilitates  meeting.    7. All  participants  input  will  be  considered  during  the  meeting.  8. The  Team  Leader  will  manage  tangential  discussions.  9. The  faculty  advisor  in  this  meeting  will  give  as  much  input  as  necessary  and  will  not  take  

over  the  meeting.    10. Team  members  must  be  punctual  to  faculty  meetings.    11. If  a  member  is  going  to  be  absent,  that  member  must  inform  other  team  members  a  day  

before  the  meeting.    12. Minutes  are  they  optional  or  required  or  only  required  when  someone  is  absent  or  late?  

    Bertalanffy's  initial  premise  is  that  there  are  fundamental  structures  interacting  across  all  systems  and,  if  one  learns  the  structures,  when  transferring  from  one  discipline  to  another,  much  of  the  learning  can  be  transferred.  When  studying  a  new  discipline,  one  simply  has  to  learn  the  labels  on  the  structures  in  the  new  discipline.  Therefore  agreeing  upon  the  definition  of  ambiguous  labels  such  as  respect,  being  non-­‐judgmental,  honesty,  conflict  management,  and  trust  support  the  system  being  functional.      You  can  consider  the  balancing  and  reinforcing  structures  as  building  blocks,  which  can  be  combined  in  numerous  ways  to  describe  more  intricate  interactions.  When  revisiting  the  ground  rules  review  the  problems  that  have  come  up  during  the  project’s  execution  and  ask  how  the  problems  can  be  solved  by  incorporating  changes  to  the  systems  already  developed.    An  example  from  a  past  team  follows:    

 “The  Ground  Rules  proved  to  be  a  very  effective  way  of  managing  team  tasks  

and  we  referred  back  to  them  once  the  Proposal  and  Oral  presentation  deadlines  were  approaching.    Referring  back  to  the  rules  helped  to  keep  each  person  on  track  with  their  responsibilities  to  the  team  and  was  a  good  indicator  of  why  things  may  not  have  worked.  In  my  opinion,  our  ground  rules  were  very  comprehensive  and  should  be  carried  forward  into  the  next  rotation  without  any  changes.  There  was  one  area  of  the  ground  rules  that  was  not  adhered  to  which  led  to  some  difficulties  in  the  preparation  of  the  oral  presentation.  Flexibility  was  allowed  in  the  oral  presentation  system  initially  and  then  the  presenter  modified  the  system  during  the  first  rotation.  However,  we  realized  that  this  was  not  an  effective  means  of  preparation.  So  we  consulted  with  our  faculty  advisor  who  gave  us  excellent  feedback  on  how  to  move  forward  with  our  time  

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management  and  delegation  of  tasks  and  the  revisions  to  the  system  were  appropriately  made.”    

    It  is  important  to  have  a  system  of  follow-­‐through  involving  the  team,  your  industrial  consultant,  your  teaching  assistant,  team  coordinator,  and  faculty  advisor  in  the  problem-­‐solving  process.    The  system’s  key  elements  should  build  short-­‐term  momentum  by  implementing  the  10.26  procedures  and  continuing  to  deepen  people’s  understanding  about  the  procedures  as  changes  are  made.  Whenever  possible,  team  leaders  involve  all  team  members  by  first  helping  to  develop  your  own  insights  about  why  the  team’s  systems  function  as  they  do,  and  as  time  goes  by  meeting  with  your  team  and  encouraging  clarification  on  what  the  team  initially  created.    Part  of  your  ground  rules  system  will  be  a  procedure  for  conflict  management  used  when  the  team  encounters  internal  and  external  conflicts.    The  ground  rules  system  when  designed  appropriately  initiates  negotiation  and  consensus  building.  

 Individual  behavior  not  accounted  for  within  the  ground  rule  system  can  emerge.    

By  using  the  Entrance  Conference  information  emergent  behaviors  can  be  prevented.    Therefore  team  members  should  accurately  describe  their  strengths,  weaknesses,  motivations,  and  how  they  behave  in  regard  to  lateness  to  meetings,  working  collaboratively,  and  managing  their  time  when  supplying  their  personal  information.    When  emergent  behavior  occurs,  the  team  should  clearly  define  the  emergent  behavior  and  decide  whether  or  not  to  adopt  the  behavior  and  change  the  ground  rule  system  it  is  affecting  or  to  have  the  team  leader  monitor  the  emergent  behavior  and  extinguish  it.    An  example  of  a  behavior  a  team  may  want  to  extinguish  is:  

 “Our  biggest  weakness  continues  to  be  our  tendency  to  procrastinate,  though  

there  has  been  an  improvement  over  the  course  of  the  semester.  The  busy  schedules  of  the  team  members  often  make  it  difficult  for  us  to  meet  our  internal  deadlines.  However,  there  was  a  marked  improvement  from  the  writing  of  the  original  progress  report  to  the  revisions  of  the  progress  report.  The  writing  process  for  the  original  progress  report  was  poorly  organized  and  procrastinated  (and  rushed  through)  to  the  very  last  minute.  The  team  had  a  long  (voluntary  and  unofficial)  team  meeting  to  work  on  the  progress  report  revisions  together  in  which  the  team  was  able  to  bond  as  well  as  efficiently  complete  the  revisions.  We  then  redesigned  our  ground  rules  system  for  writing  collaborative  papers  so  the  problems  would  not  be  encountered  during  writing  the  Final  Report.”  

 Here  are  some  areas  that  may  need  further  defining  in  order  to  continue  a  

collaborative  environment  for  the  team:    

1. “Accidental  Adversaries”  are  problems  that  emerge  that  are  no  one’s  fault,  including  but  not  limited  to,  scarcity  of  resources  or  resources  that  do  not  arrive  on  time,  equipment  failures,  inability  to  meet  with  stakeholders  that  you  need  to  help  further  the  project,  and  health  issues.    This  part  of  the  system  points  out  how  myopic  local  

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activity,  with  the  best  of  intentions,  can  lead  to  an  overall  limiting  development  for  completing  the  project,  and  can  actually  inhibit  moving  the  project  ahead  on  time.    

2. “Drifting  Goals”  is  when  one  set  of  goals  or  expectations  actually  inhibits  the  goals  and  expectations  of  another  system.    A  gap  in  understanding  is  what  is  occurring  and  when  it  happens  and  frustration  mounts,  then  discussions  and  action  need  to  be  taken  to  reduce  the  anxiety  and  develop  better  understanding  on  how  to  move  forward.  

 3. “Escalation”  is  creating  a  system  that  allows  the  team  to  take  their  results,  no  matter  

whether  they  are  viewed  as  negative  or  positive  and  reframe  them  into  an  system  that  produce  better  understanding  of  themselves  and  the  project  allowing  the  team  to  work  more  productively.    

   4. “Fixes  that  Fail”  are  when  decisions  are  made  by  the  team  or  an  outsider  that  

disrupt  the  flow  of  the  project  because  they  are  not  discussed  or  developed  into  a  relevant  ground  rule  system  or  an  existing  ground  rules  sytems  is  not  changed.    Sometimes  they  are  discussed  but  the  ground  rules  are  not  rewritten  and  further  disruption  occurs.  

 5. “Growth  of  Time  Investment”  is  when  the  project  as  initially  structured  is  changed  

because  of  changes  to  the  project,  such  as  deadlines  changed  or  after  the  project  is  underway  the  team  realizes  that  more  time  investment  is  needed  to  complete  the  project  successfully  and  the  amount  of  time  is  not  reasonable  therefore  the  project’s  scope  and  milestones  must  be  analyzed  and  changed  to  fit  into  the  amount  of  time  left  to  complete  the  project.  Ground  rules  may  also  need  to  be  reorganized.  

 6. “Underinvestment  of  Time”  is  when  the  team  members’  focus  has  been  deliberately  

changed  to  other  pressing  matters  and  the  project  begins  to  lag.  The  project  can  also  begin  to  lag  because  some  team  members  may  not  have  accurately  assessed  the  amount  of  time  they  could  invest  in  successfully  completing  the  project.    Time  management  issues  must  be  discussed  on  a  regular  basis.  

 7. “Limits  to  Success”  is  when  the  team  realizes  that  their  initial  model  of  success  

needs  changing  due  to  outside  or  inside  pressures  and  limits.    8. “Shifting  the  Burden”  is  when  the  project  is  being  pulled  in  a  direction  by  foreseen  

and  unforeseen  circumstances  which  is  creating  an  undesired  result.        9. “Success  to  the  Successful”  is  creating  self-­‐fulfilling  prophecies,  which  are  actually  

the  result  of  unperceived  influences.    

THE  GROUND  RULES  SYSTEM  –  INCORPORATING  KNOWLEDGE  INTO  A  SYSTEM  Setting  the  Ground  Rules  –    

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 Procedure  to  follow  to  formulate  ground  rules:  

1. Choose  ground  rules  from  list  provided  in  Module  5.2  on  the  Collaboration  Toolbox  website.    

2. Develop  others  that  would  be  unique  to  your  team  3. Make  sure  to  cover  all  areas  of  team  interaction  and  plan  ahead.  

 Overall  Participation:  

1. Discuss  team  ethics  2. Make  an  agreement  to  help  each  other  to  meet  the  team's  goals  3. Commit  to  fulfilling  your  personal  responsibility,  sharing  ideas  and  supporting  

each  other  in  work  4. Reinforce  positive  ways  to  communicate  support  to  each  other  and  utilize  the  

team's  strength  to  be  high  performing  5. Commit  to  being  on  time.    Being  on  time  means  when  delayed  communicating  

with  the  team  quickly  to  manage  the  problem.  6. Commit  to  preparing  materials  in  advance  7. Share  the  work  equally.    Equally  means  over  the  course  of  the  project  not  daily.  8.  System  for  brainstorming,  including  how  you  will  present  your  ideas  and  narrow  your  

decision  making  process.  9. System  for  decision-­‐making    10. System  for  Identifying,  defining,  and  setting  the  quality  requirements  for  the  team  11. System  for  reviewing  the  task  assignment  process  including  data  analysis,  writing  

assignments,  and  oral  presentations.  12. System  for  holding  meetings  

a. Decide  on  regular  times  for  weekly  team  and  faculty  meetings.  b. Decide  how  team  will  conduct  short  informal  meetings,  to  maintain  

communication  between  the  weekly,  formalized  meetings.  c. Plan  with  the  team  what  evaluation  criteria  your  team  will  use  to  assess  if  the  

meeting  and  how  to  implement  evaluation  process.  13. System  for  conflict  management.  

 10.26/27/29  GROUND  RULES  FOR  BEING  TIMELY  The  following  are  NOT  excuses  for  not  being  timely  with  assignments,  showing  up  for  team  meetings,  labs,  or  timely  E-­‐MAILING  Weekly  Progress  Reports,  or  agendas.  

1. Being  a  Double  Major  2. Athletic  Practices  3. Extra  Curricula  Activities  4. Ineffectual  Organization  of  Team  or  Collaborative  Experience  in  ICE  5. Lack  of  Organization  in  ICE  by  leaving  ICE  assignments  to  last  minute  6. Having  to  track  you  down  and  get  you  to  do  an  assessment    7. Other  team  member  has  part  of  assignment  and  you  can  not  locate  them  8. Faculty  Advisor  says  you  do  not  have  to  do  it  

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Excuses  for  missing  an  assignment:  (Accepted  excuses  must  be  communicated  in  advance  with  alternative  plan  to  make  up  the  assignment)  

1. Job  interviews  2. Graduate  School  Interviews  3. Confirmed  Illness  

 

Module 6.1 Meetings  This  is  a  reprint  from  the  course  manual  section  3.2.5    

A.  Faculty  Meetings  -­  You  should  meet  weekly  as  a  team  with  your  faculty  advisor.    Determine  with  your  advisor  when  and  where  the  meetings  will  be  held.    For  each  meeting,  the  Team  Leader  should  send  out  the  Agenda  and  a  Weekly  Progress  Report  (prepared  by  Recorder)  to  all  attendees  24  hours  before  the  meeting,  using  the  team  email  address.    Detailed  instructions  for  the  Weekly  Faculty  Meeting  Progress  Report  are  given  in  Section  7.6.  The  first  Weekly  Progress  Report  is  due  in  the  third  week  of  the  term.    Weekly  faculty  meetings  are  used  to  update  the  faculty  on  your  progress,  discuss  issues  you  are  having  in  accomplishing  your  goals,  and  brainstorming  how  to  do  accomplish  the  goals.    

 B.  Team  Meetings  -­‐  You  should  meet  weekly  with  your  team  members.  Your  

team  must  decide  on  a  time  for  your  weekly  team  meeting  and  report  the  time  in  your  First  Weekly  Progress  Report.    Most  teams  decide  on  the  same  time  weekly  for  the  meeting  throughout  the  term.  The  team  leader  sends  out  agendas  24  hours  in  advance  for  team  meetings.    At  the  first  weekly  team  meeting  teambuilding  exercises,  formulating  team  ground  rules,  and  time  management  plans  must  be  prepared  and  include  the  following:  1. Goals  articulated  and  Mission  Statement  created      2. Information  from  Entrance  Conference  Booklet  organized  and  uploaded  into  

Drop  Box  (recorder)  3. Ground  Rules  systems  as  mentioned  above  completed.      4. Plan  for  procuring  faculty  advisor’s,  industrial  consultant’s  and  teaching  

assistant’s  expectations  of  the  team  for  the  first  Weekly  Progress  Report    The  Team  Leader  decides  with  the  team  in  the  team  meetings  the  resources  for  

the  week  and  creates  a  Weekly  Activity  Lists  (examples  may  be  found  on  the  Teambuilding  website),  that  is  incorporated  into  the  Weekly  Progress  Report,  and  posted  in  Drop  Box,  whichever  the  faculty  advisor  and  the  team  decides.  

