CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Approach Team Training One Step at a Time

Lorraine L. Ukens
Principal, Team-ing With Success


Increasingly, organizations have turned to work teams as a basic tool for keeping up with competition. Demographic projections indicate that organizations will have to continue doing more with less for quite some time, as fewer people enter the workforce. In order to make the most effective use of teamwork as a competitive tool, it is important to understand a few basics. A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, set of performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Katzenbach & Smith, 1993). However, groups do not become teams simply because someone calls them one. The question often confronted is: How does a traditionally run organization, in which the individual is the primary unit, change into a team-oriented one?
 

INTRODUCTION

First, it is important to remember that a team's performance includes both individual and collective results. A major objective in team development is to create an environment that will simultaneously result in team cohesiveness and harmony between the team and organizational goals and expectations. In addition, team development efforts should help work-group members build upon their strengths and take better advantage of opportunities. To this end, a training program that takes a comprehensive, systematic, action-based approach can help an organization build and maintain effective work teams.

TRAINING EFFORTS

Training can play a key role in the development of the team concept. It is a critical component of a team's success or failure. However, team training often has been viewed merely as an effort to make people feel good about each other, and the emphasis traditionally was placed on reducing tensions or building relationships between members. Although important, relationship building is only one of several things that effective teams need. Equally important is task completion, that is, results. Teams must learn to use individual talents to the best advantage and to interact effectively with other elements of the organization (Huszczo, 1996).

Team-building efforts should concentrate on how team members relate and on how work is completed. Thus, task and process should receive equal attention. Through the process of team building, a team will analyze and build a better understanding of the dynamics that exist among team members and the impact these dynamics have on task accomplishment. Team members can then use this understanding to work together toward greater team effectiveness and growth.

Team effectiveness, however, can be an ambiguous concept, because the definition of "effectiveness" can change with the task at hand and with the characteristics of individual team members. From an ideal perspective, an effective team is one that is efficient, productive, and cohesive. A primary purpose of team training, therefore, is to help a work group learn to examine itself continuously so that it can keep functioning successfully.

Individuals who work together as a team need to learn new, more effective ways of solving problems, planning, making decisions, coordinating, integrating resources, sharing information, and dealing with conflict situations that arise. The major tasks facing a new team are basically the same as a team that has been together for a while. Team members must (1) build a relationship, (2) establish a facilitative emotional climate, (3) work out methods to set goals, develop a collaborative effort, solve problems, make decisions, ensure completion of tasks, establish open communication, and (4) provide an appropriate support system that will let people feel accepted and yet keep issues open for discussion and disagreement.

Although team training is important, many organizations rush to provide it without taking the time to make sure it will be effective. Certain measures should be taken to help prevent your team-building approach from failing (Huszczo, 1996):
bullet Assess individual team needs before starting training;
bullet Do not confuse team building with teamwork;
bullet Use a systematic model to plan team development activities;
bullet Do not assume that teams are basically all alike;
bullet Send team members to team training collectively rather than individually;
bullet Hold teams accountable for following through and using their training;
bullet Treat team building as a process rather than simply a program;
bullet Do not rely on training alone to develop effective teams;
bullet Set ground rules for expected behaviors at the beginning of the training session; and
bullet Help the team leader take a major role during training.
Some basic principles can help in designing training sessions that will make a difference. These include conducting a systematic team assessment prior to training; designing opportunities for diagnosis, planning, experimentation, discussion, and reinforcement; clarifying objectives and ground rules at the beginning of the session; utilizing experiential-based learning that allows for the active participation of all team members; and providing the opportunity for action planning that transfers to the job.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT

Too many companies plunge into the use of teams without recognizing that learning to work in a high-involvement workplace requires more than just technical skills. The move into teamwork should be accompanied by the realization that certain conditions reveal a need for teams to work on their ability to function effectively. William Dyer (1977), in his early studies on team building, identified typical symptoms that might signal the need for team training. These include
bullet Loss of production or output;
bullet Increased number of complaints within the staff;
bullet Conflicts or hostility among staff members;
bullet Confusion about assignments or unclear roles;
bullet Decisions that are misunderstood or not carried through properly;
bullet Apathy or lack of interest or involvement among staff members;
bullet Ineffective staff meetings or low participation in group decisions;
bullet Start-up of a new group that needs to develop quickly into a team;
bullet High dependency on or negative reactions to the manager; and
bullet Complaints from customers (internal or external) and the quality of service.
When the diagnosis indicates that a work group is no longer functioning productively, a team-development program is advisable to help improve performance. Another situation requiring team building occurs when a new department is formed or when units merge to form a new working group that will function over a long period of time.

