Team work and Team Building

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Team work and Team Building
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Lecture 1 review

• Did you find the class website?
• Have you gotten into your teams?
• Did someone buy the text?
• Did you discuss Chapter 1?
• Have you downloaded the Design Team Process
  Worksheet?

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EE 490 Team Exercise

• The Assignment
• Your team has been given the assignment to build
  a tower. The tower will be constructed out of
  paper and each team can only use 10 sheets in the
  final structure. You also have a roll of tape to
  assist in the construction. The Winning team
  will receive an award for their outstanding
  effort.

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EE 490 Team Exercise

• The Materials
• Your construction kit consists of 20 sheets of
  paper, a roll of tape and scissors.
• The Preparation
• You will have 10 minutes to develop your plan for
  constructing your tower. At the end of the 10
  minutes, you will all put away any practice
  materials, and prepare for the actual
  construction.

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EE 490 Team Exercise

• The Build
• You will have 2 1/2 minutes to build your actual
  tower. You must start with new sheets of paper,
  no materials from the planning stage can be used.
  You can cut strips of tape for the construction
  process.
• The Goal Build the tallest tower!!
• The tallest free-standing tower will be the
  winner. (cant be attached to the floor)
• Good luck.
• Prof Clifford

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Discussion on Team Dynamics

• What leadership roles did you notice in your
  team?
• How were the roles decided?
• What other roles did team members assume?
• How were decisions made in your team?
• What did your team do well?
• What should your team do differently?
• What activities would ensure the best results
  for the team?

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The Productivity of Teams

• Inefficient Teams
• Poor cooperation
• Waiting for team to decide.
• Little or nor work outside team meetings.
• Assignments poorly coordinated.
• Hidden agendas
• Bickering among team members.
• Duplicated efforts
• Lack of front end planning

• Independent teams
• Good cooperation among team members.
• Tasks are well defined
• Team members work independently
• Little or no sharing of roles and
  responsibilities.
• Team members motivated by individual success.

• Super Teams
• High degree of collaboration on assignments
• Ideas build on each other.
• Team members challenge each other.
• Team is motivated to win as a team.
• High degree of honest, open communications.

Productivity
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• The top five Keys to effective teams
• Learn the importance of discussion and agreement
  on team decisions.
• Understand team roles and relationships.
• Learn to prepare for team activities, then
  reflect on the results and assess team
  performance
• Learn the importance of documenting decisions and
  results.
• Learn the importance of communications among team
  members.

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• Some suggestions for your Project teams
• Decide what roles will be required to complete
  your project.
• Identify who will take the lead in each role
  identified above.
• Develop a written description of the role.
• Decide on a regular time for having team
  meetings.
• Keep written notes of team activities.
• Each team member should keep a lab notebook to
  capture ideas and results.

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Role of the Team Leader

• Each team will have a designated team leader.
• The team leader will be responsible for most of
  the communication with Brother Clifford.
• They must have active email, and be willing to
  distribute messages to all team members.
• The leader will also be responsible to see that
  all assignments are completed and submitted on
  time.
• The team leader is responsible to see that the
  team meetings are held, action items are
  completed, and that team meeting notes are
  recorded.
• The team leader is responsible to see that design
  reviews are held with the class instructors.

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How will you choose a team leader?

• The role of the team leader is no more important
  than any other role on the team. It is just a
  different role.
• Choose a team leader who has the interest and
  desire in developing some of his/her leadership
  skills.
• Dont make the choice of the team leader a
  popularity contest. Chose someone who you can
  support.
• Make sure the leader has the time and interest to
  take on this role.
• Others on the team should take leadership roles
  in various assignments during the semester.

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Importance of Team Meetings

• Coordinate efforts
• Identify problems
• Make team decisions
• Keep the team on track
• Motivate and encourage team members.
• Provide accountability for assignments.
• But dont wait for the meeting if you have an
  important issue

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Team Meeting Suggestions

• Have regular agenda items
• Review current Schedule
• Open discussion of issues and problems
• Review completed assignments
• Get a status report from each team member
• Ask each team member to submit agenda items in
  advance

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Potential Team Meeting Problems

• Meetings dont cover all important topics
• Provide an agenda with critical issues
  identified.
• Meetings take too long
• Establish time limits on the agenda.
• Meeting too infrequently
• Have a regularly scheduled time.
• Decisions dont stick. Have to make the same
  decision multiple times.
• Prepare a written statement of all major
  decisions.
• Problem team member(s)
• One-on-one discussion with individual(s) with
  ideas for improvement.

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Team Member Expectations

• Not all team members have the same expectations
• Individual expectations shape behavior
• Teams will function better if expectations are
  discussed openly

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Email Homework Assignments

• There will usually be a short assignment given at
  the end of each lecture pertaining to the
  material covered in the class and in the text.
• In general these questions are designed to
  simulate some group discussion in your team
  meetings.
• The assignment is to be discussed as a team and a
  single team email response is expected.
• All email assignments are due by 10 a.m. of the
  next class period.

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• Homework
• Read Chapter 2, Development Processes and
  Organizations, or the notes for Lecture 3.
• Work on the team management site. (It doesnt
  need to be in a final form)
• Complete the Design Team Process Worksheet.
  Email a copy to me at dmcranch_at_byu.edu.
• List three things your team learned from the
  build the tower experience. Email me with your
  responses.

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Extra material

• The following slides illustrate some of the more
  common leadership styles. Look for these in your
  team.

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Team Decision Making and Leadership Processes

• King
• King for a day
• Democracy
• Consensus
• Anarchy

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King

• Team leader makes most decisions (with or without
  discussion)
• Advantages
• Rapid decisions
• Usually coordinated decisions
• Disadvantages
• Decisions constrained by kings knowledge
• Less than full support of some team members

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King for a Day

• Same as King, except different team members
  decides based on topic, time, etc
• Advantages
• Rapid decisions
• Decision made by more knowledgeable person
• Disadvantages
• Decisions constrained by kings knowledge
• Less than full support of some team members
• Some decisions may not get made

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Democracy

• Discussion, majority vote rules
• Advantages
• Collects knowledge from entire team
• Entire team will be engaged
• Disadvantages
• May split team into factions
• May create underground opposition
• Decisions may influenced by non relevant factors

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Consensus

• Discussion of alternatives, pros and cons
• Improving of proposals
• Elimination of objections and buy in
• Advantages
• Excellent at gathering all team knowledge
• Full team support of decision
• Disadvantages
• Takes a long time
• Sometimes it never converges

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Anarchy

• Please avoid this at all costs!!
• Team member make decisions independent of team
• No coordination or communication
• Leads to
• Duplication of effort
• Omitted tasks
• Harsh Feelings

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Team Communication Frequency
Probability of Communicating at Least Once per
Week ()
Separation Distance (meters)