 C.    General  Meeting  Guidelines  -­‐  In  order  to  create  and  sustain  a  time  

management  plan,  organized  regular  meetings  are  essential.    Learning  to  plan  and  facilitate  a  meeting  is  critical  to  facilitating  powerfully  energized  discussions.    

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Facilitation  at  a  meeting  is  the  difference  between  wasting  your  time  and  accomplishing  the  goal.    In  10.26/27/29  the  facilitator  of  team  and  faculty  meetings  is  the  Team  Leader.  Team  meetings  fulfill  the  social  and  communication  needs  of  the  team.  The  team’s  needs  are  communicating  data  and  results,  recognition  of  being  part  of  a  successful  team,  involvement  in  decision-­‐making,  goal  setting,  problem-­‐solving,  work  and  improvements  in  work  delegation,  and  the  mutual  support  and  enhancement  of  the  self-­‐esteem  of  the  participants  to  promote  creativity.  The  following  guidelines  are  useful  to  keep  in  mind  when  planning  meetings:  

 1. Plan  Logistics.    What  time  are  you  going  to  meet?    Team  Leader  looks  at  team  

members'  schedules  (Schedule  for  the  term  is  created  in  Entrance  Conference  Booklet  and/or  as  a  calendar  on  Google  and/or  uploaded  or  URL  sent  to  all  involved.      

2. Team  Leader  decides  with  the  team  when  it  is  appropriate  to  hold  meetings.    Most  teams  have  a  fixed  weekly  time  that  they  meet  with  their  team  and  when  they  meet  with  their  faculty  advisor.    

3. Secure  the  meeting  place  and/or  establish  a  specific  meeting  place  for  the  entire  semester  for  the  weekly  team  and  faculty  meetings.  

4. Decide  on  the  objective(s)  of  the  meeting.    Solicit  input  from  team  members  before  the  meeting  or  at  the  start  of  the  meeting,  to  make  sure  that  all  concerns  are  addressed.  

5. Determine  participants.  Do  you  need  to  involve  staff  or  faculty  in  the  meeting  to  facilitate  organizing  the  task?    If  you  need  to  involve  faculty  in  a  meeting,  check  their  availability  before  sending  out  a  time.    The  same  goes  for  the  TA  and/or  consultants.        

6. The  Team  Leader  creates  an  Agenda  and  sends  it  out  24  hours  in  advance.      

Weekly  Progress  Reports  sent  via  e-­‐mail  or  in  Drop  box  to  faculty  advisor,  team  members,  and  team  coordinator.  Bring  copies  of  the  amended  agenda  to  the  meeting  or  have  it  on  a  computer  screen  that  everyone  can  observe.  

Module 6.2 Agendas        The  Team  Leader  prepares  Agendas  for  weekly  faculty  and  team  meetings.      Both  

the  team  and  the  faculty  meetings  are  held  weekly  at  different  times.  Your  team  will  also  have  other  meetings  for  collaborating  on  collaborative  papers  and  analyzing  data.  High  performance  can  only  be  accomplished  through  detailed  planning  and  organization,  effective  communication,  followed  through  by  providing  an  atmosphere  where  fruitful  dialogue  can  be  nurtured,  where  all  ideas  are  valued.    Time  to  plan  and  organize  tasks  is  a  paramount  objective  of  the  team.  Agendas  are  used  to  promote  team  creativity  and  self-­‐management  in  action  planning,  decision-­‐making,  problem  solving,  work  process  improvement,  goal  setting,  and  mission  development.    Agendas  help  the  team  focus  on  relevant  material  to  discuss,  creating  efficient  discussions,  and  effective  

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meetings.    Some  teams  make  the  error  during  Rotation  1  using  a  less  structured  agenda  but  find  by  Rotation  2  a  more  structured  agenda  increases  efficiency.    Most  teams  find  stating  key  objectives  for  meetings  on  the  agenda  fosters  a  more  efficient  meeting.    Agendas  are  a  guide  for  the  discussion,  good  for  listing  questions  for  faculty,  and  enhance  critical  thinking  helping  team  members  organize  their  thoughts  before  the  meeting.    Agendas  are  used  to  streamline  the  meeting  process  and  to  discourage  unnecessary  tangents,  and  help  the  team  to  refocus.    During  a  meeting  you  can  decide  to  add  agenda  items  and  time  if  needed.    It  is  also  important  that  agendas  follow  the  items  reported  in  the  Weekly  Progress  Report.    Creating  stronger  more  focused  agendas  and  sticking  to  them  helps  streamline  meetings.  

Set  a  realistic  agenda  to  provide  the  structure  and  format.  Use  the  templates  provided  in  Module  6  or  8.    Consider  the  agenda  the  action  plan  for  the  meeting.    The  first  step  to  accomplishing  effective  time  management  and  organization  is  to  create  dynamic  agendas  for  your  team.  Steps  to  follow:    

1. Preparation  -­‐  what  needs  to  happen  before  the  meeting?  2. Establish  the  key  topics  for  the  meeting  

a. State  any  problems  from  last  meeting  to  discuss  and  articulated  in  the  Weekly  Progress  Report.  

b. Prioritize    3. Time  Management    

a. Identify  a  time  frame  for  the  different  items  on  the  agenda    b. Identify  time  frame  for  the  meeting.  c. Always  leave  time  for  summarizing  the  meeting.  

4. Specify  decisions  that  need  to  be  made.  5. Brainstorming  activities  (specify  areas  where  ideas  need  to  be  generated)  

a.  Leave  time  to  brainstorm  solutions  and  time  to  prioritize  and  categorize  the  solutions.  

b. List  any  solutions  you  feel  would  be  helpful  6. Leading  the  meeting  -­‐  will  someone  other  than  the  team  leader  lead  because  the  other  

team  member's  expertise  is  essential  to  the  discussion?    It  can  be  more  effective  to  allow  that  team  member  to  run  the  meeting  once  you  have  the  agenda  completed.  

7. Data  analysis  to  be  reviewed  should  be  sent  as  attachment  if  not  up  to  date  in  Weekly  Progress  Report.  

8. Leave  ten  minutes  or  more  on  the  agenda  to  discuss  team  issues  during  the  weekly  team  meetings.  

1. During  the  team  meetings  review  activity  lists  for  the  tasks  inside  and  outside  the  laboratory  you  will  perform  during  the  next  week.    

 

Module 6.5 Brainstorming; The Affinity Diagram  

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How  to  Brainstorm    1. Clearly  define  the  problem  or  subject  to  be  discussed  by  having  a  well-­‐formulated  question  

to  begin  the  discussion.  2. Review  the  topic  by  asking  “why”,  “how”,  or  “what”  questions.  3. Give  team  members  time  to  think  over  the  problem.  4. Open  the  meeting  to  discussion,  making  clear  that  all  opinions  will  be  respected.  5. No  evaluation  or  judgment  of  any  of  the  ideas  presented  should  be  voiced,  including  

nonverbal  communications  (gestures,  etc.),  and  praise  or  criticism.  6. Remember  there  are  no  right  or  wrong  ideas.  Some  ideas  may  not  seem  appropriate  at  one  

moment  but  may  be  useful  later.  The  more  ideas  the  better  the  brainstorming  session.  Build  on  each  others’  ideas  

7. Combine  ideas  that  are  similar  if  the  team  agrees  8. Ask  clarifying  questions  9. Recorder  is  responsible  for  writing  down  all  expressed  idea  and  communicating  them  in  

the  Weekly  Progress  Reports  as  brainstorming  session  ideas  10. No  discussion  on  any  idea  proposed  during  the  generation  process  11. Don’t  judge    Time  Management  Tip        1. If  your  team  is  pressed  for  time,  you  can  have  team  members  brainstorm  before  the  

meeting  and  come  prepared  with  their  ideas  in  writing.    This  will  facilitate  the  brainstorming  session  and  help  the  recorder  transcribe  the  ideas.  

2. Set  up  an  e-­‐mail  system  generating  ideas  to  each  other  via  e-­‐mail  before  the  meeting  and  come  prepared  to  discuss  the  ideas  at  the  brainstorming  session.  

 3. The  team  leader  is  responsible  for  moving  the  team  to  the  decision-­‐making  part  of  the  

brainstorming  session  when  appropriate.      

Module 7.1 Mission Statements    Team  Formation  Model  -­  Step  4.  Creating  a  mission  statement  that  can  be  utilized  to  create  a  scope  statement  for  a  time  management  plan      3.2.4  Mission  Statements  in  course  manual    

 A  Mission  Statement  is  a  statement  on  how  and  what  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  team  by  clearly  stating  the  intended  direction  the  project  and  team  will  attain.    The  mission  

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statement  guides  the  actions  of  the  team,  designating  the  overall  goal  to  give  direction  for  decision-­‐making.    Mission  Statements  provide  the  framework  or  context  where  the  team's  strategies  are  formulated.  

Mission  Statements  allow  the  team  to  develop  conceptual  thinking  about  the  technical  aspects  of  the  project  and  help  team  members  to  feel  comfortable  thinking  of  new  ways  to  look  at  existing  problems  while  applying  their  knowledge  in  innovative  ways.    The  Mission  Statement  facilitates  defining  where  the  project  may  still  need  development  and  further  helps  the  team  members  to  communicate  concepts  more  clearly  and  accurately  in  creating  their  objectives  in  the  individual  proposals.  Mission  Statements  help  the  team  to  address  organizational  communication  issue,  allow  the  team  to  own  their  work  tasks,  and  the  successful  completion  of  their  projects  (Module  7).      Further  Reading:    Mission  Statement (part of Entrance Conference Team Booklet used during teambuilding lecture)

 A  mission  statement  describes  the  best  possible  outcome  and  asserts  the  team’s  

ability  to  articulate  and  execute  a  vision.    The  mission  statement  determines  the  creativity,  quality,  and  originality  of  a  team’s  ideas  and  solutions.  A  powerful  mission  statement  should  stretch  expectations  and  aspirations  helping  the  team  to  jump  out  of  their  comfort  zone.  A  mission  statement  can  generate  a  mental  image  to  stimulate  an  emotional  response  that  can  serve  to  invigorate  and  motivate  the  team.  The  team  leader  facilitates  the  team  in  the  creation  of  the  mission  statement.    A  vision  statement  can  be  a  corporate  long-­‐term  goal.    Your  mission  statement  will  be  your  team’s  long  term  goal  for  the  project  with  specific  references  to  how  you  will  interact  as  a  team  as  well  as  how  you  will  plan  the  project.  The  success  of  a  project  is  the  ability  of  the  team  to  make  the  transition  from  idea  to  action.  New  projects  can  become  stalled  during  the  transition  from  forming  ideas  to  accomplishing  them.  Teams  need  to  organize  the  project  development  process  by  creating  a  mission  statement,  creating  goals,  prioritizing  tasks,  and  evaluating  team  performance  through  developed  systems  of  behavior  called  ground  rules.  The  mission  statement  consist  of  three  elements:      

One,  define  the  project's  primary  goals.  Goals  are  the  foundation  and  the  reasons  for  coming  together  to  accomplish  the  project.  This  element  may  be  augmented  and  expanded  or  change  direction  during  a  research  project  therefore  reviewing  the  mission  statement  for  accuracy  is  important.    Discussions  are  focused  on:  1. Delineating  the  purpose,  values,  objectives,  and  direction  of  the  team  by  providing  a  

clear  and  compelling  statement  of  the  team’s  direction  2. Defining  flexibility  and  ability  to  continuously  improve  team  and  task  process  3. Explaining  the  team’s  commitment  to  innovative  approaches  for  maintaining  quality  

task  approaches  to  problem  solving  4. Identifying  what  the  team  is  doing  long  term  5. Discuss  how  you  are  going  to  achieve  extraordinary  goals    

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Two,  define  the  project's  formal  organizational  structure.    Use  ground  rules,  meetings,  reporting  activities  and  other  team  structures  to  support  the  organizational  structure.      This  element  changes  to  facilitate  the  project's  goals.    Discussions  are  focused  on:  1. Definition  of  your  team  culture  2. Authority  for  team  to  improve    3. Team’s  commitment  to  innovative  approaches  for  maintaining  quality  team  

approaches  to  problem  solving  4. Sources  of  the  team’s  competitive  strengths  and  advantages  (use  exercises).    