Two common pitfalls to team building include the failure to appropriately assess team needs and the assumption that all teams are alike. Therefore, it is critical to look closely at each team to discover what areas should be targeted for improvement. This information will guide the design and implementation of your program. It also will assist in determining whether or not team effectiveness actually improved after training by providing baseline data against which to compare future measurements.

Various methods should be used for gathering data. For example, standardized surveys and questionnaires are a good way to monitor changes between pre- and post-training measures. Dyer (1977) suggested that such areas as goals and procedures, leadership, communication, trust and conflict resolution, problem solving and decision making, group dynamics, and growth and development issues be explored when assessing team performance. Based on these topics, team members can be given comprehensive surveys, combining both scaled ratings (see Exhibit 31.1) and open-ended queries (see Exhibit 31.2) to provide a more complete picture of how individuals perceive the team to be functioning.

Or teams can be assessed on specific content areas that are indicated as ineffective. Some of the other widely used assessment techniques include direct observation, general feedback from supervisory personnel, and personal interviews. Where appropriate, hard data (for example, quality statistics, production effectiveness, and overtime reports) also may be used. Work group output measures can provide a more thorough understanding of the problems facing the team and the impact of those difficulties on the whole organization. Documents also may be a source of information from which needs can be inferred. Although records represent conditions but not necessarily the underlying cause of problems, they can help pinpoint trouble spots worth investigating or support other evidence.
 

Exhibit 31.1. Sample Scaled Rating Questionnaire

Instructions: Circle the number that indicates your rating of your team's current level of functioning in each of the following areas.

Goals and Procedures
 
 Confusing goals; group uninvolved/indifferent; no set guidelines or procedures         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   Clear, specific goals; planned together and shared by all; set guidelines and procedures

Leadership
 
 Needs not met; dependence on one individual         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   Met by various members as needs arise

Communication
 
Limited exchange; passive listening; little/no feedback         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   Free exchange; active listening; specific feedback

Trust and Conflict Resolution
 
Distrust; self-contained; fear of criticism; conflicts ignored or unresolved         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   High trust; self-disclosure; no fear of reprisal; conflicts resolved constructively

Problem Solving and Decision Making
 
Assumptions; decisions not made or made by few; uncommitted         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   Careful diagnosis; consensus sought; decisions supported 

Group Dynamics
 
Disassociation; hostility; some dominate, others passive         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   High cohesion; empathy; all participate actively

Growth and Development
 
Rigid roles; no change, growth, or risk; creativity discouraged         1   2   3   4   5   6   7   Flexibility; change, growth, and risk; creativity encouraged


Exhibit 31.2. Sample Open-ended Questionnaire

Teamwork Questionnaire

1.   What are the main objectives of the team as a whole?

2.   What is the purpose of your job?

3.   What measurement methods let you know that you personally have been effective in accomplishing your purpose? How timely is this feedback?

4.   What measurement methods let you know that the team has been effective in accomplishing its purpose? How timely is this feedback?

5.   What one thing hinders you most from doing an effective job? Why?

6. What changes would you recommend to make your work team more effective?

 

 TRAINING MODEL

A major flaw that occurs frequently is in confusing team building with teamwork. Individual team members can obtain the basic knowledge of team skills and group dynamics through a general course on teamwork concepts. However, actual team building occurs through the interplay of working on the concepts as an intact team. For example, a company that sends one or two workers from each of its separate divisions for "team" training is not incorporating a "team building" philosophy. For teams to become cohesive, each team member must move from an individual perspective, recognizing his or her own contribution, to a team perspective. Team building efforts, then, allow the team to assess and improve itself continuously. Real development is never completed.

For effective team building to occur, team members should spend time during their developmental activities actually negotiating with one another, discussing issues, establishing team goals, identifying the roles each member should play, and establishing or reviewing procedures that the team will use to become more effective. Therefore, it is suggested that the training techniques include structured experiential activities, feedback from group discussion, and an examination of the team's actual work experiences. The experiential learning process helps transfer the skills practiced in the classroom to on-the-job application.

