Have you ever been in a meeting that lasted forever?  Or one person dominated the discussion?  Or hijacked the team to go in a completely different direction?  Or a meeting that was a waste of time because there were no clear agreements made?

That’s because no one was responsible for watching the “process”: Clarifying the objective, creating a plan or agenda to achieve the objective and then following the plan!

It is always helpful to designate one person on the team to be at the very least a “process observer” – someone who can remind the group when they aren’t following the agenda, timeframes or stated ground rules.  Often times, participants get all caught up in the “content” of things and are quick to scurry off into rabbit trails of interesting information – which doesn’t contribute one cent to the meeting objectives.

For your more typical meetings in the workplace, you may want to have a facilitator on the team.  It’s a bit more than a simple process observer as a facilitator has developed process skills to assist the group from getting from the current state (Point A) to the desired state (Point B).  For a highly developed team, the facilitator role may rotate amongst team members.

You can also use an internal facilitator – someone from within your company who is trained in facilitation and management.  Many of my clients develop a cadre of facilitators scattered throughout their company (many of them trained by me!) or aligned with the Organizational Development department.  Optimally, this person should NOT be part of your team.  Why?  Because it is a lot easier to get dragged onto one of those rabbit trails when you have content knowledge and a vested interest in the outcome.

And then there are the high stakes meetings – REALLY important meetings that you can’t afford to mess up.  When time is of the essence and commitment is paramount, it makes sense to invest in a professional facilitator to make sure you achieved your desired outcomes.  You use a professional facilitator when it is important to you to achieve the results, to have an unbiased, non-partial, objective person guiding the process so that all can participate and put their fingerprints all over the final product.  People will execute that which they have created, and professional facilitators are all about having the group create sustainable agreements that each team member is willing to deliver.

I intend to schedule a webinar in March, June, September, and August of this year.  As far as topics go, I could talk for days about teamwork, but we’re only looking at a 45 minute webinar!

So here are some titles/topics I was thinking about, and would like to have your opinion as to what top four webinars you would not only be interested in attending, but would actually sign up!  2012 will be complementary, as I’ll be getting the kinks out of the system.  I’ve done a few, but I wouldn’t exactly call myself an amazing webinar presenter – yet.

TeamSpeak: Words to Use or Lose to Inspire Better Teamwork

Boring to Bravo: 10 Tips to Make Your Presentations Extraordinary!

Beyond Consensus: 3 Little Known Secrets to Achieving Solid Agreements Among Your Team Mates

A Team Leader’s Toolkit for Handing Difficult People

The Do’s & Don’ts of Teamwork & Collaboration: 5 Critical Skills to Take Your Team to the Next Level

Are you a Light Bulb or a Flame Thrower?  How to Manage the Inevitable Conflicts in Teams

Team Player or Spectator?  3 Critical Insights to Building a High Performance Team

Go Beyond the Ordinary: 5 Critical Decisions Every Team Leader Must Make

Any other topics/titles you have in mind?

Thanks for voting now on your top topics and helping me crowdsource the best titles/topics for 2012!  You have until Sunday, January 15th to let me know.  Thanks a bazillion!

I am reading the Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (No, I haven’t seen the HBO series- I like to read the books first!), and one of the characters, Jon Snow, is afflicted with the tall poppy syndrome when he first gets to the Wall.   Because he has had more training than the other boys, Jon takes great pride in defeating all the other boys during the training and sparring sessions. What happens?  The humiliated and frustrated boys attack him one night until one of the adults intervenes.  The armorer, Donal Noye, has a heart-to-heart talk about how Jon’s behaviors are being seen by the rest of the boys.  ”Suddenly, [Jon] felt ashamed and guilty.  ’I never….I didn’t think….’ [said Jon].   ‘Best you start thinking,’ Noye warned him.  ”That, or sleep with a dagger by your bed.  Now go.’”

Here’s my random thought generator:  Teams NEED people with diverse talents and skills.  You just can’t show them too quickly.  Every team goes through a typical pattern of development – (Tuckman’s forming, storming, norming, and performing) – and tall poppies don’t do well during the forming phase when teams are initially come together.

While it is helpful to share your abilities with your team mates, there is a fine line between sharing and shining.  Only when you have moved into the norming phase where team members are more comfortable with each other will they be able to agree on how to “share” the limelight.  At different times, each team member can be a tall poppy!