Three  define  the  project's  daily  operational  structure.  Use  your  knowledge  of  each  other’s  strengths  and  weaknesses  and  time  availability  to  create  daily  operational  structure.    This  element  may  change  to  meet  the  project's  goals  within  the  context  of  resources  available.    Discussions  are  focused  on:  1. Describing  communication  structure  2. Plan  how  to  be  flexible  and  to  continuously  improve  team  and  task  process.  3. Discuss  a  system  to  be  used  for  innovation  and  quality  4. Create  a  system  for  problem-­‐solving  5. How  to  implement  qualifications  for  a  quality  work  product.    How  to  Use  a  Mission  Statement  in  a  Project  Setting:    1. Mission  statements  are  the  first  collaborative  effort  in  the  team.  2. Periodically  review  the  mission  statement  to  make  any  necessary  revisions.    3. Empower  the  team  using  the  mission  statement  and  ground  rules  to  create  systems  

of  behavior  that  the  team  can  follow  to  prevent  and  solve  problems.      4. Commitment  to  a  vision  improves  teamwork  and  establishes  an  ethical  system  of  

research.      Projects  have  specific  objectives  that  need  to  be  supported  by  their  own  project  

culture.  Projects  include  an  assemblage  of  people  enveloping  a  concept  or  idea  and  particular  actions.  Discovering,  and  even  more  important  creating,  and  maintaining  the  character  of  that  culture,  is  an  important  job  of  the  team  leader.    If  a  team  truly  intends  to  complete  their  mission,  they  must  deflect  the  temptation  to  depart  from  their  statement  unless,  as  in  some  cases,  the  project  may  reinvent  itself  as  research  leads  in  a  different  direction.    Therefore,  as  stated,  any  mission  statement  created  for  a  research  project  team  must  include  the  idea  of  flexibility,  the  ability  to  collaborate  and  change  their  mission  and  follow  where  the  research  leads  your  team.    If  your  team  stays  true  to  a  flexible  strategy,  and  maintains  a  purposeful  ethical  persona  that  is  articulated  in  the  mission  statement  your  chances  for  a  successful  conclusion  to  the  project  are  enhanced.  (Adapted  from  Nahavandi,  A.,  1997.    The  Art  and  Science  of  Leadership.    London,  UK:    Prentice  Hall  International  Dubrin,  A.J.,  1995.    LEADERSHIP  Research  Findings,  Practice,  and  Skills.    Boston,  MA:    Houghton  Mifflin  Company.)      

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Module 8.1 Activity Lists  

The  team  leader  creates  the  written  weekly  activity  list  with  the  team.    Lists  are  discussed  at  meetings  and  lab  for  further  organization.    The  lists  are  a  team  performance  measure.  The  lists,  when  utilized  properly,  allow  the  team  leader  to  allocate  tasks  dependent  upon  individual  strengths  and  weaknesses.  Inefficiencies  occur  when  member’s  strengths  and  weaknesses  are  not  taken  into  account  when  assigning  tasks  and  allocating  times.    The  Activity  Lists  are  the  team’s  primary  means  for  allocating  tasks.  Periodically  checking  and  revising  them  throughout  the  week  creates  efficiency,  high  productivity  and  clear  communication.    The  lists  can  stimulate  discussion  on  how  to  organize  time  management  for  the  team.  Activity  List  should  be  more  structured  and  detailed  than  the  “Work  to  be  Done”  section  in  the  Weekly  Progress  Report,  which  is  needed  to  be  effective.  The  lists  help  organize  a  balanced  workload  over  long  periods  of  time  and  coordinate  individual  team  member’s  time  management  schedules,  allowing  the  team  to  improve  their  ability  to  estimate  time  when  allocating  tasks.      For  some  teams,  in  the  beginning  of  the  project,  during  the  literature  search,  the  lists  may  not  be  as  helpful,  but  by  the  fifth  week  of  your  project  you  will  find  them  more  effective  The  lists  reduce  confusion  about  which  team  member  is  doing  each  task,  especially  when  data  is  being  analyzed  and  lab  notes  are  unclear.    The  lists  are  also  used  to  organize  outside  activities  for  the  team,  including  task  allocation  for  oral  presentation  planning  and  writing  individual  and  collaborative  papers.    Activity  Lists  allow  tasks  to  be  delegated  when  each  team  member  is  working  on  a  different  part  of  the  experiment  during  each  lab  period.    Activity  Lists  allow  the  team  not  to  waste  time  at  the  beginning  of  the  lab  period  to  delegate  tasks  allowing  members  to  come  to  lab  prepared  and  exhibit  a  more  thorough  understanding  of  the  experimental  methods.  Having  regular  meetings  and  involving  the  entire  team  in  scheduling  with  clear  deadlines  and  allocating  time  can  be  effective.    

Team  Leaders  should  always  delineate  timelines  for  the  completion  of  written  reports  in  their  activity  lists,  which  include  a  deadline  for  individual  content  of  the  first  draft,  a  deadline  for  edits,  a  deadline  for  incorporating  instructors’  feedback  on  the  first  draft,  and  a  deadline  for  edits  on  the  second  draft.  These  timelines  are  effective  in  helping  the  team  manage  their  time  for  written  assignments  when  approximate  times  are  given  for  each  task,  which  can  be  discussed  for  accuracy  after  a  task  has  been  completed.        Creating  Weekly  Activity  Lists:      

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1.    All  tasks  should  be  delineated  on  the  weekly  activity  lists  that  each  team  member  will  be  performing  during  the  week.  2.    List  any  obstacles  to  a  task  so  solutions  and  time  to  implement  solutions  can  be  assigned  to  team  members  during  the  weekly  meetings.  

a.    Example    -­‐    Experiment  1    i.    Ordering  equipment.    

1.    Obstacle  some  equipment  will  take  time  to  arrive    3.    Decide  tasks  to  be  done  by  each  team  member  or  list  on  agenda  and  leave  time  to  decide  which  tasks  each  team  member  will  perform  if  your  ground  rules  state  the  team  does  this  activity  collaboratively.      

a.    Note:    It  is  a  good  idea  for  the  team  leader  to  make  a  preliminary  activity  list  before  the  meeting  to  save  time  and  to  have  something  in  writing  to  discuss  helping  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  discussion.  

b.    Some  teams  allocate  time  in  the  laboratory  to  do  the  activity  lists.    This  should  be  stated  in  ground  rules.  2.    Attach  the  Weekly  Activity  Lists,  which  identify  person  performing  the  task  and  estimated  times  to  do  the  task  to  the  agendas.    3.    Deadlines  for  submitting  work  on  these  Activity  Lists  are  essential.    Complicated  tasks  can  be  assigned  to  specific  team  members  to  create  action  plans  to  distribute  to  all  team  members.      4.    Assignment  of  these  tasks  can  be  planned  before  the  meeting  or  in  the  laboratory  and  attached  to  the  agenda  or  in  the  Weekly  Progress  Report.    It  is  usually  good  to  keep  all  activity  lists  with  estimated  times  and  revised  times  after  a  task  is  completed  in  a  separate  folder  in  the  Dropbox  for  reference.  5.    Templates  and  Examples  are  on  the  Collaboration  Toolbox  website.    

8.5.a Weekly Progress report Instructions                Course  Manual  3.3.2  Weekly  Progress  Report  (Teambuilding  components)    

 Weekly  Progress  Reports  are  discussed  more  fully  in  Section  7.6  of  this  Course  

Manual.    The  first  Weekly  Progress  Report  is  due  in  Week  3  of  the  subject.    Here,  we  address  the  teambuilding  components  of  this  report.    These  reports  typically  take  either  a  memo  format,  in  which  progress  is  described  using  prose  with  accompanying  tables  and  figures,  or  presentation  format  with  bulleted  lists,  tables  and  figures  as  appropriate.  Depending  on  the  format  used,  a  short  paragraph  (~0.5  pg)  or  slide  is  expected  that  addresses  Section  4  (“Team”)  issues.  Specific  instructions  for  what  to  include  in  Section  4  on  a  weekly  basis  are  summarized  here;  more  information  may  be  found  at  the  Teambuilding  website,  under  Module  8.      

 1. Week  Three:  include  the  following:  

a. Ground  Rules  (in  Section  4)  b. The  Mission  Statement  (in  Section  1)  

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2.  Starting  in  week  4,  include  some  discussion  of  the  following  topics,  as  appropriate:    

a. Use  of  TKI  results  to  record  what  is  happening  during  disagreements.    b. Describe  any  issues  or  problems  related  to  functioning  of  your  team  that  

should  be  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  team  coordinator  and  your  faculty  advisor.      

c. Discuss  the  strengths  and  weaknesses  of  your  team  and  how  you  plan  to  rectify  these  weaknesses.    Indicate  any  communication  problems  with  your  team  and  your  1026/27/29  personnel.  

d. What  team  life  cycle  stage  is  the  team  in?  Support  your  identification  with  details  from  the  Team  Life  Cycle  reading.  

e. How  is  the  team  addressing  time  management  issues?  f. How  is  the  team  delegating  tasks?  g. Obstacles  to  getting  the  project  done?  

   

Module 9.2 Situational Leadership Reading URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/15wYuJuKC9gTDJCeejgLS-V92aqQrJ3ckbLp-YtOPEbE/viewform#start=invite  

Organization/Group  Development  Level

Similar  to  the  styles  of  a  leader  –  task  vs.  people,  the  team  member  needs  to  be  competent  as  well  as  committed  to  their  assigned  tasks.  The  two  major  components  of  the  developmental  levels  are:  

1. Ability:  the  job  related  knowledge,  experience,  and  proficiency  of  individual  or  group.  a. Knowledge  represents  the  theoretical  understanding  b. Experience  is  the  application  of  the  knowledge  to  accomplish  the  task.    c. Proficiency  is  measure  of  quality  and  timeliness  of  the  task,  both  knowledge  and  

experience  aids  proficiency.  

2. Willingness:    the  confidence,  commitment  and  motivation  demonstrated  for  the  assigned  task.  Willingness  is  not  independent  of  ability  but  rather  closely  related,  lack  of  experience  leads  to  lack  of  confidence,  which  in  turn  might  lower  the  commitment  level.  However,  the  excitement  to  do  something  new  might  heighten  the  motivation.  

Supported  by  the  two  components  above,  there  are  four  possible  developmental  levels  

4. Low:  (low  ability  &  low  willingness).The  group  or  individual  are  new  to  the  task,  they  lack  experience,  unclear  about  directions,  unwilling  and  insecure  due  to  lack  of  confidence  in  completing  the  task.  

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5. Low-­‐Moderate  (low  ability  –  high  willingness).  The  group  or  individual  have  begun  to  be  productive,  but  mostly  due  to  being  given  proper  directions.  Their  initial  success  in  task  completion  makes  them  more  enthusiastic  and  confident.  Their  dependence  on  the  leader  makes  them  good  listeners  who  are  eager  to  seek  clarity;  they  began  to  open  up  with  their  leader  in  a  two-­‐way  communication.  

6. Moderate-­‐High  (high  ability-­‐  low  willingness).  The  group  or  individual  have  attained  sufficient  proficiency  in  their  job,  but  their  willingness  towards  task  accomplishment  reduces  suddenly.  Once  the  followers  become  productive  in  their  assignments,  the  leaders  automatically  reduce  the  amount  of  directions  they  generally  provide,  putting  the  burden  of  taking  decisions  on  the  followers.  Hence  there  is  a  shift  from  “leader-­‐directed  decisions”  to  “self-­‐directed  decisions”;  this  shift  results  in  reduced  confidence  and  thereby  willingness  on  the  part  of  followers.  

7. High  (high  ability-­‐high  willingness).  The  group  or  individual  has  attained  required  proficiency  in  the  task  and  they  are  able  to  take  decisions  independently,  they  perform  to  highest  standards  and  keep  the  leader  informed  of  their  progress.  

 

The  SL  Model  incorporates  the  two  dimensions  in  the  leadership  grid  -­‐  task  vs.  competence.      The  model  premise  is  that  leaders  enhance  the  development  level  of  other  team  members  by  assessing  competency  levels  in  the  context  of  the  task  that  is  to  be  accomplished.  If  the  developmental  level  is  low,  leader  must  exhibit  higher  task  concern,  or  should  be  directing  the  team  member.  

Task-­‐oriented  behavior  can  be  considered  as  “directive”,  implying  giving  directions  on  how  to  proceed  with  the  task,  establishing  goals,  setting  timelines  etc.  represents  a  one-­‐way  communication  with  the  leader  directing  while  the  team  member  follows  the  directions.  

Similarly,  people  oriented  behavior  can  be  considered  as  “supportive”,  implying  a  two  way  communication  with  the  leader  contributing  social  and  emotional  support.  The  team  members  actively  participate  with  leader  in  discussions,  with  the  leader  actively  listening  and  praising  the  team  members.  

The  SL  Model  has  four  distinct  situational  leadership  styles:  

Directing:  (high  directive-­‐  low  supportive):    leader  gives  instructions  about  what  and  how  task  goals  are  to  be  achieved  by  other  team  members  and  supervises  them.  There  is  little  “supported”  behavior  exhibited  by  the  leader,  most  interactions  are  constraint  to  achieving  the  task.    

Coaching:  (high  directive-­‐high  supportive):    an  extension  of  directive  style.    Leader  still  provides  detailed  directions  and  makes  the  decisions.  The  leader  focuses  on  giving  encouragement,  explaining  the  reasons  for  decisions,  and  solicits  inputs  from  the  team  members.  In  this  style,  the  leader  acts  like  a  coach  for  the  followers.  

