Page 328 - Effective Communication Soft Skills Strategies For Success by Nitin Bhatnagar, Mamta Bhatnagar

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The Orienter prevents the team from wandering too far from the topic
at hand; he or she brings them back and focuses them again when they do
stray. This redirecting should not be done abruptly as in, ‘Hey, we’re way off
here; let’s get back on track’, or ‘David, you just took us off the topic again’,
because you don’t want to introduce a negative effect into the relationship
side of the equation. A useful and neutral way to intervene is with the ques-
tion, ‘Are we off topic right now?’.
The Fact Seeker tests reality to make sure the decision the team is about
to make is doable. This team member always wants more information and
is quick to point out the difference between a fact and an opinion. The Fact
Seeker is also very helpful in pointing out when a team does not have all the
information it needs to make a good decision. The Fact Seeker will suggest
that the team get more data before proceeding. He or she is also good at
checking the decision-making boundaries of the team, asking, ‘Do we have
the authority to make this decision?’.
The Initiator gets the team started on the right foot by always begin-
ning discussions with the question, ‘How should we approach this task?’.
Getting agreement on a game plan before starting to work on the task itself
is crucial to team effectiveness and is the distinguishing characteristic of
the Initiator.
When you plan the Summarizer, Orienter, Fact Seeker and Initiator
roles, you contribute to your team’s productivity by moving the task along
towards completion. Play the following relationship roles to ensure that the
team members feel valued and respected, and you will make a major contri-
bution to your team’s cohesiveness.
The Harmonizer realizes that conflict is inevitable and that if left unre-
solved, they are the biggest barrier to a team’s achieviement of health and
success. The Harmonizer calls the team’s attention to a conflict (especially
if team members have not wanted to acknowledge it), by saying some-
thing like, ‘Let’s be honest: we’ve got some strong conflicting feelings
about this issue. What steps can we take to resolve our differences?’. The
Harmonizer is also able to focus discussion on meeting-specific needs as
a way of mediating conflict. More help on mediation is given in some of
the sections which follow: When you reach an impasse, talk about needs
and Hey, no Problem.
The Analyser watches for changes in the vital signs of the team and brings
these changes to the attention of the team. The Analyser, as the team mem-
ber, is most likely to ask, ‘How is everyone feeling about how we’re working
together?’, or ‘It seems we’ve lost our energy; what is happening?’.
The Gatekeeper is concerned primarily with team communication and
participation. This member makes sure that all team members are actively
listening to each other and understanding each other’s messages. The
Gatekeeper paraphrases message to make sure that everyone is on the same

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