Needless to say, it takes a ton of teamwork to pull this off. Connie, our fearless leader, had a checklist of everything that was needed, and we all volunteered, based on our ability to contribute. 19 people brought a cake, others brought the rolls…and Joe and I bought the containers!

The night before the fundraiser, many of us gathered to set up for the big day. I jumped in to slice the cucumbers. Connie asked me to put them on a large tray. So, I started slicing and laid the cucumbers out. But then I needed more trays, and so I bunched the slices together even tighter. And tighter. And tighter until it didn’t even look like I had sliced the cucumbers – and I was able to put them ALL on one tray! Very efficient, I thought.

Well, the ladies who were slicing the tomatoes decided to do things a little different. They laid the sliced tomatoes out over FIVE trays. In my perspective, it was not as efficient.

So….do you say something or not? Can the refrigerator handle five more trays? If I offer an opinion, will they listen to me? How will this affect my relationship with these ladies? These are key questions team members have when they see a different way of doing things…..

So….do you say something or not? The linchpin is all about the results. The cucumbers and tomatoes need to be sliced and ready to go for the lobster supper. Just because I like it compact and efficient, doesn’t mean it is any better than laid out and accessible. It’s just DIFFERENT. It doesn’t have to be MY way.

Especially when there is more than one way to achieve a specific result, teamwork is a great strategy. We all just need to realize that we each bring different talents and perspectives with us – which makes the end product richer and more meaningful.

So…I didn’t say anything about the tomatoes and the lobster supper was a HUGE success!

P.S. I should have taken a few pictures to show the different trays, but I didn’t think about it at the moment. Next time, I will!

Task Leader focuses on the tasks that need to be done.  They make the list and check it twice.  They orchestrate the meal preparation, the opening of the presents and the trash collection at the end.  This is the first role that typically emerges, with the “task master” telling or asking others what to do in a very direct way.  Taken to the extreme, this role may appear as bossy, pushy and demanding.

Morale Leader focuses on making sure everyone on the team is doing all right.  They make an effort to connect with each and every person, often with a hug, kiss or pat on the back.  They are wonderful at making sure that everyone shares the load (Did everyone bring a side dish?) and that no one is left out of the party (Did you get enough to eat?  The ham is just wonderful – you should try some!)  This role wants everything to flow smoothly.  They are also the first to notice the rough patches and make everyone feel better.  (I’m sure Aunt Martha didn’t mean to be so bossy – she just wants to make sure we all have a wonderful holiday).  Taken to the extreme, this role may appear flaky, wishy-washy and out of touch.

Fun Leader gets the group laughing and playing.  They don’t take themselves (or the subject matter) too seriously.  They are the first to tell a joke, invent a game, rent a movie or just be happy to be around.  They encourage others to find the fun – even when it isn’t readily apparent.  When things get too tense, the Fun Leader can interject their wry wit that quickly deflects the conflict.  Taken to the extreme, this role may appear irreverent, distracting, insulting and disregarded as a clown.

Challenger Leader constantly keeps the task leader on their toes.  Typically “big picture” people, the Challenger typically sits back and watches the action, occasionally asking a probing question to keep things focused and on track, much to the chagrin of the task leader.  (Are you sure you want to mash the potatoes like that?)   Taken to the extreme, this role may appear aloof, condescending and just plain ornery.  Like a dog with a bone, sometimes the Challenger just can’t let go of the issue.

As you enjoy your Christmas Day, watch these roles emerge.  See how they contribute to the team’s work.

Question:  Which role do you default to?  What about your fellow family members?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Basketball teams have five, baseball nine, and soccer 11.  But when it comes to the workplace, what is the optimal number?

According to Evan Wittenberg, director of the Wharton Graduate Leadership Program, while the research on optimal team numbers is “not conclusive, it does tend to fall into the five to 12 range, though some say five to nine is best, and the number six has come up a few times.”

Fortune magazine (June 12, 2006) pronounced the most productive teams should have 4.6 team members.  Inquiring minds want to know:  how do you make a sixth of a person participate?.  

While I hesitate to make such a precise pronouncement, I will share with you some of the factors you should consider when deciding how many and, more specifically, who should be on your team:

Task.  What are you asking the team to do?  Is it highly independent or interdependent work?  Is there precedent in that it has been done before or is it an entirely new task? 

Representation.  Do you have a representative from each part of the system, process or other stakeholder groups?