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Participating:  (low  directive-­‐high  supportive):    leader  tries  to  make  the  team  member  more  independent  in  achieving  their  task,  allowing  them  to  take  routine  decisions  while  still  trying  to  facilitate  high  level  problem  solving.  The  leader  shares  the  ideas  with  the  team  while  refraining  from  taking  final  decisions.  However,  the  leader  still  maintains  a  high  level  of  supportive  behavior  by  quickly  giving  recognitions  and  providing  necessary  social  support.  In  this  style,  the  leader  acts  as  a  sincere  friend  for  the  team  member.  

Delegating:  (low  directive-­‐low  supportive):    the  leader  lessens  involvement  in  the  activities  of  the  team  members  since  the  team  members  have  attained  necessary  skills  to  carry  out  the  assigned  tasks  independently.  Once  the  details  of  the  tasks  and  goals  are  agreed  upon,  the  leader  gives  complete  freedom  to  the  team  members  on  how  they  want  to  accomplish  and  deliver  the  task.  In  this  style,  both  leader  and  team  members  acts  as  independently  as  possible.  

 

             The  Situational  Leadership  method  (K  Blanchard  &  P  Hersey)    is  predicated  on  team  members’  competences  in  their  task  areas  and  commitment  to  their  tasks,  leadership  style  should  vary  from  one  person  to  another.  During  the  life  of  a  project  leading  the  same  person  one  way  sometimes,  and  another  way  at  other  times  is  good  leadership  because  it  characterizes  leadership  style  in  terms  of  the  amount  of  direction  and  of  support  that  the  leader  gives  to  his  or  her  followers,  and  creates  a  simple  matrix.  

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 Leadership  Behavior  of  the  Leader  

• S1  –  Telling  /  Directing  –  High  task  focus,  low  relationship  focus  –  leaders  define  the  roles  and  tasks  of  the  team,  and  supervise  them  closely.  Decisions  are  made  by  the  leader  and  announced,  so  communication  is  largely  one-­‐way.  For  people  who  lack  competence,  but  are  enthusiastic  and  committed.  They  need  direction  and  supervision  to  get  them  started.  

• S2  –  Selling  /  Coaching  –  High  task  focus,  high  relationship  focus  –  leaders  still  define  roles  and  tasks,  but  seeks  ideas  and  suggestions  from  the  follower.  Decisions  remain  the  leader’s  prerogative,  but  communication  is  much  more  two-­‐way.  For  people  who  have  some  competence  but  lack  commitment.  They  need  direction  and  supervision  because  they  are  still  relatively  inexperienced.  They  also  need  support  and  praise  to  build  their  self-­‐esteem,  and  involvement  in  decision-­‐making  to  restore  their  commitment.  

• S3  –  Participating  /  Supporting  –  Low  task  focus,  high  relationship  focus  –  leaders  pass  day-­‐to-­‐day  decisions,  such  as  task  allocation  and  processes,  to  the  team  

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member.  The  leader  facilitates  and  takes  part  in  decisions,  but  control  is  with  the  follower.  For  people  who  have  competence,  but  lack  confidence  or  motivation.  They  do  not  need  much  direction  because  of  their  skills,  but  support  is  necessary  to  bolster  their  confidence  and  motivation.  

• S4  –  Delegating  –  Low  task  focus,  low  relationship  focus  –  leaders  are  still  involved  in  decisions  and  problem-­‐solving,  but  control  is  with  the  team  member.  The  team  member  decides  when  and  how  the  leader  will  be  involved.  For  people  who  have  both  competence  and  commitment.  They  are  able  and  willing  to  work  on  a  project  by  themselves  with  little  supervision  or  support.  

 

Effective  leaders  are  versatile  in  being  able  to  move  around  the  matrix  according  to  the  situation,  so  there  is  no  style  that  is  always  right.  However,  we  tend  to  have  a  preferred  style,  and  in  applying  Situational  Leadership  you  need  to  know  which  one  that  is  for  you.    Likewise,  the  competence  and  commitment  of  the  follower  can  also  be  distinguished  in  4  quadrants.  

Development  Level  of  the  Team  Member  

• D4  –  High  Competence,  High  Commitment  –  Experienced  at  the  job,  and  comfortable  with  their  own  ability  to  do  it  well.  May  even  be  more  skilled  than  the  leader.  

• D3  –  High  Competence,  Variable  Commitment  –  Experienced  and  capable,  but  may  lack  the  confidence  to  go  it  alone,  or  the  motivation  to  do  it  well  /  quickly.  

• D2  –  Some  Competence,  Low  Commitment  –  May  have  some  relevant  skills,  but  won’t  be  able  to  do  the  job  without  help.  The  task  or  the  situation  may  be  new  to  them.  

• D1  –  Low  Competence,  High  Commitment  –  Generally  lacking  the  specific  skills  required  for  the  job  in  hand,  but  has  the  confidence  and  /  or  motivation  to  tackle  it.  

Similar  to  the  leadership  styles,  the  development  levels  are  also  situational.  A  person  could  be  skilled,  confident  and  motivated  for  one  part  of  his  job,  but  could  be  less  competent  for  another  part  of  the  job.  

The  Leadership  Style  (S1  –  S4)  of  the  leader  must  correspond  to  the  Development  level  (D1  –  D4)  of  the  team  member  –  and  it’s  the  leader  who  adapts.  By  adopting  the  right  style  to  suit  the  member’s  development  level,  work  gets  done,  relationships  are  built  up,  and  most  importantly,  the  member’s  development  level  will  rise  to  D4,  to  everyone’s  benefit.    Hersey  states  that  task  behavior  is  the  extent  to  which  a  leader  engages  in  one-­‐way  communication  by  explaining  what  each  team  member  is  to  do,  as  well  as  when,  where,  and  how  tasks  are  to  be  accomplished.  Relationship  behavior  is  the  extent  to  which  a  leader  engages  in  two-­‐way  communication  by  providing  socio-­‐emotional  support,  "psychological  strokes",  and  facilitating  behaviors.  Readiness  is  the  ability  and  willingness  of  a  person  to  take  responsibility  for  directing  

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their  own  behavior  in  relation  to  a  specific  task  to  be  performed.  

According  to  Situational  Leadership®,  as  the  level  of  readiness  of  the  team  member  continues  to  increase  in  terms  of  accomplishing  a  specific  task,  the  leader  should  begin  to  reduce  task  behavior  and  increase  relationship  behavior.  This  should  be  the  case  until  the  individual  or  team  reaches  a  moderate  level  of  readiness.  As  the  team  member  begins  to  move  to  an  above  average  level  of  readiness,  it  becomes  appropriate  for  the  leader  to  decrease  not  only  task  behavior  but  relationship  behavior  as  well.  Now  the  team  member  is  not  only  ready  in  terms  of  the  performance  of  the  task  but  also  is  confident  and  committed.  People  at  this  level  of  readiness  see  a  reduction  of  close  supervision  and  an  increase  in  delegation  by  the  leader  as  a  positive  indication  of  trust  and  confidence.    

Situational  Leadership®  Model  helpful  to  managers  in  diagnosing  the  demands  of  their  situation  has  been  developed  as  a  result  of  extensive  research.  Situational  Leadership  is  based  on  interplay  among  the  amount  of:      Direction  (task  behavior)  a  leader  gives  Socio-­‐emotional  support  (relationship  behavior)  a  leader  provides  "Readiness"  level  that  team  members  exhibit  on  a  specific  task,  function,  activity,  or  objective  that  the  leader  is  attempting  to  accomplish  through  the  team  

Strengths  of  the  Situational  Leadership  Model.  Benefits  

• Easy  to  understand  • Easy  to  use  Limitations  of  the  Situational  Leadership  Model.  Disadvantages  

• Model  fails  to  distinguish  between  leadership  and  management.  What  is  called  leadership  style  is  really  management  style.  

Assumptions  of  Situational  Leadership.  Conditions  

• Leaders  should  adapt  their  style  to  follower  ‘maturity’,  based  on  how  ready  and  willing  the  follower  is  to  perform  required  tasks  (that  is,  their  competence  and  motivation).  

 Written  by:  Paul  Hersey  and  Seth  Godin    Copyright © 1979, 1998, 1993, 2001 by the Center for Leadership Studies, Inc. All rights reserved.    

   

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Module 10. Team Formation

10.1 What is a Team?

 Most  of  the  skills  and  abilities  needed  to  be  on  a  team  are  already  familiar.  The  

goal  is  to  organize  these  skills  into  efficient  and  effective  strategies.  The  basic  skills  of  team  building  begin  with  learning  the  difference  between  a  team  and  a  work  group.  A  Work  Group  is  defined  as  having  the  following  characteristics:    

Strong  Clearly  Focused  Leader  Individual  Accountability  

Broad  Organizational  Mission  Individual  Work  Products  Efficiently  Run  Meetings  

Measured  Group  Effectiveness  and  Problem-­‐Solving  Discussions,  Decisions  and  Delegation  

 Many  engineering  students  exposed  to  work  groups  consider  them  teams.    A  Team  actually  has  the  following  characteristics:    

Shared  Leadership  Roles  Individual  and  Mutual  Accountability  Delivery  of  a  Specific  Team  Purpose  

Collective  Work  Product  Encouragement  of  Open  Ended  Discussions  

Specific  Problem-­‐Solving  Meetings  Performance  Directly  Measured  by  Assessing  Collective  Work  Product  

Discussions  and  Decisions  about  Problem  Solving  Collaborating  and  Doing  the  Real  Work  Together  

(Katzenbach,  J.  R.  &  Smith  D.  K.,  1993).    

Teams  are  defined  by  the  purpose  the  members  wish  to  accomplish,  their  structure,  culture,  and  environment.  Engineers  are  usually  asked  to  manage  or  be  a  member  of  three  types  of  teams:  work  teams,  knowledge  teams,  and  cross-­‐functional  teams,  which  includes  research  and  development  teams.    

 A  self-­‐managed  work  team  is  defined  as  a  team  that  takes  the  responsibility  to  

learn  how  to  manage  themselves,  using  shared  leadership,  structured  decision-­‐making,  and  attend  formal  weekly  meetings  as  part  of  their  structure.  

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 A  knowledge  team  utilizes  the  formation  of  team  boundaries,  shared  team  

leadership,  team  training  and  development,  participative  goal  setting,  enhanced  flexibility,  conflict  management  skills,  enhanced  creativity,  decision-­‐making,  and  written  and  clearly  defined  participative  action  plans  utilizing  technical  communication.  Knowledge  teams  require  a  strong  project  manager,  who  can  effectively  keep  open  communication  with  customers  and  organizational  priorities  and  make  the  team  accountable  for  their  results  (Romig  &  Olson,  1995).  

 A  cross-­‐functional  team  is  defined  as  a  team  whose  participants  are  from  

different  departments  or  disciplines  that  work  together  in  a  team  to  reach  a  common  goal.  Shared  leadership  is  very  important  in  cross-­‐functional  teams  because  as  the  action  plans  for  the  team  develops,  different  team  members  lead  the  team  through  their  area  of  expertise.  Finding  a  common  language  and  understanding  differences  in  perspective  is  most  important  in  cross-­‐functional  teams.  

 Complex  and  dynamic  work  environments  require  creativity,  innovation,  

effective  strategic  planning  and  the  ability  to  define  goals  and  objectives,  strengthened  by  strong  decision  making.  Teams  have  become  an  integral  part  of  these  environments.  Organizations  understand  that  teams  can  provide  rapid  consensus  across  departments,  allowing  effective  prioritization,  enhancing  creativity,  and  providing  companies  with  a  competitive  advantage.  

 10.2 Preparation for Forming a Team  

Once  the  individual  expectations,  strengths  and  weaknesses  are  delineated  ground  rules  can  be  formed.    Forming  ground  rules  supports  a  team  in  understanding  each  other’s  working  styles  and  values.    Once  these  differences  in  values  and  thinking  are  discussed  and  integrated  into  the  team’s  culture  collaboration  can  begin.    Not  discussing  these  differences  can  create  interpersonal  problems  between  two  team  members,  which  can  escalate  and  cause  performance  problems  for  a  team.  An  example  of  a  common  interpersonal  problem  on  a  team  is  when  one  team  member  may  be  a  friend  with  another  team  member  and  after  working  together  finds  they  have  different  working  styles  that  is  frustrating  and  not  meeting  one  of  the  friend’s  expectations.    The  other  friend  and  other  team  member  are  also  frustrated  because  the  friend  whose  expectations  are  not  being  met  is  avoiding  them  and  refusing  to  address  the  problem.    The  team  becomes  fragmented.    The  third  member,  unaware  of  the  conflict,  then  feels  left  out.    The  friends  feel  alienated  because  they  are  avoiding  the  new  conflict  in  their  relationship.  The  solution  to  this  problem  is  to  discuss  in  advance  of  starting  the  project  everyone’s  expectations,  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  specific  areas  that  will  impact  the  team’s  overall  performance.    Then  decide  which  strengths  are  needed,  which  weaknesses  will  be  developed  and  which  expectations  can  be  met  and  use  these  decisions  to  create  your  ground  rule  systems.  

