team work, by wedc

8/12/2019 TEAM WORK, by WEDC

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Learn @WELLConsultancy SkillsModule

Unit 2 Working in a team


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WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2004

Water, Engineering and Development CentreLoughborough University

LeicestershireLE11 3TU UK

[email protected]

London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineKeppel Street

LondonWC1E 7HT

[email protected]

IRC International Water and Sanitation CentreP.O. Box 2869

2601 CW

DelftThe Netherlands

[email protected]

www.lboro.ac.uk/WELL

WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2004

Any part of this publication, including the illustrations (except items taken from other publications

where the authors do not hold copyright) may be copied, reproduced or adapted to meet local needs,

without permission from the authors or publisher, provided the parts reproduced are distributed free, or

at cost and not for commercial ends, and the source of WELL (WEDC, LSHTM and IRC) is fully

acknowledged. The publisher and authors would appreciate being sent copies of any materials in

which text or illustrations have been used.

WELL acknowledges the following for their contributions in developing and producing this module:

Kevin Tayler, Rebecca Scott and Sue Coates

Published by WEDC on behalf of WELL

WELL is a network of resource centres:

WEDC at Loughborough University, UK TREND, Kumasi, Ghana

IRC at Delft, The Netherlands SEUF, Thiruvananthapuram, India

AMREF, Nairobi, Kenya ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh

IWSD, Harare, Zimbabwe NETWAS, Nairobi, Kenya

LSHTM at University of London, UK

This module was funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

The views expressed, however, are not necessarily those of DFID.
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/WELL/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/WELL/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/WELL/


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UNIT 2: WORKING IN A TEAM Learn @WELL CONSULTANCY SKILLS

WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2004 1

UNIT 2

WORKING IN A TEAM

What this unit is about

This unit provides information designed to help you to operate more effectively in a consultancy

team. The first part of the unit is concerned with the knowledge and skills required by every team

member. It begins by defining what we mean by a team and setting out the advantages of

working in a team. Next we provide guidance on how to be a good team member.

What you will learn

On completion of this unit you will have learned:

the role, functions and elements of an effective team;

some problem solving techniques;

different team leadership styles and ways to guide teams experiencing conflict;

examples of good and bad communication to help improve communication skills; and

the place of delegation.

Contents

1. What is a team?........................................................................................................................ 21.1 Advantages of working in a team ....................................................................................... 31.2 How to be a good team member ........................................................................................ 41.3 Team building ..................................................................................................................... 51.4 Dealing with distance .......................................................................................................... 81.5 Tools and techniques for effective team working ............................................................... 9

2. Structured problem-solving ................................................................................................. 113. Team leadership styles ......................................................................................................... 12

3.1 Resolving differences and reaching consensus ............................................................... 143.2 Handling discontent within the team ................................................................................. 163.3 Dealing with difficult team members ................................................................................. 16

4. Communication skills ............................................................................................................ 195. Delegation ............................................................................................................................... 20


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1. What is a team?

Consultancies are invariably fairly short events, requiring all the consultants involved to work

intensively and effectively to achieve the overall consultancy objectives. Note the focus on

working effectively. One measure of effectiveness is likely to be the extent to which the various

consultants work together as a team rather than as isolated individuals. This raises the questionswhat do we mean by a team and what is the difference between a group and a team?

Exercise 2.1 Definitions

Write down your definition of a group and a team in the space provided below. Then compare

it with the definitions given on the following page.

Your def ini t ion of a group:

Your def ini t ion o f a team:


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Defini t ion of a group : A collection of individuals who happen to be in the same place at a

particular time, each with his or her own thoughts, ideas and objectives.

Defini t ion o f a team:A group of people working together to a shared goal or objective.

These definitions suggest that the crucial difference between a group and a team is the shared

objectives of the latter.

