Leadership and facilitation roles - TAFE NSW€¦ · Web viewSome people may think that the word...

Develop skills to become an effective team leader

TITLE: Unit 06 Leadership and facilitation roles

Overview 3

What makes a good leader? 4Leadership styles 4

Identifying problem roles and negative leadership 7

What matters—team or task? 9Task orientation and maintenance orientation 9

Goals, planning, time management 11Priorities and time management 12

Consultation skills 13

Managing conflict 15Avoiding a conflict crisis 16

Collaborative problem-solving 18

Mentoring and coaching 18

Self-managed teams 19

Evaluating and reflecting on team progress 20Points to consider 20

Feedback methods 21

Summary 23

Team participation skills 1

Overview

This topic is designed to introduce you to the skills and knowledge you need to become an effective leader and facilitator.

Inside this topic

As you work through this topic you will look at:

what makes a leader/facilitator

leadership styles

considering the people and the task

goals, planning, time management

consultation

acknowledging team members’ contributions

resolving conflict

collaborative problem-solving

mentoring and coaching

evaluating and reflecting on team progress.

2 Team participation skills

What makes a good leader?

Some people may think that the word ‘javascript:void(0);leader’ suggests someone who leads the team by telling them what to do. The ideal leader is someone who encourages the team members to:

function autonomously and democratically as adults.

share responsibilities with those who are best at doing the tasks.

helps others to come up with answers

take on leadership roles.

The characteristics of successful leader/facilitators include:

drive

honesty, self confidence

creativity

flexibility

knowledge of the business

cognitive ability.

The most important characteristic seems to be the desire to lead. A successful team relies on the leader/facilitator having good interpersonal skills.

Leadership stylesWhat leadership/facilitator styles does your organisation seem to promote? Leadership/facilitator styles have an important influence on teamwork within the organisation.

The type of team you have will influence the leadership/facilitator style, just as the leader/facilitator style can influence the type of team you have.

The role the manager or leader/facilitator takes on will depend on the task, as well as the level of skills and experience of the team members. In a new organisational structure with well-trained and enthusiastic team members, problems will occur if the person is leading in a supervisory manner and not giving team members any autonomy. They will be frustrated and the organisation will not make use of all their talents.


There are three leadership styles in the workplace.

Supervisor

Facilitator

Team leader/facilitator

Different leadership styles are useful for different types of work place activity. The members of the teams will behave differently because of the different style of leadership.

Examine the team leading chart below. It shows that leadership style is not fixed. You can change your behaviour to become a team leader or facilitator to suit the tasks and the team members.

Figure 1: Team leading

People in a team can contribute leadership skills in many ways. The more variety in the roles people play, the richer the team. The chart below identifies some of these roles within a team.

Table 1: Team roles


Role Behaviour

Initiator Suggests tasks and ideas, defines the issues with suggestions

Helper Offers help in response to problems

Motivator Likes to get things done and encourage others

Observer Watches the others

Doubting Thomas Doesn’t think any ideas will work

Clarifier Makes sure everyone understands the issue

Influencer Can convince others

Surpriser Always comes up with new ideas

Summariser Pulls ideas together, makes decisions, suggestions

Mediator Tries to keep harmony, conciliates, offers compromise solutions

Gate keeper Helps other to take part, keeping communication channels open

Follower Accepts others’ ideas, can be an interested listener and positive team member

Activity 1: Your teams

Think about the teams you have participated in. This team might be work-based but could also be a social or community team.

Explain below how you have acted in at least three of these roles as a member of a team. An example is given to show you.

1 As a member of the P & C Committee at my children’s school, I often act as a clarifier. I often think that some of the teachers don’t really understand parents’ concerns so I try to talk to them in ways that I think they will understand. I guess that I am also a mediator at these meetings as I try to help sort out any conflict that comes up by finding common ground between two different points of view.

Role 1:

Role 2:

Role 3:


Comment

Each person’s experience as a team member is individual. It is important to reflect on how you contribute (or don’t contribute!) to the teams that you belong to. There will always be different personalities in a team and some will contribute more than others.

Help and encourage each member to contribute as much to the team as they can. You can help to lead or facilitate your team’s goals by taking positive roles yourself.

Identifying problem roles and negative leadershipThese are some roles that make working in teams difficult. These roles may be used to influence the team in a negative way.

Figure 2

Activity 2: Team roles

What names would you give to each of these roles?


