HOW BAD DO YOU NEED TEAMWORK?
Maybe your group is just barely getting along, and you know you could be doing better..
Take this five question test and find out if your work team is in a nose dive with smoke coming out of the engines, if you are maintaining your course and altitude or if you are going at full speed soaring to new heights..
It just takes a couple minutes..
Foundations - Team foundations are the critical components that lay the groundwork and the structure for teamwork to happen. Even with the best intentions, a team will be swimming upstream without foundational components in place. Clarification of the team's identity (who they are, how and why they help the overall organization), a well defined mission and purpose, identification of critical processes and critical deliverables which are most strongly tied to customer satisfaction, and clear roles for all team members on the team, an understanding about how each team member can best work together and clear priorities for everyone that are unambiguous.
Rate the extent to which you agree: (1 least to 10 most)
1. My team's foundations are strong.
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Skills- Great teamwork is evident when the team practices effective group processes and demonstrates the results that can be achieved with better communication, information sharing, problem solving approaches, planning together, well behaved meeting skills, high participation by each team member and involvement. Well skilled teams are good at tapping the talent and resources of their own work group and maximizing the contribution of each team member. A core high performing team skill if for the team to regularly evaluate it's own way of operating and make necessary changes to improve itself.
Rate the extent to which you agree: (1 least to 10 most)
2. My team operates with strong skills that make us more effective together.
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Individual Team Member Impact - Commitment of each team member is a requirement for great teamwork. With commitment comes contribution and higher involvement. Great functioning in any group requires sensitivity to other team members, and cooperation. Team members either add to the synergy and effectiveness of the team or they bring dysfunctional or selfish behaviors that get in the way of the team operating at it's best.
Rate the extent to which you agree: (1 least to 10 most)
3. My team doesn't have any team members who get in the way of our team performing as well as it could.
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Leadership- Great teamwork usually means the team has a great leader. Team leaders take responsibility for facilitating the growth and development of their team as a whole, promote participation and involvement of every team member, champion a synergistic team climate and team motivation and coaches and develops each individual team member.
Rate the extent to which you agree: (1 least to 10 most)
4. My team's leader guides and facilitates our team to perform in better ways.
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Performance- Performance is the evidence that the team is working well together. Further evidence of effective teamwork includes: Meeting aggressive goals, other teams and departments are impressed with this team, team members demonstrate high commitment levels, customers are satisfied with the team, the team responds well to unforeseen problems or changes, the team handles complexity well, the team regularly comes up with good ideas, the team learns from it's mistakes, The team takes responsibility when things go wrong, and the team is easy to work with.
Rate the extent to which you agree: (1 least to 10 most)
5. As an effective work group, our team performs at its best.
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Add up your scores and multiply X 2. This is the percentage that you feel your team is working up to it's potential.
Total of all scores __________ X 2 = _________%
What does all this mean?
In terms of teamwork health, there are three levels to consider:
LEVEL OF TEAMWORK: Surviving, Maintaining and Evolving:
Surviving
1% to 40% - Let's face it. Things are not going well. The dysfunctions of how your team operates is probably a source of stress for you and those your team must interact with. Conflict is probably common, confrontations, complaints and dissatisfaction are a common occurrence. Other common symptoms evident with teams who have scores this low include turnover, lack of communications, jealous hording of resources, cliques, secretive political gyrations, and a general feeling malaise and a lack of positive expectation about performance the ability of the team to meet it's objectives. Survival as an intact team with these low scores is in doubt.
Maintaining
41% to 78% - Most teams and work groups fall within this range. Getting by and getting along with moments of success is the workplace norm. Punching a clock, and doing what is necessary come to mind, but outstanding performance is outside the realm of experience for this group. Getting extra levels of performance out of a work team means higher commitment levels, more involvement, and more efficient energy as a group. Although teams scoring in this range are not in serious danger of falling apart, neither are they dynamic inspirational places to work. Many organizations only react when things are broken and aren't proactive about developing teams unless crisis is imminent.
Evolving
79% to 100% - Although it is very unusual to find work groups that score a 10 for each of these questions, but when scores are higher, success will be recognizable. Obvious evidence of healthy teamwork includes humor, positive energy and much more interaction between team members. Other teams and departments will have a positive impression of this group, this team will be seen as dependable, and ultimately, reach it's goals and objectives while maintaining a productive pace. Additional gains in productivity and performance come from the team's commitment to continuous improvements rather than resting on their laurels. Teams with these scores will usually have a team leader who maintains the respect of the team as well as the organization as a whole.
More than 25 years of working with teams to develop themselves has helped us discover the importance of having teamwork foundations in place, of operating with effective group process skills, of mitigating dysfunctional team member behaviors, and of having leaders who lead rather than just manage a workgroup. Growing in these areas fosters team performance and makes it easier for a work group to realize their full potential- bringing the products of their effectiveness to the organization.
Aquarius Training & Development has developed and refined an effective one day team development program called BUILD MY TEAM. This team development experience for intact work groups specifically focuses on the factors that make teams effective, and in turning work groups around quickly. Most work teams only need simple guidance and help rediscovering their own potential, and will easily follow the teamwork roadmap presented in this effective one day training.
Whether your team is barely surviving, just getting along or even if they are already performing well - everyone can always do better as a work team. BUILD MY TEAM is a great way to re-establish the fundamentals that lead to higher performance.
Learn More about the BUILD MY TEAM program from Aquarius Training & Development.
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