 

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Different  working  styles  can  be  a  source  of  conflict.  Successful  collaboration  includes  separating  these  differences  in  working  style  as  not  a  personal  issue  rather  a  difference  that  can  be  incorporated  into  performing  the  task  and  viewing  the  differences  as  an  opportunity  to  learn  and  adapt  both  styles  to  a  collaborative  working  style.  Forming  ground  rules  and  viewing  these  ground  rules  as  systems  of  team  behavior  can  help  ameliorate  common  team  problems.  

 Successful  collaboration  includes  creating  a  system  for  the  team  to  deal  with  

conflict  and  negotiation.  The  manner  in  which  conflict  is  dealt  within  a  team  setting  is  different  than  the  method  in  which  conflict  is  dealt  within  a  personal  relationship.  Successful  teams  honestly  discuss  past  team  experiences  by  identifying  their  success  and  developing  systems  to  deal  with  the  problems  they  encountered  in  past  teams.  

 Behavior  is  situation  specific.  Your  leadership,  conflict,  working,  learning,  

thinking,  and  negotiating  styles  are  also  situation  specific.  Because  these  styles  are  situation  specific,  learning  how  to  adapt  them  to  a  specific  situation  is  a  skill.  In  the  above-­‐mentioned  example  your  friend  is  someone  you  may  or  may  not  have  worked  with  before.      Therefore,  if  you  have  not  worked  in  a  project  setting  with  your  friend  in  the  past  their  behavior  may  be  different  than  what  you  have  experienced  in  past  social  or  leisure  time  situations.      

 Identifying  the  use  of  these  different  styles  in  specific  situations  requires  

knowledge  and  focus.  Deciding  on  the  appropriate  style  or  behavior  for  the  appropriate  situation,  adapting  the  style  or  behavior,  and  practicing  these  skills  in  a  highly  organized  environment  necessitates  a  high  level  of  competency.  To  effectively  organize  a  project,  scientists  and  engineers  need  to  be  competent  at  both  the  team  and  task  process.  Bringing  all  your  skills  and  abilities  to  bear  upon  a  problem,  creates  a  successful  dynamic  working  environment  that  is  satisfying  and  harmonious.  

 Relax  and  enjoy  learning  the  information.  Team  building  is  a  growth  experience.  

"While  you  still  have  time  and  resources  to  maneuver  anticipate  upcoming  limiting  forces,  which  are  small  now,  but  can  increase  as  time  goes  on.  You  cannot  eliminate  the  limits.  You,  can  however,  work  with  them  more  effectively,  and  incorporate  them  into  your  next  wave  of  expansion."  (Senge,  1994).  Collaborating  can  be  very  complex  and  hard  to  manage  in  large  teams.  Mastering  collaboration  in  a  small  team  is  a  good  beginning  for  collaborating  in  a  larger  team.  Projects  begin  with  team  formation.    Forming  a  team  has  two  essential  steps:  

 1.    When  forming  a  team,  team  members  need  to  get  to  know  each  other  quickly.  To  get  to  know  each  other  quickly  small  group  interactive  sessions  are  planned  to  discuss  each  other's  expectations,  similarities  and  differences  and  what  strengths  and  weaknesses  each  team  member  possess  in  the  context  of  the  particular  project  the  team  is  preparing  to  tackle.  In  forming  a  team,  openly  discussing  skills  and  abilities  as  rapidly  as  possible  is  essential  for  developing  trust.  Initially  taking  the  time  to  talk  or  “breaking  the  

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ice”  in  small  groups  supports  new  team  members  in  trusting  one  another.    2.    The  teams  need  an  organizational  structure  that  defines  boundaries.    The  structure  should  include  definitions  of  team  roles,  ground  rules,  boundaries  for  communicating  with  each  other  and  people  outside  the  team,  and  a  time  management  plan,  which  establishes  boundaries  for  accomplishing  the  project.  

   Competent  team  members  view  their  team  as  a  living  system  with  a  culture  of  

its  own,  distinct  and  apart  from  the  rest  of  the  organization.  Being  a  team  member  requires  becoming  a  participant  and  an  observer.  Effective  team  membership  necessitates  knowledge  and  skill  in  many  areas  including  knowledge  of  self,  team  development,  team  dynamics,  and  leadership  theory.  Other  important  skills  are  the  development  of  flexible  intervention  skills,  process  observation  and  diagnostic  skills,  communication  skills,  and  conflict  and  negotiation  skills.  Here  are  some  other  examples:  

 1.  Definition  and  Differences  Between  Team  And  Task  Process  2.  What  is  a  Team?  3.  Team  Life  Cycle  4.  Mission  Statement  And  How  To  Create  One  5.  Ground  Rules  viewed  as  system  of  behavior  6.  Time  Management  Plan  7.  Conflict  Management  8.  Development  of  a  Team  Culture  

   10.3 Definition and Differences Between Team and Task Process  

There  are  two  processes  happening  simultaneously  when  people  collaborate  on  a  project.  The  two  processes  are  the  task  process  and  the  team  process.  Both  processes  are  of  equal  importance  and  to  achieve  success  necessitate  proper  structuring  and  maintenance.  Team  and  task  processes  are  composed  of  maintenance  behaviors  and  abilities,  structured  hierarchically  and  maintained  simultaneously.  The  first  structure  addressed  when  doing  a  project  is  the  team  process,  establishing  effective  working  relationships  amongst  the  team  members.  These  interpersonal  relationships,  once  structured  properly  and  established  as  norms  within  the  team,  allow  the  team  to  effectively  communicate,  manage  conflict,  make  decisions,  and  problem  solve.  Team  maintenance  behaviors  focus  on  the  interaction  between  individuals  while  they  are  accomplishing  tasks.      Competent  Team  Skills      1.    Active  Listening  supports  the  team  in  becoming  competent  in  influencing  others,  to  be  open  to  each  other’s  ideas,  and  listen  actively  before  directing  each  other  to  act  in  a  desired  manner,  which  in  turn  allows  the  team  leader  to  move  others  to  act  in  a  desired  

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manner.    2.    Understanding  the  responsibilities  of  each  team  member’s  role  within  the  team  creates  accountability,  which  is  the  ability  to  establish  in  each  other  a  commitment  to  achieving  results  by  making  everyone  accountable  to  the  equal  sharing  of  work  and  the  regulating  of  their  behavior.  The  desired  competency  level  for  accountability  on  a  team  would  be  to  listen  to  each  other’s  ideas  and  then  collaborate  in  ways  that  make  each  other  individually  and  mutually  accountable  to  the  team.    3.    Teams  collaborate  with  each  other  to  develop  a  willingness  to  work  with  others  to  achieve  shared  success  at  any  time.    Working  collaboratively  develops  a  Bias  for  Action,  which  allows  team  members  to  think  over  a  problem  before  taking  action  and  then  appropriately  and  consistently  make  decisions  when  to  act  and  when  to  delay.  Procrastination  on  a  team  would  be  futile.  Members  must  be  able  to  react  quickly  and  move  forward  after  thinking  and  brainstorming  a  problem  collaboratively.    3.    Recognizing  and  adhering  to  the  Ground  Rules  to  establish  a  synergetic  team  culture  by  developing  effective  communication.    Effective  communication  is  the  ability  to  utilize  multiple  communication  modes  and  channels.    A  competent  team  member  utilizes  all  technology  available  to  keep  the  team  high  performing  and  increases  resources  by  being  trained  in  the  latest  communication  technology.    4.    Understanding  how  to  individually  and  collaboratively  plan  a  negotiation.    Conflict  management  involves  flexibility.    Being  able  to  adapt  and  work  effectively  within  a  variety  of  situations  with  team  members  and  other  individuals  allows  team  members  to  be  able  to  understand  and  manage  different  perspectives  on  an  issue,  which  in  turn  permits  the  team  leader  to  understand  and  expertly  use  situation  specific  management  skills  to  manage  the  team.    Competency  in  this  area  is  being  aware  of  different  conflict  styles  and  knowing  how  to  appropriately  apply  them  to  different  situations.      Networking  helps  the  team  to  expertly  communicate  information  to  build  relationships  and  use  them  to  accomplish  the  goals  and  objectives.    5.  Team  Leadership  is  the  ability  to  use  different  leadership  styles  that  are  situation  specific  to  achieve  high  performance  for  the  team.  Competency  levels  on  a  team  are  defined  as  being  trained  in  situational  and  shared  leadership  skills.  Coaching  and  supporting  each  other  is  acknowledging  and  utilizing  a  strong  team  leader  whom  is  directive  and  leads  by  setting  firm  standards  of  behavior  and  accountability  through  coaching  and  team  building.  Teamwork  is  defined  as  the  ability  to  lead  teams  and  be  a  team  member  who  can  share  work  and  leadership  by  individually  and  mutually  being  accountable  for  the  equal  distribution  of  work.    6.    Assessment  of  Individual  Styles  of  Behavior  allows  team  members  to  develop  interpersonal  understanding  of  each  other.      Team  members  commit  to  understanding  other  team  members  by  assessing  their  behavioral  competencies.  Competency  on  a  

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team  is  learning  the  use  of  the  assessment  tools  and  developing  expertise  in  their  use.    7.    Team  members  need  to  have  a  specific  level  of  competence  to  become  an  effective  team  member.    Learning  to  utilize  self-­‐regulation  is  part  of  this  process  and  allows  team  members  to  regulate  their  own  behavior  and  use  emotional  intelligence  when  faced  with  negative  responses  or  actions  when  provoked,  in  times  of  conflict  or  while  under  stress.  Team  members  need  to  be  aware  of  the  surrounding  organizational  culture  so  that  the  team  can  manage  the  organizational  influences  to  achieve  the  objectives.  Competency  level  for  team  members  would  be  to  have  the  ability  to  utilize  informal  communication  channels  and  utilizes  decision-­‐making  models  to  achieve  high  performance  while  understanding  strategic  management  without  having  had  the  experience  to  develop  the  necessary  skills.    Once  the  team  process  is  established  the  task  process  is  planned.  The  goal  is  to  apply  the  information  learned  in  the  initial  stages  of  the  team  process  to  facilitate  the  execution  of  the  task  process.    Initial  Tasks:    1.    Establishing  a  Mission  Statement  begins  the  development  of  applying  conceptual  thinking  to  the  project.      Members  can  then  feel  comfortable  thinking  of  new  ways  to  look  at  existing  problems  and  detect  patterns  in  systematic  reactions  to  show  some  innovation  and  application  of  their  existing  knowledge  The  Mission  Statement  will  help  define  where  the  project  may  still  need  some  development  and  show  how  the  team  members  can  begin  to  communicate  concepts  more  clearly  and  accurately  in  the  Scope  Statement  in  your  Proposal.  

 2.    Defining  the  Objective  for  the  Team  and  Task  Process  by  developing  achievement  orientation  as  a  team  that  will  allow  each  team  member  to  do  well,  work  to  a  high  standard  and  to  ask  directly  what  is  expected  of  oneself.    3.    Creating  Goals  that  can  be  decomposed  into  Activities  for  the  Team  requires  analytical  thinking  allowing  the  team  to  make  formal  and  logical  deductions,  using  models  and  formulas,  and  scientific  solutions.  Competency  in  this  area  is  to  prefer  analyzing  data  by  applying  theory  and  method,  while  making  systematic  comparisons  of  different  features  by  setting  priorities  on  a  rational  basis,  identifying  time  sequences,  causal  relationships  and  consistently  using  formal  and  logical  deductions  successfully.    4.    Utilizing  the  Strengths  and  Weaknesses  of  the  team  members  in  executing  the  task  us  accomplished  through  the  identification  of  individual  technical  expertise,  which  is  the  specific  knowledge,  skills,  qualifications,  or  experience  required  to  perform  in  a  particular  team.    And  then  having  the  team  agree  to  technical  skill  development  which  is  the  ability  to  assess  technical  skills  in  each  other  and  use  them  effectively  to  accomplish  the  task  with  the  ability  to  work  on  a  team  where  cross-­‐functional  technical  skills  maybe  

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needed.  The  team  members  then  need  to  apply  the  expertise  by  disseminate  knowledge  to  oneself,  team  members,  and  others  while  learning  to  apply  expertise.  

 5.    Time  Management  Plans  can  create  flexible  boundaries  and  equally  distributed  workloads.    Team  members  utilize  dedication,  which  is  the  ability  to  meet  objectives  under  increasingly  challenging  circumstances  by  thriving  under  some  stress  while  meeting  objectives.    Time  management  also  incorporates  Strategic  Orientation  is  the  ability  to  link  long-­‐range  visions  and  concepts  to  daily  work.    Team  need  to  understand  their  competencies  so  they  can  develop  the  ability  to  use  time  management  to  keep  the  team  high  performing  by  managing  other  people  and  creating  activity  lists  for  the  team  to  follow.    Research  on  Team  Effectiveness:  

Our  research  at  MIT  has  shown  that  the  following  elements  must  be  present  to  have  continuously  effective  meetings.  

 1. Meetings  are  planned  out  ahead  of  time  by  one  team  member  

 2. Agendas  are  sent  out  24  hours  in  advance  of  the  meeting  and  other  members  

contribute  to  the  agenda.    

 3. The  agendas  are  specific  and  have  time  estimates  that  use  historic  information  

from  past  agendas  throughout  the  term.    

