Team Building without Time Wasting - Essay Example

Team Building without Time Wasting Table of Contents Review of Key Success Factors 2 Organizational Culture 2 Leadership 3 Establishing effective team working and Partnerships 5 Reference 10 Bibliography 10 Review of Key Success Factors In the present business environment organizations are increasingly involved in partnerships which consequently require greater interactions between teams and team members who are not related to one another. These teams are either seen to be distributed across the same nation in case of a small organization or works across country borders in cases of large multinational corporations. One prominent which must be considered while developing such teams and which influences interaction between such teams are cultures. Cultures vary greatly between organizations and more so when they are located in different parts of the world. Arising from a variety of reasons, team members are not able to travel expeditiously to distant locations for organizational meetings or participate in distant projects. The reasons of hurdles generated in the process pertains to inaccessibility to crucial and critical information sources, emotional and financial costs associated travelling to remote locations for business purposes, time lost during travelling or recovering from travelling. This is the reason why organizations working in partnerships are increasingly resorting to the development of virtual teams to work collectively across borders of nations without having to travel. In this way much of the time and money lost due to travelling can be saved and work can be proceeded with at a fast pace because of online ease of communication. Organizational Culture Organizational culture refers to the norms and regulations regarding information flow shared leadership and cross border collaboration between organizations. Organizational norms and values which emphasize on collaboration, respect and encourage people working across cultures are seen to demonstrate successful team work and team building. Such organizations keep information sharing and criticisms constructive (Davidson, et al., 2002, p.102). The organizational culture sets the basic standards with regards to how it must operate and sets certain standards with regards to the ways in which team members can behave while working together. This can be particularly true for the technologically advanced, non hierarchical and adaptive organizations which can be very effective in nurturing a team building and team working culture in the organization. The success of the virtual teams in organizations depends largely on the way organizations impede or fosters trust between itself and the partner organization. It is crucial to treat the partner organization as equal and eligible to have access to all its information. Treating the partner company as being less than equal, information hoarding, improper and delay in sharing information and results, improper and untimely use of competitive and proprietary information can ruin trusts between organizations and consequently the working relationships between team members across the organizations. For example, there are cases of a number of firms in Australia which have abandoned entering into partnerships with other firms because of trust and control issues (Davidson, et al., 2002, p.102). Leadership Organizational leaders have a crucial role to play when it comes to success of teams in partnership organization. Leaders are responsible for establishing a culture that values communication, group work, learning and capitalizing on workforce diversity. The key factor to the establishment of an organizational culture and environment which promotes virtual team work is that organizational leaders and managers must remain open towards change and information exchange and must be supportive of team work and group activities (Davidson, et al., 2002, p.102). Today’s organizations consider it to be essential to have a multifunctional group of senior managers who are not supportive but also promote initiatives for working in teams right from the very beginning. This can go a long way to ensure the promotion and success of team work in partnership organizations. On the other hand team members also have a prominent role to play in partnership organizations. They must be helpful and supportive towards their managers to develop a culture which in conducive towards developing a team culture. They must also offer their suggestions and views towards the management regarding behaviors which would help develop such a culture. They can offer their opinion with regards to the leadership behaviors which could promote team work and spirit. Since they are members of the team they would be associated with the organizational hurdles towards bettering team performance and productivity. They could also suggest their views with regards to the communication modes which would be helpful, the right allocation and distribution of organizational resources, the right expectations that must be established from teams and individual group members and the desired behaviors from team leaders and managers which would be helpful for the process (Davidson, et al., 2002, p.102). Team members and leader competencies also account for some of the critical success factors for effective team working and performance in organizational partnerships. Many teams are confronted with the difficulty of holding their teams together. They are required to establish trust in the teams’ working environment with very little or no direct contact or face to face feedback. These challenges call for some additional competencies required for smooth functioning of such teams. Some of challenges include coaching and managing employee performance and productivity without using traditional forms of feedback; appropriate use of information and technology system and other collaborative techniques; managing cross cultural workforce successfully; development and training of transition team members; creating and nurturing if trust between team members; development of organizational processes for meeting up with the team standards (Hellriegel & Slocum, 2007, p.23). Apart from the organizational competencies team members are also required to build their own competency levels. People working in virtual teams in organizations working in partnerships must develop or create their own competency to work effectively in the teams. First of all members must have solid grounds for their respective skills or disciplines and in addition to that must also develop team specific competencies and proficiencies. Competency development could be facilitated using training and development programs or other job assignments. They must be adept to techniques of project management; networking across the various functional, organizational and hierarchical boundaries; effectively managing time, determining personal boundaries, working across functional boundaries as well effectively using interpersonal awareness (Smoke, 2009, p.163). Establishing effective team working and Partnerships Effective team working and partnerships can be established by using focused feedback and follow up method in which team members are able to develop such behaviors which promote collaboration and cooperation. The idea is to assist them develop self awareness and determine how