In the following table, draw lines to connect the comments with the correct role.

Did you hear the joke about? Criticiser

That’s stupid. Can’t anyone come up with a decent idea?

Joker

This is so boring! How much longer will it take before I can escape?

Timeserver

I don’t know what you think this meeting will achieve!

Distractor

Did you hear about Julie? She’s going to Surfer’s Paradise for a week.

Negator

Comment

Did you hear the joke about? Joker

That’s stupid. Can’t anyone come up with a decent idea?

Criticiser

This is so boring! How much longer will it take before I can escape?

Timeserver

I don’t know what you think this meeting will achieve!

Negator

Did you hear about Julie? She’s going to Surfer’s Paradise for a week.

Distractor

As a leader of such a team, or a fellow group member, you would need to consider what action you would take to help the meeting be successful.


What matters—team or task?

Part of ensuring the success of a team depends on the team leader’s ability to assess the strengths of each team member. Task-oriented people focus on getting the job done while maintenance-oriented people focus on keeping the group together

When leaders/facilitators are co-ordinating the work in a team, they need to think about which members are task-oriented and which are javascript:void(0);maintenance-oriented. Both types of behaviour are important in a team.

Task orientation and maintenance orientationIn a team we all assume various roles according to:

our own personalities

the task

the behaviour and interests of the others in the team.

Some of us like teams because they are a useful and efficient way of getting the task done while others like the interaction between the people in a team. Look at the table below. Think back to your answers to Activity 17.

Consider how you contribute to the team in terms of tasks or team maintenance. The table below gives examples of both task and maintenance roles.

Role Behaviour Task or maintenance?

Initiator Suggests tasks and ideas, defines the issues with suggestions

Task

Helper Offers help in response to problems Task

Motivator Likes to get things done and encourage others

Task and maintenance

Observer Watches the others Maintenance


Doubting Thomas Doesn’t think any ideas will work Task

Clarifier Makes sure everyone understands the issue Maintenance

Influencer Can convince others Task

Surpriser Always comes up with new ideas Task

Summariser Pulls ideas together, makes decisions, suggestions

Task

Mediator Tries to keep harmony, conciliates, offers compromise solutions


Gate keeper Helps other to take part, keeping communication channels open

Maintenance

Follower Accepts others’ ideas, can be an interested listener and positive team member


An effective team leader/facilitator will get to know the team members and allocate tasks to them with their orientation and strengths in mind.

An ideal team will survive and produce good results if it has a mix of task-and maintenance-oriented members.


Goals, planning, time management

Every project has a goal and a time limit. It’s a good idea to start by looking at the ‘big picture’, then breaking it down into tasks and allocating these to the most appropriate people.

Activity 3: Task priorities

Look at the list of tasks below. Put in numbers to indicate the order in which you think the tasks should be done.

Order Tasks

Allocate tasks

Set a main goal

Hold regular meetings

Create a schedule

Get team members to report on their progress

Set a timeline

Set some standards

Monitor progress

Keep the team informed about what’s happening

Keep a record of what’s happening

Break the main goal into tasks

Keep the team motivated

Comment

See if you have put the following order in your answer as this would help your team to achieve its goals.

Think about the reasons for this order.


1 Set a main goal

2 Set a timeline

3 Break the main goal into tasks

4 Allocate tasks

5 Set some standards

6 Create a schedule

7 Hold regular meetings

8 Monitor progress

9 Get team members to report on their progress

10 Keep a record of what’s happening

11 Keep the team informed about what’s happening

12 Keep the team motivated

You could undertake tasks on the list in a slightly different order, but to complete any project, the team leader/facilitator needs to:

set goals break them down into tasks work out which team members will do the tasks.

It is the team members’ responsibility to offer each other cooperation and support so they can complete their tasks. The role of the team leader or facilitator involves reviewing and prioritising the tasks to keep the project on track.

Priorities and time managementOnce you have decided on the goals of the team, establishing priorities is the next task. The leader/facilitator, in consultation with the team, must decide which jobs deserve the most attention and the order in which the team will handle them.

Coupled with this is the consideration of time management. When is the best time for the meeting to take place? What is the best day? Where is the best place?

Plan - Do - Check - Act (PDCA)

Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) is a quality-planning tool. It can be a useful method of solving problems and making decisions in a team. This method helps to keep the team on track by following an established plan.


