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Workplace teams learn to function as effective units when they have the tools and techniques to be greater than the sum of their parts. Now thoroughly updated and expanded, The Team-Building Tool Kit provides practical advice to guide team coaches, leaders, and members to high-performance results. Filled with bullet points to make tips and strategies quick and easy to grasp, the book covers both the structure and nitty-gritty process details that so often derail even the best teams. Readers will learn how to: have effective team meetings * improve accountability for results and team member behavior * assess team performance * resolve team conflicts * recognize the pitfalls that affect decision making * train for high performance * design a plan for implementation Featuring new sections on team accountability, decision making, and problem solving, this team-building classic is a must-have for every team library.

The Team-Building Tool Kit: Tips and Tactics for Effective Workplace Teams

Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

1 Getting Started 1

Leadership Commitment 3

Types of Teams 5

The Basics of Team Functioning 8

Assigning Team Roles 21

Key Components in High-Performance Teams 36

Causes of Team Failure 38

Teams in a Unionized Facility 39

Closing Out a Team 40

2 Let's Meet: Team Meetings 43

Typical Meeting Problems 44

Setting the Agenda 47

Meeting Roles 48

Structuring the Team Meeting 55

Facilitating Team Meetings 60

Handling Specific Team Meeting Issues 64

3 Team Behavior 73

Team Rules of Behavior 74

Team Member Behavior 79

Facilitator Behavior 83

Managing Team Conflict 86

Learning to Give and Receive Feedback 88

Conflict Resolution Protocol 90

In-House Team Conflict Mediators 93

Disciplinary Action 95

Common Issues in Group Behavior 96

Problems Experienced by Teams and Coaches 100

4 Team Accountability and Decision Making 103

Accountability: An ''I'' Experience 105

Team Decision Making 111

The Decision-Making Process 111

Consensus Decision Making 115

Consensus Guidelines 118

Best Team Decision-Making Behaviors 121

What Impairs Team Decision Making? 122

5 Team Problem-Solving Process and Tools 125

A Simple Problem-Solving Approach 127

Team Skills Required for Problem Solving 130

Gathering Ideas to Find the Problem 131

Prioritizing Ideas 134

Analyzing Ideas 135

Collecting Data 141

Developing Solution Alternatives 144

Planning Tools 146

Tips for Problem Solving 150

6 Team Scoreboards and Performance

Assessments 151

Team Measurement Systems 152

Sharing Measurement Feedback 154

Management's Role in the Feedback Process 157

Team Assessments 158

Early Assessments for the Team 163

Formal Team Assessments 166

Individual Team Member Assessments 171

Self-DirectedWork Team Evaluation Process 172

Handling Problem Evaluation Situations 175

Removing a Member from the Team 176

7 The Teaming Road Map 179

Building Dissatisfaction with the Status Quo 180

Creating a Compelling Vision 180

Creating a Design Team 181

Organizational Development/Effectiveness Manager 195

Virtual Teams 197

Individual Team Road Map 198

Notes 211

Index 215