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AFH 1 · Chapter 14 · Section 14.1

Team Building

Part of Developing Others · 4 sections · ~1153 words · WAPS PFE study material

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Team Building — Foundation and Healthy Teams

Dynamic Defined

Dynamic Definition
Dynamic is a way of describing elements of a process or system; it is a term used to recognize constant change, activity, or progress.
Dynamic as Force
Dynamic can also be used to describe a force that stimulates change or progress.

Airmen Must Know Each Other

Airmen Must Know
As Airmen, we must know and understand:
  • Our leaders
  • Peers
  • Subordinates

Team Approaches

Team Building Approaches
In team environments, we must know the right approaches to:
  • Building effective teams
  • Cultivating a healthy, dynamic team spirit

Team Spirit Influence

Spirit Influences Development
The spirit in which a team operates will influence every stage of team development and can ultimately determine whether goals are met.

Healthy Teams Foundation

Healthy Team Foundation
Healthy teams are high performing teams that most often have a foundation of:
  • Trust
  • Communication
  • Cooperation

Trust at the Core

Trust at Core
While each is essential in building a healthy team spirit, trust is at the core of all healthy team interaction.

Comfort and Confidence

Members Comfort + Confidence
Team members must feel comfortable with, and confident in, one another to be able to fully participate.

Positive Behavior

Positive Group Behavior
Positive group member behavior is essential for a team to accomplish its goals.

Time to Form Bonds

Time to Form Bonds
Team members usually take some time to form strong bonds for trust, communication, and cooperation.
Stages Before High Function
There are typically stages that teams experience before rising to the level of becoming highly functional, productive teams.

Team Building — Trust

Trust Foundation

High Degree of Trust
Effective teamwork requires a high degree of trust.

What Trust Requires

What Trust Requires
Team members must:
  • Share mutual confidence in the integrity and ability of teammates
  • Feel comfortable enough to take risks, think outside the box, and share their thoughts and ideas without fear of being shut down or discounted

Hallmark of Trust

Hallmark of Trust-Based Team
Freedom to communicate openly, honestly, and directly within the group is the hallmark of a trust-based team.

Communication Skills Importance

Communication Skills Importance
Individuals must understand the importance of utilizing effective communication skills to develop the level of trust needed for the teams to grow.

Suzanne Zoglio on Trust

Zoglio Quote
*"Nothing reduces trust in a group faster than members saying one thing within the group and something else outside the group. When members are assertive enough to say what they need to say directly to the appropriate people and to refrain from talking behind each other's backs, trust is enhanced."* — Suzanne Zoglio, *Teams at Work*

Creating Trust

Creating Trust Requirements
Creating trust among team members requires:
  • Professional working relationships
  • Professional behavior
  • A desire to achieve established objectives

Dialogue Standards

Dialogue Standards
Dialogue and feedback must be exchanged between members in an open and sincere manner without fear of harsh criticism.

Member Response

Member Response
Team members should respond to one another with:
  • Receptivity to inputs
  • Information sharing

Honesty vs Brutal Honesty

Honesty vs Brutal
It's true...there's honesty and then there's brutal honesty. Feedback, critical thinking, and disagreements can be exchanged among team members without being brutally honest or offensive.

Leader Trust-Building Behaviors

Leader Trust Behaviors
Leaders can promote a trusting atmosphere by:
  • Encouraging open and honest communication
  • Empowering their teams to solve problems innovatively through a shared sense of collaboration that is free of selfish goals

Leader Focus Areas

Leader Focus Areas
Leaders should focus their efforts on:
  • Setting the right tone for developing trusting relationships
  • Communicating openly and honestly
  • Knowing and establishing a good rapport with team members
  • Discouraging cliques or divisions within the team

Lead by Example

Lead by Example
In other words, team leaders should set the example and lead by example.

Team Building — Communication

Teams Must Communicate

Teams Must Communicate
Teams must communicate. Team members need to safely assert themselves and share their ideas.

Closed Teams Lose Effectiveness

Closed Teams = Ineffective
Teams that don't allow honest, open sharing quickly lose their effectiveness.

Closed Team Consequences

Closed Team Consequences
As a result, some team members may:
  • Purposely withhold vital information
  • Disengage from the team

Closed Communication Effects

Closed Communication Effects
This may cause:
  • Confusion
  • Frustration
  • Inability to complete tasks within teams

Leader Information Sharing

Leader Information Sharing Required
While sharing information between team members is essential in producing effective, well thought out plans, leaders must be willing to share information with team members.

Information Hoarding Risk

Hoarding Creates Wrong Picture
When leaders hold on to information, they can create:
  • An inaccurate picture
  • An incomplete picture
  • A totally wrong picture of the expected outcome to team members

Information Sharing Yields Better Results

Sharing = Better Results
Information sharing yields better results.

Three Leader Communication Behaviors

3 Leader Comm Behaviors
Leaders can increase team success by:
  1. Giving members complete access to all necessary data
  2. Discouraging the discounting of ideas and feelings
  3. Encouraging the practice of active listening

Team Building — Cooperation and All-Starring

Cooperation Critical

Cooperation Critical
Cooperation is critical if teams are to combine skills and approaches to meet:
  • The challenges
  • Customer requirements
  • Mission changes

Synergistic Results

Synergistic Results
Cooperation yields synergistic results and reduces the exerted effort it takes to reach a desired outcome.

Leader Cooperation Behaviors

Leaders Encourage Cooperation
Leaders who encourage cooperation show team members that others have very important contributions to the goals of the team.

Mutual Dependence

Mutual Dependence
Team members may also come to understand how dependent they are on one another in reaching mission objectives.

Successful Teams

Successful Teams Characteristics
Successful teams have:
  • Few turf wars
  • Little competitiveness
  • An ability to forgive and forget

Cooperation Outcomes

Cooperation Breeds Pride
Cooperation breeds shared ownership for performance results, and achieving objectives increases team pride and team spirit.

Sign of Non-Cohesive Team

Non-Cohesive Sign
A sign that a team is not performing cohesively is when unhelpful competition exists among team members.

All-Starring Behavior

All-Starring Definition
This may be observed when some team members attempt to outshine others to gain extra attention or credibility.
All-Starring = Power Struggle
When a member of a team demonstrates "all-starring" behavior, they may be experiencing a power struggle.

Power-Play Reduction

Power-Play Reduction Method
To reduce power-play behavior, leaders should:
  • Reemphasize each team member's specific roles and responsibilities
  • This eliminates potential barriers to cooperation

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