The initial planning is the most important step. At each step you must check on the progress before the final action.

The following diagram shows how these four steps work as parts of a continuous process.

Figure 3

Keeping a team on track means having a plan. However, to keep a team on side also means knowing about using effective interpersonal skills, encouraging assertiveness and active listening.

Consultation skillsConsulting all the members of a team is important if you wish to make a decision that all members are prepared to follow. It also makes the best use of the talents of all members—one of the main reasons we form teams.

There are many ways you can consult with other people in small groups or teams.

Remember that consultation isn’t just a matter of saying ‘Are you OK?’ It requires agreement and commitment. A leader may need to use a variety of problem- solving tools to encourage their team to work harmoniously.


Acknowledging team members’ contributions

If you are an experienced team leader/facilitator, you will realise that team members like to feel appreciated. Sincere praise and encouragement from the team members, as well as the leader/facilitator, will help the team members to encourage each other.

You must consider the personal needs as well as the needs of the organisation. The leader or facilitator’s role is to ensure that support and encouragement are given, whether they come from the leader/facilitator or the other members.

Every contribution should be acknowledged, even if it can’t be used this time. One useful method is to set up a whiteboard and note on it any ideas not used. They can be referred to later. This encourages all team members to participate.


Managing conflict

Conflict comes from a breakdown of interaction between people. If we want to deal with the conflict, we have to look at what causes the breakdown.

Conflict in our lives comes from our differences in attitudes, values and beliefs.

What influences these attitudes, values and beliefs? These are some areas where differences in attitudes can lead to misunderstandings, which in turn can lead to conflict. Look at the examples made in the statements below:

Family

He’s our kind of person.

Culture

They won’t even let her go out unless she’s with her brother or father.

Friends

Why don’t you go out with him? He’s cute.

Media

It must be true. I saw it on the 6.30 Report.

Education

She didn’t even finish Year 12. She must be stupid.

Books

Have you read about how they live in…?

Era/ age

You’re out of touch. No-one worries about that these days.

Climate or geography

I know about these Mediterranean types.

Gender

All men are selfish. Women can’t operate machines.

Economy

She doesn’t even own a pair of ABC joggers.

Community

They won’t fit into our group.

Location

Did you know they come from that suburb?

Our judgments and attitudes are based on a mixture of influences. Only an understanding of these influences can overcome the limiting judgments we often make. This can help us to avoid the causes of conflict. Our differing needs are another important source of conflict.


http://online.oten.edu.au/acc/lo/2002_324_006_ot/

Avoiding a conflict crisisConflict can occur at different levels. If you recognise the signs of conflict at each stage or level, it is possible to do something about it before things get worse. Study the stages in the diagram and try to relate them to a conflict you have experienced.

Figure 4

If you want to learn more about managing conflict, contact the Conflict Resolution Network, PO Box 1016 Chatswood, NSW 2057 or look at their website on http://www.crnhq.org

Using interpersonal skills to manage a conflict

Managing a conflict successfully requires a broad range of interpersonal skills, such as:

active listening

being assertive

having healthy self-esteem

understanding non-verbal communication (your own as well as others)

being able to interpret signals

having good questioning skills (both open and closed)

showing respect for others.


http://www.crnhq.org/

All these will all contribute to positive outcomes from conflict situations.

Strategies

The following strategies will help you manage conflict:

Know your goals and your ‘bottom line’.

Build on common agreement.

Be assertive, not aggressive.

Learn the other person’s view and feelings.

Use reflective (active) listening to discover the real issues.

Ask open questions.

Avoid the disagreement spiral where one incident just leads to a bigger and a bigger one.

Be honest when you make mistakes or feel uncertain (this may well be the most difficult).

Activity 4: Steps for managing conflict

Conflict usually involves people getting emotional. Having a plan is essential for solving conflict. It helps defuse the emotions and helps you to focus on the actions and not the person.

The steps for managing conflict are listed below. Number them in the order in which you would carry them out.

Order Steps for managing conflict

Plan how you will deal with it

Acknowledge your emotions

Use an effective close

Follow up the outcomes

Identify the problem

Communicate effectively

Comment

Using the following steps in the order shown will help you to manage the conflict.


