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The Team Coaching Toolkit. Tony Llewellyn
Читать онлайн.Название The Team Coaching Toolkit
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isbn 9781910056738
Автор произведения Tony Llewellyn
Жанр Банковское дело
Издательство Ingram
SOFT SKILLS
Team development requires investment in the soft skills which turn out to be quite hard to develop. The command and control culture of the 20th century required little in terms of communication and empathy skills. All that managers needed to learn was how to give orders and rebuke subordinates who failed to achieve what had been intended. The complexity of the 21st century requires leaders who can stimulate discussion, find innovative solutions and inspire coordinated action. Developing those skills is, however, likely to be a good long-term investment. For all the technological advances we are likely to see in the next 20 years, it is unlikely that big data or artificial intelligence will be able to replace the critical role of moving the hearts and minds of a collection of human beings to bring them together as a cohesive team.
Interacting with other human beings requires an ability to connect at a level that will enable a team to work alongside each other in an effective manner. Unlike hard skills, which are typically technical or knowledge-based, soft skills encompass a range of features which include empathy, problem-solving, adaptability, reciprocation, conflict management and collaboration. Looking at this list, one can see why the term soft is used to describe them. The challenge in trying to master any one of these areas is that they are context specific. In other words, how you apply a particular skill will vary according to the situation. Soft skills are unlikely to be learned solely by reading textbooks. They are principally learned through practice.
In essence, most soft skills are contained within the concept of communication. Skilful communication is not merely the ability to speak or present well. Real communication requires a level of prediction as to how the recipient of your information is likely to make sense of the messages they receive. In other words, to understand how you will receive my message, I first need to know more about you. The ability to draw information out of people is a valuable skill in its own right. Some people have a natural inquisitiveness and within 10 minutes of meeting a stranger will learn many details of the personal life of their new acquaintance. For most of us, however, enquiry is not a natural skill, nor is it one we are encouraged to develop. In a command and control environment, communication is generally a one-way process. The transactional management approach is based on directive activity. People are told what to do, without much genuine interest as to what they think or understand.
There is a paradox in that many large organizations invest huge sums of money in soft skills training which the underlying culture cannot really value. New knowledge of the potential ways to improve communication is never practised and so the learning does not become embedded. The course notes are placed in a drawer never to see the light of day again. In a complex environment the nature of the game changes. Since managers can no longer accurately predict the future, it becomes more difficult to rely on one-way communication. In a ’sense and react’ culture, the effective two-way exchange of information becomes critical to the organization’s ability to adapt and thrive.
Real two-way communication therefore underpins virtually every process described in this book. As you read on, think about your current communication abilities and the extent to which you feel they could be improved.
BUILDING THE TEAM YOU NEED
The toolkit is designed to help you build the team you need. In the same way that a craftsman uses tools to cut, bind and mould a piece of material into the shape he wants, this toolkit has been written to help you craft a group of individuals into an effective team. You can leap straight into the toolkit sections and find a technique or tool that you need for a specific event or purpose.
If you have more time, however, you may find it helpful to understand a bit more about team dynamics and how the coaching process makes use of tools to influence human beings to build the relationships that are fundamental to good teamwork. These are discussed in the next two chapters.
CHAPTER 2
USING TOOLS TO SHAPE TEAM DYNAMICS
This book is designed as a toolkit that will help you mould a group into an effective and productive unit. If you are going to try and shape a team, it is worth taking some time to understand the nature of team dynamics, how they emerge and then shift over time. This chapter provides a basic insight into the human factors that will ultimately affect whether you are successful. We look first at the topic of team dynamics, and the need to pay attention to behavioural norms. This section also sets out the foundational structure for team building and then considers how the tools work in establishing the right behaviours.
GROUP DYNAMICS
Humans use many forms of communication that do not require the interpretation of words to send or receive messages. Our eyes, facial muscles, voice tone, posture and arm movements all provide clues as to how we are feeling when we are part of a group. When such body movements are extreme, the messages can be quite obvious. Angry eyes or a sulky posture are easy to detect, but most of the activities that we call body language are often only detected at a subconscious level. This is just one aspect of the many behavioural clues that are there to be seen if you choose to look for them.
The word dynamics as applied to a group can be defined as the ‘forces which stimulate growth, development or change within a system or process’. When we talk about group dynamics we are frequently thinking about the tensions that are sensed as being present in the room without being able to articulate exactly what those tensions are. These forces can be positive or negative, but will usually be a mixture of both. The dynamics of the group are integral to the way that its members interact. Positive group dynamics well help create a discussion that is energized and open. Negative dynamics are usually driven by fear and will cause people to be cautious and withhold information. Learning to read the room and sense the sources of support or disruption can make a significant difference to your ability to influence the team’s effectiveness.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, unless you take active steps to build a positive attitude in the team, the default tendency of groups is to move towards dysfunctional relationships. It is helpful to recognize the primary factors that will lead to a breakdown in communication. We casually talk about dysfunctional families or dysfunctional groups without having a clear sense as to just what the phrase actually means. When applied to a team, the word dysfunctional could be associated with a group who are no longer connecting or communicating according to the behavioural norms of that particular group.
IT IS ALL ABOUT THE NORMS
Dysfunctional is nevertheless a relative term. Positive group norms are the result of the often subconscious acknowledgement of what behaviours each member of a team is prepared to accept if they are going to be emotionally and intellectually engaged in the team’s activities. The team stops functioning effectively when one or more members are no longer prepared to commit emotionally to the rest of the team. To avoid the tendency towards dysfunction, a team may need help to actively work out what norms must be established to achieve the required collective output.
A norm is ‘a standard or pattern, especially of social behaviour, that is typical or expected’. So norms are less about what we do and more about the way that we do them. When a group of individuals come together to work on an initiative or project, each will arrive with their own behavioural baggage. The fascinating thing about groups and teams, however, is that the norms acquired from working in other groups do not necessarily transfer to the new team.
Behavioural norms will vary from group to group. For some groups, low levels of communication are seen as perfectly adequate for their needs. For example, a team of introverts may be very successful, working together with a limited amount of interaction. Their personal need for communication may be