Building up a TEAM

1
Building up a TEAM

• for HKPA
• 22 Aug 2009
• (for internal use)

2
Highlights

• Team Building
• Motivating a Team
• Discussion

3
TEAM Building
Lets start with a game
4
Team Building Setting up
Can team members define their teams importance
to the accomplishment of goals? Do team members
perceive their service as valuable to the
organization and to their own careers?

• Setting Goals /Setting up the team
• Understanding the goals
• Setting clear expectations
• Committing to the goals

5
Team Building Running it
Do all team members understand the roles and
responsibilities of team members? Is there an
established method for the teams to give feedback
and receive honest performance feedback?

• Collaborating
• Communicating
• Coordinating
• Knowing the consequences

6
Running an effective
Motivating a
TEAM
7
Motivating a team
Begin with a common goal / vision. How do you
achieve it? Communicate to the team with your
plan. Motivate the team to achieve the vision.

• Understand direct report expectations
• Delegate
• Guide others to discover solutions
• Set a group agenda
• Foster group norms and a team culture
• Manage a network of relationships
• Evaluate performance based on results
• Build an environment of mutual trust

8
What you will learn

• How can you move a conversation forward when
  people keep repeating their opinions?
• What's the benefit to being more open to other
  points of view?
• How can you better capitalise on the cumulative
  best thinking of your top talent?
• How can you have conversations that lead to
  better business decisions?

9
Case Study

• Effective Business Communication
• Handling conflicts
• Group work

Ref from Harvard Business School Case Study
10
Case Study - Exercise
Handout Exercise

• How well do you distinguish between fact (????)
  and inference (?? )?
• How well do you understand the thought processes
  you go through to reach your conclusions?
• How can you make statements and ask questions in
  such a way as to illicit more useful information?

11
Effective Communication

• RICHLisa, do you have a minute?LISAI'm on my
  way to a meeting, but go ahead.RICHI need to
  talk marketing plans. I'm working on the TopLine
  business plan and decided to bump up prices a
  bit. I want to hit the new year with a big ad
  campaign. The glossy brochure, some high-end
  magazine ads...LISAWait a minute. Did you say
  raise prices?RICHOn select items, like our
  specialty cameras. This market isn't price
  sensitive. It'll create some immediate revenues,
  which we need to hit our targets.

12
Effective Communication
LISAI'm not sure we should raise prices. Our
best bet is to come in low, undercut the
competition, and bring in new customers...RICHB
ut then we'd lose the chance to boost revenues.
Listen, these people are sophisticated and
looking for quality. They won't notice if the
prices are lower or higher. We did this at my
last company, and the revenues went straight to
the bottom line.LISAI don't know, Rich. We'll
need a lot of new customers to achieve the kind
of growth this company needs.
13
Understanding our conclusions

• Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
  knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
  successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
  would you say next?

14
Understanding our conclusions
Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?

•   A. Lisa is a valuable resource. Rich can't
  afford to brush her off. He should ask, "How will
  lower prices bring in more of these customers? It
  could just make them doubt the product's
  quality."  B. Lisa needs to be reassured that
  Rich is basing his idea on solid experience. He
  should remind her, "I've got twelve years of
  experience with this premium market. I've seen
  for myself that these consumers aren't picky
  about price."  C. Lisa may not be clear about
  what Rich is talking about. He should say, "I get
  the feeling we're not on the same page here."

15

• RICHHow will lower prices bring in more of
  these customers? It could just make them doubt
  the product's quality.LISANot necessarily. It
  depends on how you go about it.RICHLook Lisa,
  I value your expertise, but I'm under a lot of
  pressure to hit my growth targets...LISABut we
  have a great opportunity with these new products
  to achieve the kind of growth MP needs. And we
  can't do that without cutting prices and bringing
  in more customers. I'm late for a meeting. Can we
  talk more about this afterward?

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
16

• LISAI don't know about Rich.ARNOLDWhat do
  you mean?LISAHe's dead-set against lowering
  any prices.
• ARNOLDIt's a good way to get into new markets.
  Marketing 101.LISAI know. I told
  him.ARNOLDThey always bring in these hotshots
  who're supposed to know what to do better than we
  do. But they usually don't.LISAWell, I suppose
  he does represent a point of view, which is part
  of our corporate strategy.ARNOLDYeah, the new,
  narrow "niche" point of view.

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
17

• RICHSo what's the deal with Lisa?PAMWhat do
  you mean?RICHShe and I don't seem to agree on
  a TopLine pricing strategy. She sure is
  stubborn.PAMShe can be pretty passionate about
  her ideas. But she often has good ones. I worked
  with her last year on a project, and things went
  pretty well.RICHTo be frank, I'm not sure she
  knows a lot about the high-end market. I've
  worked with these customers for years. Hey, I'm a
  customer myself! I use our cameras. She's
  probably never even touched one of them.PAMI
  don't know, Rich. She's got a lot of marketing
  experience.RICHAnd I've got the product
  experience. I know I'm right on this
  one.PAMWell, maybe you are. And maybe you
  aren't. But you can't afford to be wrong. I'd
  talk to her again and try to see what you might
  be missing. After all, Rich, you two are after
  the same thing big revenues for TopLine and MP.

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
18

• LISAToo long. So about the pricing
  strategy...RICHI'm not sure we're talking
  about the same thing. We both agree we've got to
  achieve major growth...LISAAbsolutely.RICHBu
  t we have different ideas on how to get
  there.LISARight. I think that to get the most
  from this product line, we have to think big. We
  need to find ways to bring in more
  customers.RICHWe always want more customers.
  But this is a niche market. It's small. So we
  also need to find ways to get more money out of
  that group.LISAThat's my point. The niche
  market is too small. We need to expand into a
  larger market.

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
19
RICHWait a minute. Are we talking about the same
market? I thought you meant get a bigger share of
the niche market. But it sounds like you're
talking about going after other customer
segments. LISARight. I want to move into the
mass market.RICHThe mass market! Not with this
product! It's totally high-end.LISAIt doesn't
have to be! I agree that lowering prices wouldn't
attract a lot more of the premium folks. But we
can get the best numbers by appealing to the mass
market. I have experience with this type of
campaign. It's worked well for MP before. It's
easy. All we do is add the product to our
catalogs and web site.
Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
20
RICHBut the whole strategy now is high-end
specialty products and special market treatment.
The last market research survey showed we can
easily make more money from this market.
Customers said they were willing to spend more on
new features and accessories, and they weren't
sensitive to price increases. This worked at my
last company.LISAThat was a different company.
Everything they did there was niche.RICHJust
because it was a different company doesn't mean
the numbers don't add up here. Why can't you
think outside the MP box for a
minute?LISAMaybe you need to think outside
your box.
Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
21
Action 1 Cont

• Rich, where's that plan I asked for? I expected
  it on my desk today. We need to step up the pace
  on this. I saw you meeting with Lisa in
  Marketing. That's good. You'll need to work
  closely with her to successfully implement your
  marketing plan. I know you worked miracles at
  your last company. That's why I hired you. So you
  could do the same here. No pressure! Mike
  Michael Mendes, Vice President, Specialty
  ProductsMoulton Pyre. Making your outdoor life
  special.

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
22
Question 2

• Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
  business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
  over what market to aim for. If you were in
  Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
  of the choices below.

23
Question 2
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• A. Give Lisa specific examples and concrete
  data showing how he successfully worked the
  high-end market in his past job.  B. Ask Lisa
  to provide him with more detail on her mass
  marketing plan.  C. Ask the Market Research
  group, a neutral party, to send Lisa the recent
  survey data on his market.

24
Act 1 Question 2 - Selecting B
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• Voicemail from Rich to LisaLisa. Rich here.
  The pressure's on to finish up the business plan.
  But I want to take a little time to think through
  what we've been talking about.You know, I've
  been thinking. We're both pushing really hard for
  our own plans. And I figure if I'm pushing my
  plan so hard because it makes sense to me, then
  you know what? You must be pushing your plan
  because it makes sense to you. Let's talk some
  more.

25
Act 1 - Conclusion
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• In Act 1, when Rich and Lisa expressed strongly
  opposing views on a pricing strategy, you advised
  Rich how to continue his dialogue with Lisa. Then
  when he was under increased pressure to complete
  his plan, you advised him what step to take next.
  

26
Discussion 1

• Continuing to counter Lisa's arguments or
  reassuring Lisa about his experience was not the
  best choice. Either approach would only continue
  the point-counterpoint nature of the discussion
  and pit Rich and Lisa against one another even
  more. Instead, it would have been best to advise
  Rich to consider the possibility that he and Lisa
  were not on the same page and that they had a
  misunderstandingrather than advising him to find
  yet another way to reinforce his
  position.Humans think very quickly. We have the
  capacity to assess a situation and come to a
  conclusion in an instant. However, because we
  arrive at our conclusions so quickly, we tend to
  see them as factual and obvious. Peter Senge
  refers to this as "Leaps of Abstraction." As a
  result, when faced with a difference of opinion,
  we tend to hurl our conclusions back and forth.
  The conversation just goes around in circles.
  Both parties continue to try to convince the
  other side that they're right, which can be
  frustrating and time-consuming for everyone
  involved. Often it's helpful to stop, summarize
  where you think each party stands on an issue,
  and check that you are indeed on the same
  page.In this case, Rich and Lisa were arguing
  about whether or not lowering prices would bring
  in "more customers." But Rich assumed that they
  were talking about bringing in more niche
  customers, while Lisa assumed that they were
  talking about bringing in more mass market
  customers. Their individual assumptions seemed
  obvious to each of themso obvious that they
  didn't even recognize they had jumped to
  different conclusions about what they were
  talking about.

Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.
27
Discussion 2

• You correctly advised Rich to ask Lisa for more
  detail on her mass marketing planto probe for
  the thinking that led to her position. Advising
  Rich to document his past success or to send
  research data from a neutral party might have
  been reasonable strategies in circumstances where
  Rich needed to reveal his own thinking to
  Lisa.But in this case, Rich needed to uncover
  Pam's thinking.Once we recognize that there is
  a difference of opinion, we have a choice. We can
  continue to defend our point of view, a practice
  Chris Argyris refers to as "defensive reasoning."
  It seems obvious that we are right, and so we
  don't attempt to reveal or test our premises,
  inferences, and conclusions. Alternatively, we
  can become curious. If our thinking seems obvious
  to us, it's likely that the other person's
  thinking seems equally logical to them. Curiosity
  allows us to recognize that the other person may
  be seeing somethingsome data, experience, or
  informationthat we're not seeing. Once we
  become curious, we can begin understanding our
  own and the other person's perspective more
  deeply. Until we open ourselves to this
  possibility, we tend to respond in unproductive
  ways to the other person's statements or
  behavior. (For example, we might be tempted to
  bring in a third party rather than dealing with
  the issue ourselves, or we might feel compelled
  to amass evidence for our position and dump it on
  the other person.)Rich needed to realize that
  just as his rationale seemed obvious to him, Lisa
  must have also felt that her thinking was equally
  obvious and logical. He needed to open himself to
  Lisa's viewpoint to break the point-counterpoint
  discussion. Then he could move forward and
  explore their thinking, including the data and
  assumptions behind that thinking.

Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.
28
Act 1 Question 2
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• A. Give Lisa specific examples and concrete
  data showing how he successfully worked the
  high-end market in his past job.  B. Ask Lisa
  to provide him with more detail on her mass
  marketing plan.  C. Ask the Market Research
  group, a neutral party, to send Lisa the recent
  survey data on his market.

29
Act 1 Question 2 - Selecting C
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• Voicemail from Lisa to RichHi Rich. It's Lisa.
  I appreciate your asking the Market Research
  group to send me that survey data. But it doesn't
  change my mind. In fact, it reinforces it.

30
Act 1 Question 2 - Selecting C
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• Voicemail from Pam to RichHi there, Rich. It's
  Pam. I got your voicemail. You sure sound
  frustrated with Lisa.Mass market? For some of
  the TopLine products? I don't know, Rich. I don't
  have enough information. Why does Lisa think it
  would work? She must have some reasons.

31
Act 1 Question 2 - Selecting C
Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
over what market to aim for. If you were in
Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
of the choices below.

• Voicemail from Rich to LisaLisa. Rich here.
  The pressure's on to finish up the business plan.
  But I want to take a little time to think through
  what we've been talking about.You know, I've
  been thinking. We're both pushing really hard for
  our own plans. And I figure if I'm pushing my
  plan so hard because it makes sense to me, then
  you know what? You must be pushing your plan
  because it makes sense to you. Let's talk some
  more.