4. Minutes  are  taken  at  each  meeting  and  are  sent  to  each  attendee  within  48  hours  of  the  meetings.      Minutes  are  used  as  part  of  an  active  listening  process,  where  the  notes  clarify  what  was  discussed  and  then  each  person  attending  the  meeting  further  clarifies  their  perspective  after  reading  the  recorder’s  minutes.    Minutes  are  collaborative  way  of  continuing  the  conversation  after  the  meeting  is  over.    

5. All  members  of  the  team  attend  scheduled  weekly  meetings  if  the  team  is  smaller  than  4.    If  the  team  is  larger  than  4  members  meetings  can  be  effective  if  a  quorum  is  present  at  each  meeting  and  the  other  members  are  informed  of  decisions  made  through  the  sending  of  minutes.    Decisions  that  are  made  without  other  members  being  present  are  placed  on  the  next  agenda  for  review  when  the  team  members  are  present.        

6. Effective  meeting  ground  rules  are  kept  in  place  throughout  the  life  of  the  team  and  are  reviewed,  changed  and  followed  by  all  team  members.        

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7. Good  facilitation  by  a  team  leader  or  appointed  facilitator  who  is  part  of  the  team  allows  the  team  to  proceed  effectively.      

 8. Adhering  to  scheduled  weekly  team  and  faculty  meetings  for  the  team  

throughout  the  term  of  the  project  improves  the  effectiveness  of  the  project.        

Module 11.1 Team Life Cycles Team  Life  Cycle  Stages  -­‐  Step  6.    Discussion  of  the  Team  Life  Cycle  and  what  tasks  are  associated  with  each  cycle  to  maintain  the  team’s  effectiveness.        Instructions:  

1. Describe  the  team  process  in  the  Weekly  Progress  Reports,  section  4  and  in  the  Team  Leader  Transition  Reports.  

2. Develop  continuity  in  your  descriptions  to  clearly  describe  how  the  team  is  interacting.    Answer  the  questions  once  you  identify  the  stage  your  team  is  experiencing.  

 Teams  develop  and  move  through  stages  having  an  agreed  upon  defined  

structure,  equally  maintained  by  all  team  members  while  a  work  group  has  a  defined  leader,  who  is  defining,  assessing,  and  directing  the  other  group  members  in  developing  and  performing  the  task.  Teams  can  develop  more  flexibility  than  a  work  group  by  providing  the  members  with  a  structure  that  allows  the  team  members  to  become  mutually  and  individually  accountable  to  the  team  as  an  entity  unto  itself.  To  create  this  mutual  and  individual  accountability  a  team  needs  structural,  behavioral,  and  communication  models  that  provide  rules  and  boundaries.  Team  members  get  to  know  each  other,  learn  about  each  team  member's  personal  competencies,  needs,  mind-­‐sets,  and  negotiation  and  conflict  management  skills.  

    Teams  function  in  organizational  environments  that  are  ever  changing.  Providing  team  members  with  the  proper  tools  and  structure  to  make  the  team  into  a  distinct  entity  with  its  own  culture  assures  that  the  team  can  effectively  communicate  their  accomplishments  with  others  in  the  organization.  Because  the  work  environment  is  ever  changing,  teams  are  ever  changing.  These  changes  are  called  Team  Life  Cycle  changes.  The  five  stages  of  team  development  are  Formation,  Criticism,  Synthesis,  Accomplishment,  and  Completion.       Understanding  these  stages  is  critical  because  teams  progress  and  regress  through  these  stages  of  development  and  they  are  an  indicator  of  performance.  When  a  high  performing  team  looses  a  team  member,  the  team  is  pushed  back  into  the  Formation  stage  of  development  with  goals  and  boundaries  needing  to  be  explained  to  

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the  new  team  member.    Equipment  failure  can  make  a  team  in  the  Accomplishment  stage  be  pushed  back  into  the  Criticism  stage.  Understanding  the  progress  and  regression  of  stage  development  is  useful  in  these  circumstances  because  different  sets  of  tasks  need  to  be  accomplished  when  a  team  is  in  a  particular  stage  in  order  for  the  team  to  effectively  maintain  the  team  and  task  processes.  To  understand  team  stage  development,  there  are  mitigating  factors  that  must  be  kept  in  mind  when  collaborating  with  others.  All  team  members  have  personal  agendas  that  they  wish  to  maintain  while  working  collaboratively.  Team  members  feel  these  personal  expectations  as  outside  pressures.  Part  of  each  person’s  personal  agenda  includes  the  desire  to  work  and  be  viewed  as  competent.  Assessment  of  yourself  and  other  team  members  help  to  structure  each  member’s  competencies  to  support  the  performance  of  a  team.    Reporting  on  the  changes  in  the  Weekly  Progress  Reports,  Section  4.  Is  not  a  competition  to  see  if  your  team  can  move  quickly  through  the  stages.    Identifying  the  stages  is  to  present  to  the  faculty  and  the  team  coordinator  your  knowledge  of  how  the  team  is  operating  using  an  identification  system  that  supports  effective  communication.             Team  Life  Cycles:  (adapted  from  MIT  Human  Resources  website:  Stein,  Judith,  USING  THE  STAGES  OF  TEAM  DEVELOPMENT;  http://hrweb.mit.edu/learning-­‐development/learning-­‐topics/teams/articles/stages-­‐development  and  fInfluential  Teamwork  Theories    http://www.team-­‐building-­‐bonanza.com/stages-­‐of-­‐team-­‐development.html  and  f  Reference:  Bruce  W.  Tuckman,  “Development  Sequence  in  Small  Groups”,    Psychological  Bulletin.  1965.  In  1977  Tuckman  (in  collaboration  with  Mary  Ann  Jensen)  updated  the  model  to  include  the  fifth  stage  –  adjourning.  And  from  Sharon  Feltham,  Excellerate,  The  Storm  before  the  Team  Performs.  The  Life  Cycle  of  Teams)  

STAGE  1  -­  FORMATION  

“Honeymoon  “  period  Excitement,  anticipation,  and  optimism  

Initial,  tentative  commitment  to  the  team  Suspicion,  fear,  and  anxiety  about  ability  to  accomplish  the  task  Skepticism  about  what  roles  team  members  will  play  on  team  

Idealistic  discussion  of  concepts  and  issues  Impatient  about  having  to  discuss  the  process  

Complaints  about  barriers  to  the  task  Resistance  to  building  team,  focus  on  task  

Team  members  strengths  and  weaknesses  are  discussed  but  not  accepted  Ground  rules  and  mission  statement  are  established  

 Challenge  –  creating  a  purpose  and  managing  team  membership.    What  does  it  look  like?    Team  members  are  reserved  and  polite,  acting  their  best  to  create  a  good  first  impression.  Conflict  is  avoided  because  of  the  need  to  be  accepted  into  the  group.  There  may  be  a  sense  of  excitement  and  opportunity,  but  also  cautiousness  and  uncertainty  about  the  future.  Team  members  reflect  not  only  on  the  tasks  at  hand,  but  also  about  each  other.  Initial  ground  rules  are  established  as  the  team  begins  to  discover  how  to  work  together.    

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Feelings  -­‐  Team  members  are  usually  excited  to  be  part  of  the  team  and  eager  about  the  work  ahead.  Members  often  have  high  positive  expectations  for  the  team  experience.  At  the  same  time,  they  may  also  feel  some  anxiety,  wondering  how  their  personal  agenda  will  fit  into  the  team  and  if  their  performance  will  measure  up.        Behaviors  –  Team  members  are  inquisitive,  asking  a  multitude  of  questions,  reflecting  both  their  excitement  about  the  new  team  and  the  uncertainty  or  anxiety  they  might  be  feeling  about  their  place  on  the  team.  They  share  insights  into  personal  and  group  process  and  are  aware  and  share  their  own  (and  each  other's)  strengths  and  weaknesses.  Team  members  explore how they will work together by identifying the boundaries of both interpersonal and task behaviors.    Time  is  spent  assessing other team members and their commitment to the project.    Team  evaluates potential risks and rewards.    Time is spent establishing relationships with leaders and other team members.    Team  Tasks  -­‐  The  principal  work  is  to  create  a  team  with  clear  structure,  goals,  direction,  and  roles  so  that  members  begin  to  build  trust.    To  develop  a  good  orientation  for  team  members,  the  team  discusses  the  development  of  ground  rules  and  their  personal  expectations  of  themselves,  the  team,  the  project,  and  any  other  person  involved  in  the  project.    These  discussions  help  to  ground  the  members  in  terms  of  the  team's  mission  and  goals,  and  can  establish  team  expectations  about  both  the  team's  product  and,  more  importantly,  the  team's  process.  During  the  Formation  stage,  much  of  the  team's  energy  is  focused  on  defining  the  team  so  task  accomplishment  may  be  relatively  low.    Having  the  team  leader  create  weekly  activity  lists  allows  the  team  to  move  in  a  specific  direction.    Questions  -­‐  What are we supposed to do together?  

Do I want to get involved in this? Is everyone committed to this? How can I contribute? What is expected of me? What are the pros and cons to being on this team? What are the personal agendas of the other team members? Will we get along? What will you contribute?

Can I trust you?      

STAGE  2  -­  CRITICISM  

Ground  rules  are  ignored  Near  panic  sets  in  over  the  realization  of  how  much  work  lies  ahead  

Resistance  to  the  task  Sharp  fluctuations  in  attitude  about  the  team  

Skepticism  about  the  project’s  chances  of  success  Argument  begin  amongst  team  members  although  there  is  agreement  on  the  real  issues  

Defensiveness  Competition  

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Doubt  over  the  competence  of  superiors  who  chose  the  project    Challenge  –  managing  expectations  and  roles.    What  does  it  look  like?      Differences  in  opinion  are  more  common  and  are  expressed  more  openly.  Conflicts  emerge  around  interpersonal  issues  and  task  needs.  Power  struggles  may  emerge  as  leadership  is  challenged  and  factions  begin  to  form.  Team  members  compete  for  positions,  challenge  goals,  resent  the  group  influence  and  resist  task  requirements.  Note:  Many  groups  commonly  stall  at  this  stage.  If  the  ground  rules,  strengths  and  weaknesses,  and  personal  expectations  have  been  discussed  properly  in  the  Formation  stage  many  of  these  characteristics  are  not  present  such  as  ignoring  ground  rules,  sharp  fluctuation  in  attitude,  and  competitiveness.    Feelings  -­‐  As  the  team  begins  to  move  towards  its  goals,  members  discover  that  the  team  can't  live  up  to  all  of  their  early  excitement  and  expectations.  Their  focus  may  shift  from  the  tasks  at  hand  to  feelings  of  frustration  or  anger  with  the  team's  progress  or  process.  Members  may  express  concerns  about  being  unable  to  meet  the  team's  goals.  During  the  Criticism  stage,  members  are  trying  to  see  how  the  team  will  respond  to  differences  of  opinion  and  how  it  will  handle  conflict.    This  is  when  the  ground  rules  systems  for  conflict  and  negotiation  become  relevant,  and  the  team  leader  will  need  to  organize  how  the  team’s  strengths  and  weaknesses  will  be  utilized  or  compensated  for.    Behaviors  -­‐  Behaviors  may  be  less  polite  than  during  the  Formation  stage,  with  frustration  or  disagreements  about  goals,  expectations,  roles  and  responsibilities  being  openly  expressed.  Members  may  express  frustration  about  constraints  that  slow  their  individual  or  the  team's  progress;  this  frustration  might  be  directed  towards  other  members  of  the  team,  the  team  leadership,  the  team  coordinator,  or  the  faculty  advisor.  During  the  Criticism  stage,  team  members  may  argue  or  become  critical  of  the  team's  original  mission  or  goals.    Some  of  the  behavioral  pitfalls  are:  challenging the team’s purpose, splintering into subgroups, struggling for power and control, resisting tasks and authority, and avoiding dealing with underlying tensions and hidden agendas.  Team  Tasks  -­‐  The  team  refocuses  their  attention  on  its  goals,  perhaps  breaking  larger  goals  down  into  smaller,  achievable  steps.  Reviewing  the  Mission  Statement  and  changing  specific  elements  can  help  the  team  to  foster  more  cohesiveness.    The  team  may  need  to  develop  both  task-­‐related  skills,  revise  the  team  process,  and  conflict  management  skills.  A  redefinition  of  the  team's  goals,  roles,  and  tasks  can  help  team  members  past  the  frustration  or  confusion  they  experience  during  the  Criticism  stage.        Questions  -­‐  Why are we doing this?

What’s the point? Why are we doing it this way? Why don't we do it that way?  