Diversity.  Do you have the functional, gender, geographic, racial, educational, societal (and the list could go on…) diversity within the team?  Even better, do you have representatives who can wear multiple hats so that you can limit the number of people who need to be in the room (but can be represented by others)?

Skill Level.  People who have truly been on successful teams before (typically called “exceptional team players”) tend to assimilate good teaming behaviors into whatever team they are on.

Developmental Needs.  Many organizations continually ask the same dependable people to work on important teams.  Perhaps you have gone to the well just a few too many times and need to invest in some new blood and fresh perspectives?

Depending on these factors, you may want to add or subtract a few folks from the mix.  And then don’t forget the Ringlemann Effect.   At the turn of the 20th century, a French agricultural engineer, Maximilian Ringlemann analyzed the pull force of people alone and in groups as they pulled on a rope.  As Ringlemann added more and more people at the rope, he discovered that the total force generated by the group rose, but the average force exerted by each group member declined, thereby discrediting the theory that a group team effort results in increased effort. 

Ringlemann attributed this lack of effort as “social loafing” where the group will hide the fact that individuals are not “pulling their weight.”

“After about five people, there are diminishing returns on how much people will pull,” says Wharton management professor, Jennifer Mueller.  “But people, unless they are not motivated or the task is arbitrary, will not want to show social loafing. If the task is boring and mundane, they are more likely to loaf.”

So while the sweet spot of a self-managed team may be 4.6 people, you can involve more people and achieve greater results with a skilled facilitator.  An experienced, master facilitator (like myself) can effectively manage the group dynamics of any size so that you can achieve the desired results smoothly, collaboratively and without social loafing.

Question:  What team size works best for you?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Sick teams have symptoms that will help you diagnose the root cause of the problem.  Rather than “band-aid” the symptom, treat the cause to get your team healthy again.  Watch for the following symptoms and potential prescriptions:

Confused.  Team members appear bewildered and lost.  They do weird things that don’t seem to contribute to the team’s success.  When dazed and confused, create a conversation around the team’s “vision” or destination.  Where does the team want to go?  What’s the ultimate destination?  Search for common agreement on the team’s vision.

Ethically Challenged.  Team members not only do weird things, but they do peculiar, questionable things that affect team success.  Different individual values seem to influence team behavior.  Consider having a frank discussion about what values are important to the team.  Get agreement on explicit rules of behavior or “ground rules” on how to move forward.

Scattered.  If your team members are acting on their own accord, working at odds with each other, or in a haphazard fashion, you are lacking a clear strategy on how to move forward and be successful.  Brainstorm different possible strategies, narrow down the list to the top three, and then discuss the “pros and cons” for each strategy.  As a team, come to a mutual agreement on how to move forward.

Frustrated.  Your team is annoyed by every little thing.  Little things become big things.  Team members may even start sniping at each other.  It feels like the team has quit smoking cigarettes and is going through nicotine withdrawal!  Chances are your team is suffering from a lack of resources.  They just don’t have the tools to do the job.  Ask the team, “What necessary resources (human talent, money, time, machinery, equipment, etc.) are we lacking?  Develop a plan to access or request these vital resources.

Stalled.  The team is moving at a snail’s pace.  Rather than watch the snail writhe in a salt bath, ask each team member the “WIIFM” question  (What’s In It For Me). “What would inspire you to act positively on behalf of the team?”  Don’t settle for global, patronizing, motivational balderdash.  Probe for meaningful, specific, concrete ideas.  Then figure out how to tap into these stated WIIFMs.  Provide the jet fuel for the team to blast forward!

Tired.  Sometimes the team just doesn’t have the right talent.  They don’t have the skills or capabilities to accomplish the mission.  You can see inability by the fatigue in their faces.  They are tired of trying to push the rock up the hill, only to have it fall back to the original position.  Or they don’t even have the strength to try.  Either provide appropriate skills training or recruit the additional talent on the team.

Doubt.  The team is mired in the quicksand of doubt.  Can they be successful?  Will they be successful?  Does management really care?  Allow the team to vent their issues and concerns to the team sponsor, champion, or big kahuna.  Someone up the food chain needs to acknowledge the concerns, give meaningful and genuine feedback to the team, and resolve to remove any barriers facing the team.

Question:  Have you taken your team’s temperature lately?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Fear Job Loss.  Supervisors may fear that the new “team-based organization” is really aimed at eliminating at least one level of management and allowing the organization to save big bucks.

