1. Team Formation
Building a successful team.

2. - Why team working is important
- Attributes of an effective team
- Understanding differences in a team
- The development of an effective team
- Dealing with difficult moments
- Supportive group working
In this session…

3. Working in a Team: Why is it
important?
Working as an individual spend 1 minute thinking of as many uses for a
house brick as possible

4. Working in a Team: Why is it
important?
Working in a pair spend 1 minute thinking of as many uses for a house brick
as possible

5. Working in a Team: Why is it
important?
Working in a group of 4 spend 1 minute thinking of as many uses for a
house brick as possible

6. Working in a Team: Why is it
important?
- Enriching your end product
- Learning from one another
- Pooling skill sets
- Sharing the workload
- Vital for the future – no matter what you choose to do
- “no person is an island”
- There are more strengths and positive attributes of
a group than an individual alone

7. Attributes Of An Effective Team
– Range of individuals that complement each other
– Share a clear-agreed goal
– All members understand their task
– Supportive, informal atmosphere
– Open communication, everyone is heard
– Comfortable with discussion, disagreement and
criticism
– Learns from experience

8. Understanding Differences In
Team Members
Image from http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0071b63

9. The Shape Test

10. Need clean, specific instructions
Like rules & deadlines
Data collectors – love entering info
Don’t like meetings - would rather get on
with the job in hand
Do well within given parameters but rarely
creative
Highly organised
The best listeners and communicators
Find it hard to deal with conflict
Excellent reader of people –
they know if someone is lying
Not good at getting tough or making
decisions
Best team player of all 4 shapes?
Like recognition and leadership
Focused towards the task or goal &
doesn’t get sidetracked
Fast thinkers, fast processors, smart &witty
Ambitious
Swift decision makers
Like to get their own way
The eccentric
The most creative and innovative
Need freedom: own time, own way,
own rules
Conceptual thinker – not nuts & bolts
Hate sitting at a computer alone all day
BUT…
Tough to manage: needs a Box around!
What do they tell us?

11. How Does This Help?
Understand:
- Why you get along with certain people
- Why you find some people more difficult to
communicate with
- That some people have very different
perceptions and ways of working from you
Increased self-knowledge and self-awareness
can help you to work more effectively in a team

12. The growth and
development of a team

13. Team Development Stages
Bruce Tuckman’s
‘Developmental Sequence
in Small Groups’ first
developed in 1965
Through later development
a 5th stage was proposed -
“Adjourning” or “Mourning”
1.Forming
2.Storming
3.Norming
4.Performing

14. Forming
• Positive and polite
• Anxious and exited
• Lack of clarity on what needs to be done
• Roles and responsibilities not yet clear
The team are getting to know each other better

15. Storming
• Team members may be pushing against the boundaries
• Resistance and conflict as ideas and ways of working may
clash
• Frustration and unforeseen problems
• Jostling for position as roles are clarified
• Team members questioning the goals and the methods
used to reach those goals
There is a high failure rate of teams/projects at this stage

16. Norming
• The team start to resolve any differences
• Team members appreciating the strengths and
attributes of other team members
• Team members sharing constructive feedback
• Strong team commitment to the teams goals
Teams can move between Norming and Storming
as new challenges are encountered

17. Performing
• Goals are achieved
• Methods and processes used are efficient and
effective
• Strong team spirit/cohesion
• Team able to deal with change well
The project may then come to an end and the team
move on to “Adjourning” or “Mourning”

18. How Does This Help?
Understand:
• If you reflect on which phase of development
the team is in then you can take action to move
the group along
• This can be particularly useful information for
the leader in a group/team
Increased self-knowledge and self-awareness
of the group can help you to work more
effectively as a team

19. Encountering difficulties
in a group

20. Dealing With Difficult Moments
Silences
Dead-ends (stagnation or stalemate)
Imbalances in group interaction
(e.g. dominant group members
overpowering quieter group members)
Feeling like someone is not pulling
their weight
Conflict (argument or debate?)

21. Can “conflict” in a group
be productive?

22. It can be constructive
It can help creativity
It can contribute to a healthy team atmosphere
KEY: How you mange and deal with it
Conflict in teamwork

23. Dealing with Conflict
• Be open and deal with conflict in a timely
fashion
• Do not let conflict get personal focus on
actionable solutions
• Encourage different points of view
• Do not look for blame
• Show respect
• Keeping team issues internally

24. Team Operating
Agreements (TOA)
• Time budgeting
• Team Communications
• Decision making
• Meetings
• Personal courtesies

25. Communications
• Develop a communications plan
• Coordinate time
• Think of the different ways in which you
can collaborate:
• Agree on timing and frequency of
communications
• How will you share documents and
updates

26. Supportive Group Working
It is everyone’s responsibility to make the group
function well.
Encourage
Collaborate
Cooperate
Offer & Receive
Criticism

27. 5 Top Tips For Effective
Group Working
1. Be organised
2. Communicate
3. Stay open-minded
4. Review
5. Reflect

28. - Why team working is important
- Attributes of an effective team
- Understanding differences in a team
- The development of an effective team
- Dealing with difficult moments
- Supportive group working
In this session we have
covered…

29. Upcoming Skill Build Sessions
30th October -Goal Setting
SMART objectives and structuring your time.
6th November- Users and Benefits
Stakeholders, target markets and effective marketing strategies.
13th November-Events Management 1
The Careers Service gives advice on events planning and
considerations.
20th November- Events Management 2
Critical Success Factors and how you can eliminate potential risk.

30. Our contact details
28/10/2014 © The University of Sheffield

0114 222 9744

301@sheffield.ac.uk

www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/
301
@301skills