they are at present and what qualities must they inculcate to act as a team successfully. The “Team Building without Time Wasting (WBWTW)” is an approach developed and put forth by Marshall Howard Morgan and Goldsmith which provides team members with a process to practice, learn and inculcate more effective behaviors which can be measured easily. It is an approach particularly meant for organizational leaders to develop their team members in a flexible and rapid manner which is both time efficient and cost effective (Fallon & Zgodzinski, 2011, p.6). Since teams comprise of many different members, each having their own unique qualities and attributes, favorable interpersonal relationships between them are a prerequisite for effective team work and partnerships. Processes and plans must be adjusted according to meet the needs of the groups and its members rightly. It is possible that team members might comprise of members belonging to different levels in the organizational hierarchy. However, it is crucial that apart from their conventional skills and competencies they are also adept in managerial skills such as team management and collaboration functions so as ensure effective performance within the team. Member’s roles must not be stereotyped and must be as deemed fit for team management. The WBWTW approach particularly suggest for training and development program in management theories for executives so as to ensure internal resolution of problems and hurdles arising in the team. Apart from training in the required skills and expertise team members must be trained in management skills and competencies to act as effective managers or leaders. This could be effective in combating interpersonal conflicts, clashes and hurdles between members of the team which could delay or hamper work processes (Cole, 2003, p.249). One main requirement which has been identified by the WBWTW approach for effective management of teams is transparency between leaders or managers and team members. Generally hurdles exist because of lack of transparency and simplicity in the relationship prevailing between managers and team members. Often it can happen that managers can remain unaware of the perceptions of his members towards them which could create barriers between them. Negative perceptions of team, members towards their leaders or managers can be harmful for their performance and also for the performance of the group or team at large. It is crucial to remove distrust, misconception, suspect and disbelief from the minds of people for securing their faith and cooperation in the team. This can be attained through regular feedback and interaction between managers and team members and attempts to remove any form of interpersonal hurdle which keeps them from working successfully in the team. Members must be given the freedom to put forth their difficulties and problems encountered in performing their daily activities. Responsibilities of addressing the difficulties rest with the team manager or leaders (Dyer & Dyer, 2010). One of the other critical aspects for effective team performance and working is laying down boundaries and rules for the team. All members must abide by the rules. Additionally, the rules must be set keeping the priorities and convenience of members in mind and at the same time in the best interest of the team at large. The problem of each members of the team must be addressed so as to ensure that they are in a fair position to deliver their best contributions towards the team and organization. At times there can be instances when a members priorities are not met as it clashes with the interest of the team, in such cases it is crucial that members are compensate in other ways so as to ensure they do not remain frustrated or disturbed from delivering their best performance towards the team. However, all kinds of biasness or unfair behavior from the end of the team leader or manager must also be removed. No distinctions must be made by the leaders on their teams or members. This not only leads to falling performance of the team through inter-group conflicts and clashes but also keeps members from contributing their best efforts towards the organization. Members who remain treated unfairly shirk from giving adequate efforts towards the welfare of the team and this gradually reduces team’s performance and productivity. Additionally the respective teams or groups must be underlined their prospects in future. Employers have the crucial role of motivating their staffs to retain their commitment. If their contributions do not benefit the team in any way or the teams do not have prospects in future then its members would be difficult to motivate its members. The teams’ future goals and aspirations would serve as the members’ goals would encourage them towards driving team performance towards the desired goals and objectives too. It is seen that teams comprise of members having a wide variety of cultures, attributes and qualities. Effective working of the teams can only be achieved through proper coordination of members with their unique and different qualities and encouraging them to work collectively in the interest of the team. At times they might be required to keep their individual interests away in order to serve for the team. The way of collaboration of their performance and keeping them motivated is one of the key challenges faced by organizational leaders today. The “Team Building without Time Wasting (WBWTW)” approach considers retaining transparency as one of the main requisites for smooth functioning of the teams. Leaders and members must have regular interactions and feedback processes between them to ensure that all members are aware of what is expected of them. Members perceptions about their leader or manager and vice versa must be brought to the fore so that any miscommunication or communication gaps can be removed which could be posing threat for effective functioning of the teams. Finally the importance of groups or teams prospects in the organization and consequently on their team members must be particularly highlighted such that they remain motivated and encouraged to deliver their best possible performance towards the team. Reference Davidson, R., Parker, C., Veld, M. H. & Paul, G. (2002). Virtual Teams: Creating Synergies through Organizational Partnerships. [Pdf]. Available at: https://domino.fov.uni-mb.si/proceedings.nsf/Proceedings/1E9502878DE14A42C1256E9F003B4734/$File/Davison.pdf. [Accessed on April 02, 2012]. Hellriegel, D. & Slocum, J. W. (2007). Organizational behaviour. Cengage Learning. Smoke, C. H. (2009). Company Officer. Cengage Learning. Cole, G. A. (2003). Management theory and practice. Cengage Learning EMEA. Fallon, L. F. & Zgodzinski. E. J. (2003). Essentials of Public Health Management. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Dyer, W. G. & Dyer, J. H. (2010). Team Building: Proven Strategies for Improving Team Performance. John Wiley & Sons. Bibliography Colquitt, J. A. (2011). Organizational Behaviour. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Hacker, S. & Roberts, T. (2003). Transformational leadership: creating organizations of meaning. ASQ Quality Press. Northouse, P. G. (2009). Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE. Harvard Business Review. (2011). Harvard Business Review on Building Better Teams. Harvard Business Press. Read More