The Teams They are a Changin’

By Sherry Knight

Here it is 2007 and our workplace is now made up of personnel from all four generations – a first in history. Isn’t that exciting? Yes it is, unless you are possibly the one trying to make sense out of it all as you try to get people to work together and maybe, just possibly, like each other!

There is no point in examining this from the perspective of activities. There are always so many exercises that can be done to bring the team together. You can find those in books, in training sessions and in articles in human resource magazines.

Instead, let’s take the time to look at another way to bring the team together. We know that mature employees bring wisdom to the workplace and we know that they often have a different approach to work than some of our younger workers. So, how do we get these diverse groups to work together as one for the benefit of the organization?

Let me put forth one single word that makes the difference between having good camaraderie and a dysfunctional group of people – communication. It is simple, it is old, and yet it still seems to be something that so many people don’t even consider. It is so much easier to sit passively by and then later, go and talk badly about someone, or even get aggressive because we do not agree with someone else in the organization.

Teams are groups of people that listen to each other. There seems to be a feeling around that people have to like each other and this is not the case. All we need is a group of people that can respect each other for the work that each person does because this work is of value to the organization as a whole.

So, how do we get people to communicate and listen to each other. I wish I could say that it is easy and that all you have to do is bring in a trainer, a consultant or someone else to help the group get together. This is a good start. And that is all it is – a start!

From the beginning of this article you may get the impression that I am not much for activities and this isn’t true at all. They are valuable to get the group moving in the right direction, however, they are only the appetizer. It’s the entrée that comes afterwards – the main course, that we have to focus our attention on. After the activities, we still need to get the team doing what really matters and that’s communicating. Here are the basics of getting the group to talk.

Once the activities are over, it is time to get down to the real work that is needed to build a team. Following are some of the key questions needed to be asked of the group in order to get the people understanding each other and what they want to accomplish. You might have to sit everyone down at a group meeting or you might have individual meetings and then follow up with a group meeting to address the challenges occurring.

Question 1

What do we think is impossible to do that if we could do it, it would change everything?

Question 2

By exploring some of the topics brought forward in question 1 ask: “ Which idea, when implemented will give us the greatest return on investment (ROI) regardless of time, energy or the dollars we have allocated to it?”

Question 3

What will be the current impact of this on our competition?

Question 4

Who else or what else might be impacted by this?

Question 5

How will this impact each of you?

Question 6

Now let’s look to the future and imagine we are 6 months down the road and nothing has changed. What are the implications – what will we gain or lose?

Using this last question, I have often had people rethink their response and come up with a new answer. It is always very important to thank people for their responses and to quiz the rest of the group, to see what else each person present might want to add to the conversation. Remember, often people are silent until they are individually called upon to offer insights.

Their insights and willingness to be involved are the team leader’s responsibility. It is imperative you acknowledge everyone’s input with positive reinforcement so everyone knows it is okay to look at these situations from a hypothetical view point, so all ideas can become part of the true corporate thinking.

The above information is based on communications information found in the book Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott. It is definitely worth getting the book if you would like more information about questioning techniques to pull your team together.

Now we have a team of people. We are not just asking them to be nice to each other because their mother told them to. We are asking them to collaborate, to make our organization a better place to work and perhaps, even a better place for our clients.

They are focusing on what is passionate to them and now they have a desire to do what they know can make a difference. And this is what our younger generation wants, to make a difference! When we allow everyone to participate in the evolution of our company, department, family, etc., we can see people become true teams.

References:

Scott, S. (2003). Fierce Conversations. Berkley Publishing Group: New York, NY, USA.

Sherry Knight, author, coach, media personality, speaker and trainer can be reached at www.dimension11.com.