Client Story:
The Client Situation:
DRI Consulting recently organized and facilitated a team-building offsite for department members of a public organization. They worked well together in many ways, but felt they had areas in which they could improve and be more effective as a team. Prior to conducting the offsite, we interviewed each member to gauge his or her experience within the team and department. We also administered work personality assessments to each person, allowing us to highlight individual strengths and areas of development. With input from each individual, we also put together a group profile, illustrating likely points of tension within the group, as well as areas where they complement one another. We then helped them to strategize ways in which they could work together in a more efficient and effective manner.
The Solution:
To help build these members into a high-performance team, we introduced four essential elements: goals, roles, process, and interpersonal relationships. First, we had the group clarify its mission, and prioritize its goals, which members linked to their business plan. Next, the group clarified its vision, aligning it with members’ actions. Second, team members shared what role they feel they play in the team and department, along with what knowledge and skills they contribute to it. Using the individual and team profiles, we connected team goals to team members’ responsibilities in order to leverage their strengths, and identify skill or resource gaps to close. Third, we focused on the process by which the team members get their work done as a group by identifying and agreeing on their common procedures. In order to deliver effective results, we emphasized the importance of starting with a clear, actionable plan, executing it, owning it and its outcome, and communicating all of these steps to invested others (i.e., stakeholders, affected organizations). Fourth, we focused on building team members’ relationships, increasing their openness to one another’s ideas and participation, and improving their sense of trust. We had them practice active listening skills, and engage in open, frank, and honest dialogue. We also emphasized the importance of encouraging each other at work, and had them map out on paper how they planned to celebrate their successes more often and share them with the “outside” world -- activities that they all agreed were important for the team’s morale.
The Outcome:
The group disbanded feeling energized with new skills and competencies to implement once back in the workplace. Members reported using the following team building skills and competencies more effectively with one another, as well as with other department employees, including their supervisees:
- goal and priority setting,
- communicating with one another more effectively,
- giving and receiving constructive feedback,
- working with different types of people,
- managing conflict,
- developing and motivating others, and
- putting plans into action (gap analysis and strategic planning).
