Page 324 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

Project Name: Manual for Soft Skills
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viii. Team member roles are defined, and effective ways to solve problems
and communicate are developed and supported by all team members.
ix. Team members know how to examine team and individual errors
and weaknesses without making personal attacks, which enables the
group to learn from its experiences.
x. Team efforts are devoted to the achievement of results, and team per-
formance is frequently evaluated to see where improvements can be
made.
xi. The team has the capacity to create new ideas through group interac-
tion and the influence of outside people. Good ideas are followed up,
and people are rewarded for innovative risk-taking.
xii. Each member of the team knows that he or she can influence the team
agenda. There is a feeling of trust and equal influence among the team
members that facilitates open and honest communication.
Part of building the winning team is having some group meetings. Meetings,
or even parties or celebrations, with as many people as possible from the
entire organization, help to build a feeling of solidarity throughout the orga-
nization. But it is also important to have everyone participate in smaller
group meetings where some work is done or some decisions are made. This
makes people feel that they aren’t just part of some big group, but that they
are an active, important part of a team. For key managers, or people in your
work group, you should have an interactive meeting once per week; not a
meeting where you just make announcements and summarize the work that
has been done and needs to be done, but a meeting where everyone has an
opportunity to give their feedback on substantive issues.

Team Destroyers

Some of the problems can rip the team-building process apart.
• Jealousy: Be on guard for jealousy. It is essential to smoothly work
out on the aspect of jealousy. Start appreciating their work and slowly
work out the differences.
• Cynicism: Some people are just negative by nature. They are to be
handled with great care.
• Lack of confidence: Some people lack confidence in themselves and
view attacks on their opinions as attacks on themselves, responding
with statements like, ‘Are you telling me my fifteen years of experi-
ence doesn’t matter?’. Stop any discussion like this immediately and,
patiently point out the defensive behaviour in a private one-to-one
meeting.

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