It is recommended that a team training program take a three-step approach (Ukens, 1994):

1.   Individuals gain an awareness of general team concepts through structured activities and of their individual strengths/weaknesses through the use of self-assessment tools. This is where the individual begins to see his or her own role in the team process.

2.   Groups of individuals put team skills into action by participating in experiential learning activities that allow individual members to practice their roles as team players.

3.   Team building workshops are conducted on an on-going basis to promote alignment of the team process, based on an individual team's particular need for improvement.

In this model, group members initially need to explore basic concepts that underlie the foundation of teamwork. This constitutes the awareness stage and should not be confused with actual team building. Step 1 helps in identifying the strengths and weaknesses that are the critical building blocks for the team's actual performance. Step 2 allows the individual team members to practice the skill concepts in a hands-on learning experience. In Step 3, actual team building occurs, where an intact work team engages in the process of continual self-examination so that it may be aware of conditions that keep it functioning successfully. Alignment of the team process is fundamental to maintaining effective teamwork. This fine-tuning of the team's performance is a continuous process (Ukens, 1996).
 

DESIGNING TEAM TRAINING SESSIONS

As mentioned previously, it is important to remember that team training should be tailored to meet the specific needs of the target team as shown by the needs assessment. However, certain guidelines for the general design of the sessions can help make team training more effective. These include
bullet Hold training sessions off-site to minimize job distractions;
bullet Include all aspects of diagnosis, discussion, planning, experimentation, and reinforcement;
bullet Realize the importance of "experience" and let team members become actively involved in the learning process, rather than lecture to them;
bullet Address both relationship-building skills (for example, communication or conflict management) and task-oriented skills (for example, goal setting or problem solving);
bullet Provide ample opportunities for skills practice; and
bullet Allow team leaders to facilitate discussions, rather than an external facilitator.
Research shows that shorter training sessions, spread across time, result in more long-term retention than do concentrated multiple-day programs. Most importantly, however, is the fact that, for training to really work, the insights gained must be translated into actions.
 
 

Experiential Learning

Because experiential learning provides participants with a structured activity that contributes to content (task) and process (relationship) objectives, it is an ideal vehicle for the examination of team skills. Also referred to as hands-on or action-based learning, experiential learning emphasizes what participants do rather than what they are told by the trainer. Learning occurs when a person engages in some activity, looks back on it critically, abstracts some useful insight, then puts the result to work through changes in behavior. It means that the outcomes of the activity are analyzed in relation to the appropriate learning objectives planned into the design. The analysis becomes the foundation for action planning that transfers the skills to on-the-job application.

The use of experiential learning activities has many advantages, especially in regard to teams. It presents the opportunity for holistic understanding by forming an integrated big picture, rather than a fragmented one. The activities themselves allow conditions to be varied to meet the needs of each group. Active involvement of all participants is encouraged through the structure of the activities. Therefore, all members of a team have an opportunity to interact with one another and explore the dynamics of the group. Experiential learning also fosters team empowerment. Peer learning promotes group dynamics, and personal responsibility is emphasized because team members are involved in self-directed evaluation.

In this situation, individuals are provided a "safe" environment in which to explore and practice team skills. This ability to practice gives team members a chance to work on their performance without worrying about actual results. They can experiment, learn from the experience, make corrections, and try again. They can try out new roles, take different positions, and do things that they might not be able to do in real-life situations. But the practice sessions parallel the real world. Analogies drawn from the experiences can be applied to a variety of situations: competition, realistic goal setting, effective communication processes, resolving differences, demands of limited resources, time pressure of deadlines, and so forth. Discussing what and why things occurred provides insight into how individuals interact during the group process. This knowledge becomes the catalyst that enables the team to analyze its current state and plan action steps to improve its effectiveness.
 

EVALUATION

It is important to remember that behavioral changes occur gradually over a period of time. It may take as much as six months or even one year for such changes to become internalized. To monitor progress, the surveys and questionnaires used in the assessment stage (for example, Exhibits 31.1 and 31.2) can be retaken to determine differences between pre- and post-intervention at approximately three months, then again at six months and one year. These results can be combined with personal observations and a formal follow-up meeting with each team to analyze the effectiveness of training. Once again, hard data (statistics, production, reports, and so forth) may be used to show performance improvement.

