Purpose

If you scored lower than desired in this area you might want to examine the clarity of your organization’s mission, vision, and goals. Are these clear and, more importantly, do you see them lived out in the day to day decisions and actions of your team members. Try printing the mission statement at the top of any meeting agenda so that it can be referred to while decisions are being made. Look for every opportunity to talk about mission, vision and goals with your team. Discuss how these apply to specific job functions.

Role Clarity

If your Role Clarity score was low performance expectations are probably unclear. It is difficult to capture the potential performance of your team when this uncertainty exists. To begin, be sure that you have the basics covered - a current job description and written performance expectations. It is critical that performance expectations are defined so that the right individuals are placed in the right roles; and what needs to get done gets done! Ideally, roles are reviewed regularly as the organization’s needs shift to accommodate new market demands, changes in technology, business structure, etc. Clarifying roles should be an ongoing process.

Work Environment

If this area scored lower than desired you are probably experiencing a lack of teamwork in your organization. This could be due to many things: a lack of respect among team members; an unwillingness to cooperate; or even problems with trust. It is critical that respect is modeled within your organization. Encourage team members to focus on the uniqueness and strength of each individual. Stress how important different views and approaches are to success in a global marketplace. Understanding and appreciating behavioral differences is challenging in any work environment. The DiSC Profile has helped millions world wide discover that “different” does not equal wrong; “different” equals “different” (and we need these differences). The Discovering Diversity Profile goes beyond behavior and helps people see how they respond to diverse populations; and where they need to develop increased understanding. It is the foundation upon which authentic communication, acceptance, teamwork and successful futures can be built.

Conflict Management

If conflict is not a creative force in your team you could be missing out on its potential benefits. Conflict can never be resolved without communication. Be sure your team takes the time needed to work through disagreements, so that the potential benefits of such discussions can be realized. Not taking time to work through issues can be very costly and result in lowered quality and shattered relationships. First, team members must understand their personal conflict styles, i.e., what is their typical approach to a conflict situation and is this approach effective. The DiSC PPSS Report provides extensive information on one’s conflict style. The TEAM Approach® has developed a program entitled Conflict Magic which utilizes this behavioral information to help teams discover more effective ways of utilizing conflict to create better solutions, processes, and products.

Communication

A major challenge for most teams is communication. It is often difficult to discover why communication is not open and available to team members as needed. An organizational assessement such as this Team Check-Up can help pinpoint the issues. For best results collect the assessement data annonomously. Then, hold a Town Meeting to process the data and clarify issues and concerns. A SWOT exercise can reveal opportunities and keep your meeting focused on positive outcomes. Sometimes a 360 feedback process can get complex communication issues out on the table so that a dialogue can begin. Consider using your team ground rules as the behaviors to assess. Certainly, our natural communication approach is very connected to our behavioral style, as identified in instruments such as the DiSC Profile. Often this behavioral information is critical to the success of a 360 process when communication issues are involved. Additionally, the Personal Listening Profile teaches critical listening skills which are needed in our increasingly complex work environments.

Performance

Everyone wants to know how they are doing and if they are meeting critical targets. Unfortunately, today’s fast paced environments leave little time to discuss goals and performance standards. The real problem is that an organization will probably never hit goals that are unspoken. Managers need to clearly define performance expectations and show team members how they are doing. For example, at staff meetings make it a practice to spotlight what someone did to exceed a performance standard. Take every opportunty to highlight superior performance in every area of your organization. If you are a team leader, learn to develop a coaching role by recognizing and rewarding good team member performance. If you are a team member, do the same for everyone on the team - even the team leader. Where performance is missing the mark, use this online Performance Assessment to find out why and then take action.

Feedback

Too many employees get feedback only when a problem arises or at the dreaded annual review. A year is a long time to go without information on one’s performance. Amazingly, managers usually think they do a great job in this area. But employees often say they don’t have a clue as to how they are doing or “what” they should be doing. Basic behavior modification principles suggest that feedback is best given in a four to one ratio, i.e., four positives to one negative. So, as the saying goes, start finding ways to "catch people doing something right". Bring everyone into the process with a properly implemented 360 feedback program. This can open communication, clarify roles, build employee satisfaction, and increase performance levels. The results of such a process should be strictly developmental and used in conjunction with an Individual Development Plan. With a plan for development, everyone on the team can take responsibility for setting performance goals based on their feedback. The goals can then be shared with a mentor and other team members who can encourage, support, and provide additional feedback on these developing areas.

Team Time

Time. We all get the same amount, but we use it differently. For some it is a valuable resource to bring success, but for others... Have you ever calculated how much money your organization spends on time that could be better used? If you reduced your team’s wasted time by just five minutes every hour, your office productivity would jump 8.3 percent. Start by learning where the time goes with a time log. Design your own time log and circulate it among your team. At the end of a designated period host a fun gathering where people can recap what they learned from the experience. The Time Mastery Profile can help your team utilize this expensive asset more effectively. The built-in implementation workbook helps employees set goals in twelve critical areas that directly effect personal productivity.

Problem Solving

Solving problems is a critical team skill when power and authority are being shared by many. Unfortunately, some teams find themselves stalled in the process. Good ideas are not generated. Ideas don’t get fully implemented. Unanticipated problems interrupt the process and impede successful implementation. Team members get frustrated at the lack of progress and the poor definition of roles. Nobody knows who is responsible for what. The team gets stuck. Develop a good problem solving process with your team. When looking for ideas, post these ground rules at your brainstorming session: Quality not quantity; Withold judgement; Hitchhike ideas; and Put it in writting.Help your team members discover their best role in the creative process - Creator, Advancer, Refiner, or Executor with the Team Dimensions Profile. It helps teams identify roles and learn a process for moving ideas to results in less time and with greater impact.