Transcript Communicating in Teams

Communicating in Teams
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Teams: Mission and responsibility =>
Goals
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Formal teams: Organization structure
Ex/ Committees
Informal teams: Solve a problem, work on
a specific activity, encourage employee
participation
Effective communication- essential to
every aspect of team performance
Advantages
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Improve productivity, creativity and
employee involvement.
Core of the participative management.
Increased information & knowledge
Increased diversity of views
Increased acceptance of a solution
Disadvantages
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Unsuccesful => waste time & money
Free riders
Cost
Hidden agendas
Collaborative Communication
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Avoid “MY WAY IS BEST!”
Right partners
Socializing
Clarify individual responsibilities
Establish clear processes
Tools & techniques
Avoid writing as a group
Check
Group Dynamics
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Interactions & processes taking place in
a team => synergy
TEAM ROLES
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Self-oriented: personal needs
Team-maintenance: working together
Task-facilitating: solve problems & make
decisions
Team Evolution
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II.
Orientation
Conflict: Constructive (involvement &
creative ideas) & Destructive (morale &
dividing the team)
Resolving conflict:
1) Proaction
2) Communication
3) Openness
4) Research
5) Flexibility
6) Fair play
7) Alliance
Team Evolution
III. Brainstorming
IV. Emergence- Consensus
V. Reinforcement
Overcoming resistance
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Calm, reasonable, give & take
Express understanding
Deal directly with the resistance
Don’t repeat yourself
Hold your arguments
Etiquette in Team Settings
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Rude to others or an embarrasment
Attention to business etiquette
In Social Settings:
Personal appearance
Plan Phone Calls as carefully as you plan
meetings: 1) Listen
2) Increase volume slighlty
3) Not in a monotone way
4) Speak slowly with the foreign people
5) Stay focused
Placing Calls
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Be ready before you call
Minimize distractions.
Identify yourself, verify if it’s a good time.
Not too much time.
Close friendly & in a positive manner.
Receiving calls:
Be positive & How may I help you?
Using Voicemail
Make it brief & professional
2) Check & return within 24 hours IF necessary
3) Be careful what you say.
Business is often conducted over MEALS:
Easy to eat!
Not politics, religion & emotions
Not too personal.
Never complain about work.
1)
Making your meetings more
productive:
Formal, informal or virtual meetings
1) Avoid when a memo or message would
do the job.
2) Avoid holding a meeting without a
specific goal.
Types: I) Informational (sharing
information & coordinating action)
II) Decision-making (analysis, problemsolving, brainstorming)
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Preparation for a meeting:
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Identify your purpose
Select right participants
Choose the time & facility
Set the agenda
What do we need to do?
What issues will be of greatest
importance?
What information must be available?
Leading & Participating in
meetings:
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Keep the meeting on track
Follow agreed-upon roles
Encourage participation
Participate actively
Close effectively: Verify that the
objectives have been met.
Using Meeting Technologies
Virtual teams: Online brainstorming
Ex/ Web-based meeting systems
 Instant messaging (security, not lenghty
and complex messages; instead e-mail)
 Videoconferencing
 Shared workspaces: giving team
members instant access to shared
resources and information.
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Improving Your Listening Skills
“By understanding what that person’s real
concern is and doing stg. about it- that’s
how you win people over.”
Effective listening:
Strengthens organization relationships
Enhances product delivery
Alerts the organization to opportunuties
for innovation
Types of Listenings
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Content Listening: Information.
Understand & retain the speaker’s
message. No agree, disagree etc.
Critical Listening: Understand &
evaluate the message
Empathic Listening: Speaker’s
feelings; Don’t judge
Understanding Listening Process
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At or below 25% efficiency rate
Half of a 10-min. conversation => other half
=> within 48 hours
To listen effectively => 5 steps:
Receiving (physically hearing)
Interpreting (assign meaning)
Remembering (short vs. long-term memory)
Evaluating (critical thinking skills)
Responding (reacting)
Barriers to Effective Listening
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Checking your watch
Making eye contact with someone over
the speaker’s shoulder
Interrupting speakers
Selective listening
Listeners’ minds tend to wander
Not sharing enough language or
experience with the speaker etc.
Overcoming Barriers to Effective
Listening
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Control physical barriers
Avoid selective listening
Keep on mind
Give the speaker a chance to correct your
interpretation
Capture information
Improve short-term memory by repeating
Improve long-term memory by
categorization, visualization & mnemonics.
Improving your Nonverbal
Communication Skills:
Nonverbal Com: Sending & receiving
information without using written
or spoken language. Plays 3 roles:
I)
Complementing verbal language
II) Reveals truth
III) Convey information efficiently
Basic Nonverbal Signals
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Facial Expressions
Gesture & Posture
Vocal characteristics (tone of voice)
Personal Appearance
Touch
Time & Space
Using Nonverbal Communication
Effectively
Make sure nonverbal signals match the tone & content of
spoken com.
Improving nonverbal com. skills:
Understand the roles that nonverval signals play in
communication
Recognize nonverbal signals
Facial expressions reveal the intensity of
speaker’s feelings
Watch for clues from gesture & postures
Physical appearance
Be careful with physical contact, touch etc.
Pay attention to the use of time & space.