Team Learning
The consultant team at Clarion Learning is convinced of the validity and value of the model of team development proposed by Bruce Tuckman which suggests that there is a developmental sequence which all - that's all - teams go through during their active life-cycle. Team learning therefore must begin by assessing the current stage of team development. We then design a learning intervention that will facilitate a shift to the next stage. Tuckman proposed four phases - forming, storming, norming and performing.
Forming
Teams that enter the initial phase of development will generally be attempting to establish (directly or indirectly) their common purpose and how the individuals that make the team will cooperate with each other to achieve the agreed objectives. People are often friendly and polite but true feelings and strong opinions may well be withheld and difficult issues are often avoided. The team is often looking to the leader for clear guidance and agreements can often be reached quickly but without a strong sense of commitment.
The best strategy at this stage is often to invest time in relationships without losing sight of task issues and so enable the team to move forward more quickly through the storming and norming phases and achieve the desired business results.
Storming
Once teams have established their common purpose and the team members have identified the tasks that need to be addressed, a team dynamic - often referred to as storming - will generally occur. People will often begin challenging one another (either directly or indirectly) in an attempt to clarify the way in which the goals are best achieved and the roles and responsibilities of the individuals involved. If this dynamic is not experienced as a positive and constructive process, it can lead to withdrawal or confrontation by team members and competition rather than collaboration in the team.
The best strategy at this stage is often to invest time building trust and exploring individual differences with the goal of exploiting those differences to increase creativity and innovation and achieve the desired business results.
Norming
Teams that have clearly defined goals, individual roles and responsibilities and agreed upon processes often start to experience powerful dynamic of coming together. A strong sense of team spirit and identity starts to emerge and challenging problems and tasks can be addressed and managed. The challenge here is often to integrate new team members, create changes in the team's structures and mindsets and reach improved levels of individual and team performance - put simply the team can become a victim of its own success and struggle to move to the next level.
The best strategy at this stage is to have the team identify standards of excellence that should be maintained while accepting and recognizing that each individual team member has their own strengths and talents that can contribute to achieving team goals.
This is the team that has high levels of trust, unity and commitment and is achieving results. There is a high level of interdependence, respect and loyalty between team members and roles and responsibilities have become more fluid and dynamic. The leadership role in particular will shift between team members depending on the context.
The best strategy for a team leader at this stage is to delegate tasks wherever possible, encourage the personal development of team members and stay out of the way!
Program Design
Our team learning interventions are generally designed following intensive discussions with the team leader and possibly other representatives of our client organizations and following a team assessment and/or personal interviews with team members (either face-to-face or on the telephone). However to give you an idea of how a learning intervention could look, we have generated some example overviews of possible workshop content based on team development research, theory and best practice.
The objective of this workshop is to establish a common platform for international groups that wish to implement clear and elevating goals, engage in team dialog to clarify expectations, build relationships and trust and begin their team development journey.
The objective of this workshop is to help international teams accept and adapt their different communication styles, deal with differences constructively and recognize that conflict can be an important and powerful process that supports creativity and change.
The objective of this workshop is to help international teams recognize that each individual team member has their own strengths and talents that can contribute to achieving team goals and then exploit those strengths to maximize team performance.
Collaboration between groups and individuals working remotely is not a new concept. However the development of information technology has driven the development of virtual teams. In today's global market place, organizations looking for a competitive edge have found it in technology which allows them to utilize employees in new ways; in different places at different times. Reduced social interaction, working in different time-zones, limited informal communication and cultural differences make the task of building an effective remote team extremely challenging.
The objective of this workshop is to help remote and/or virtual teams assess their current team effectiveness and stage of development, identify their strengths and gaps and develop an action plan to improve their team's current and future performance.
Team Kick-Off
"Coming together is the beginning. Working together is success." -Henry Ford
Teams that enter the initial phase development will generally be attempting to establish (directly or indirectly) their common purpose and how the individuals that make the team will cooperate with each other to achieve the agreed objectives. People are often friendly and polite but true feelings and strong opinions may well be withheld and difficult issues are often avoided. The team is often looking to the leader for clear guidance and agreements can often be reached quickly but without a strong sense of commitment.
The best strategy at this stage is often to invest time in relationships without losing sight of task issues and so enable the team to move forward more quickly and achieve the desired business results. The objective of this workshop is to establish a common platform for international groups that wish to begin their team development journey.
Objectives
At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
• improve individual and team motivation by defining and implementing clear and elevating goals
• identify their individual contributions to achieving team goals
• engage in constructive dialog with team members
• profit from the diversity within their team to achieve results
• exchange honest and constructive feedback.
Content
• Establishing networks and developing relationships and trust
• Stakeholder analysis and dialog
• Directional tools - statement of purpose and team goals
• Facilitated expectations exchange
• Team dialog around values and behaviours
• Guidelines for ongoing team communication
• Clarifying commitment to agreed actions
Learning Methodology
The participants will be asked to participate in a personal interview before the workshop and come ready to engage in dialog. The workshop will involve experiential-based learning (indoor or outdoor) activities with debriefings and one-on-one / group dialog. The team should commit to meet again and review the learning and any actions agreed upon during the workshop.
Workshop
This is a three-day workshop for a group of 16 participants with two Clarion Learning consultants at an offsite location.
