Building Strong Teams
- 1. Building Strong Teams Prepared by Dr David Packer
- 2. Defining Teamwork Joint action by a group of people, in which individual interests are subordinated to group unity and efficiency Coordinated effort, as of an athletic team Webster’s Dictionary
- 3. This means… Joint action – teamWORK Group of people – TEAMwork Individual interests put aside Group unity – commitment to a common purpose is essential Group efficiency – unity in action, following a common plan
- 4. Biblical Perspective Illustrations: Farm, House, Body Danger of Pride: James 3:13-18 Servanthood: Mark 10:42-45, John 12:24-26 Respect to Leadership: Hebrews 13:17; 1 Thess 5:12 Examples: Timothy, Epaphroditus, Epapras
- 5. Why do teams fail? Many reasons, too many to list them all Personal agendas become more important than team effort Insecurities and self-protected-ness create defensive posturing by team members Lack of a compelling vision by team members that all can agree is more important than their own agendas Failure to communicate Many, many more reasons
- 6. “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” By Patrick Lencioni Lack of TRUST INVULNERABILITY
- 7. Absence of Trust An unwillingness to be vulnerable within the group, fear of rejection by others. “ Team members not willing to be open about mistakes and weaknesses make it impossible to build a foundation for trust.”
- 8. Five levels of Communication Minimal – idioms, reports, little else Reporter talk – saying what happened Sharing Ideas – vulnerable step Sharing Emotions – more vulnerable Trust and Openness Established
- 9. Trusting Team Members Admit to weaknesses and mistakes Ask for help Accept questions and input about their areas of responsibility Give one another the benefit of the doubt Take risks in offering feedback and assistance
- 10. Trusting team members … Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills and experiences Focus time and energy on important issues, not politics Offer and accept apologies without hesitation Look forward to meetings and other opportunities to work as a group
- 11. Describe… Your family growing up Your unique challenges of childhood Your favorite hobbies Your first job Your worst job
- 12. “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” By Patrick Lencioni Lack of TRUST INVULNERABILITY Fear of CONFLICT Artificial Harmony
- 13. Fear of Conflict Teams that lack trust in one another do not engage in healthy and robust discussion of ideas Instead they avoid issues and speak with guarded comments
- 14. Issue Relationship 1 10 1 10 withdraw yield win resolve
- 15. Teams with Healthy Conflict Have lively, interesting meetings Extract and exploit the ideas of all team members Solve real problems quickly Minimize politics Put critical topics on table for discussion
- 16. “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” By Patrick Lencioni Lack of TRUST INVULNERABILITY Fear of CONFLICT Artificial Harmony Lack of COMMITMENT Ambiguity
- 17. Lack of Commitment The result of not being able to openly discuss ideas is that there is rarely true “buy-in” into purposes and plans by team members Reasonable human beings do not need to always get their way, but they do want to be heard on certain issues.
- 18. Two Dangers to Avoid Going with the consensus of the strong leaders instead of mining out disagreements Waiting until the perfect moment for the perfect decision “ A good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” Healthy teams unite around the decision even if later it is proven to be wrong
- 19. Teams that commit Create clarity around direction and priorities Align the entire team around common objectives Develop an ability to learn from mistakes Take advantage of opportunities and move forward without hesitation Change direction without hesitation or guilt
- 20. Establish a difference between… Low-risk issues that find ready agreement Medium-risk issues: agree to issue but delay action High-risk issues: postpone for more discussion and study
- 21. “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” By Patrick Lencioni Lack of TRUST INVULNERABILITY Fear of CONFLICT Artificial Harmony Lack of COMMITMENT Ambiguity Avoidance of ACCOUNTABILITY Low Standards
- 22. Teams that hold one another accountable… Encourage poor performers to improve Identify potential problems quickly Establish respect among team members who are held to the same high standards Avoid excessive bureaucracy around performance management and corrective action
- 23. Ideas Ambiguity is the enemy of accountability Clearly publish exactly what the team needs to do to succeed And what every member needs to do to succeed Clearly publish a set of behavior standards
- 24. “ The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” By Patrick Lencioni Lack of TRUST INVULNERABILITY Fear of CONFLICT Artificial Harmony Lack of COMMITMENT Ambiguity Avoidance of ACCOUNTABILITY Low Standards Inattention to RESULTS Status and Ego
- 25. Dangers that compete with results Limited idea of team status – very common among ministry groups: the idea that just being a team member of a certain ministry is all that is required Individual Status – my personal advancement is more important than the team’s goals
- 26. Teams that focus on collective results Retain achievement-oriented members Minimize disruptive individualism Enjoy success and suffer failure acutely Benefit true team players Avoid distractions
- 27. Vulnerability Genuine harmony Clarity High standards RESULTS ACCOUNTABILITY COMMITMENT CONFLICT TRUST