1. Take the Team Check-up: Team Check-up.
2. Explore some team-building sites: Teambuilding, Team approach,  OEG.net, Teams, Accel-teams,  Team games.
3. Study and complete the following and take the quiz below.

For a long time, Joe felt that he could handle his drinking problem alone. Dr. Brown found that his project was far too complex to implement it alone. Both Joe and Dr. Brown need teams to help them. Few people work in a vacuum. Most individuals work with of for others. Yet few people work in well functioning teams. Teams provide socio-emotional  support that make individual efforts more productive.

1. GROUP PROCESS: trust, support, cohesion, feedback 

Groups may be facilitator-centered, sub-grouped, or all-channel groups. In all-channel teams, every group member fully interacts with every other member. Group boundaries may be rigid, negotiated, weak or neglected. Groups function best when there is open communication, non-defensiveness, some self-disclosure and much trust.

ERIC_NO: ED403635, Leading Your Team to Excellence: How To Make Quality Decisions. McEwan, Elaine K., DATE: 1997
ABSTRACT: Site-based management is a concept whose time has come. This book was designed to introduce the concept of teaming, elaborate the decision-making process, and describe the skills and processes needed for a variety of decision-making situations. Chapter 1 introduces the concept of teaming and discusses the decision-making process in depth. Chapters 2 through 9 describe eight different types of team activities in which groups may engage over the course of their working life together. The second chapter discusses building and sharing values. The third chapter covers team building and offers a variety of activities designed to help a team build trust and teamwork. Activities to develop creativity and new ideas are described in chapter 4. Chapter 5 discusses ways in which groups can share critical information with one another and with the larger audiences they may be representing. Chapters 6 through 9 introduce strategies for problem solving, consensus building, conflict resolution, and goal setting and planning.

2. PLANNING...where the group is heading

Good planning usually answers the common questions of why (the objective), where, who, when, and what. 

ERIC_NO: ED442616, Team Building through Physical Challenges.
Gibbons, Sandra L. 1999
ABSTRACT: The enhancement of positive self-concept has been identified as a key benefit of participation in team-building programs. This paper reviews research on the impact of team-building activities that include demanding physical challenges on the self-concept of physical education students. Team Building through Physical Challenges (TBPC) is a program comprised of a series of 22 Outward Bound-type problem-solving tasks that can be readily incorporated into a physical education setting. For any individual to succeed, the entire group must master each task. Program developers contend that TBPC provides significant physical and social challenges, as well as problem-solving tasks, and therefore should lead to improved self-concepts related to self-worth, athletic competence, social acceptance, and scholastic competence. Studies of Outward Bound showed improvement in participants' self-concept in domains related to program goals. Studies of team-building activities in elementary and secondary physical education settings found no significant treatment effects. Two recent studies of the TBPC program with middle school students in physical education settings found that participation increased student perceptions of athletic competence and global self-worth, but that effects were significantly greater for males than females. An ongoing research project will assess the effects of TBPC on student self-concept in an all-female physical education class.

3. STAFFING...so that groups become teams

Job descriptions are rather central to good staffing. They should give at least the position name, objectives, needed qualifications (competencies, experience and education), allocated duties and responsibilities, and planned work hours.

ERIC_NO: ED360707. Team Building for School Change: Equipping Teachers for New Roles. Maeroff, Gene I., 1993
ABSTRACT: Focusing on teacher teams and their use as a lever for change, the author examines the importance of teachers becoming knowledgeable, skilled, and increasingly articulate about their leadership and participation so that they may take their rightful place in the school reform movement. Ten chapters focus on teams sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, in which volunteer teams of teachers, learning how to lead the change process, were a primary intervention for professional development and eventual school change. Chapter titles and topics are as follows: (1) "A Climate for Team Building" covers the teacher role and avenues for teacher renewal; (2) "An Agenda for Team Building" discusses the evolution of team building and examples of academies that inservice teachers in the team process; (3) "Selecting Teams" covers choosing a school, the team relationship to the school, and selection of individuals to attend an academy; (4) "How an Academy Happens" investigates the demand of an academy schedule, personal expectations of team building, analyzing and imagining, planning for the return to the school, and teachers as leaders; (5) "Bonding and Growing" discusses the Outward Bound approach, a proper setting for team building, getting to know each other, and group process skills; (6) "The Team and the Principal" include the topics of principals as members of teams, the need for confident principals, new allies for the principal, the principal as enabler, and support of the central administration; (7) "The Team Returns" discusses spreading ownership, personal transformation, schoolwide transformation, and the role of facilitator; (8) "Making Time for Teams" looks into the new schedules for new responsibilities and some ways to reallocate time; (9) "Obstacles to Teams" covers societal factors, budgets, unions, teacher knowledge and dedication, team function, and continuity; and (10) "Team Building in the Long Run" closes the book with lessons for professional development.  Sourse: www.askeric.org 

