Teamwork is defined as ‘the combined action of a group of people, especially when effective and efficient.’ (Oxford Dictionary, 2009). Teams or groups can be formed at work, friendship groups or sometimes strangers can be placed together to perform an action or activity; depending on the situation the group will be formal, informal, permanent or temporary.
A successful team I have been involved in is the cheerleading squad. There is a team of 35 for competition and we have to all work together to produce a clean, well-choreographed and spectacular routine. Last competition we received a trophy which was a reward of our hard work and commitment. A relevant theory that can be identified in such a large group is Belbins team roles theory. Belbins (1993) team role theory is based on the position within a group that a person will take. It’s the skills at which they are best at performing and the way in which they behave and interact within a team. All the individuals of the squad show one or more of the team roles and take on different responsibilities when working in the cheerleading team. Within Belbin’s theory there are nine different roles that may be observed in a team working together.
The nine roles are:
The first team role is a ‘plant’ they are identified as the plant as the individual is ‘planted’ within the team and is usually creative and good at solving problems in unusual yet affective ways.
The second is the monitor evaluator; this is the individual that is logical thinking and can make rational judgements and weigh up options without letting excitement or passion get in the way. This role is almost the opposite of the plant.
Another role is the co-ordinators role within the team. This role includes keeping objectives in mind and being able to assign members to specific tasks and keep the team organised and on task.
The role of Resource investigator is to use contacts and links to investigate the competition or use their knowledge to make sure the project is able to fit into the outside world. They are a good communicator and able to utilise information to the max.
Implementers are practical hands on individuals that use their strategic minds to insure the project or product will work efficiently.
Completers or Finishers are the individuals that will edit a piece of work or run through a presentation over and over again to ensure it is to the best standard it can be. The will polish the work and pick up any errors or imperfections.
Shapers are individuals that keep the team motivated and on task, encouraging them and keeping them focused.
The final role is the ‘specialist’ this team member is the one with the expert knowledge in an area within the task. Their knowledge usually makes them of rather high authority within the team however they do have a tendency to dwell on their specialist subject and not the whole task at hand.
All roles may not be present within a team however a team will succeed a lot better if there is a balance of almost all the roles. I feel the cheer team is so successful because so many of the roles are apparent within the team making it well balanced. Some people show the same team roles which may sometimes cause conflict but there is always a shaper to remind the group to focus on the goals of the sport.
Bruce Tuckman developed his theory ‘Team stages model’ in 1965. It is a basis for team building and leadership and is backed up by extensive research. Some of his studies include reviewing members of the U.S Navy, small group behaviour and analysing articles on group development. Tuckmans teamwork theory is divided into four main sections ‘Forming,’ ‘Storming,’ ‘Norming,’ and ‘Performing.’ Tuchmans theory helps us understand that a team needs to evolve to develop and helps us understand how a team will handle a problem when at different stages of evolution. However the theory is very linear and some groups can ‘loop’ when working for a long period of time.
Forming is when the team first interacts with one another and begin to establish their position by sizing one another up. Generally people are quite guarded and it takes a while for the team to feel comfortable therefore the focus on work is very little.
Storming is the stage at which the team begin to challenge one another for a task or question one another’s ability. At this stage typically there is conflict and the focus of the task is lost.
Norming is the stage at which the team has established rules and a sense of organisation. They fit into their roles and the focus is on the task and progress is made.
Performing is when both the relationship of the member and the focus on the task are equal and the team are working together. At this final stage the work is being produced efficiently and usually at a good standard.
One of the most academic teams I have been a part of has been a team of three when writing an assignment about motivation. The team included Harry Young, Gina McCaffrey and myself. The team did not seem to follow Tuckman’s theory however this may have been that as individuals we already knew one another and as a class already form a group so we did not pass through the forming and storming stages as we already anticipated one another’s personalities and actions. The intensity of the group working together was not much as we did not spend much time together and the importance of the task was not extremely high therefore the pressure on group members was not enough to cause stress and conflict. Even without passing through the stages of Tuckmans theory and not spending large amounts of time together to write the assignment a well written piece of work was produced which was rewarded with a respectable grade, showing a degree of success.
Employees of P3 the best company to work for according to The Sunday Times survey must be so successful because of its teamwork. As it is a charity there will be low wages and employees will not be motivated by monetary materials but by the atmosphere and feeling of achievement developed by the team. P3 is a company based around people, potential and possibility. It has been up and running for 40years, successfully helping vulnerable people in the most deprived places in the U.K. The Sunday times describes P3’s success as ‘P3's victory lies not in big pay and bonuses — the average salary of a support worker is just over £17,000 and only six of the 262 staff earn more than £35,000 — but rather in its supportive, inclusive culture which promotes control, choice and independence for staff as well as clients.’ (Sue Leonard, 2010) This is strongly supported by the Chief executive Martin Kinsella saying: ‘People who come to work for us do not want to make a million pounds or be the next X Factor winner but to do something to make a difference.’ Employees love working for the company and get a real sense of achievement out of it. They are supported by all superior staff and often enjoy teambuilding and training days, making employees feel up to speed with the latest information.
Hitting the number two spot of the best company to work for is company Luminus, a community housing company. Luminus is involved in all aspects of housing and with a small workforce of 287 it is obvious each employee works extremely hard and is stimulated and inspired by the work they do. Ranking second in the Sunday times survey strongly suggests each team feels like a small family and to further these bonds the Chief executive of the company organises a luminous conference involving, ‘the winner of our special award for leadership. Birthdays and achievements are celebrated and feedback from customers is read out. Thank-you dinners, letters from Abraham, and £25 and £50 rewards are given to hard-working employees who go the extra mile.’ (Sunday times, 2010) The relationship between employees shows great teamwork and the openness between the Chief executive and other employees makes them feel appreciated as he wants then to share ideas and comments with him. There are opportunities for employees to improve their skills with ‘The training budget allocates an average of £509 per employee every year. There is a range of opportunities on offer, from NVQs to a leadership academy, and personal development courses run by experts in the workforce such as photography and the good food club.’ (Sunday times, 2010) Employees are extremely happy here with a good balance between work and home life explaining why Luminus achieved rank two in such a survey.
References
No comments:
Post a Comment