2. Supporting Lions Teams 1
Teams
“ A team is a group of people working
toward a common goal.”
3. Supporting Lions Teams 2
Differences Between
a Team and a Group
• Many people use the words team and group
interchangeably, but there are actually a
number of differences between a team and a
group in real world applications.
• A number of leadership courses designed
for the corporate world stress the
importance of building, not group building.
4. Supporting Lions Teams 3
Differences Between
a Team and a Group
Team
1. A team is a small group of
people with complimentary
skills and abilities who are
committed to a common
goal and approach for
which they hold each other
accountable.
Group
1. A group is a small of
group of people with
complimentary skills and
abilities who are
committed to a leader’s
goal and approach and
are willing to be held
accountable by the
leader.
5. Supporting Lions Teams 4
Differences Between
a Team and a Group
Team
2. A team is internally
organised with specific
goals and usually with
specific roles for
different members of a
team
Group
2. A group is just a
collection of people with
something in common,
such as being in the
same place or having a
shared interest
6. Supporting Lions Teams 5
Differences Between
a Team and a Group
Team
3. Teaming should be
used when you need
broad buy-in for the
best results, when no
one person has the
answer and when shard
responsibility is
important to the
success of the goal.
Group
3. It makes sense to be in a
group when the
decisions and process
are already determined,
buy-in is not necessary,
time is critical factor
and there is split or
minimal management
support for teaming.
7. Supporting Lions Teams 6
Differences Between
a Team and a Group
Team
4. A team, by comparison,
does not rely on
‘groupthink’ to arrive
at its conclusions.
There may be a team
leader working as a
facilitator for the
process, but not
necessarily a specific
leader.
Group
4. The success of a group
is often measured by its
final results. A group
may use equal parts
discussion,
argumentation and peer
pressure to guide
individual members
towards a consensus.
8. Supporting Lions Teams 7
Session Objectives
• Recognize stages of team development
• Identify strategies for supporting your
teams
• Identify the effectiveness of Lions teams
10. Supporting Lions Teams 9
No Strings Attached
• Choose one member of the team to serve
as an observer who will record his/her
comments on the Observer Sheet on page
2 of the Participant Manual
• Use the strings to connect two members
of the team as indicated on the diagram
on page 1.
11. Supporting Lions Teams 10
No Strings Attached
• After they are connected, untangle the
two people without loosening the knots or
breaking the strings. Anyone in the
group except the observer is free to help
in any way
• Complete the process in no more than 15
minutes
12. Supporting Lions Teams
11
No Strings Attached
• How do you feel about what your group
achieved or did not achieve? What helped
or hindered the team?
• How do you feel about how your group
organized and communicated to accomplish
the task?
13. Supporting Lions Teams 12
No Strings Attached
• What, if anything, would you do
differently?
• What similarities did you see between
what happened in your group and what
happens in other groups to which you
belong?
17. Supporting Lions Teams 16
As a Leader
• Your team members get know each other
• The mission, vision and goals of the team are
established with input from the members
• Roles are established to make use of the
individual talents and skills of team members
• Ground rules are established for how the team
will communicate and operate
• Conflicts are addressed and resolved
19. Supporting Lions Teams 18
• In the storming stage personal beliefs
and needs are sometimes challenged.
Conflict is the general theme, and
teams must learn to see each other’s
points of view and negotiate to move
beyond this phase.
20. Supporting Lions Teams 19
As a Leader
• Individual issues related to tasks and
responsibilities are addressed
• Goals and plans developed in the earlier stage
are realistic and achievable
• In-groups and disunity and challenged
• Problems between team members are
approached in an open and positive way
• Conflicts are addressed and resolved
21. Supporting Lions Teams
20
• Webster’s Dictionary defines norm
as “a principle of right action
binding upon the members of a
group and serving to guide, control,
or regulate proper and acceptable
behaviour”.
23. Supporting Lions Teams 22
• In the norming stage, team members
begin to understand their own roles and
responsibilities and those of others. Co-
operation is the theme, and members are
able to share ideas and emotions more
freely. Team members replace their
individuals needs with those of the team
in many situations. The team may not
yet be effective, but it is beginning to
accomplish what it set out to do.
