Team Training

I've been researching articles on team training, how teams work and what resources there are on creating a more dynamic work environment and am looking at various types of teams. Below is an interesting look at Team Dynamics (more of a how to guide) from Dropzone.com. Here is the link:

http://www.dropzone.com/safety/articles/TeamDynamics.shtml


Team Meetings By Jack Jefferies



Communication seems to be the key to making interpersonal relationships work. A team is very much an interpersonal relationship with a lot of potential pitfalls. It is common for people on a team to try to bury problems due to a desire to not create a scene. This can be very destructive because the issues do not get resolved. Instead, they lie buried and slowly build into something that is blown out of proportion. It is important to safeguard the team from this by setting up a system of routine meetings where people have a chance to discuss potential problems.

These meetings should be routine and held regardless of whether or not there is a problem. You do not want to create an environment where people shudder with apprehension every time a meeting is called. They should be pre-scheduled and if there are no problems then only good things are talked about and everyone leaves happy.

I believe there should be two separate kinds of meetings. One should be a meeting where any personal problems are brought out in the open. Here each individual should have an uninterrupted chance to speak freely. It might help this process if there is some sort of object that is held by whoever is speaking and it is understood that nobody may speak unless they are holding this object (“pass the rock meeting”). It is best if the speaker starts out with things that he likes about the teammates before he starts into the problems. This will help keep the problem being discussed in perspective.

Another kind of meeting that must be regularly held are business meetings. It will help keep the team focused on skydiving if everyone is clear on how and when the different business aspects of the team will be dealt with. This should deal with everything from money to scheduling to deciding who is responsible for what tasks and when they will be accomplished.

A closure meeting held at the end of each day is also important. Here the team can recognize the day’s accomplishments, discuss future plans and events, and bring up potential problems that need to be avoided. It is a good time to review the day’s goals and discuss what was and was not achieved and why. It is a good thing to officially close the day. This will prevent any confusion about when the day is actually over and you can relax. The meeting should be brief and concise to avoid dragging out the day. It should also end with a positive note regardless of how the day went.