Of course, reality is likely to be more complex. There are likely to be teams that work together

well easily and those that require more work. Effective teams pool their resources, help each

other and so share the effort needed to achieve their common goal. Ineffective teams continue to

work as individuals, even though they are nominally working towards the same goal.

When a group of consultants comes together at the beginning of a consultancy, they are likely to

be closer to a group of individuals than to a team. The members may not have worked together

before and the fact that they come from different disciplines and backgrounds means that they

may have very different perspectives on the work to be carried out. So, one of the key skills

required of team members, an in particular for the team leader, will be to ensure that they really

do work as a team rather than as isolated individuals.

Some consultancies will involve a small number of people, perhaps only two. Still, those two

people need to work as a team and so much of what follows will be relevant, even when the teamis small.

1.1 Advantages of working in a team

Working in a team has several advantages:

A team of specialists, covering a range of disciplines, is more likely to have the full range of

skills required to carry out the consultancy than an individual.

Working in a team ensures that different viewpoints are brought to bear on a problem. You will

often find that other team members will challenge your assumptions, which may be initiallyrather threatening, but should make your eventual contribution to the consultancy more

effective.

By working in a team, you can share the workload.

Working in a team allows people to explore and build on each others ideas, so achieving

outcomes that would be impossible for people working in isolation.

Team working can be much more rewarding and enjoyable than working alone.

So, working in a team can and should be a positive experience. It is more likely to be so if you

approach the consultancy in a positive way, recognising that you do not know everything and

welcoming the chance to learn from other team members.


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1.2 How to be a good team member

The team will be more likely to be successful if it has good leadership. However, even if you are

not the team leader, you can contribute to the success of the team by being a good team

member. Some guidelines for what this should mean in practice are given below.

Be posit ive: You may think that the situation in which you find yourself is not ideal. Your terms

of reference may be less than perfect, the local stakeholders with whom you are working may be

less committed than you would like or there may be logistical problems. You can respond to this

situation in two ways:

1. You can complain.

2. You can get on with the job as best you can.

The first is an essentially negative reaction and, on its own is unlikely to achieve much. No-one

likes a person who spends all their time complaining. Apart from that, as a consultant, you will be

judged by the results that you achieve. Remember that consultants are not expected to make

excuses but they are expected to deliver.

So, you should always take a positive attitude, doing what you can to carry out your job within the

constraints and difficulties imposed upon you while exploring ways to remove those constraints.

An example of what this might mean in practice is provided by the actions taken by a group of

British and German consultants who arrived in a town in Sudan, to carry out a study of options for

improving the water supply. When they arrived, they found that the ministry with which they were

working had not been able to arrange transport, in accordance with the conditions specified intheir terms of reference. Apart from anything else, it was difficult to get fuel. They could have

stopped working and waited for someone to solve the problem but they took the positive option,

hiring bicycles for the first few days of the consultancy and riding round town to meetings and to

inspect the existing water supply system. (This was despite the fact that temperatures at the time

were around 40oC). In the meantime, they worked with the funding agency and the ministry to

find more suitable long-term transport arrangements.

Be f lexible: The consultants in the example just given could not solve a problem in one way so

they looked for another way to solve it. They exhibited flexibility the willingness to find another

way when the approach that you thought you would take is blocked. Flexibility will often meaninventing aspects of your role as the consultancy progresses. For instance, it may emerge that

there is a need to carry out work that is not specifically identified in the terms of reference of any

team member. An inflexible team will not know what to do in this situation. A flexible team will

consider together the ways in which it might respond to the emerging situation. In such a

situation, the Task Manager must be consulted, especially if there are budgetary considerations

or an impact on an output.

Between them, do team members have the knowledge and skills to cover the additional tasks

required? To the extent that they do not, can they take some intelligent first steps toward dealing

with the tasks, for instance by accessing information on the internet or by talking to local

stakeholders who may have relevant information.


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Suppor t your team members: It is possible for the various team members to work

independently, addressing their own terms of reference and paying little attention to those of

others. This will rarely be the most effective way of working for two reasons:

1. Few tasks can be compartmentalised and most will require inputs from more than one

discipline.

2. It is difficult to plan a consultancy in a way that ensures that everyone has the same workload

at any particular time. So, some team members are likely to find themselves with spare time

while others find themselves overworked.

The team will be more likely to reach its objectives if the various team members support each

other, providing advice and inputs to one anothers tasks when required and offering their

services in support of other team members when they have some free time. Always ask the

question, what needs to be done and in what way might I assist in ensuring that it is done. This

does not mean, of course, that you should neglect your own terms of reference but time given to

assist others will increase the likelihood that you will receive help from others when you require it.

Make your part icular kno wledge and sk i l ls available for the benef i t of the team: Team

members with knowledge of the local situation and good contacts with local stakeholders can

share this knowledge with other team members, thus reducing the time needed to get the

consultancy started. In many cases, a phone call from someone who knows a key local

stakeholder can secure a meeting where that might otherwise have been difficult to achieve.

You may have developed skills that other team members do not possess. For instance, it may be

that you have skills in preparing diagrams or spreadsheets on the computer. If diagrams orspreadsheets are required for the final consultancy report, you may be the best person to prepare

them. At least, you may be able to explain how to carry out a task to other team members.

Do not wait to be asked to contribute your own particular knowledge and skills but volunteer them

when appropriate. If they are not needed, you will not have lost anything and if they are, you will

have contributed to the success of the consultancy.

The mater ial included up to this point sh ould be of us e to al l team members. The mater ial

that fol lows is aimed prim ari ly at those wh o m ight be in a posit ion to take a leading role inthe management of a team. This role migh t be that of the off ic ia l team leader. It might

also be that of a senior team mem ber who is trusted and respected by th e team leader and

is thus able to provide advice on the conduct of the consu ltancy

1.3 Team building

Standard texts on working in teams place a strong emphasis on the need for team building.

Clearly this is important but how can it be achieved within the short duration of a typical

consultancy, with a group of consultants who will almost certainly come from different

backgrounds, disciplines and organisations and may not have met before the consultancy?


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The team leader is best placed to bring the individual consultants together into a team although

other team members can also play a part. The suggestions that follow are intended primarily for

team leaders although other team members may wish to act upon them when the team leader, for

whatever reason, does not do so. The point to remember here is that it will be important to work

in a way that does not jeopardise relations with the team leader.

Exercise 2.2 Helping to build a team

As a starting point, spend a few minutes thinking about the ways in which you might try to

develop a team feeling within a group of consultants and write your ideas down.

Write your ideas here:

Also, think about the actions and attitudes that might create barriers to team development.

Write your though ts here:

Now compare your ideas with the suggestions on the next page.


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Actions that help to build teams Actions (or lack of them) that tend to

undermine teams

1. Bringing together all the team members asearly as possible in the consultancy to

discuss the consultancy, its objectives and

the role of the various consultants in

meeting those objectives.

2. Spending time together in more or less

informal settings for instance the hotel

restaurant or bar.

3. Encouraging other team members to talk

about their background, interests and

views. If possible do this in a group and

always show interest in what they have to

say. It will normally be a good idea to askthe members of the team to say

something about themselves at the initial

meeting.

4. Providing opportunities in the course of

the consultancy to discuss problems and

issues.

5. Asking individual consultants and sub-

groups within the team to informally

present and discuss their findings with

other team members.

1. Leaving individual consultants to decidewhat they have to do to meet the

consultancy objectives in isolation from

other team members.

2. Telling all consultants exactly what they

have to do rather than encouraging them

to give their views on the best way to fulfil

their terms of reference.

3. Changing the basic approach in the course

of the consultancy.

4. Lack of clarity about the consultancy

objectives.

