Team Building Plan

University of Houston-Downtown

Team Building Plan

Written Assignment #2

Tien Thai

MBA 6348 Leading Teams for Business Results

W Kevin Barksdale, Ph.D

June 16, 2015

Team Building Plan

The world of work has increased in its complexity and it seems that teams, not the individual, now hold the key to organizational success. But teams don’t happen by accident when they are cohesive, efficient, and productive. Successful teams are cohesive because they are committed to working together cooperatively, sharing common goals and resources. They are efficient because they take into account each member’s strength in skills and interests. They are productive because they find ways to work out conflicts as they arise. (1). The challenge is to develop and lead teams to work in these ways. As individuals we all have different methods of dealing with conflicts because each of us looks at situations and events differently. We interpret what people say and do based upon our values, faith, culture, and past experiences. The results of our behavior reflect these different styles of conflicts; avoiding, competing, compromising, accommodating, and collaborating. So how do you present a plan to take into account the different styles of each team member? You start with trust followed by a shared vision with goals making sure any conflicts that arise are resolved while acknowledging successes along the way.

Trust is the act of relinquishing control, a willingness to take a risk on behalf of another. And it is necessary to an effective team. At its core, there are three drivers of trust; integrity, ability, and benevolence. Integrity means that you are who you say you are. This is keeping promises and always telling the truth even in difficult situations. If the leader has integrity, the team can be believed. Ability means believing in the leader’s capabilities. People follow winners that produce results time and time again. Benevolence answers the question of whether the leader has the team’s best interest at heart. The leader knows their people. They understand each style of conflicts, how different style types react to situations, how to motivate each style, and how to uncover the root of these behavioral issues (4). Trust provides a sense of safety. When members feel safe with one another, they are more comfortable to communicate openly, expose their vulnerabilities, and take appropriate risks for the sake of the team. Without it members would be spending their time protecting themselves and their interest. With trust there are more collaboration, creative thinking, innovation, productivity, and knowledge sharing. (2). It is up to you as the leaders to create a culture of trust within the team.

Once trust is established, a shared vision can be easily accepted. A vision paints a big picture of where the team is going and what things can be like, and goals are the roads that will get you there. Even though built on trust, no one will blindly follow until they know the direction they are headed in. And if this vision touches chord with each team member and you can communicate it well, they will gladly join you in reaching towards your goals. Not only will vision inspire team members, their hopes and expectations are raised as well. (5). But the goals must be bigger than a pay check. It must appeal to personal pride and be challenging. It has to provide an opportunity to make a difference. This establishes how the team contributes to its success. (1).

        Of course not all roads are perfect. Bumps and holes will always be along the way. The trick is to pay attention to these conflicts when they arise and work out ways to resolve them. It’s natural for conflict to occur when people work in a team. Everyone has their own style, but handled well, can actually produce constructive ideas. The idea is to let each team member involved have a chance to explain the problem in their own view. Ground rules should be established so that people can express their opinions without being intimidated, rushed, interrupted, or mocked. As a leader, you should encourage team members to work out the problems themselves so that you are not always in the middle. In the case that they cannot come to an agreement, it is important that team members can count on you to coach them through a problem-solving framework. This in turn will allow them to build conflict resolution skills for the future. (1).