Building Effective Teams

© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved.
Building Effective Teams

© Operational Excellence Consulting. All rights reserved. 2
Objectives
1. Recognize the characteristics of high performing
teams
2. Understand the five dysfunctions of a team
3. Describe the stages of building an effective team
4. Identify the qualities of good team leaders
5. Define the role of the team leader
6. Identify ways to sustain and improve team
performance
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NOTE: This is a PARTIAL PREVIEW. To
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visit: http://www.oeconsulting.com.sg

Contents
• Introduction and Overview
• The Five Dysfunctions of Teams
• Stages of Team Development
• Choosing a Good Team Leader
• Role of the Team Leader
• Sustaining & Improving Team Performance

What is a Team?
• A team is a group of people who perform
interdependent tasks to work toward a common
mission

“Talent wins
games, but
teamwork wins
championships.”
Michael Jordan

Qualities of an Effective Team
• A productive team has an atmosphere of trust
and is completely accountable for its results
• Each of its team members invests in the team
through his or her actions and attitudes
• The team members are respectful, caring and
cooperative
• These teams are the mechanism by which
organizations can unlock world class results

Why Do We Need Team Building?
• The need to quickly respond to changes
• Demands for continuous improvement
• More effective use of resources
• Decision-making and problem-solving is better
handled by teams

Why is Team Building Important?
• To discover new solutions to enhance team
effectiveness and cohesiveness
• Helps bring out the best in individuals in the form
of team work
• Improves understanding and helps people
respect other people’s views even if they don’t
agree with them
• Helps in exchange of views and ideas which
leads to exciting results

Symptoms that Signal a Need for Team
Building
• Decreased productivity
• Conflicts or hostility among staff members
• Confusion about assignments, missed signals,
and unclear relationships
• Decisions misunderstood or not carried through
properly
• Apathy and lack of involvement

Patrick Lencioni's Model of the Five
Dysfunctions of a Team
Inattention to Results
Avoidance of Accountability
Lack of Commitment
Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
Source: Patrick Lencioni

Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions of a Team
DESCRIPTION
§ The pursuit of individual goals and personal status
erodes the focus on collective success.
§ The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents
team members from holding one another accountable.
§ The lack of clarity or buy-in prevents team members
from making decisions they will stick to.
§ The desire to preserve artificial harmony stifles the
occurrence of productive ideological conflict.
§ The fear of being vulnerable with team members
prevents the building of trust within the team.
Inattention to
Results
Avoidance of
Accountability
Lack of
Commitment
Fear of Conflict
Absence of Trust
Source: Patrick Lencioni

“Remember
teamwork begins
by building trust.
And the only way to
do that is to
overcome our need
for invulnerability.”
Patrick Lencioni

Dysfunction 1: Absence of Trust
The fear of being vulnerable with team
members prevents the building of trust
within the team

Members of teams with an absence of
trust…
• Conceal their weakness and mistakes from one another
• Hesitate to ask for help or provide constructive feedback
• Hesitate to offer help outside their own area of
responsibility
• Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills and
experiences
• Hold grudges
• Dread meetings and find reasons to avoid spending time
together

Members of trusting teams…
• Admit weaknesses and mistakes
• Ask for help
• Take risk in offering feedback and assistance
• Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and
experiences
• Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics
• Offer and accept apologies without hesitation
• Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to
work as a group

The role of the leader...
• Demonstrate vulnerability first
• Create an environment that does not punish
vulnerability
• Vulnerability must be genuine, not staged

“We must all
hang together,
or assuredly,
we shall all hang
separately.”
Benjamin Franklin

Source: Adapted from Bruce W. Tuckman
Tuckman’s Model of Team Development
Stages

Stage 1: Forming
• The team is new to each other (or finds itself in
an unfamiliar situation)
• High level of ambiguity about their purpose
• Uncertainty about approach/methods
• People may be wary of each other
• Interactions are quite formal
• People look to the leader for guidance and
direction

Outcome of Stage 1: Team becomes
acquainted and organized
Suggested activities the leader can take:
• Get to know your team
• Arrange a social gathering for your team
• Get to know your fellow team members and help them to
get to know you
• Hold an organizational meeting to share information
about capabilities and expectations
• Have each member describe himself/herself
• Have each member describe expectation for the project
• Get to know the stakeholders

• Facilitate the team to develop an overall picture of its
goals and constraints, project plan, group roles, rules
and structure
• Share information about the goals and resources
• Provide guidance to the team to develop a general plan
for the project
• Establish what needs to be accomplished at each step
(project deliverables and timelines) and help each team
member to understand their roles and expectations

• Provide much needed structure by holding regular
meetings and assisting in task/role clarification
• Encourage participation by all team members
• Facilitate learning about another’s area of expertise and
preferred working modes

End of Stage 1: Team Characteristics
• Members seek direction from the leader
• Communication is directed toward the leader
• Members are both excited and anxious about
being part of a new team
• Interpersonal relations tend to be polite, guarded
and impersonal

“A leader is best
when people barely
know he exists, when
his work is done, his
aim fulﬁlled, they
will say: we did it
ourselves.”
Lao Tzu

What Makes an Effective Team Leader
• Effective team leaders are not born with the gift of
leading, but they acquire the skill as they grow up
• Effective team leaders are also capable of assuming the
leadership qualities needed for specific situations
• Different qualities when blend in a single person creates
an effective leader
• Team leader should always know his objectives and
should know what he is doing, and should never forget
his objectives
• It is the duty of a team leader to ensure that all his
members are doing the work effectively and efficiently

Practical Tips for Managing Your Team
to Peak Performance
• Focus on results and productivity and not the
time clock
• Align people with the stuff they are good at
• Align people with the projects they are
passionate about
• Put your best performers on your biggest
opportunities
• Find the balance between aggressive and
realistic goals

Challenges of the Team Leader’s Role
• Getting full attendance at meetings
• Be clear regarding expectations
• Create realistic meeting agendas
• Contribute without dominating
• Remain neutral
• Capturing ideas accurately
• Knowing what to record and what not to record

Sustaining High Team Performance
• Goals are totally clear and understood
• Members are empowered
• Build trust and openness
• Opportunities to socialize and interact with each
other
• Optimal resource utilization to achieve goals
• Recognize and show appreciation
• High team morale

How to Develop a More Effective Team
• Become knowledgeable about team
development and dynamics
• Learn how to assess your team both as a group
and individually
• Be open to your strengths and weaknesses
• Develop a leadership style that supports and
trains staff - they are your biggest resource
• Teach your staff necessary skills, e.g. problem
solving, time management, etc

"Coming together
is a beginning,
staying together is
progress, and
working together is
success."
Henry Ford

About
Operational Excellence
Consulting

About Operational Excellence
Consulting
• Operational Excellence Consulting is a management
training and consulting firm that assists organizations in
improving business performance and effectiveness.
• The firm’s mission is to create business value for
organizations through innovative operational excellence
management training and consulting solutions.
• OEC takes a unique “beyond the tools” approach to enable
clients develop internal capabilities and cultural
transformation to achieve sustainable world-class excellence
and competitive advantage. For more information, please visit
www.oeconsulting.com.sg

END OF PARTIAL PREVIEW
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Building Effective Teams

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