December 2003 Newsletter ********************************************** --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IN THIS ISSUE: The Changing Face of Teams Building & Losing Trust When Teams Aren't Necessary Incentives in the Workplace --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." " Babe Ruth The Ever-Changing Face of Teams How Teams Are Changing the Dynamics of the Workplace Teamwork. It's a hot-button issue. In fact, it's an ideal that has become engraved into American culture. From sports, to classrooms, to the workplace, the theme of working in teams has sparked a phenomenon. And unlike so many other trends, teams are not fading away. The reason? No matter what the goal, teams play an integral role in achieving success. In the healthcare profession, those who flourish will be those who can work and play well with others. No way around it" the successful healthcare organizations of the future will be customer-focused, team-based organizations. In the past and still true in the present, teams have been at the core of organizational efforts to: -Bring new products into the market in a quick and effective manner. -Redesign work processes to achieve higher productivity and efficiency. -Improve the quality of products and services. -Provide quality customer service and speedy turnaround on customer requests. -Reduce costs. -Reduce cross-functional competition and "turf" conflicts. The items above will continue to serve as the main goals and outcomes of teams, however, a changing workforce combined with a shifting marketplace produce new requirements for teams to be successful. The following are some of the new demands placed on teams in today's workforce. Globalization. Technological breakthroughs in communication and travel have brought workers across the globe together, spawning international teams. A team will no longer be simply a group of people working in the same area, on the same equipment, with the same customers and eating in the same cafeteria. This development has imposed new demands on teamwork, which involve multicultural participants. Teams can include people outside of the organization such as suppliers and customers as well as people from other countries and cultures. Communication. The manner in which teams are working are changing as well. Communication vehicles such as e-mail, the Internet, and web-ex's have created new types of teams whose members have little or no face-to-face interaction. The demand for technological skills will have to be coupled with keen communication skills. The successful teams and team players of the future will learn what actions are appropriate for the impersonal nature of electronic communication. Having the ability to create a climate of trust, and make decisions that are viable worldwide will be critical in the new world of "virtual" teams. Interaction. Our view of what it means to be a team player will also most likely change. In the past, we had a rather one-dimensional view of a team player as someone that went along and supported the company program without question. A good team player, it was said, lived by the philosophy that "to get along, you go along." Going forward, a team player will be a more complex person. The effective team player will be adaptive, inquisitive, creative, visionary, supportive, flexible and candid. Looking Into The Future The high performing organizations of the 21st century will place great value on team players. With change as the only constant and globalization as a given, the successful employees will be the ones who can quickly adjust to the world of technology and effectively work with new and different people. If you would like more information regarding Teams, take a look at this article: http://www.clintmaun.com/articles/taasot.shtml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trust". How to Create It & How to Lose It Perhaps one of the most critical elements of a team is trust. After all, in order to accomplish objectives, co-workers must be mutually dependent on one another's experience, abilities, and commitment. Without a common trust among employees, achieving a smooth and efficient work environment becomes a near impossibility. There are three excellent ways for leaders to build trust into their teams, and three quick ways to lose it. First let's consider how to create it. Establish a Level Playing Field. Trust is created when even the newest worker, part-timer, or lowest paid employee feels important and part of the team. It's not as hard as it sounds. Sometimes all it takes is management making the effort to be visible" especially to the employees that are "lower on the totem pole." Simply learning the names of employees and treating one and all with genuine respect can go a long way in the trek to develop trust. Keep in Constant Communication. Communication is the vessel that relays information and truth to your team. Keeping in regular contact with the members of your team is key to a successful outcome. This communication can be as simple as asking a team member how their weekend was, to as specific as communicating the organization's vision and values. Stay Focused on the Big Picture. While many different people comprise a team, their goals and mission should be uniform. To create trust, management should stay focused on shared, rather than personal goals. If team members feel that it's everyone for him/her self, they're going to be less likely listen, let alone trust your judgment. On the flip side, if employees feel everyone is pulling together to accomplish a shared vision, rather than a series of personal agendas, trust among the team is more likely. There's the positive. Now brace yourself for the negative. Below are three sure-fire ways to lose trust among your employees. Taking Credit Where Credit is Not Due. Want to lose the trust of your team and gain their resentment in one foul swoop? Then take sole credit for a project well done. One who is out only for him or her self, especially in a team environment, quickly loses the respect and trust of others. Even as the manger, or leader of the team, it's a collaborative effort. No one single person can take all the glory. It's just the way it goes. Unwillingness to Take a Stand. There's really no way around it. Some time or another conflict will arise within the team. One of the quickest ways to lose trust is probably also one of the easiest" and that is of course, doing nothing. To be an effective, trustworthy team leader, you must take a stand. If you can't deal with conflict in a swift and fair manner, such as clearing up rumors or removing a "bad seed" from the team, you'll never gain trust and respect from your employees. Not Being in the Know. Not paying attention or not properly allocating tasks according to team members' roles, responsibilities, leadership abilities, personal skills, and technical knowledge portrays you as a leader who doesn't know what's going on. If you're unaware of your teams' strengths and weaknesses, they're not going to entrust you with their ideas and feedback. "A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts." " Harold MacMillan Trust and Leadership go hand in hand. For More information check out our Achieving Smooth Operations program: http://www.clintmaun.com/products/bp_ir_tools.shtml#aso --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Going It Alone When Teams Aren't Necessary Unit, crew, club, gang, group, clique, panel, committee, taskforce" there are many different ways to describe and label a team. Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines a team as "a number of persons associated together in work or activity." However, in the healthcare profession, the definition of a team must meet a more precise description. Perhaps teams in the workplace could best be described as: a group of people with a high degree of interdependence geared toward the achievement of a specific goal or the completion of a task. The main difference between the dictionary definition and the one above can be broken down in one word" goal. Successful teams in the healthcare profession must have a common goal. Furthermore, they must agree that the only way to achieve that goal is to work together. However, sometimes working together isn't the most desired scenario. Sometimes it just plain isn't necessary to form teams. When Teams Aren't Desirable A team that is communicating and functioning well has synergy" that's why people working as a team can achieve better results than individuals working alone. Many managers might think that it is always worthwhile to invest in teams. However, there are times and circumstances when teams don't always make the workplace better or more efficient. That being said, it's important to look the situations where efforts to create a team-based workplace could be a wasted investment. In some cases, elements within an organization will prevent effective teamwork, and can suggest that a team-based workplace is inappropriate. Let's take a look at these factors. When the Workplace is a Dictatorship When autocratic managers decide to force people to work together, teamwork becomes something that is done to employees by a manager or executive. While it is possible and many times necessary to administer the infrastructure of teams, it is not possible to order a team to work efficiently or harmoniously. Employees will most likely sense the contradiction between an autocratic management a democratic team. The results are damaging all across the board. Management loses credibility, team members become frustrated and the likeliness that they will fail increases. If resentment is a common feeling among the team, it's time to re-evaluate the existence of the team and how it's structured. When One Person is Plenty Take a good look at the tasks at hand. Some might require teamwork, while some are best done by a single individual working alone. If you have a predominance of job tasks that are best done independently, then productivity can suffer if you try to shove them into a team situation. It's also important to survey employee attitudes" if certain people are adamantly opposed to working in teams, and have shown that they can work well independently, the old adage still holds true" why fix it if it's not broke? When Tasks are Simple What does and does not require a team is going to vary from healthcare organization to healthcare organization. However, you should take evaluate the most simplistic tasks that take place on a daily basis. For example, picking up trays after meals may not require a taskforce. If tasks are simple and repetitive, teams might be unnecessary and may actually hinder productivity. When Tasks Require Communication If a task can be effectively carried out without a single ounce of communication between another employee, chances are a team is not necessary. Team members must believe in and be committed to the idea that working together as a team is preferable to working alone. The group must have a reason for working together that makes sense to the team members. In today's culture, many people yearn for a magic bullet. In the corporate world it's important to remember that teams are not a cure-all. It is worthwhile to consider the entire system of doing work, to determine if a team-oriented approach is likely to justify the investment of time of effort needed. For more information go to our article: http://www.clintmaun.com/articles/the_importance_of_leaders_versus_managers_1.shtml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Few Words On Incentives It's no secret that healthcare professionals can enhance productivity by encouraging teamwork, but managers must do much more than simply repeat a few catchy taglines if they expect the spirit of cooperation to take hold in the workplace. Inspiring rank-and-file employees to work effectively in teams requires the right initiatives and consistent follow-through. Some of the most successful approaches use team incentives. Teams function more efficiently when members of the team recognize and follow certain agreed-upon behaviors. For example, you might set an expectation that all hourly employees will be considered tardy if they arrive any later than five minutes after their scheduled shift. When any member of the team breaks this rule, the entire team would suffer the consequences, or lose the chance to receive the incentive at hand. Standards such as these are the basis for making decisions, for encouraging participation, and for rewarding behaviors that facilitate cooperation or resolution of conflict. Why Use Incentives? The benefit of the unit incentive plan is that it engages all or most of the employee base. Typically a plan is set up to payout only when the improvement occurs. It is based on results, rather than on activities. Team members need to understand that they will be rewarded for their team efforts and accomplishments. Team incentives should include an award schedule tied to achieving certain measures. The plan must include pre-announced goals with a guaranteed award for teams that achieve those stated objectives. Keep in mind that the incentive should vary with the value of the project" arriving to work on time probably doesn't warrant the same incentive as new employee referrals. Ideas for Incentives Include: A catered lunch by the restaurant of the team's choice Gift certificates A paid day off A group outing, such as a day of golf, a day at the spa, a baseball game, etc. The ideas are basically endless, and you can get creative as you want. Just remember to make the incentives worth the team's while" if they don't care for the incentives, chances are, they're going to be less motivated to achieve the goal at hand. For more information and incentive ideas Check out our article: http://www.clintmaun.com/articles/what_about_incentives_1.shtml --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |