Chapter 2 Communicating in Groups and Teams

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Chapter 2Communicating in Groupsand Teams
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Why form groupsand teams?

• Better decisions
• Faster response
• Increased productivity
• Greater buy-in
• Less resistance to change
• Improved employee morale
• Reduced risks

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Four Phases of Team Development
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Characteristics of Successful Teams

• Small size, diverse makeup
• Agreement on purpose
• Agreement on procedures
• Ability to deal with conflict
• Use of good communication techniques
• Ability to collaborate rather than compete
• Shared leadership

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Methods for Reaching Group Decisions

• Majority
• Consensus
• Minority
• Averaging
• Authority rule with discussion

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Common Conflict Response Patterns

• Avoidance/withdrawal
• Accommodation/smoothing
• Compromise
• Competition/forcing
• Collaboration/problem-solving

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Six-Step Procedure for Dealing With Conflict

1. Listen.
2. Understand the other point of view.
3. Show concern for the relationship.
4. Look for common ground.
5. Invent new problem-solving options.
6. Reach a fair agreement.

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Strategies for Effective Conflict Resolution

• Clear the air.
• If youre on a team with someone who
  seemsconsistently irritated with you, ask for a
  private meeting.
• Solicit feedback listen without interrupting and
  with an open mind.
• Request permission to respond with equal openness.

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Planning and Participatingin Meetings

• Before the meeting
• Consider alternatives. Is a meeting necessary?
• Invite the right people. Include . . .
• those who have information.
• those who can make decisions.
• those who must implement decisions.
• Distribute an agenda.

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Planning and Participatingin Meetings

• During the Meeting
• Start on time and introduce the agenda.
• Appoint a secretary and a recorder.
• Encourage balanced participation.
• Confront conflict frankly.
• Summarize points of consensus along the way.

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Planning and Participatingin Meetings

• Ending the Meeting and Following Up
• Review meeting decisions.
• Distribute minutes of meeting.
• Remind people of action items.

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Collaboration Technology Facilitates Meetings

• Audioconferencing (teleconferencing)
• Videoconferencing
• Desktop conferencing
• Media conferencing
• Internet relay chat
• Webcasting

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Collaboration Technology Facilitates Project
Meetings

• Software programs help managers
• Identify project phases
• Clarify goals
• Establish deadlines
• Anticipate obstacles

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Collaboration Technology Facilitates Decision
Support

• Digital dashboards help managers
• Gather more data in shorter time
• Crunch information in near real-time
• Analyze information easily and quickly
• Forecast business performance
• Explain shifts in performance
• Make informed decisions

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The real art of conversation is not only to say
the right thing in the right place, but to leave
unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment. Dorothy Nevill