Whatever else he or she does, the team leader should aim to give the team direction. Some

ways in which this might be done are suggested below:

At the beginning of the consultancy, make sure that every team member is clear about the

objectives of the consultancy.

Share information about meetings to which you have been invited without other team

members.

Lead by example, showing by your actions how you expect the team to operate and where

you expect it to be going.

Encourage informal sharing of experience between the various team members at the end of

each day.


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1.4 Dealing with distance

There will be occasions during the field work when team members will be working in different

places. In extreme cases, it may be that the team is divided for almost the whole of the fieldwork

period. In such situations, the team leader has a particularly important role in ensuring that the

team continues to function as one unit rather than disparate sub-units.

In this situation, communicationis the key to successful team working. The team leader should

keep regular telephone contact with the various sub-teams. This will not always be easy,

particularly when team members are working in remote locations where they may be out of

telephone contact for long periods. The following steps can be used to ensure that telephone

contacts are effective:

1. Develop a draft timetable for making contact to share information at the outset of the

consultancy. Agree, as precisely as possible, when telephone contact will be made and try to

stick to the times that you have agreed.

2. Spend some time while the team is still together to develop a list of issues to be raised during

telephone contacts at different stages of the consultancy. The priorities for discussion are

likely to change during the course of the consultancy. Thus, for instance, the focus during the

early stages might be on the degree of success achieved in making initial contacts with key

stakeholders. Later the focus will switch more to the findings of field work.

3. Ask each team to be particularly concerned to pass on findings that it thinks might be useful

to other teams. It might be, for instance, that one team discovers that the procedures followed

by local stakeholders differ from those required by official rules and regulations. It may be that

this point has not been picked up by other teams and identifying it will help to make sure that

they explore whether it is also a factor in the areas in which they are working.

Each party to each telephone call should have a notepad available during the call and should

note the important points made by the other party to the call. Whenever possible, write up your

rough notes of the conversation in more detail as soon as the conversation has finished. Unless

you do this, you may find that you do not fully understand the notes that you have made when

you return to them later.

Information should be passed on to other team members as soon as possible after the telephone

call. This may be done verbally but it will there is less possibility of misunderstanding if the

information is also presented in the form of brief written notes.

It may also be possible to make contact by email. Even where hotels do not have email facilities,

there are often internet cafes, which can provide access at a nominal cost. The advantage of

email contact is that it allows you time to think about the way in which you will structure the

information that you send. The advantage of a telephone conversation is that it is better suited to

discussion and dialogue than email, which requires that one person states their views before the

other can respond.

In many cases, the best communication strategy will involve a combination of telephone

conversations and email contacts. Email can be used before the telephone conversation to

identify key points for discussion and after the telephone conversation to further elaborate and

explain points made in the course of the conversation.


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1.5 Tools and techniques for effective team working

Brainstorming can be used to generate ideas quickly and is likely to be a particularly useful

team tool in the early stages when options have to be identified and the general direction of the

consultancy determined. Participating in a good brainstorming session can help to buildconfidence and trust within the team as its members experience their collective power to generate

ideas.

There are two basic brainstorming rules:

Record every idea on the basis that no idea is a bad idea.

Do not attempt to evaluate ideas.

Simple as these rules may seem, many team members will find them hard to follow. In particular,

there will be a tendency to try to evaluate ideas. A facilitator may be necessary to make sure that

team members adhere to the two rules, at least approximately. This can be the team leader oranyone else in the team who is happy to take the role. He or she should not participate in

generating ideas. To ensure that everyone has a chance to participate, it might be possible to

change the facilitator at intervals during the brainstorming session.

Fl ipcharts can be used to present and develop ideas. One person may present an idea or

argument using one or more sheets of the flipchart paper. Other team members can then respond

to this idea or argument by either:

adding comments and suggestions on the same flipchart sheet;

developing an alternative idea or argument on new flipchart sheets.

The advantages of this method are that it can involve the whole team and that it leaves a

permanent record of ideas.