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STAGE  3  -­  SYNTHESIS  Team  members  learn  to  work  together  successfully  

Resistance  fades  Collaborative  efforts  are  initiated  

Team  members  begin  to  give  each  other  positive  criticism  Members  begin  to  reestablish  a  harmonious  team  culture  Begin  committing  to  the  tasks  to  accomplish  the  goals  

Realistic  planning  takes  place  Conflict  management  is  established  and  agreed  upon  

The  team’s  mission  begins  to  be  realized  Team  and  personal  goals  are  discussed  and  implemented  

Ground  rules  are  implemented  Maintenance  of  team  is  established  

Discussion  begins  on  how  to  maintain  the  team  culture  Beliefs,  assumptions,  and  values  are  acknowledged  

Progress  on  the  task  is  significant    Challenge  –  Managing  relationships  and  task  efforts.    What  does  it  look  like?    A  sense  of  renewed  optimism  as  the  team  begins  to  feel  a  sense  of  team  identity.  Team  members  experience  increased  cooperation  as  roles  and  responsibilities  become  clearer  and  agreement  on  the  team  culture  and  expectations  for  behavior  are  reached.    Feelings  -­‐  Team  members  begin  to  resolve  the  discrepancy  they  felt  between  their  individual  expectations  and  the  reality  of  the  team's  experience.  If  the  team  is  successful  in  setting  more  flexible  and  inclusive  norms  and  expectations,  members  should  experience  an  increased  sense  of  comfort  in  expressing  their  "real"  ideas  and  feelings.  Team  members  feel  an  increasing  acceptance  of  others  on  the  team,  recognizing  that  the  variety  of  opinions  and  experiences  makes  the  team  stronger  and  the  project  more  meaningful.  Constructive  criticism  is  both  possible  and  welcomed.  Members  start  to  feel  part  of  a  team  and  can  take  pleasure  from  the  increased  group  cohesion.    Behaviors  -­‐  Behaviors  may  include  members  making  a  conscious  effort  to  resolve  problems  and  achieve  group  harmony.  There  might  be  more  frequent  and  more  meaningful  communication  amongst  team  members,  and  an  increased  willingness  to  share  ideas  or  ask  for  help.  Team  members  refocus  on  established  ground  rules  and  practices  and  return  their  focus  to  the  team's  tasks.  Teams  may  begin  to  develop  their  own  language  (nicknames)  or  inside  jokes.    Leader  spends  time  implementing the team’s performance expectations, re-establishing specific roles and operating procedures. Roles are defined for problem solving. Ground rule system for settling conflicts is clarified. The team culture is reorganized and established with more concrete boundaries.  

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Team  Tasks  -­‐  Members  shift  their  energy  to  the  team's  goals  and  show  an  increase  in  productivity,  in  both  individual  and  collective  work.  The  team  may  find  that  this  is  an  appropriate  time  for  an  evaluation  of  team  processes  and  productivity  by  assessing  how  the  team  is  using  their  strengths  and  developing  their  weaknesses  into  strengths.    Questions  -­‐  Who does what and when?

How often will we meet? How do we settle problems? How do we make decisions? How do we handle conflicts? What makes our team special?  

STAGE  4  –  ACCOMPLISHMENT    Members  skillfully  discuss  their  strengths  and  weaknesses  using  the  knowledge  to  

accomplish  their  goals  Team  members  understand  their  roles  on  the  team  

Team  members  are  satisfied  with  the  team’s  progress  Members  are  committed  to  the  team’s  goals  

Team  as  a  unit  can  implement  change  Members  are  effective  at  problem-­‐solving  and  decision-­‐making  

Dialogue  amongst  team  members  is  established    Challenge  –  managing  task  completion,  evaluating  results,  striving  for  improvement.    What  does  it  look  like?  Reaching  this  stage  is  largely  dependent  upon  the  successful  transition  through  the  previous  stages.  The  team  knows  clearly  what  it  is  doing  and  why.  Relationships  are  strong  and  while  disagreements  may  occur  they  are  settled  quickly  and  positively.  Roles  become  flexible  and  functional,  and  group  energy  is  channeled  into  the  task.  There  is  maximum  work  accomplishment,  interdependence,  personal  insight  and  constructive  self-­‐change.    Feelings  -­‐  Members  feel  satisfaction  in  the  team's  progress.  Members  feel  attached  to  the  team  as  something  "greater  than  the  sum  of  its  parts"  and  feel  satisfaction  in  the  team's  effectiveness.  Members  feel  confident  in  their  individual  abilities  and  those  of  their  teammates.    Behaviors  -­‐  Team  members  are  able  to  prevent  or  solve  problems  in  the  team's  process  or  in  the  team's  progress.  A  "can  do"  attitude  is  visible  as  are  offers  to  assist  one  another.  Roles  on  the  team  may  have  become  more  fluid,  with  members  taking  on  various  roles  and  responsibilities  as  needed.  Differences  among  members  are  appreciated  and  used  to  enhance  the  team's  performance.    Alignment  is  created  where  each  person  has  an  integral  role  in  the  team.    People  and  the  team  as  a  whole  are  meeting  and  exceeding  role  and  task  expectations.  Cohesion  is  created  with  the  team  feeling  like  a  “team.  Commitment  is  established  to  each  other,  the  team,  and    

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accomplishing  the  team’s  goals.  Loyalty  and  trust  are  firmly  established.    Team  Tasks  -­‐  The  team  makes  significant  progress  towards  its  goals.  Commitment  to  the  team's  mission  and  the  competence  of  team  members  is  high.  Team  members  continue  to  deepen  their  knowledge  and  skills,  including  working  to  continuously  improving  team  development.  Accomplishments  in  team  process  and  project  progress  are  measured  and  celebrated.    Questions  -­‐  How can we improve this?

Is there a better way? What more can we do? How can I help?    

 STAGE  5  –  COMPLETION    

Members  assess  goals  they  reached,  collectively  and  personally  Member  discuss  expectations  that  were  met  and  not  met  for  the  project    Members  acknowledge  the  personal  goals  they  did  and  did  not  attain  

Members  discuss  openly  changes  to  be  made  when  they  participate  again  on  a  team  Members  say  goodbye  to  each  other  

Archival  materials  are  stored  and  given  to  proper  authorities  Communication  systems  used  by  the  team  are  closed  down  

 Challenge  –  Managing  the  completion  of  tasks.  Assisting  the  team  to  let  go  of  the  group  structure  and  move  on.    What  does  it  look  like?      Completion  is  typically  related  to  the  end  of  a  project  team.  However;  it  is  also  relevant  when  the  purpose  and  structure  of  team  changes  substantially  due  to  merger  or  a  restructuring  process.  This  stage  can  be  particularly  stressful  where  the  dissolution  of  the  team  is  unplanned.  This  stage  involves  the  disbandment  of  the  team,  termination  of  roles,  and  the  completion  of  tasks.  This  stage  is  also  referred  to  as  'mourning'  given  the  sense  of  loss  experienced  by  some  team  members.    Feelings  -­‐  Team  members  may  feel  a  variety  of  concerns  about  the  team’s  impending  dissolution.  They  may  be  feeling  some  anxiety  because  of  uncertainty  about  their  individual  role  or  future  responsibilities.  They  may  feel  sadness  or  a  sense  of  loss  about  the  changes  coming  to  their  team  relationships.  And  at  the  same  time,  team  members  may  feel  a  sense  of  deep  satisfaction  at  the  accomplishments  of  the  team.  Individual  members  might  feel  all  of  these  things  at  the  same  time,  or  may  cycle  through  feelings  of  loss  followed  by  feelings  of  satisfaction.  Given  these  conflicting  feelings,  individual  and  team  morale  may  rise  or  fall  throughout  the  ending  stage.  It  is  highly  likely  that  at  

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any  given  moment  individuals  on  the  team  will  be  experiencing  different  emotions  about  the  team's  ending.    Behaviors  -­‐  Some  team  members  may  become  less  focused  on  the  team's  tasks  and  their  productivity  may  drop.  Alternatively,  some  team  members  may  find  focusing  on  the  task  at  hand  is  an  effective  response  to  their  sadness  or  sense  of  loss.  Their  task  productivity  may  increase.    Team  members  can  have  conflicting  emotions  (sadness,  anger,  gratitude,  happiness).  Members  are  uncertain  about  how  to  end  the  project  and  their  future.    Team  members  deal  with  this  stage  in  different  ways:  Avoiding  tasks,  Arguing  over  minor  details  or  past  arguments  resurface;  Denying:  pretending  the  team  will  continue;  Pollyanna:  focusing  only  on  the  positive  experiences;  or  Acknowledging:  facing  the  good,  the  bad  and  the  ugly,  letting  go  and  saying  goodbye.    Team  Tasks  -­‐  The  team  needs  to  acknowledge  the  upcoming  transition  and  the  variety  of  ways  that  individuals  and  the  team  may  be  feeling  about  the  team’s  impending  dissolution.  During  this  stage,  the  team  should  focus  on  three  tasks:      1.    Completion  of  any  deliverables  and  closure  on  any  remaining  teamwork.      2.    Evaluation  of  the  team’s  process  and  product,  with  a  particular  focus  on  identifying  "lessons  learned"  and  passing  these  on  to  the  team  coordinator  for  future  teams  to  use.      3.    Creating  a  closing  celebration  that  acknowledges  the  contributions  of  individuals  and  the  accomplishments  of  the  team  and  that  formally  ends  this  particular  team's  existence.    Questions  -­‐  What will I do now?

What will it be like now? Shall I stay with this project or shall I go?      

   

Once  the  Accomplishment  stage  is  reached,  there  is  a  risk  that  some  teams  will  neglect  the  task  of  maintaining  commitment.  This  neglect  will  see  the  team  slide  gradually  into  complacency.  During  this  time,  the  team  becomes  satisfied  by  past  achievements  they  are  content  to  leave  challenges  to  “someone  else”.    This  is  not  a  defined  stage  and  most  teams  do  not  experience  the  following  during  the  Accomplishment  stage  but  the  challenges,  behaviors,  and  questions  are  worth  mentioning.    Challenge  -­‐  Avoiding  these  behaviors  by  maintaining  the  commitment  and  focus  of  the  team.        Behaviors  –  The  team  becomes  complacent  and  a  cozy  togetherness  ensues.  Self-­‐preservation  is  the  dominant  issue.  The  team  may  be  attempting  to  extend  the  life  of  the  group.    Mediocrity  begins  with  a  lackluster  performance  eventually  leads  to  a  decline  in  the  quality  and  quantity  of  task  activity.    Comfortable  routines  are  established  and  enforced  i.e.  don’t  rock  the  boat.  

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 Questions  -­‐  Have  you  followed  the  appropriate  channels?  

               Why  should  we  change?                  We’ve  always  done  it  this  way                  We’re  doing  OK  as  we  are                  When  will  this  lab  session  be  over?  

   

Module 12.1 Team Roles - Team Leader 12.1 Team Leader  

As  a  Team  Leader,  your  most  important  duty  is  to  ensure  the  team  attends  simultaneously  to  both  the  task  and  the  team  process.  The  team  leader  has  to  commit  extra  time  to  effectively  manage  the  team  by  performing  a  variety  of  tasks:    

 1. Having  the  team  construct  and  adhere  to  the  ground  rules.  2. Having  the  team  craft  a  pragmatic  mission  statement.    3. Organizing  the  team  and  faculty  meetings,  including  preparing  the  agenda  and  any  

reports  that  may  be  assigned  for  each  of  the  weekly  meetings,  such  as  writing  outlines,  data  analyses  needed  for  the  meeting.  

4. Assigning  tasks  by  creating  activity  lists  for  laboratory  and  outside  activities  and  making  sure  the  team  timely  follows  through  on  these  lists,  after  discussing  whether  or  not  members  wish  to  use  their  strengths  or  develop  one  of  their  weaknesses  during  the  rotation  you  lead  the  team.  

5. Meeting  milestones  of  the  team.  6. Limiting  and  expanding  the  scope  of  the  project  when  necessary.  7. Building  team  morale.  8. Administrating  the  everyday  affairs  of  the  team,  including  settling  conflicts,  handling  

team  members’  frustrations,  and  communicating  effectively  with  the  staff  and  faculty.  

9. Setting  and  maintaining  performance  standards  for  the  team.  10. Writing  the  Team  Leader  Transition  Report  at  the  end  of  your  rotation.    The  task  process  is  controlled  by  two  factors:      1. What  team  life  cycle  stage  the  team  is  experiencing  2.  The  project  management  plan  (proposal)?      The  tasks  are  stage  dependent  for  the  team  and  task  process.  In  the  Formation  Stage  

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the  first  task  is  for  the  team  leader  to  identify  what  skills  are  needed  for  the  project  and  what  skills  each  team  members  possess  that  will  help  to  complete  the  project.  Being  Directive  is  important  in  the  Formation  Stage.      

For  example,  directing  other  members  during  meetings  by  creating  agendas  and  using  activity  lists  to  delineate  tasks  allows  your  team  to  function  more  autonomously.  If  a  team  member  does  not  possess  the  necessary  skills,  the  team  leader  challenges  and  supports  team  members  into  functioning  properly  and  develop  the  necessary  skills.  Under  the  guidance  of  the  team  leader,  the  team  must  articulate  and  commit  to  goals  and  objectives,  create  activity  lists,  and  carry  out  its  mission.    

 To  further  reiterate,  the  proper  formation  of  the  team  is  critical  to  high  

performance.  Many  teams  resist  learning  the  team  process  basics  and  want  to  go  directly  to  the  task  work.    A  competent  team  leader  avoids  this  narrowing  of  focus  by  simultaneously  focusing  on  task  process,  team  process,  performance  standards,  and  by  guiding  the  team  into  individual  and  mutual  accountability.  Guiding  the  team  into  mutual  and  individual  accountability  is  accomplished  through  the  construction  of  the  ground  rules  systems.    The  organizational  climate  where  the  team  is  being  formed  can  have  an  important  effect  upon  the  team.  If  an  organization  believes  in  supporting  team  based  projects  the  team  will  organize  more  rapidly.  If  upper  management  exerts  stricter  supervisory  control  over  middle  management  this  environment  may  detract  from  the  rapid  and  effective  formation  of  teams.  The  team  leader  is  responsible  for  defining  and  managing  this  effect  for  the  team.  

