Gerry Reid -
Topics
"Building Empowered Teams"
Building Empowered Teams
A Workshop to Generate Team Synergy for Peak Performance
The Building Empowered Teams Workshop is an active approach to learning about the dynamics of successful teams. Students identify personal strengths, areas in need of improvement, and the roles played when doing work together. Each person learns what they personally contribute to the team effort. Teams attending as a unit gain insight and comprehension of the value their individual members bring to the community effort.
This workshop boosts team spirit and sets in place a new focus on the positive possibilities of their work together. After attending this workshop, teams are better able to
- 1) Communicate about task and process.
- 2) Enable members to contribute more.
- 3) Use meeting time efficiently.
- 4) Satisfy their client's needs.
Using twelve task and process behaviors, teams learn the skills brought by each individual. The team evaluates its own internal relationships and identifies specific areas needing growth and development. Further knowledge is gained through the analysis of the eight roles played by team members while getting work done.
This workshop uses three instruments:
- 1) A study of the process of synergy development.
- 2) An analysis and evaluation of team and individual performance patterns about task and process behavior.
- 3) A profile of the preferred roles of each member regarding the eight roles necessary to complete work.
These instruments also provide a baseline of performance for comparison at set intervals after the workshop.
The attending teams produce a customized document of tips and techniques to improve their work. This document becomes the base for a year-long program of skill improvement. Each team creates a plan to assure the continued application of the principles learned. Accountability and responsibility issues are presented, discussed and delegated by the team.
The longer format workshop concludes by applying an easy-to-use methodology to survey and measure key team concerns. The team conducts an "issues analysis" and from the analysis they take a mini survey. The process of using the analysis and mini survey during the workshop teaches the on-the-job application of the methodology. Data gathered is presented and used to evaluate the current condition and effectiveness of each team represented. After the workshop, the procedure becomes a monitoring instrument for observing the team condition, improving team communication, and measuring progress toward established goals.