COURSE TITLE
BUILDING BETTER TEAMS
Return to Professional Skills Main Page
OVERVIEW  

Teams have become a principal building block of the strategy of successful organizations.  Whether the focus is on service, quality, cost, value, speed, efficiency, performance, or other similar goals, teams are the central methodology of most organizations in the private, non-profit and government sectors.
With teams at the core of corporate strategy, your success as an organization can often depend on how well you and other team members operate together.  How are your problem-solving skills? Is the team enthusiastic and motivated to do its best?  Do you work well together?  In many cases, the energies of individual members work at cross purposes. Individuals may work extraordinarily hard, but their efforts do not translate into team effort, and this results in wasted energy. By contrast, when a team becomes more aligned, a commonality of direction emerges, and individual energies harmonize.  You have a shared vision, and an understanding of how to complement each others’ efforts.  As jazz musicians say, “You are in the groove.”

This workshop is a basic course for team leaders and members, designed to focus on the characteristics of an effective team player and the elements of an effective team. You will leave this program with a plan for your personal development as a team player and as a team leader and will have learned skills and techniques for improving the functionality, efficiency and productivity of your ‘at work” team.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES  
  • Provide an opportunity for team members to get to know one another, to enhance respect and to develop team spirit.
  • Understand the value of working as a team
  • Recognize the critical role communication skills will play in building and maintaining a team atmosphere.
  • Promote trust and rapport by exploring your team player style and how it responds to team values
  • Develop and practice techniques for handling counterproductive team behaviour.
  • Identify ways to participate and grow in a team setting
COURSE OUTLINE  
  1. Defining a Team
  2. Types of Teams
    • Traditional
    • Team Spirit
    • Cutting Edge
    • Task Force
    • Cyber
  3. Establishing Team Norms
    • Characteristics of Teams
    • Ground Rules
    • Team Contracts
  4. Working as a Team
  5. Team Player Styles
  6. Building Team Trust
  7. Stages of Development
    • Forming
    • Storming
    • Norming
    • Performing
  8. TORI Model of Team Building
  9. Communication
    • Effective Listening
      • Active Listening
      • Constructive Listening
      • Paraphrasing
    • How Listener Controls Speaker
  10. Becoming a Good Team Player
    • Your Attitude is Up to You
  11. Personal Action Plan
METHODOLOGY  
  • Large group discussions
  • Individual work and reflection
  • Small group discussion, exercises and activities
  • Case studies
  • Simulations
WHO SHOULD ATTEND  
  • Employees who are members of a team, Team Leaders, Supervisors, Managers

Note: Increased competency will be achieved if several team members attend the same session

PRE-REQUISITES

 

  • Completed pre-assignment
DURATION  
  • 1 Day
CLASS SIZE  
  • .10 – 20