Teams have become a principal building block of the strategy of successful organizations. Whether the focus is on service, quality, cost, value, speed, efficiency, performance, or other similar goals, teams are the central methodology of most organizations in the private, non-profit, and government sectors.

With teams at the core of corporate strategy, your success as an organization can often depend on how well you and other team members operate together. How are your problem-solving skills? Is the team enthusiastic and motivated to do its best? Do you work well together?

At the end of this workshop, participants should be able to:

• Discuss the different kinds of teams
• Know how to develop team norms
• Understand the Gradients of Agreement
• Identify their team player style
• Acquire ways to become a better team player
• Have different ways to build team trust
• Understand two models of team development

Introduction and Course Overview

You will spend the first part of the day getting to know participants and discussing what will take place during the workshop. Students will also have an opportunity to identify their personal learning objectives.

Defining Teams

To get started, you will guide participants to define what a team is and what different kinds of teams there are. You will also have participants demonstrate synergy through a simple exercise.

Establishing Team Norms

This session will look at some of the benefits and pitfalls of teams. We will also discuss establishing team norms: ground rules that a team can use to help them work together.

Working as a Team

During this session, you will have participants look at a tool called the Gradients of Agreement. You will also discuss how it can help them interact with their teammates.

Glenn Parker Team Survey

During this session, participants will complete a survey constructed by Glenn Parker, a business consultant who has done a great deal of research on teams. This survey will help participants identify their team player style. Participants will then work in small groups to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of their style.

Building Team Trust

Trust is one of those mainstay virtues. It is the bond that allows any kind of significant relationship to exist between people. In small groups, participants will discuss some basic ways to establish and build trust on their team.

The Stages of Team Development

Every group of people, whether they are a team or just a group working together, grows and evolves. We will spend this session looking at Tuckman and Jensen’s four stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, and performing.

Towers

Another way of looking at team development is the TORI model. Participants will experience this model through a fun exercise.

Communication

If a team is going to succeed, they must be able to communicate well with each other. This session will cover some basic principles of communication.

Becoming a Good Team Player

There are some skills that participants can develop to become better team players. In this session, we will discuss some Really Useful Attitudes and some Really Useless Attitudes.

Workshop Wrap-Up

At the end of the day, participants will have an opportunity to ask questions and fill out an action plan.