Any organization attempting to utilize a team concept must prepare and continually develop its team leaders , at every level. This book is designed to provide you with insights, exercises, and tools to enable you to succeed. Your organization may decide to provide some developmental opportunities too. All good training efforts start with a training needs assessment. Exercise 2 provides a series of focus group interview questions; exercise 3 is a survey that was used by one organization that recognized the need to provide more training to current leaders. Notice that the questions attempt to recognize what is going well in addition to identifying the problems that the training was intended to fix. Table 1 outlines the training modules the organization ended up offering its team leaders.
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Training can only be a solution when the problem involves the need to enhance skills and knowledge. If the problem is motivation, the organization needs to reexamine the degree to which it has made role expectations clear and the manner in which it reinforces fulfillment of these expectations.
It is difficult to anticipate all the specific training modules and tools you will need in your unique situation. Your general managers and human resource coaches need to conduct an assessment and design the training elements or find people who can provide them. What tools should your leaders be able to use? Maybe you need to think metaphorically. Exercise 4 can help you to identify which tools you think your leaders should have in their toolbox.
Focus Group Interview Questions
Directions: Have the group respond to the following questions regarding teams and team leaders.
First, a general question: What are your perceptions regarding how successful the use of teams has been so far at this organization?
How would you describe the roles and responsibilities that team leaders play here? How does a leader help a team become more successful and satisfying ?
What knowledge, skills, and personal qualities does a team leader ideally possess to help teams succeed in this organization?
Knowledge:
Skills:
Personal qualities:
What motivates team leaders to successfully fulfill their roles and responsibilities?
What gets in the way of the success of some team leaders? What are the obstacles?
What advice do you have for the joint steering committee as it prepares training plans to enhance the development of team leaders in this organization?
Survey of Team Leader Training Needs
Directions: This organization cannot offer every training module imaginable as it tries to enhance the development of team leaders. Review the list of potential topics below. Rate the importance of offering training modules on these topics using the following scale:
1 = Extremely important ”this module should definitely be offered
2 = Important ”it would be good to offer this module if time permits
3 = Not very important ”maybe nice but probably not necessary
Be sure not to place too many items in the first category. We must be practical regarding how much time we can afford to have team leaders in training sessions.
_____How to establish/clarify team goals
____How to develop talent
____How to clarify roles and responsibilities
____How to improve the effectiveness of team procedures
____How to facilitate team meetings
____How to improve team problem-solving skills
____How to facilitate team decision making
____Building more constructive interpersonal relationships
____Improving communication skills (sharing information, listening effectively, providing useful feedback)
____Improving your conflict resolution skills
____Reinforcing team-oriented behaviors and maintaining accountability
____Building diplomatic relationships with key players outside your team (e.g., supervisors/advisors/management, skilled trades and maintenance, union representatives, resource staff, etc.)
____Strategies to gain/maintain credibility as a leader
____Planning skills
____Organizing/coordinating skills
_Strategies to motivate people
____How to assess team progress
____Building commitment vs. gaining compliance
____Understanding why teams get stuck and what to do about it
____Understanding and utilizing the personalities on your team including your own
____Providing strategies to communicate organizational change plans (e.g., who to include as communicators of change, how to make messages "sticky," how the context affects the message)
____Identifying causes of stress and determining how to reduce them
____Developing your personal leadership development plan
Below list any other training modules you think should be considered and rate the importance of each.
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
____ ____________
A Dozen Tools for Team Leaders
Directions: From the list below, pick a dozen tools for your team leader toolbox. Come up with creative ideas for how team leaders at your facility could use each tool metaphorically to serve their team. How would a leader use a hammer ? Perhaps to nail down the details of plans. How would a leader use a saw? Perhaps to cut through the bureaucracy to help team members get the resources they need. Have fun with it ”add to the list of tools and discover some interesting analogies .
TOOL | USE BY TEAM LEADER |
---|---|
1. Hammer | 1. |
2. Saw | 2. |
3. Drill | 3. |
4. Screwdriver | 4. |
5. Vise | 5. |
6. Chisel | 6. |
7. Pulley/lever | 7. |
8. Bubble balance | 8. |
9. Sander | 9. |
10. Duct tape | 10. |
11. Crowbar | 11. |
12. Pliers | 12. |
13. Awl | 13. |
14. Paintbrush | 14. |
15. Ladder | 15. |
16. Wrench | 16. |
17. | 17. |
18. | 18. |
19. | 19. |
20. | 20. |