Good practice requires that team members are allowed to present their ideas without being

interrupted and questioned. Once they have completed their ideas, the floor should be open for

discussion and verbal argument until another person comes up to present their ideas on the

flipchart.

As for brainstorming sessions, it will normally be best if someone takes the role of facilitator,

ensuring that everyone gets a chance to put forward their views and that presenters are not

interrupted.


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Act ion p lanningsessions can be a useful tool, particularly early in the consultancy. To facilitate

planning, it will be necessary to prepare a chart like the one shown below.

Overall objective:

Actions required to

achieve objective

Action by whom? With help from whom? Completed by when?

You may wish to make variations on this basic format. For instance, it might be worthwhile to add

a column in which you define the resources required.

When using this format, make sure that there is discussion on the actions required and

responsibilities for carrying them out. Actions should be described as clearly and precisely as

possible, the team must agree that the action is worth carrying out and the person or people

nominated to carry out the task must agree to do it.

Communicat ion boards can be used to display information about the activities and whereabouts

of team members, approaching deadlines, issues, intentions and queries. The communication

board should be located in a prominent position in a place that is regularly used by all the team

members. This might be the office from which the team is working. If no office has been

allocated to the consultant team, discussions with local stakeholders may provide ideas on a

possible location. The board itself may be a blackboard or whiteboard on which messages can

be added and removed as necessary. The danger that someone may inadvertently rub off an

important message before everyone has had a chance to read it will be reduced if one team

member takes responsibility for maintaining the board and is the only person allowed to remove

information from it.


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2. Structured problem-solving

It is important that, as a team, you take a structured approach to problem solving. This might

include the following stages:

1. Obtain relevant information

2. Define problems and possibilities

3. Generate ideas

4. Group ideas

5. Choose options based on ideas

6. Develop and refine options

7. Make final choices and record your decisions in the consultancy report.

These stages will correspond roughly to the stages in the consultancy. In its early stages, you willbe concerned with obtaining relevant information and defining problems and possibilities. At this

stage, team members will probably be working independently but it will be important for you to

keep in touch with each other and to share the information that you gather.

As you come near to the information collection stage of the consultancy, you might come together

as a team to generate, group and choose ideas. Give yourself plenty of time for this and make

sure that one or more team members have been given the remit of ensuring that the logistics for

the session are in place (room, whiteboard/flipchart, pens and papers etc).

Start by brainstorming in order to generate ideas. Write ideas out, ideally on cards so that theycan be moved around.

Next work together as a team to group the cards so that you can see which ideas can be

grouped together. Which ideas are complementary and which are contradictory? Ideally, you

should arrive at two or more sets of ideas that together indicate broad ways forward.

The next step should be to choose between the various options that the team has developed.

There may be some differences in opinion at this point and the next section of this unit

considers how these differences might be resolved.

At the end of this stage, you should choose at the most two options to be carried forward andexplored further. Decide the actions required to achieve this. They might include:

further information collection;

action by individuals and groups within the team to develop and refine concepts;

discussion of options with local stakeholders;

Once the options have been developed and refined, you should be able to meet as a team to

decide the preferred way forward. You can then finalise your ideas and develop them for inclusion

in the final report.


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3. Team leadership styles

All the guidance given until this point in the Unit is intended for all team members, including team

leaders. However, team leaders play a particularly important role in ensuring that teams operate

effectively. The team leader also has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the consultancy

outputs are delivered on time and to a standard that is acceptable to the client and the employer.How might you do this? Some possible leadership styles are introduced and briefly discussed

below.

Leader as resource m anager In this style of leadership, the leader attempts to take rational

management decisions in order to make the most use of the resources that are available within

the consultancy team. The leader will tend to decide what has to be done and who should do it.

They may produce detailed instructions for each member of the team, setting out the outputs

required of that member and the timetable for delivering them. Team members will have to

produce cogent arguments to justify any deviations that they wish to make from the instructions

that they have received.