 Monitoring  progress  and  ensuring  that  your  project  plans  are  completed  is  

important  to  becoming  high  performing.  The  team  leader  assigns  monitoring  responsibilities  to  other  team  members  so  that  the  momentum  is  maintained  and  the  team  is  ensured  that  they  are  focused  on  solutions  to  their  problems  while  each  team  member  takes  actions  within  their  direct  control.  The  team  does  not  want  to  become  bogged  down  with  waiting  for  other  members  to  change  their  behavior.  Remember,  as  a  team,  always  celebrate  your  progress  and  agree  to  take  new  steps  to  ensure  that  you  can  enjoy  the  fulfillment  that  comes  from  achieving  your  objectives  together.  

                   Team  Leaders  influence  individuals  and  teams  within  an  organization,  help  to  establish  goals,  and  act  as  guides  toward  the  achievement  of  those  goals,  thereby  allowing  the  team  to  become  effective.    Two  key  leadership  behaviors  you  will  want  to  express  during  your  rotation  as  leader  are  initiating  structure  and  consideration.        1. Initiating  structure  is  the  degree  to  which  the  leader  organizes  and  defines  

relationships  in  the  team  by  assigning  specific  tasks,  specifying  procedures  to  follow,  scheduling  work,  and  clarifying  expectations  of  team  members.    Measures  of  effective  initiating  structure  activities  are  creating  ground  rules,  the  ability  to  formulate  and  suggest  new  ideas  and  listening  to  others’  ideas,  encouragement  of  slow-­‐working  people  to  work  harder,  emphasizing  meeting  deadlines,  scheduling  

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regular  team  meetings  to  discuss  issues  and  settle  conflict,  the  ability  to  maintain  the  team’s  focus  on  the  mission,  and  effective  team  maintenance  by  keeping  the  team  members  collaborating  and  working  to  capacity.    

2. Consideration  is  the  degree  to  which  the  leader  creates  an  environment  of  emotional  support,  warmth,  friendliness,  and  trust.    Measures  of  consideration  are  doing  personal  favors  for  team  members,  treating  team  members  equally,  being  willing  to  make  changes  in  ground  rules  when  they  are  not  effectively  maintaining  the  team,  managing  conflict,  and  supporting  the  members  of  your  team  during  difficult  times.    A  key  example  of  good  team  management  is  when  a  team  leader  creates  a  team  culture  where  team  members  do  not  complain  but  state  problems  and  brainstorm  solutions,  thereby  avoiding  the  complaint  process.        

As  a  team  leader  you  will  want  to  utilize  the  Criticism  Stage  by  transforming  the  uncertainty  and  frustration  into  a  positive  for  the  team.  The  leader,  being  highly  directive  can  have  the  team  explore  their  problems  regarding  the  scope  of  the  project  and  resources  available  so  that  the  team  can  learn  to  work  within  realistic  parameters  to  move  the  project  forward.        

To  use  these  key  leadership  behaviors,  initiating  and  consideration,  effectively  a  team  leader  encourages  all  team  members  to  participate  in  decision-­‐making,  setting  deadlines,  supporting  each  other,  open  ended  discussion,  problem-­‐solving,  time  management  to  maintain  active  participation.  Team  leaders  are  skillful  at  juggling  the  two  dimensions  effectively  in  interpersonal  and  task-­‐related  relationships.    An  example  of  good  leadership  in  a  1026  team  as  described  in  the  Team  Leader  Transition  Report:    

 “One  problem  we  had  as  a  team  was  meeting  internal  deadlines  that  were  set  in  

advance  of  actual  class  deadlines.  The  new  team  leader  should  be  more  assertive  in  making  sure  that  assignments  are  completed  by  internal  team  deadlines  so  that  there  is  enough  time  for  the  team  as  a  whole  to  review  them  before  they  have  to  be  submitted.  The  new  team  leader  should  also  try  to  reschedule  faculty  and  team  meetings  well  in  advance  if  necessary  in  order  to  accommodate  all  members’  schedules.  In  general  the  team  leader  should  be  flexible  and  courteous  and  take  into  account  all  members’  views  before  making  final  decisions.  The  Leader  should  maintain  a  balance  of  strict  deadlines  and  flexible  scheduling  understanding.    The  Leader  should  also  try  to  maximize  lab  time  by  having  members  work  on  assignments  during  our  two  hour  incubation  period  in  lab.  The  team  leader  should  also  consider  each  team  members’  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  delegating  tasks.  All  members  have  good  experimental  ability,  but  our  analytical  and  writing  abilities  differ  greatly  as  described  in  the  individual  strengths  and  weaknesses  sections.”  

 As  you  already  understand,  developing  a  team  is  different  than  running  a  

working  group.    A  working  group  has  a  clearly  focused  leader  while  a  team  shares  accountability.    In  a  team  there  is  mutual  and  individual  accountability  while  in  a  

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working  group  there  is  only  individual  accountability.    A  team  is  characterized  by  common  commitment  (Dubrin,  1995).    A  team  generates  collective  and  individual  work  products.  Team  Leaders  support  the  development  of  norms  and  encourage  collaboration.    The  leader  understands  that  commitment  to  the  task  is  primary.    The  leader  helps  define  the  mission  of  the  team  during  all  the  Team  Life  Cycle  stages.      

   

Module 12.2 Team Roles - Recorder 12.2 Team Recorder  1. The  Recorder’s  major  responsibility  is  to  write  and  e-­‐mail  the  Weekly  Progress  

Report  and  to  accurately  reflect  the  agreed  upon  perspective  of  the  team  members.      2. Set  up  Dropbox  3. The  Recorder  must  check  in  with  the  Team  Leader  and  make  sure  that  the  Team  

Section  4  of  the  Weekly  Progress  Report  is  filled  out  accurately.        4. The  Recorder  uses  active  listening,  to  clarify  the  points  that  are  being  transcribed  

during  the  meetings.    5. The  recorder  is  also  responsible  for  keeping  the  team  on  time  during  meetings.    6. The  Recorder  is  responsible  for  keeping  track  of  the  team’s  discussions  at  meetings  

and  during  laboratory  time.  7. Keeping  minutes  is  optional  and  can  be  discussed  with  the  faculty  advisor  and  team  

to  decide  will  be  instituted.    8. The  role  of  Recorder  is  rotated  on  the  same  day  your  team  rotates  the  Team  Leader  

and  Oral  Presentation  role.        

Although  optional,  preparing  minutes  and  e-­‐mailing  them  to  the  team  can  help  the  team  prepare  the  Weekly  Progress  Report  that  is  distributed  to  team  members,  team  coordinator,  industrial  consultant,  teaching  assistant,  and  faculty  advisor.      Minutes  can  include  daily  and  weekly  assignments  for  each  lab  session  and  team  meeting,  name  of  person  doing  the  task  and  estimated  time  to  do  the  tasks,  which  can  then  be  included  in  the  weekly  activity  lists  updates.    It  is  a  good  idea  to  spend  five  minutes  at  the  end  of  each  meeting  to  review  minutes  with  the  team.    Once  the  Team  Leader  and  the  team  assigns  the  tasks  for  the  week  and  the  laboratory  period,  the  Recorder  is  responsible  for  keeping  the  activity  list  of  the  daily  and  weekly  task  assignments,  lab  sessions,  and  team  meetings  up  to  date.  

    Why  should  the  Recorder  take  notes  at  a  meeting?    Minutes  are  the  beginning  of  a  conversation  for  people  attending  the  meeting  and  others  not  present.    Minutes  help  the  team  to  focus  their  attention  on  what  is  important  and  provide  a  record  of  what  took  place  at  a  

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meeting.    In  this  way  the  whole  team  does  not  have  to  take  notes  and  two  team  members  can  focus  completely  on  listening  and  can  help  the  recorder  after  the  meeting  clarify  some  points  he/she  may  have  missed.    Minutes  help  to  establish  and  legitimize  all  points  of  view.  Taking  notes  encourages  participation.    Minutes  are  a  collaborative  tool  because  when  they  are  distributed  after  a  meeting  the  information  can  be  clarified  and  further  discussions  about  points  that  remain  unclear  or  need  to  be  acted  upon  by  the  team.  Minutes  once  read  by  the  team  can  be  used  to  clear  up  misunderstandings  and  inaccuracies  or  unclear  concepts  the  team  thought  were  clearly  defined.       Learning  to  record  minutes  properly  is  a  skill.    To  take  competent  notes,  record  key  words  on  flip  charts  or  on  a  computer  screen.    Use  speaker’s  words  and  don’t  interrupt.    Ask  group  to  slow  down  if  necessary.    Minutes  record  ideas,  data,  questions,  actions,  and  agreements.    Do  not  record  “Who  said  what”.    Record  what  was  agreed  upon,  what  is  to  be  accomplished  by  the  next  meeting,  who  is  responsible  for  what  task,  what  is  the  schedule  for  the  next  meeting,  and  assignments  in  the  following  week?    Using  the  notes,  the  Team  Leader  can  prepare  an  agenda  for  the  next  meeting.    Minutes  can  vary  in  format  and  level  of  detail.    What  needs  to  be  recorded  is  predicated  on  what  will  be  used  in  the  next  week  by  the  team  and  what  will  be  needed  to  prepare  a  cohesive  and  clear  Weekly  Progress  Report  that  follows  the  guidelines  set  by  your  faculty  advisor.    Minutes  should  be  organized  including  at  the  beginning  actions  and  decisions  and  then  detailed  explanations.  IT  IS  IMPORTANT  TO  NOTE  THAT  SOME  FACULTY  ADVISORS  FEEL  THAT  RECORDING  MINUTES  INTERRUPTS  THE  FLOW  OF  A  MEETING.    PLEASE  CHECK  WITH  YOUR  FACULTY  ADVISOR  ON  WHETHER  THEY  FEEL  THAT  MINUTES  ARE  AN  INTERRUPTION  TO  THEIR  MEETING.    If  the  team  still  wishes  to  take  notes,  the  recorder  can  spend  ten  minutes  after  the  meeting  transcribing  what  occurred  and  send  these  notes  to  the  team  and  others.         There  are  different  types  of  recording  techniques.      E-­‐mail  has  made  many  of  the  initial  recording  techniques  obsolete.    Using  a  laptop  or  an  IPAD  at  a  meeting  is  the  best  technique.    Here  are  a  few  essentials;  title  with  date,  team  number  and  number  pages  if  the  minutes  are  longer  than  one  sheet,  identify  minutes  as  being  part  of  which  sequentially  numbered  Weekly  Progress  Report,  separate  ideas  with  a  line,  mark  an  idea  with  a  bullet,  leave  margins,  maintain  minutes  on  a  server  or  document  manager  system  (Drop  Box),  via  e-­‐mail  publish  timeline  changes  immediately  to  the  team  and  have  an  electronic  space  where  they  can  be  referred  to  in  subsequent  meetings.        

12.3 Team Oral Presenter  1. The  Oral  Presenter is  responsible  for  creating  an  oral  presentation  plan  with  the  CI  

instructor  and  other  team  members  at  the  beginning  of  each  rotation.      

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2. The  team  creates  an  oral  presentation  system  in  the  ground  rules  and  makes  corrections  in  the  system  when  necessary  so  that  the  system  meets  the  team’s  needs.        

3. The  CI  instructor  will  conduct  an  Oral  Presentation  Session,  which  will  be  about  2  weeks  before  the  first  presentation,  giving  your  team  a  chance  to  chat  about  your  presentation  outline  and  how  the  team  will  collaborate  on  the  presentation.  The  presenter  will  make  the  plan  more  concrete.  Then,  after  the  1st  presentation  event  and  during  the  weekly  CI  meeting,  the  team  can  reflect  with  the  CI  instructor  on  how  the  oral  presentation  collaboration  was  accomplished  successfully  or  what  needs  to  be  changed  to  make  it  more  productive  for  the  team.      This  reflective  time  is  held  for  the  second  rotation  as  well  and  the  same  procedures  will  be  continued.    

 An  example  of  an  oral  presentation  ground  rule  system:  

 1. Oral  presenter  is  in  charge  of  organizing  data  and  communicating  changes  in  the  

presentation  to  the  other  team  members.  2. Prepare  slides;  team  members  will  make  suggestions  and  act  as  sounding  boards.  3. Practice  at  least  twice  with  team  members.  CI  instructor,  teaching  assistants  and/or  

faculty  advisor.  4. Oral  Presenter  organizes  and  plans  the  presentation.  5. Thoroughly  understands  the  material  in  order  to  field  questions.  Team  practices  a  

mock  question  and  answer  session  with  presenter.  6. Consults  with  the  team  and  faculty  advisor  agreeing  upon  what  information  

regarding  the  project's  progress,  including  data  and  experiment  plans,  will  be  presented.    The  presenter  is  responsible  for  accurately  presenting  the  information.