TMS Consulting
A team is ‘in crisis’ when the interpersonal dynamics are compromising the work – a team no longer able to work together to produce needed results. Conflict, communication breakdowns, lack of agreement around direction or values: as a result productivity, engagement, satisfaction and possibly performance issues escalate becoming more and more problematic.
Our approach is focused on developing sustainable interpersonal and team capacity to work effectively within both the current context and the reality of ongoing uncertainty. We use the circumstances of the state of crisis to frame the work of increasing the effectiveness of daily interactions.
“An organization is nothing more than the patterns of interactions between people. Working at this level – specifically with the quality of their interactions, will have an immediate and significant impact on individual and team behavior and results.”
Basic Design Framework
- Initial consultation with the team lead or process initiator to gain an understanding of the specific context and determine the appropriateness of this approach;
- Agreement by team members to work together with an external facilitator to address the current situation with the team;
- A pre-session process of one-on-one confidential interviews with each team member to provide everyone with and opportunity to express their views/ concerns;
- Compilation by the facilitator of the major ‘themes’ which emerged from the interviews:
- A phone interaction with the team lead and/or other designated team member to review the themes;
- Distribution of the themes to team members along with an agenda for the one day session;
- A one day facilitated meeting which includes:
- An opportunity to work extensively with each theme;
- A primary focus on changing the daily interactions and dynamics around each theme;
- An opportunity to work with/practice behavior or interaction changes;
- A built-in team creation of a follow-up feedback mechanism to maximize sustainable changes.
Often a 6-week half day follow-up meeting is scheduled to review themes and team improvements.
Options
- Specific data may be of value to this process such as the Team Management Profile or the Team Performance Profile
- A series of follow meetings can be scheduled over an extended period of time to monitor progress and make adaptations to changes made. These can also be done via teleconference
- In some cases more formalized coaching sessions are scheduled with the group leader or perhaps specific members of the group.
