Order Instructions
In our final week of the course, our focus turns to types of groups, group dynamics, and building team performance. We will evaluate the five stages of group development and different methods for group decision making. Building upon the foundation of earlier models, theories and concepts, we will examine the characteristics and factors that affect group formation, cohesiveness and the impact of groupthink. We will delve into the different types of teams, including virtual teams and the role of team performance in healthcare organizations. We will examine the team management wheel and common characteristics of successful teams. We will end the course with observations of how teams function and the role of members of the team. As you reflect upon the course, consider your leadership characteristics and qualities and their role in your future position in the field. Consider the relationships among the models and theories addressed in this course and how will you use this knowledge in the workplace.
Your Learning Objectives for the Week:
Assess leadership communication and its role in promoting patient satisfaction and quality care.
Analyze current barriers to change in healthcare and identify potential strategies to overcome those barriers.
Evaluate goals of healthcare organizations, to maximize leadership effectiveness in healthcare organizations.
As a team member, you are a fractional part of the whole, a part of a team. In a team-oriented organization, your expressed purpose as a team member is to contribute to the team through the delivery of your expertise. Each team member represents the functional area or department from which they come and their individual presence on the team is designed for team success. All team members must have a complement of traits, characteristics, and skills to achieve success. As a leader in healthcare, it is equally important to work well with colleagues and peers in a collaborative manner. Leaders must attempt to apply change and influence to steer others toward their vision. Team designs in organizations have determined goals, which are reflective of an organization’s values, vision, and mission. A team must be assembled to achieve a clear, specific function and work under the auspices of organizational mores and principles. Team members should be carefully selected based on technical skill set, subject matter expertise, collaborative value, or other essential traits or characteristics deemed valuable to the team’s focus. The right team composition conveys the difference between team effectiveness and success or fractional effectiveness and degrees of dysfunction. The automatic response to a functional team is synergy. Synergy is the phenomenon in which the combined action of two things is greater than the sum of their individual effects or efforts. Team success in the workplace can best be predicted by team selection. The functionality and interaction of the team and team assignments are a result of meetings. Meetings must be planned (meeting agenda) with respect to proper environment and members’ tasks. Meetings may differ with respect to purpose and, accordingly, a variety of meeting styles exist.
Team Building
Tuckman (1965) developed a model of group development to explain how groups are formed and evolved. There are four stages of development (with the fifth stage being adjournment or termination of the group):
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
There are many reasons why individuals may resist being part of a team. Some may have had negative group experiences in the past or they are afraid the team will reject their ideas. They may not trust that the other members will do their share of the work or they may feel teams are a waste of time.
People who are resistant to working in a team may agree to any idea the group suggests in order to get the project done quicker. If they see an error or think of a better idea, they will not suggest it. They withdraw by being passive and not contributing to the team. Such people usually work by themselves and keep their ideas to themselves.
As an effective team leader, what can you do to lower or eliminate an individual’s resistance to participating as a member of the team?
Encourage team-building activities that allow members to get to know each other.
Clearly communicate the goal of the group and individual responsibilities, and set realistic deadlines.
Establish norms that ensure each member the opportunity to speak openly and candidly without the threat of criticism or ridicule.
Ensure that the team, and every member, has the necessary resources to complete the assigned project.
When the team needs to resolve a conflict, it is important to strive toward a win-win situation.
Allow time for socializing either before or after team gatherings. Like team-building activities, socializing allows members to get to know each other and build trusting and loyal relationships.
Team Success
Working effectively in and as a team is a skill that can be learned and developed. Most organizations hire and reward individualistic performers. They should also start recognizing superior team participation skills and reward team players for synergic efforts. When a team works collaboratively, it has a better outcome than that which can be achieved by the best individual member of the team alone.
When judging the success of a team, cost is a factor. Team efforts take more time and resources than individual efforts. To be successful, the profit or benefit of using a team must cover the extra cost. The composition of a team is a factor in its success. Examine the requirements of the project carefully to determine who needs to be on the team, who would be good to have on the team, who may join the team only temporarily, and so on. If you can explain each individual’s membership of the team in terms of his or her abilities and experience, you may be able to win the cooperation of all members. Is there an ideal team size? Obviously, team size depends on the nature of the project. However, it has been found that effective teams tend to be smaller, not more than ten members. If a project requires larger teams, it is useful to create smaller teams within the large team for specific tasks or components of the project. How do you teach yourself to work in teams and to encourage others to work in teams? Observation is the first step. Observe your own and other people’s work habits. Try to build teams mentally. That means, in your head, put two people together on a job and imagine how they would work.
In this assignment, you will learn about team building and why it is an important skill for managers and leaders.
Identify two groups you belong to or have belonged to; the groups can be personal or work-related.
Based on your observations of how the groups function and the interactions among the groups’ members, answers to the following questions:
What was the composition of each group?
What types of groups were they?
Were the values and mission of the group apparent? How?
Were the operational objectives or mission of the group supported by the individuals? How?
What were the attitudes of individual members to being a part of a group? Were they committed and compliant? Were they resistant?
Was there a leader and was the leader effective? What made the leader effective or ineffective?
Textbook
Title: Mastering leadership: A Vital Resource for Healthcare Organizations
Author: Alan T. Belasen, Barry Eisenberg, & John W. Huppertz
Ed/Year: 1st / 2015
Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Learning
ISBN: 978-1284043235