Leader as exemplar This style of leader tends to lead from the front. The leader will usually

be energetic and strongly committed to achieving the consultancy objectives. They may provide

general guidance to team members but will often assume that the terms of reference provide all

the information required by the various team members to allow them to carry out their tasks. The

leader will then take an active role in carrying out consultancy tasks, assuming that the other

team members will follow their example.

Leader as facil i tator This style of leader is mainly concerned with ensuring that all team

members have the resources that they need to carry out their tasks efficiently and effectively.

The leader is likely to pay particular attention to the logistical arrangements for the consultancy

and believes that an essential part of their role is to provide a sounding board for team members

to suggest ideas and discuss problems.

Leader as m otivator This style of leader is concerned to maintain the morale and commitment

of the team. The leader may do this in two ways, by challenging the team to meet deadlines and

achieve objectives and by knowing the needs of each member of the team and satisfying those

needs to the best of his ability.

Leader as visionary This style of leader sees their role as standing above the petty issues that

arise in the course of the consultancy in order to ensure that the overall vision of what has to be

achieved is not lost. The leader is likely to be an ideas person, who sees their role as producing

ideas that can then be worked through and developed by other team members.


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Exercise 2.3 Leadership styles

Think about each of the leadership styles identified. For each, make two lists, one identifying

the strengths of the approach and the second identifying its weaknesses.

Leadership style Strengths Weaknesses

Resource manager

Exemplar

Facilitator

Motivator

Visionary

Next, think about yourself. Which style of leadership suits your personality and way of

working?

Write you r thoughts:

Now think about the strengths and weaknesses of the various styles that you have already

identified, focusing particularly on the weaknesses of the style that you have identified as your

preferred way of working and the strengths of the other styles.

Recognising that you do not have to conform exactly to any of the styles listed above, think how

you might combine aspects of the various styles to make you a better leader.



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3.1 Resolving differences and reaching consensus

The members of the team will come from different disciplines and will no doubt have different

ideas about some issues that arise in the course of the consultancy. It will be important to resolve

these differences in a positive way, so that all members of the team can come to a shared view of

at least the major points to be included in the consultancy report.

How might this be done? There is no one right way to answer this question but it is possible to

identify some general principles and to suggest procedures for resolving differences.

The first and perhaps most important principle is to express and debate opinions openly and

honestly. The team leader can play an important role in ensuring that such open and honest

debate takes place within the team.

Dealing with differences in opinion requires both discussion and dialogue.

Discussion involves communication around a particular topic. Ideas are exchanged anddifferent points of view put forward. In some circumstances each person with an opinion tries to

persuade others to adopt their point of view.

Dialogue is communication that intends to expand the understanding of the group as a whole,

going beyond any one individuals understanding, in order to gain further insights.

This approach to dialogue recognises that ideas are not static entities and do not belong

exclusively to one person. You may think an idea is solely your own but the reality is that it will

have been influenced by the various people with whom you have talked and the books and

articles that you have read over the years. Once we recognise this, we can be open to the

possibility that interaction within the team can help us to arrive at a level of insight and

understanding that would not be possible if we attempted to solve a problem on our own.

So, how should discussion and dialogue be used to resolve differences and move towards a

shared perspective on the objectives to be achieved and the way to achieve them? The first point

to make in answering this question is that bothare required.

In discussion, different views are presented and defended and this may provide a useful

analysis of the whole situation. In discussion, decisions are made.

In dialogue, different views are presented as a means toward discovering a new view, which

allows complex ideas to be explored. Participants in a dialogue should suspend their

assumptions, not in the sense that they are discarded completely but rather in that of holding

them up for inspection, examination and questioning.