24. Supporting Lions Teams 23
As a Leader
• You will ensure that:
• Conflicts are resolved to the benefit of the team.
Personal and team boundaries are established
and respected
• Team members accept the methods by which
they are decided as a team to function
• Questions, problems and concerns are easily
expressed
• Decisions are made and accepted by the team
26. Supporting Lions Teams 25
Performing
• In the performing stage, the team has
come together to achieve a common goal.
Productivity is the theme. When conflicts
arise, they are often about meeting team
needs rather than personal needs, and
they are often resolved quickly by the
members themselves. Some teams reach
this stage faster than others, and some
teams never reach this stage.
27. Supporting Lions Teams 26
As a Leader
• You will ensure that:
• Team members feel confident that they can make
decisions and go to each other for help
• Team members attempt to resolve their own
conflicts, but come to you if needed
• Ideas can be voiced and challenged without
destroying co-operation
• The tema is moving forward effectively to
accomplish its goals
29. Supporting Lions Teams 28
• In reality, the team’s true effectiveness
depends not only on the task that it is
completing, but also on the working
relationships that impact productivity
and co-operation. More often than not, it
is the less visible things that prevent team
members from being their most
motivated and productive and that keep
the team from reaching its highest level
of efficiency.
30. Supporting Lions Teams 29
Team Effectiveness
Goals
Participation
Feedback
Decisions
Leadership
Conflict Resolution
Resource Recognition
Risk Taking
31. Supporting Lions Teams 30
• Goals: When people are part of the
goal setting process, they have a
greater commitment to the
accomplishment of those goals. In
assessing your Lions teams, ask
yourself if the members share the same
goals and if they were discussed and
agreed upon
32. Supporting Lions Teams 31
• Participation: have you ever been a
part of a group, but felt that you were
underutilized or that your role was
thought of as less important than other
team members. How did you feel?
How well did you perform?
33. Supporting Lions Teams
32
• Feedback: People need to know how
they are doing and what they can do to
improve. Feedback should be given
frequently and always with a desire to
help the other person. We will discuss
feedback more in the session on
Mentoring
34. Supporting Lions Teams 33
• Decisions: Decisions are made that
impact some or all of the team
members. People are more
enthusiastic and motivated when they
take part in making those decisions.
Good communications skills are vital
in this regard
35. Supporting Lions Teams 34
• Leadership: Leadership in a team is
not always ‘formal’ leadership. As
tasks change, different skills and
resources arise and new leaders can
and should emerge. Do your Lions
teams allow members to demonstrate
their leadership?
36. Supporting Lions Teams 35
• Conflict Resolution: Team members
should be allowed to express negative
feelings and different points of view.
It can be more damaging to avoid
conflict than to confront it.
Techniques for Conflict Resolution
will be addressed later in this institute
37. Supporting Lions Teams 36
• Resource Recognition: Lions are a diverse
group of dedicated and talented people. Are
their individual skills, knowledge, and
experiences identified, recognized and
used?
• Risk Taking: Jawaharlal Nehru said, “The
policy of being too cautious is the greatest
risk of all.”
39. Supporting Lions Teams 38
• Consider the background information
from the case study, remembering that in
real life they would be able to gain much
more information than is presented here
• Using one of the Team Effectiveness
Checklists on pages 12 and 13 of the
Participant Manual as a guideline, assess
the effectiveness of the team (The other
checklist is provided for your future use.)
40. Supporting Lions Teams 39
• Discuss what steps you might have
taken throughout the project if you
were a leader of this team
• Be prepared to explain your
comments to the entire group
41. Supporting Lions Teams 40
• Did any ‘informal’ leaders emerge?
• Did the group go through any stages of
development?
• Did they become a team? If so, when?
• Were there any lessons in teamwork you learned
from this exercise?
42. Supporting Lions Teams
41
Session Objectives
• Recognize stages of team development
• Identify strategies for supporting your
teams
• Identify the effectiveness of Lions teams