Are Skeptical.  They seriously question whether the new structure will work, or work better than the current regime.

Fear Demotion.  Supervisors who were moving up the career ladder are now called “facilitators” or “team leaders.”  Their new career path is unclear and untested.

Can’t Boss.  Unwilling or unable to give up their perceived power as “the boss,” they won’t or can’t encourage team participation.

Lack Role Clarity.  The new role and responsibilities are not clearly defined.  Not only are they clueless, but their former subordinates are unclear of the new relationship.  As a result, the roles don’t really change – just the titles.

Fear Less Pay.  They are uncertain how the change will affect their bottom line – how much money they bring home.

When implementing a team-based structure, the organization must deal with all these fears.  The most important issue centers around the job.  Will they or won’t they have a job in the new structure?  When restructuring, consider the widest range of options:

No Job Loss.  Assure them that no one will lose their job.  Supervisors will receive the necessary training and support to make the transition to assume new roles and responsibilities.

Option to Leave.  Interview managers and supervisors.  Allow those who do not want to make the transition to leave the organization with a severance package.

Gradual Transition.  Make a strategic decision to gradually introduce the team structure to the organization   –usually by focusing on one business unit first.  Move “ready” people into key roles on the team.  Create one great unit before concentrating on another unit or the entire organization. 

Change Jobs.  Interview managers and supervisors.  Select the best suited for the new structure and give others a choice between another job within the company or a severance package.

Cut ‘Em Loose.  Once you have exhausted every opportunity to change the people from within, change the people by letting them work elsewhere.

They key to overcoming resistance as well as launching a successful team-based organization is to constantly communicate, provide team skills and opportunities for all to get involved:

Design New Role.  Invite them to participate in designing the new roles and responsibilities.  People have more ownership and commitment to those things they help design.

Clarify New Role.  Make sure they understand the purpose, logic, and benefits of moving to a team-based structure.  Clarify their role and allow the opportunity to ask questions and receive feedback on their progress. 

Train.  Provide training on basic team skills such as facilitation, coaching, etc.  Use behavioral techniques, role playing, and simulations.

Coach.  Provide individual coaching sessions for those who are having difficulty in transitioning.

Visit Others.  Have them visit other successful team-based organizations to observe the new structure in action and to discuss their new roles.

Go To Conferences.  Let them attend conferences to hear the experiences (the good, the bad and the ugly – we learn from others’ mistakes as well as successes) of others who have walked in their shoes.

Peer Meetings.  Provide opportunities for them to meet with their peers to share their concerns and ideas.

Keep in mind that transitioning to a team-based organization is a continuous learning experience.  It’s not a one-time deal.  The organization must regularly communicate, train, provide feedback opportunities, redefine and improve the roles/structure.

Question:  Are you resisting your team’s efforts?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Know their Stuff.  The process owner or subject matter specialist(s) who know the technical side of the issue or process.

Know Process.  A facilitator will be a great help to the team.  They know how to get from the current state to the desired state using process tools and techniques.

Touch the Process.  Include those people (or representatives) who impact the process along the way.  They have a good sense of what is going on, where the pain is, and what to do about it.  They usually are the “make or break” people during the implementation phase.

Can Make a Decision.  This criteria is often the fatal flaw of many cross-functional teams.  One person represents their department, but does not have the authority or influence to make a decision. 

At this point, you have at least five people on your team (unless you have a “two-fer” – one person who wears two hats).  Try not to have more than ten people on a team.  A nice cozy number of core team members is from six to eight people.  You may decide to bring in other team members on an “as needed basis.”  The key is to let them know you may need them to participate and keep them informed of your progress.  Then you won’t have to spend a tremendous amount of time bringing them up to speed. 

Consider including:

A Customer.  If possible, include one of your best, worst and/or average customer of the team’s product or process.  Encourage that customer to think “strategically” in that they are representing all of your customers.  If you can’t fathom having a customer on your team, at least allow their voice to be heard.  Designate at least one person to “check back” with your customers, test out ideas, and bring in customer data.

A Supplier.  If your process is dependent on inbound products, raw goods or information, you may want to consider inviting your key supplier(s).

Process Expert.  Maybe your team is going to need to survey a population, statistically analyze data, construct work breakdown structures for a project plan.  If your team doesn’t have the skills to do this, go get help!  Bring the “expert” to the team – not necessarily to do it for them, but to show them how to do it.  Now those team members will be able to transfer those learned skills to other teams!