Dialogu e is not easy!Our habits of thought continually pull us back towards discussion and

away from dialogue, particularly when we are unfamiliar with the concept of dialogue. This

suggests the need for dialogue sessions to be facilitated to ensure that the dialogue keeps

moving and that it is not dominated by one or more people and that participants do not focussolely on promoting and defending their own views. The facilitator should be one of the team,


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perhaps but not necessarily the leader. He or she should participate in the discussion but should,

in the main, respond to other peoples ideas by raising questions and suggesting alternatives

rather than taking the lead in the development of ideas.

There will, of course, be occasions when the introduction of a new idea or insight will be needed

to move the dialogue forward. Where the facilitator sees the need to do this, he or she should

introduce the idea or insight but should then withdraw from the dialogue for a time to allow other

team members the opportunity to assess the idea and begin to explore it.

There can be no hard and fast rules as to the ways in which dialogue and discussion can be used

in the course of a consultancy, but we would suggest the following broad framework for action.

1. Gather information so that you have some facts upon which to base your deliberations. (If

you neglect this step, dialogue will be difficult and you will tend to move straight into a rather

sterile discussion in which different team members promote their own opinions and

prejudices).

2. Arrange for the available information to be presented at a meeting of the whole team. Use

the presentation of initial findings as the starting point for open-ended dialogue on the way

forward for the consultancy. Ask yourselves the question what does this information mean in

relation to the consultancy objectives and the options for achieving them. Ask team members

to put forward ideas. Some individuals within the team will, no doubt, put forward strongly

held views at this stage but the aim at this stage should not be to discuss the merits and

demerits of these views but rather to explore their implications. Do not discard ideas out of

hand, even if they seem at first sight to be a little off the wall. Allow perhaps 15 minutes for

this process but extend the time allocated if the process is still going strong. You do not want

to restrict thinking by setting tight time limits.

3. It is possible that a shared overall view of the way forward will emerge from this exercise. On

the other hand, it may be that differences of opinion and/or emphasis remain. Now will be the

appropriate time to move into discussion mode with different team members attempting to

convince the rest of the team of the validity of their views. At this stage, two possible

situations may emerge:

Disagreements are resulting because people are making different assumptions, based on

inadequate information

There are fundamental differences within the team on approaches and principles.

4. Where differences in opinion result from a lack of information and it is possible to collect that

information, decisions should be deferred to allow action to be taken for the necessaryinformation to be collected.

5. Where there are fundamental differences in approach and priorities within the team, work

together to see how these differences in approach accord with the clients basic approach, as

contained in any specific documents.

6. If you still cannot agree on the way forward, it may be worthwhile to continue to retain two

options for a time, gathering and analysing further information on each, obtaining feedback

from local stakeholders and so further refining your thinking as a team. In most cases, you

will emerge from this process with a clear preferred option, which everyone can support.


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3.2 Handling discontent within the team

Despite the best efforts of the leader, and unfortunately sometimes because of them, tensions

and conflicts are bound to arise within a team on occasion. If you detect problems of this nature,

you should aim to solve them before they get worse and threaten the objectives of the

consultancy.

First, try to assess the reasons for conflict, recognising the possibility that you yourself might be

part of the problem. Consider the following possibilities:

Your leadership styleAre you giving team members sufficient direction as to what you expect

of them? Alternatively, are you defining tasks in too much detail and not allowing team members

enough space to develop their own ideas? Are you taking a full role in carrying out the

consultancy tasks? (Dont assume that the team leaders sole role is to manage the inputs of

other consultants. This will rarely be the case, particularly when the consultancy team is small).

Interpersonal con f l ict There are a number of reasons for interpersonal conflict. One team

member might be seen to be promoting his or her own interests at the expense of those of the

team as a whole. Another person might be seen to be failing to either pull their weight in the

team or perform to an acceptable standard. In some cases, an individual will be seen by other

team members to be guilty of both. The other possibility is that two or more individuals will have

different personalities so that the chemistry between them is not right and they quarrel.