32
Discussion

• Continuing to counter Lisa's arguments or
  reassuring Lisa about his experience was not the
  best choice. Either approach would only continue
  the point-counterpoint nature of the discussion
  and pit Rich and Lisa against one another even
  more. Instead, it would have been best to advise
  Rich to consider the possibility that he and Lisa
  were not on the same page and that they had a
  misunderstandingrather than advising him to find
  yet another way to reinforce his
  position.Humans think very quickly. We have the
  capacity to assess a situation and come to a
  conclusion in an instant. However, because we
  arrive at our conclusions so quickly, we tend to
  see them as factual and obvious. Peter Senge
  refers to this as "Leaps of Abstraction." As a
  result, when faced with a difference of opinion,
  we tend to hurl our conclusions back and forth.
  The conversation just goes around in circles.
  Both parties continue to try to convince the
  other side that they're right, which can be
  frustrating and time-consuming for everyone
  involved. Often it's helpful to stop, summarize
  where you think each party stands on an issue,
  and check that you are indeed on the same
  page.In this case, Rich and Lisa were arguing
  about whether or not lowering prices would bring
  in "more customers." But Rich assumed that they
  were talking about bringing in more niche
  customers, while Lisa assumed that they were
  talking about bringing in more mass market
  customers. Their individual assumptions seemed
  obvious to each of themso obvious that they
  didn't even recognize they had jumped to
  different conclusions about what they were
  talking about.

33
Understanding our conclusions

• Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
  knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
  successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
  would you say next?

34
Understanding our conclusions
Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?

•   A. Lisa is a valuable resource. Rich can't
  afford to brush her off. He should ask, "How will
  lower prices bring in more of these customers? It
  could just make them doubt the product's
  quality."  B. Lisa needs to be reassured that
  Rich is basing his idea on solid experience. He
  should remind her, "I've got twelve years of
  experience with this premium market. I've seen
  for myself that these consumers aren't picky
  about price."  C. Lisa may not be clear about
  what Rich is talking about. He should say, "I get
  the feeling we're not on the same page here."

35

• LISAToo long. So about the pricing
  strategy...RICHI'm not sure we're talking
  about the same thing. We both agree we've got to
  achieve major growth...LISAAbsolutely.RICHBu
  t we have different ideas on how to get
  there.LISARight. I think that to get the most
  from this product line, we have to think big. We
  need to find ways to bring in more
  customers.RICHWe always want more customers.
  But this is a niche market. It's small. So we
  also need to find ways to get more money out of
  that group.LISAThat's my point. The niche
  market is too small. We need to expand into a
  larger market.

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
36
RICHWait a minute. Are we talking about the same
market? I thought you meant get a bigger share of
the niche market. But it sounds like you're
talking about going after other customer
segments. LISARight. I want to move into the
mass market.RICHThe mass market! Not with this
product! It's totally high-end.LISAIt doesn't
have to be! I agree that lowering prices wouldn't
attract a lot more of the premium folks. But we
can get the best numbers by appealing to the mass
market. I have experience with this type of
campaign. It's worked well for MP before. It's
easy. All we do is add the product to our
catalogs and web site.
Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
37
RICHBut the whole strategy now is high-end
specialty products and special market treatment.
The last market research survey showed we can
easily make more money from this market.
Customers said they were willing to spend more on
new features and accessories, and they weren't
sensitive to price increases. This worked at my
last company.LISAThat was a different company.
Everything they did there was niche.RICHJust
because it was a different company doesn't mean
the numbers don't add up here. Why can't you
think outside the MP box for a
minute?LISAMaybe you need to think outside
your box.
Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
38
Q1 Selecting C (Email)

• Rich, where's that plan I asked for? I expected
  it on my desk today. We need to step up the pace
  on this. I saw you meeting with Lisa in
  Marketing. That's good. You'll need to work
  closely with her to successfully implement your
  marketing plan. I know you worked miracles at
  your last company. That's why I hired you. So you
  could do the same here. No pressure! Mike
  Michael Mendes, Vice President, Specialty
  ProductsMoulton Pyre. Making your outdoor life
  special.

Rich feels confident about his expertise, but he
knows he needs Lisa's help to implement his plan
successfully. If you were in Rich's place, what
would you say next?
39
Act 1 Question 2

• Rich is under pressure to move forward with his
  business plan. But he's at a standstill with Lisa
  over what market to aim for. If you were in
  Rich's place, what would you do next? Click one
  of the choices below.

40
Discussion