Carillon Technologies Limited How to Ensure a Successful Team and Team Meeting

What Happens in Small Teams

Stages of a small team:

Forming

• The excitement and fear of being in a new team.

Storming

• The difficulty and fear of drowning.
• The impatience about lack of progress.
• Panic is a reality.

Norming

• Acceptance of team ground rules.
• Understanding of team norms.
• Dealing with individuals' interests.
• Focusing on processes, not people.

Performing

• Satisfaction with progress.
• The team is now productive and cohesive.

Small Team Cycles

Every team goes through cycles of good times and bad times. The duration of these highs and lows will vary for each team, depending on how quickly they progress, work through obstacles or problems, and so forth. Team members should know that such cycles are normal and do not indicate whether the team will ultimately be successful.

Why small team communication is better.

• Generally better decisions are made.
• More ideas are generated.
• Use groups when accurate, solid decisions are necessary, but time is not critical.
• When dealing with an emergency, forming a group is probably not possible or desirable.

Team Member Responsibilities

The Team Leader

• Is the contact point for communication between the team and the rest of the organization.
• Is the official keeper of the team records. (unless delegated to the Team Secretary)
• Provides direction, guidance and focus.
• Resolves differences.
• Retains authority as a manager or supervisor.

Team Members

• The team project is part of their real job.
• Participate fully - Exchange knowledge, provide mutual trust and show responsibility and dedication.
• Carry out assignments between meetings.

Conditions for Conducting Successful Meetings:

• Have an agenda and send it to each member before the meeting.
• The agenda should include:

  *Starting Time

  *Ending Time

  *Location

  *Items to be covered or actions to be taken

• Be/have a facilitator.
• Allow time for task, maintenance and team building activities.
• Establish decision rules.
• Take minutes, aasign a Scribe.
• Draft next agenda.
• Evaluate the meeting.
• Adhere to the "100-mile rule"
• Follow-up

*Assign tasks at the meeting

*Send out minutes

*Follow-up on the decisions made

 

The following form Team Meeting Record is an example for the team's first meeting

You can view or download the three Team Meeting Records pages below.

	Team Meeting Record Front Page		Team Meeting Record Front Page.pdf
	Team Meeting Record Back Page		Team Meeting Record Back Page.pdf
	Team Meeting Evaluation Page		Team Meeting Evaluation Page.pdf

Group Function

Every meeting should involve three simultaneous operations:

	Task Functions:	Work stated on the agenda, issues, problems and decisions
	Maintenance Functions:	Attending to the team member's needs and purposes to keep the group in working order
	Team Building:	The team's capacity to face future issues successfully

What an individual brings to the team:

Personal worries:

• Will I fit in?
• Present image and/or
• Ability to contribute
• Who will have the most influence?
• Will I get along with the team?
• Team member relationships
• Identity with group/organization
• Personal knowledge/ skills
• Special interests

Remember: People belong to groups for reasons beyond the task at hand

Leader:

• Power
• Pride in the task
• Authority, Status

Members:

• Feeling of belonging
• Prestige
• Information and Gossip
• Break in the routine

Why Meetings Fail

• Negative reaction to the agenda
• Conflict within the group
• Lack of communication skills
• Apathy
• Fear of decision making

Dealing with Dysfunctional Behavior

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