Follow-up must become an integral part of the process in order to determine whether further interventions are necessary. It is important to implement an ongoing team-building training program to support continuous improvement.
 

ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORT

Although training can play a significant role in moving teams toward greater effectiveness, it is important to remember that team building does takes time. It is a process, not just a one-time activity. Continuous improvement requires a commitment to learning. Providing development opportunities sends a message that management supports teamwork; but it is not a strong message unless other corporate functions are connected to it (Parker, 1990). The organization itself must sustain team-development procedures and build necessary changes into its basic structure. Without top management's support, teams cannot move forward with their efforts.

Team members should undergo cross-training within and across teams to help them master a variety of roles in day-to-day activities. This will increase their ability to become flexible and respond quickly to urgent customer needs. Team leaders can continue the "learn by doing" approach by integrating the training with the overall job responsibilities so that the normal performance of the job becomes another mode of training.

If the team process is to succeed, managers must train their work teams on how to use skills, provide them with opportunities to take risks and learn from experience, and celebrate team accomplishments. Rewards, recognition, and compensation should focus on combined efforts in addition to personal achievement so that there is an incentive to work together as a team, rather than merely pursue individual interests.

Most importantly, organizations must model the team concept. This can be accomplished by involving employees on an ongoing basis and promoting collaborative leadership. The policies, environment, and support systems of the organization must sustain a spirit of teamwork. For example, open communication and information systems provide ready access to information that empowers teams to move toward more effective work. A team becomes a unified, cohesive group of people only insofar as it can obtain the resources and support to get its job done.
 
 

References

Dyer, W. G. (1977). Team building: Issues and alternatives. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Huszczo, G. E. (1990, February). Training for team building. Training & Development, 37-42.

Huszczo, G. E. (1996). Tools for team excellence: Getting your team into high gear and keeping it there. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black.

Katzenbach, J. R., & Smith, D. K. (1993, March-April). The discipline of teams. Harvard Business Review, 111-120.

Parker, G. M. (1990). Team players and teamwork. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Solomon, C. M. (1993). Simulation training builds teams through experience. Personnel Journal, 72, 100-108.

Ukens, L. L. (1994, May). Team-ing with success: A training approach. Poster session, ASTD Conference.

Ukens, L. L. (1996). Pump them up! 35 workshops to build stronger teams. King of Prussia, PA: HRDQ.
 

Recommended Reading
Fisher, K., Rayner, S., Belgard, W., & Belgard/Risher/Rayner Team. (1995). Tips for Teams: A ready reference for solving common team problems. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Larson, C. E., & LaFasto, F. (1989). Teamork: What must go right/what can go wrong. London: Sage.

Noe, R. A. (1999). Employee training and development. Boston: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.

Robbins, D. (1993, December). The dark side of team building. Training & Development, 47, 17-21.

Ukens, L. L. (1997). Working together: 55 team games. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Ukens, L. L. (1999). All together now! A seriously fun collection of interactive training games and activities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.

Zenger, J. H., Musselwhite, E., Hurson, K., & Perrin, C. (1994). Leading teams: Mastering the new role. Homewood, IL: Irwin Professional.
 
 

About the Author

Lorraine L. Ukens is the owner of Team-ing With Success, which specializes in team building and experiential learning. Her business experience has been applied in designing, facilitating, and evaluating programs in a variety of areas. She has teamed with private companies, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies in helping them achieve higher levels of success. Her degree in human resource development is from Towson University (Maryland), where she is currently an adjunct faculty member. Ukens served as president of the Maryland Chapter ASTD from 1999-2000. She is included in Who's Who of American Women 2000-2001.

Ukens is the author of training activity resources that make learning interactive and fun. These include books (Getting Together, Working Together, All Together Now!, Energize Your Audience, Pump Them Up, SkillBuilders: 50 Customer Service Activities), consensus activities (Adventure in the Amazon, Arctic Expedition, Stranded in the Himalayas), and a game (Common Currency: The Cooperative-Competition Game). Visit her website at www.team-ing.com.