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Businesses Need to 'Rehumanise'
Big companies and corporations have lost the human touch. The question is, when will humanity catch on, or like robotic sheep will we do whatever the business shepherds tell us, no matter how bad we are treated? I am talking from firsthand...
How Homeowner Can Save Their Home From Foreclosure
Drive around and see how many signs you see that says House for Sale. How many lease purchases do you see? How many abandon houses are on your street? Our country is up against the wall with delinquence mortgages. FHA mortgage lenders are...
How Managers Hit PR Paydirt
As a business, non-profit or association manager, you’ll know it’s PR paydirt when you’re able to persuade your key external stakeholders to your way of thinking, then move them to take actions that lead to your department, division or...
Making Transitions
Ever notice how smoothly some speakers or writers move you through their speech or memo? It seems they effortlessly take you from start to finish without making you strain to follow. Yet, while the reading may be effortless, the writing probably...
Managers Need Basic PR
True, because department, division or subsidiary managers for a business, non-profit or association really DO need a dynamic yet workable blueprint for reaching those key outside groups of people who have a big say about how successful those...
More Cheap Tricks for Promoting Your Business
In a recent article, I shared five of my top 10 favorite tricks for promoting your business without spending much (or any) money. Several readers wrote and said they enjoyed the first five tips, so I’m hoping the next five will be just as...
Philippines Catching up with India in the Outsourcing Industry
India, the dominant player in outsourcing touted as the “back office of the world,” would soon have to contend with a third-world rival—the Philippines. A highly skilled English-speaking labor force. A reliable telecommunications...
Sales & Communication tips
While these are bigger enterprises, I see some otherwise good sales people make the same mistakes repeatedly. If it makes the offending holiday rental owners feel any better let me tell you that even some sophisticated firms do no better. So - to...
Short Messaging Service (SMS) for Enterprise Messaging
Short Messaging Service (SMS) for Enterprise Messaging SMS for Enterprise Messaging – Value added services Short message service, usually called SMS, is a globally accepted wireless service for enterprise messaging (mobile value added...
Top 10 Business E-mail Basics
When it comes to your business e-mail communications, you need to make an impression that can lend to the determination that you are someone that will be a pleasure to do business with. For your consideration below are the "Top 10 e-mail...
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Communications for High-Performance Teams
How many times have you been on a team where you felt that
you weren’t all on the same page, or that the team wasn’t
performing up to the level it could or should be, and
yet.....you know that your team members are bright and
highly capable?
High-performance as the desired outcome forms the hub of the
team wheel. Supporting the hub are four critical spokes,
each of which must be built through explicit and clear
communication. These four spokes represent phases of team
development.
The first spoke is that of membership, in which people are
asking questions related to membership and group identity
issues : What can I contribute? What is expected of me?
What values and assumptions are we working under? What are
our individual roles and responsibilities? These questions
must be answered for participants to feel that they belong
to and are committed to the team.
The second spoke is that of team operating norms. Every
group develops norms, either explicitly or tacitly. To be
most effective, the team needs to create emotionally
intelligent norms that intentionally support behaviors for
building trust and group efficacy - both essential to a
team’s effectiveness. Norms may include whatever individual
members believe is important and valuable for effective
teamwork.
Norms that lead to high performance are numerous, but can
and should include things like:
• Using good listening skills to build on the on-going
discussion and offering summaries of issues being discussed
to make sure we have a shared understanding.
• The willingness to explore and expose unhealthy work
habits in order to build more effective group norms.
• Standards for how we’re going to communicate in and
outside meetings
• Keeping us on track if we get off
• Facilitating group members’ input
•
Permission for bringing feelings out in the open and
dialoguing about how they affect the team’s work
It’s the leader’s job to instill a sense of responsibility
in individuals for the well-being of the team. In
self-aware, self-managing teams, members hold each other
accountable for sticking to norms.
The third spoke is comprised of communication on issues
related to control, which range from resolving issues of
leadership style, decision-making and conflict management
processes, as well as agreement on operating practices that
support development, production and/or
implementation.
Lastly, to build the fourth spoke, the group must address
and agree on the overarching team goals, addressing the
questions of: “What do I want to see happen? What do we
want to accomplish? And how will we know when we’ve
accomplished it?”
These spokes comprise a series of developmental stages that
high-performing teams negotiate effectively. Lack of team
alignment and high performance indicate that the group has
not adequately addressed and clarified questions in one or
more of the stages of membership, control, or goals.
If you find yourself on a team that’s not delivering to it’s
potential, it’s time to do a team assessment to uncover and
bring to light the unresolved issues. When you do that,
assuming you have the right players, your team can go from
good or even very good to GREAT.
About the Author
Manya Arond-Thomas, M.D., is the founder of Manya
Arond-Thomas & Company, a coaching and consulting
firm that catalyzes the creation of “right results” through
facilitating executive development, high-performance teams
and organizational effectiveness. She can be reached at
(734) 480-1932 or e-mailed at manya@arond-thomas.com.
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