4. EVALUATING...the real outcomes of the teams

Team evaluation includes concerns about job satisfaction, accomplishments, major problems, quality of relationships, and needed changes.

Abstracts from the Center of Work Teams: (With Permission)

"The Facilitator’s Role in Team Breakthroughs" is a case study by R. Glenn Ray and Karen Stapleton. It can be found in the book Developing High-Performance Work Teams edited by Steven D. Jones and Michael M. Beyerlein. It involves the BorgWarner Automotive company of Gallipolis, Ohio, and the effect of a facilitator had on teams and the organization as a whole. Included in the study, are examples of barriers to team implementation, the development of the facilitator, including some of the techniques used.

Important Lessons:

• A critical factor in enabling the transfer of a facilitator’s training to the workplace is the immediate practice of the newly acquired techniques.
• Small successes build the foundation to culture change breakthroughs.
• Facilitators must have positive, supportive mentors for advice, and develop the appropriate skills, such as communication skills, teaching and coaching skills, and knowledge of problem-solving techniques.
• Qualities needed to be an effective facilitator are: respect for all employees, assertiveness, persistence, desire to take risks, a positive outlook, caring, a willingness to share information, honesty and integrity, and a willingness to deal with conflict.
• Facilitators must earn credibility and trust with every interaction.
• A facilitator must be willing and able to practice the skills taught in the training program immediately upon returning to the workplace.
• The company must support the facilitator as they practice their skills.
• The facilitator must internalize the communication concepts involving nonverbal communication and small group processes.

"Integrated Health-Care Support Teams" is a case study by Carrie McHale. It can be found in the book Developing High-Performance Work Teams edited by Steven D. Jones and Michael M. Beyerlein. In this study, the implications of integrating formerly separate hospital departments and the development of teams during reorganization are discussed. The different training efforts that were utilized are detailed, and the cost savings by the organization are included.

Important Lessons:

• All levels of leadership should be involved in the redesign phase.
• Leaders should communicate information consistently to all employees, so everyone involved hears the same information.
• Strong, motivated leaders are required in a successful change management program, and should already be practicing basic skills, such as time management, task prioritization, and handling difficult employees.
• All leaders should be required to participate in a change management workshop before redesign begins.
• A thorough analysis of readiness to change at the employee level should occur.
• Time should be gives to test the true effectiveness of a design structure before trying alternative designs.

"Building a Team Measurement and Feedback System to Drive Performance" is a case study by Don Schilling. It can be found in the book Developing High-Performance Work Teams edited by Steven D. Jones and Michael M. Beyerlein. The American Paper Company developed a process to measure the performance of their teams. The performance measure, in the form of scorecards, are aligned with the company objectives and provide a vehicle for feedback, goal setting and problem solving to drive performance improvements. The study includes information on all of these issues, their enhancements, and the results of these techniques.

Important Lessons:

• A run chart should be constructed for each performance indicator to facilitate identification of trends or other patterns of performance.
• Where possible, scales should be standardized to permit team comparisons.
• Following the performance review, the teams should engage in problem solving or activities directed at improving targeted performance.
• Measurement and feedback play a greater role at the team level than visions, missions, and strategies.
• Setting more than one goal gives management a means to communicate their expectations via the long-term goal, while providing an opportunity for participative goal setting by the team via the short-term goal.

Team Journal  Review 3 Team Cases

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