Steps for managing conflict

1 Acknowledge your emotions.

2 Identify the problem.

3 Plan how you will deal with it.

4 Communicate effectively.

5 Use an effective close.

6 Follow up the outcomes.

The skills you need to resolve a conflict are all interpersonal skills for communicating successfully. If you are not sure that you have completely understood this topic, go back and revise Interpersonal skills for successful communicators earlier in this module.

Collaborative problem-solvingA collaborative problem-solving javascript:void(0);approach assumes both sides will cooperate to produce a solution satisfactory to all. This is often called a win-winjavascript:void(0); approach.

If you adopt this approach, you are more likely to have long-term solutions and commitment to the solutions. However, it is a time-consuming process and it assumes both parties have negotiation skills and a desire to reach a solution.

Mentoring and coachingWhat is the difference between a coach and a mentor? A coach is a person who can tutor or train their team members to develop the skills and knowledge the organisation needs.

javascript:void(0);A mentor helps a new or inexperienced team member by supporting them with advice and by demonstrating the way things should be done. A mentor is a role model. They will advise team members about workshops or training that may be coming up.

Mentoring and coaching are collaborative approaches to leadership/facilitation. They use the concept of leading by support and example, rather than directing staff.


Self-managed teamsSelf-managed teams are those which are either completely autonomous or semi autonomous with a high level of control over their work. They allocate tasks, decide on time frames and usually take turns in leadership/facilitation. They choose the person to lead according to the task.

Self-managed teams encourage decision-making and achieving results by letting everyone have an equal say.

Old style organisations rely on a leader/facilitator who is the manager. New style organisations rely on a leader/facilitator who is the coach, facilitator and teacher.

Look at the chart below for a comparison of old-style managers and new-style leaders.

Old style managers New style leader/facilitators

Assign tasks Let team members take responsibility for their own work.

Direct the team members Let team members monitor their own performance.

Control the individuals in the team Allow team members to alter their performance strategies as needed to solve problems and adapt to change.




Evaluating and reflecting on team progress

Your team has finished the project. Which of these views is your?

Figure 5

A project isn’t always finished with a presentation to the public or even when the main goal seems to be achieved. As the leader/facilitator or a team member, you must ask what has the team learnt from the task and how this knowledge can be used next time.

Points to considerDuring the project, there are several points to consider.

Will the team work together again?

If so, what would they do differently?

Is everyone on the team satisfied with the progress or the results?


Are the stakeholders satisfied?

What can we learn from working on the project?

Should we be doing something differently?

All projects require feedback. In this way, the leader/facilitator will be able to learn from the experience and think about how this team or another one will approach new projects. The feedback process is also important as it allows all team members to have input.

Feedback methodsListed below are methods you can use as a leader/facilitator to assess how successful your team has been.

Use a questionnaire of team members.

Use a questionnaire for other stakeholders, customers or clients.

Form a focus group, including outside experts, to review the progress.

Video a meeting to assess how effective it is and whether participation is wholehearted.

Use auditors. If your project is budgeted you might use accounting auditors. If it has a safety or health component, you might bring in an auditor from WorkCover or Worksafe Australia.

Reflect: keep a personal record of the qualitative results (numbers) as well as quantitative ones. Record how you and others are feeling about the project.

Use pilot groups and summarise findings as you work through the project and at the end.

At the beginning of a new project, discuss with the team how to evaluate the project at the end, suggesting these methods.


Activity 5: Feedback methods

Which of the above methods would you use to assess the following team projects?

1 Project to find new uniforms for a work place netball team.

2 Introduce new induction program to organisation.

3 Introduce training program for new software.

4 New safety policy for organisation.

Comment1 Use a questionnaire.

2 Use a questionnaire/Use a questionnaire for other stakeholders/Use pilot groups/Form a focus group.

3 Use a questionnaire/Reflect.

4 Use auditors/Form a focus group/Use pilot groups.

Almost any of the methods listed could be used to evaluate a project. The key to improving team results is to continually reassess and reflect on what you can learn from the stakeholders, including yourself.

From the feedback, the leader/facilitator can provide direction for further team projects, whether using this team or transferring to another team.


Summary

In this topic you have learnt about becoming an effective leader and facilitator. This involved looking at:

leadership styles

considering the people and the task

goals, planning, time management

consultation

acknowledging team members’ contributions

resolving conflict

collaborative problem-solving

mentoring and coaching

evaluating and reflecting on team progress.


Leadership and facilitation roles - TAFE NSW€¦ · Web viewSome people may think that the word...

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