Once you have identified the right positions on the team, make sure you have the right mix of people:

Volunteers.  It’s always better to have people who want to be included in the process rather than prisoners.

Diverse Strengths and Abilities.  A team is greater than the sum of its individual parts.  So make sure you have a “big picture” person as well as detail-oriented, fast paced and slow paced, etc.  You are striving for the right combination of people to complement each other and build on each others’ strengths.

Team Skills.  Working in a team requires new skills and behaviors.  It is always easier if there are some seasoned veterans with positive team experiences and skills.  Because they believe in the team’s potential, they raise the entire team’s standards and expectations.

Putting a team together is more than just gathering a bunch of people together.  It depends on the right mix of skills, talent, experience, approach and abilities.  Never assume you have the right people on your team.  Circumstances change, so periodically check to make sure you have the right mix.

 Question:  Do you have the right people on your team?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com

Get Your T-Shirts Here!  A fast food restaurant has tons of buttons, ball caps, and t-shirts proclaiming “Team ***” all over the restaurant.  When asked what makes their staff a team, a young man replied, “Well, I got this really cool polo shirt.”

One Person is the Hero.  An automotive dealership assigned a “team” of professionals to service my car.  I was assigned “team blue” where Terry is the main man.  He checks me in, tells me what he’s going to do, how much it’s going to cost, and when it’s going to be ready.  Now, I know Terry didn’t do the actual work on my car, but who did?  The blue team elves did, that’s who.

Test the Customer.  So when I came back to get my car serviced again (yes, I did come back!), the service department voice mail operator asked for my team: white, red, blue, yellow, or green?  How am I supposed to know?  I dealt with Terry – the human being.  I don’t remember the color.  I don’t care about color.  I just want to get my car serviced (presumably by those cute little elves).  So I press “O.”  “Ooops,” she said.  “Terry works all the positions.  He’s a floater.  So we’ll just assign you to a new team!”  As far as I can tell, I have NEVER had the same person, team, or elves work on my car.

Hide from Problems.  A manufacturing plant used “teams” as an excuse to call a meeting to discuss a problem, to then call another meeting to continue to discuss the problem (you get the picture?), to then call another meeting…all in an effort to make the problem go away.

Look Good on Paper.  One project manager formed a “team” involving all the departments who would “touch” the process.  Unfortunately, he didn’t trust them nor expect them to do any work to develop the new product.  In fact, the less others were involved, he reasoned, the better.  But it looked great on paper (and to his boss) that he had formed a team to achieve buy-in and involvement to the process.

Achieve Your Own Agenda.  A close kin to the project manager, a high-falootin’ lawyer was the president of a special commission to make some recommendations.  He said all the right buzzwords, went through the motions of building a team, but when it came right down to it, he drove that committee like a steel tent peg.  Needless to say, the commission did nothing and reported nothing of consequence.  Dilbert would have been proud.

Diffuse Blame.  A hospital uses the “team approach” to patient care.  Doctors, nurses, therapists and other caregivers assemble to agree on the care management of each patient.  So when a patient receives conflicting reports, team members shrug and point the finger at another patient care team member.

Dump the Undesirable Work.  A financial services office formed a team of the company misfits – the sick, lame and lazy – to do the work nobody else wanted to do.  Needless to say, they didn’t accomplish much.

Keep ‘Em Hungry.  A sales and service company supports the team work concept where the seasoned salespeople are supposed to train and mentor the younger sales force.  Unfortunately, all sales team members are still compensated by a dog-eat-dog commission system where the old timers eat their young.  There is no incentive to work like a team.  And they certainly don’t act like a team.  But I just love the “Team Work” picture hanging next to the company mission statement.

It’s a Party!  A manufacturing plant changes shifts every eight hours.  The process is pretty simple: the offgoing watch briefs the ongoing watch.  The ongoing watch relieves the offgoing watch.  Total Elapsed Time: 5 minutes.  However, during the 8am shift change, a gazillion people attend.  Not only do they change the shift, but others are invited “just in case” some problem needs to be solved, or the plant manager needs to have an immediate answer to some off-the-wall question.  Total Elapsed Time:  Anywhere from one to three hours.

Use teams where they make sense.

Question:  Do you see yourself or your teams in any of these situations?

To book Kristin to speak or view her products go to www.ExtraordinaryTeam.com