This is the fourth course I've delivered to a group from the City of Tallahassee. This level is about the dynamics of working in groups and teams.  Working in groups and working in teams are not the same. We go from a collection of individuals - to a group - to a team. At each stage of development there are different human behaviors needed. We will get a chance to see the dynamics of this model of teamness played out in class and will realize that to develop teamness requires more maturity than one would normally have without self reflection or training.

Help me answer the question:   What percent of organizations in industry, service, and government sectors have implemented a partial or fully team based approach to their organizations?  Please email me with your response!!!!!!!

This is a list of values that this group felt were important to the function of teams.  This is a different list than that which was generated by group A of the city and you might want to compare this list with Group A's list.

Integrity -- Trust/honesty
    Being honest with the other members of the group, show respect for others, openly communicate with others.  A team should foster open communication, clarify goals, and identify hidden agendas. Delegate responsibility and provide full information. Do not second guess and uphold confidentiality.  Be honest and complete with input.  Do your best to assist group.  Value the group. Be committed to completing task. Make honest statements and actions.  Do the right thing!! Make sure actions and decisions are consistent witht the values of the group an organization.  Effectively communicate all information to all members.  Beleive in each team member. Maintain high standards.  Rely on group members. Have confidence in team members' abilities.  Be sincere.
Initiative
    Reward the group for meeting deadlines and for participation. Express ideas.
Courage
    Support group members who speak up. Resist showing bias. Take risks. Invite criticism. Be willing to voice dessent. Confront process and task issues of the group with the group.
Consideration
    Listening and being aware of body language.  Listen. Accept. Recognize background, knowledge, skill, and educational differences.
Dependability
    Acknowledgement.  Bring closure to what is started.
Respect
    Accepting other's opinions even if they are contrary to yours. Listening, courteousness, and supporting. Value each other's differences.
Loyalty
    Put the concern of the group above your own.  Make every meeting.  Do not discuss process issues behind the back of your group members.
Learning
Look for ways to maintian a desire to learn.  Learn from your group members.
Caring
    Follow the golden rule with the platinum rule in mind.
 

I asked the participants of this group to identify factors that must be present for teams to be succesful.  Here are the lists that each of the groups generated from this activity:

Statement or List of Things We Need to Learn from Video (Team 3):

1. Perseverance in the face of diversity.  When “the” management didn’t appear to buy in
2. Authority to implement (on favorable, costly) decisions.
3. Acceptance of the decision.
4. The essence of time.
5. Facilitation critical to process.
6. Ownership or buy-in by team and/or management.
7. Ability to be resilient to change.
8. Right people for right team.
9. Confidence in each other (and respect).
10. Be committed to project.
11. Team values conducive to goal.
12. Motivation is critical to successful teams.

For Teams to Succeed:

1. Accepting atmosphere
2. Openness and honesty
3. Trust
4. Clear mission and vision—compelling challenge
5. Mutual accountability for all members
6. Recognize conflict—need for resolution analysis
7. Correct number of members—5 or 7
8. Accept management’s advice/recommendation of team
9. Team needs tools, time and resources
10. Sense of ownership
11. Need to critique their work
12. Each team member’s opinion is important
13. Mirror is of #1 importance
14. Humor valuable
15. Each member needs personal physical space
16. Availability of facilitator
17. Equality among team members
18. Team should not set itself apart from organization
19. Buy-in of management through the process
20. Recognize each member’s personality style
21. Contingent upon the task, determines the team ????

The “A” Team:

1. Team and groups provide an important tool; however, they must be used for the right problem and the right situation.
2. Different personalities come to the table; therefore, you (all team) must recognize the interpersonal interactions (team dynamics).
3. Attribute of successful teams is a clear understanding of mission/objectives.
4. There is a difference between a group and a team: clear objectives make the difference.
5. Time is critical in determining whether you can use a team effectively.
6. Nature of the task is most important criterion in determining whether a problem will be solved by a group or by individuals.
7. Buy-in (commitment) up front is important to success of the team.
8. Everyone needs to be involved; the leadership role (traditional or group-centered) sometimes evolves and sometimes results from pressures to finish.
9. The make-up of the group is important.  If you cannot put the right people together then you are better off not putting a team together.

List of Things We Have Learned So Far:

1. Goals and objectives and mission of team should be clear and concise.
2. Authority and resources of team should be clear at onset of team formation.
3. Management must support the team and its ownership.
4. Team members must have feeling and ownership.
5. Team must be right size—not too large or too small.
6. Someone should be trained to be a facilitator to keep the team on track
7. The team should establish clear ground rules up front.
8. Team diversity, i.e., personality, is a necessity for team to be productive.
9. Team must value and respect one another’s ideas; any conflicts should be kept at a non-personal level.
10. Must ensure that all members of the team are involved.  Don’t let one person dominate.
11. There must be an orderly process established for solving problems.
12. An agenda should be established to make sure all tasks are accomplished.
13. There should be high expectations by all members to reach the goal.
14. There must be shared objectives by all team members to reach the goal.
15. All team members should strive to be good listeners.
16. Team members should understand all issues so as to be able to participate.
17. Need a team leader; however, there are no bosses—leave rank at the door.  Each person becomes part of the team.
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Just a note to the managers at the City of Tallahassee:
I may do more with the City, but it will be after the new year.

Please submit your CPM outside requirement work on "work process improvement" to the Davis Award
Panel.  You can find a nomination form on the web page: http://www.floridataxwatch.org/

Don't Forget to visit the CPM Web Page for our schedule:  http://www.fsu.edu/~cpm/
Visit Sterling's webpage to see how other organizations improve: http://www.floridasterling.com/

Don't forget to read Improvement Driven Government and to write the application.  Also, look at the comp Exam and begin that process also.  I hope to hear from you again soon.  Send me an E-mail.