As team leader, you should monitor the way in which your team is working, looking particularly for

signs of discontent or friction between team members. Make sure that there is time at the end of

each team meeting for individual members to raise any problems and concerns that they feelneed to be addressed. People are less likely to be discontented if they know that you are listening

to them. Problems can only be addressed if they are raised. Where a problem cannot be solved,

open discussion will at least make team members aware of the fact and this should make it easier

for them to live with it.

3.3 Dealing with difficult team members

No matter how well the team is chosen and briefed, there will be occasions when you have to

deal with difficult team members. These difficulties might arise because:

1. A team member holds views that cannot be reconciled with the clients approach and

priorities.

2. A team member shows little awareness of the needs and concerns of other team members.

3. A team member may have an overcritical manner, which can upset others and disrupt the

functioning of the team.

4. A team member may be a poor listener, which means that he or she ignores points made by

the rest of the team.


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Exercise 2.4 Dealing with difficult team members

What would you do to deal with the difficulties listed above? The answer to this question will

vary, to some extent, depending on the situation.


1.

2.

3.

4.

Then look at the following suggestions, which should prove useful.


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Suggestions on how to deal with difficult team members:

1. At the beginning of the consultancy, ask the Task Manager to identify any potential problems

with team members that may have emerged during the selection process. Forewarned is, at

least to some extent, forearmed.

2. Where a team is comprised of members with very different disciplines and viewpoints, try tobring them together at the beginning of the consultancy to talk as openly as possible about

their approach to the assignment. Remember the distinction that has already been made

between dialogue and discussion and, as far as is possible, encourage team members to

work in dialogue mode.

3. In the case of a person failing to cooperate with the rest of the team, a quiet word in private

will usually be the best approach. The same is true of a person who thinks that he or she is

better than the rest of the team, who do not meet his or her standards. Try to avoid discussing

these issues in front of other team members. This may lead to both sides taking entrenched

positions, from which they are reluctant to back down because to do so would cause them to

lose face.4. Team members who are not pulling their weight should be tackled as early as possible, in

private in the first instance. Try to find out the reasons for their lack of performance. Perhaps,

they have difficulty in determining exactly what they should be doing. They may be worried

about issues unconnected with the work. In the first instance, the aim of the team-leader

should be to encourage and assist but there may come a time when you have to lay down the

law. Do this as calmly and constructively as you can giving clear information on what you

expect and what will and will not be acceptable.


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4. Communication skills

Communication is important for all team members but particularly so for team leaders. We have

to consider not just what we think we are saying but also how other people are likely to interpret

what we say. Be aware that your body language can give a very different message to that given

by your words. Some ideas on how you can ensure good communication with team members andother stakeholders are given below.

Do not monopolise conversationsgive other people a chance to talk and develop ideas. Try

not to interrupt them, no matter how strongly you feel. (Some find this difficult but it is

important).

Try to present criticism as constructive comment. Do not say things like why did you do that

and that is wrong but rather explore ways of saying lets look together at how we can do this

better.

Avoid the use of statements of the type this is your last chance and this project will close

down unless you work harder. Rather, the aim should be to find ways of making a similar

point but in a constructive way.

As a general rule, ask rather than order people to do things.

Do not give unsolicited advice using words like I would do this if I were you. Rather, say

something like you might consider this approach. It worked on such and such a project. If you

are interested, I can let you have more information on it.

Exercise 2.5 Good and bad communication

In the first column of the table below are examples of communicating ideas that are unclear,

critical or impolite. In the second column write in your suggestion for a better way tocommunicate the same idea.

Bad communication Good communication

(wr i te your suggest ions in th is co lumn)

Unclear:If you can tell me what you think,

then I can include that with my ideas in this

report.

Clear:

Critical: That is not what I wanted you to

do.

Supportive:

Impolite: Bring me that report first thing

tomorrow morning.

Polite:

Unsolicited advice: You should have

thought about writing this instead.

Gentle advice:


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team work, by wedc

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