Teams in Conflict
"Through the clash of differing opinions - the spark of truth will arise."
Once teams have established their common purpose and the team members have identified the tasks that need to be addressed, a team dynamic - often referred to as storming - will generally occur. People will often begin challenging one another (either directly or indirectly) in an attempt to clarify the way in which the goals are best achieved and the roles and responsibilities of the individuals involved. If this dynamic is not experienced as a positive and constructive process, it can lead to withdrawal or confrontation by team members and competition rather than collaboration in the team.
The best strategy at this stage is often to invest time building trust and exploring individual differences with the goal of exploiting those differences to increase creativity and innovation and achieve the desired business results. The objective of this workshop is to help international teams deal with differences constructively.
Objectives
At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
• describe the influences of culture on their team dynamics.
• identify their preferred style and approach to dealing with conflict and the impact this may have on other team members.
• adapt their communication and listening style with others to improve group decision-making and problem-solving processes.
• clarify and define critical team processes.
• recognize that conflict is a natural, healthy communication process that can increase collaboration and lead to change.
Content
• Developing trust and a collaborative climate
• Appropriate assertiveness and the use of "I" statements
• Conflict styles (Intercultural Conflict Style Inventory©)
• Facilitated concerns exchange
• Individual and group dialog around roles and responsibilities
• Clarifying and defining critical team processes
• Creating a feedback culture
Learning Methodology
The participants will be asked to participate in a personal interview before the workshop and come ready to engage in dialog. The workshop will involve experiential-based learning (indoor or outdoor) activities with debriefings and one-on-one / group dialog. The team should commit to meet again and review the learning and any actions agreed upon during the workshop.
Workshop
This is a three-day workshop for a group of up to 16 participants with two Clarion Learning consultants at an offsite location.
High-Performance Teams
"Do you want a collection of brilliant minds or a brilliant collection of minds?" - Meredith Belbin
Teams that have clearly defined goals, individual roles and responsibilities and agreed upon processes often start to experience powerful dynamic of coming together. A strong sense of team spirit and identity starts to emerge and challenging problems and tasks can be addressed and managed. The challenge here is often to integrate new team members, create changes in the team's structures and mindsets and reach improved levels of individual and team performance - put simply the team can become a victim of its own success and struggle to move to the next level.
The best strategy at this stage is to have the team identify standards of excellence that should be maintained while accepting and recognizing that each individual team member has their own strengths and talents that can contribute to achieving team goals. The objective of this workshop is to help international teams stretch their performance.
Objectives
At the end of this workshop participants will be able to:
• identify their team's strengths and existing or potential gaps.
• describe their team's unique culture and identity based on shared values and agreed standards of excellence.
• explore and share their preferred team roles with their inherent strengths and allowable weaknesses.
• clarify and review team roles, responsibilities and processes to ensure that they exploit individual strengths and talents.
• develop a unified commitment to execute changes that will further increase levels of team performance.
Content
• Characteristics of highly effective teams
• Team assessment - strengths and gaps
• Establishing and maintaining team standards of excellence
• Team roles (Belbin team roles ©)
• Feedback exchanges and team dialog
• Change processes, tools and mindsets
• Leadership dialog - the principle of shared leadership
Learning Methodology
The participants will be asked to complete a team assessment and participate in a personal interview before the program. The workshop will involve experiential-based learning (indoor or outdoor) activities with debriefings and one-on-one / group dialog. The group should commit to meet again and review the learning and any actions agreed upon during the workshop.
Workshop
This is a three-day workshop for a group of up to 16 participants working with two Clarion Learning consultants at an offsite location.
Remote and Virtual Teams
"Developing virtual teams is 90% culture change and 10% technology." - Bob Buckman
Collaboration between groups and individuals working remotely is not a new concept. However the development of information technology has driven the development of virtual teams. In today's global market place, organizations looking for a competitive edge have found it in technology which allows them to utilize employees in new ways; in different places at different times. Reduced social interaction, working in different time-zones, limited informal communication and cultural differences make the task of building an effective remote team extremely challenging.
The objective of this workshop is to help remote and/or virtual teams assess their current team effectiveness and stage of development, identify their strengths and gaps and develop an action plan to improve their team's current and future performance.
Objectives
At the end of the workshop participants will be able to:
• improve individual and team motivation by defining and implementing clear and aligned team goals.
• manage cultural and interpersonal differences to get results.
• develop a system of communication which builds relationships, increases transparency and encourages constructive feedback.
• establish standards of behaviour which promote shared values in the team and create a team identity and spirit.
• manage ambiguity by moving from implicit to explicit communication and creating a feedback culture.
Content
• Characteristics of highly effective virtual teams
• Virtual team development - the virtual team toolkit
• The importance of clear and aligned goals
• Managing conflicting priorities constructively
• Developing trust and relationships in virtual teams
• Defining critical team processes to balance clarity/flexibility
• Individual and team dialog and feedback exchanges
Learning Methodology
The participants will be expected to do some preparation in advance of the program and complete an assessment of their virtual team. The workshop will involve experiential-based learning activities with debriefings, group activities, and one-on-one / group dialog. The team should commit to a telephone conference / web-based meeting to review the learning and any actions agreed upon.
Workshop
This is a three-day workshop for a group of up to 16 participants working with two Clarion Learning consultants at an offsite location.
