Your experience with teams

Transcription

1 Working in teams What makes a team 2 Your experience with teams 2 What makes an effective team 3 The benefits of teamwork 3 Not valuing differences 3 Workplace harassment 4 Empathy 5 Conflict 6 Strategies 6 Resolving conflict and problems 6 1

2 What makes a team Teams can be found in different animal care workplaces. How do teams differ from groups? A group is made up of individuals who come together for a common interest, whereas a team is a group of people who come together to achieve a common goal. For example, customers waiting in a pet shop are a group. By contrast, staff working together in a pet shop to write a series of animal care brochures are a team because they have come together to achieve a common goal. Teams vary in many ways. They may: complete routine work do a specific project or task be self-managed or led by a supervisor include people with different expertise. Teams can be made up of people who tend to: be concerned about how they might appear self-focussed be concerned about the other people in the group want to get the job done task focussed. Most importantly, effective teams share goals, tasks, resources and ideas. Your experience with teams Teams have a better chance of succeeding when: management gives support members feel that everyone shares in the successes and failures members are clear about their roles and responsibilities the team leader is effective the goals of the team are clear members communicate effectively the members feel committed to the team. Think about your experiences with teams. Were all the points above present or were some missing in your team? 2

3 What makes an effective team Even if you don't belong to a team at the moment, you have probably come across teams in your education, in the workplace or in the community. What makes an effective team? You will already have some ideas about this. Below are eight qualities of effective teams. All of these revolve around the team members' ability to use effective interpersonal communication skills. In effective teams, team members: manage conflict constructively use effective interpersonal skills understand the relevance of the team and focus on the goals communicate ideas and feelings use flexible decision-making procedures participate actively and are prepared to share the leadership encourage equal power and influence when in the team involve everyone and everyone gets involved. The benefits of teamwork Some benefits for individuals are: satisfaction from sharing values support from other members better information sharing ownership of the ideas by members mentoring/training of new members. Not valuing differences There are many factors that can create barriers to effective communication in teams not valuing difference is one of those barrier. There can be many differences amongst team members. The differences can be in: age language backgrounds gender abilities 3

4 lifestyles socio-economic status family structure personal beliefs and values special needs eg people with a disability. We need to embrace this diversity and see it as providing us with learning opportunities. Workplace harassment Workplace harassment or threatening behaviour towards individual staff member/s is often focussed on personal differences. Harassment can make it difficult for effective work to be done and makes the workplace an unpleasant place to be. It is always recommended to first speak with your employer, if the harassment does not involve your employer. Explain what has been occurring for example, give examples of what the harassment is, when it has occurred and why you feel it is harassment. If there were any witnesses, perhaps have them speak to your employer with you. Your employer may opt to deal with the harassment issue themselves. If this does not meet a suitable conclusion, then you may contact the government agency that deals with harassment issues example: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Anti-discrimination Board Department of Ageing, Disability, and Home Care Workcover NSW. Legal issues Laws exist to ensure inclusive work practices all people, regardless of their culture, need to be treated equally and fairly. These laws make sure the workplace is not allowed to be a place where employees feel uncomfortable because they are being discriminated against or harassed. Under the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act of 1977, discrimination based on race, age, marital status, homosexuality, disability, transgender, pregnancy, carer s responsibilities, who you are related to or associate with, is illegal. Harassment and sexual harassment, behaviour that humiliates or intimidates, are also illegal. Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) is a legal requirement of all workplaces in NSW. This means all people must be given equal opportunity to be employed in any job despite age, sex or disabilities. For example, 4

5 women can t be denied a job because there are no women s toilets or they are pregnant. People in wheelchairs must be given access to buildings where they might work. In cases brought before the Anti-Discrimination Board, settlements include an apology, financial compensation, the job back and changes to working arrangements. There are a number of additional Acts that aim to prevent and eliminate discrimination in different ways: Sex Discrimination Act 1984 Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Racial Discrimination Act 1975 Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 Workplace Relations Act 1996 Occupation Health and Safety Act Empathy Communicating with people from different cultures and backgrounds means becoming aware of the differences in values, beliefs and attitudes that people hold. Empathy is important for overcoming barriers to communication based on culture. Empathy means sensing the feelings and attitudes of others as if we had experienced them personally. There is a common expression that describes how you can develop empathy: You need to walk a mile in another person s shoes. There are many techniques involved in creating empathy. We can try: respecting other s feelings and attitudes using active listening skills encouraging involvement of others by asking questions while respecting personal privacy using open body language and an encouraging tone of voice taking other people s fears and concerns into consideration refraining from giving advice when it is not asked for not blaming, but instead, working towards a solution. 5

6 Conflict A conflict is a disagreement or clash between ideas, principles, or people. No matter what form conflicts take, there are four things that they have in common: interdependence the people involved are dependent on each other in some way, whether they like it or not joint knowledge or awareness of the conflict for the conflict to exist both parties need to be aware it goals seem incompatible if one person gets what they want and the other person automatically does not get what they want resources appear insufficient eg not enough time, money or staff. People deal with conflict in different ways, for example some people: never give in often give in avoid conflict try to compromise try to solve the conflict. Strategies Effective communication strategies can be used to deal with conflict and workplace issues, for example: assertiveness, eg I find your behaviour offensive and objectionable empathy active listening observe body language problem solving stratgies conflict resolution strategies. It may also be an appropriate strategy to refer the problem to a supervisor. Resolving conflict and problems Aim for a win-win situation where all parties involved in the conflict are happy with the resolution. There are eight steps: 1 Define how the situation is now. 6

7 2. Define how the situation should be. 3. Explain what your needs are. 4. Invite and listen to the other person explain their needs. 5. Evaluate all the options and select a solution this is problem-solving. 6. Pick the option to use. 7. Decide on how, who, when and where. 8. Follow up check with all parties to see if the solution worked. 7