Communicate & FacilitateCommunication in Leadership

A presentation by Kaylynne Hatch

KaylynneH@gmail.com

Twitter: @KaylynneH

As a leader, how can you adapt your

communication style to

encourage positive team

outcomes?

As a leader, how can you adapt your

communication style to

encourage positive team

outcomes?How can you

better facilitate the development of your team?

How can you better

facilitate the development of your team?

How can you turn

your team’s communica

tion into creativity & innovation?

How can you turn

your team’s communica

tion into creativity & innovation?

“I want you all to get into groups...”

“I want you all to get into groups...”

Oh no! How can I work

with people I don’t

relate to?

Oh no! How can I work

with people I don’t

relate to?

I hate group work!

I hate group work!

I always wind up doing all the work!

I always wind up doing all the work!

I’m too shy to

work in a group!

I’m too shy to

work in a group!

What if we have a

disagreement?!

What if we have a

disagreement?!

But I only want to

work with MY ideas!

But I only want to

work with MY ideas!

Different Styles of Leadership

DemocraticDemocratic leaders offer guidance to group members but they also

participate in the group and allow input from group members.

AutocraticCharacterized by individual control over all decisions with little to no

input from group members.

Laissez-FaireOffer little or no guidance to group

members and leave decision-making up to group members.

3 Problems, 4 Stages, 1 Leader 3 Major Communication Challenges:

Different backgrounds and cultures of team members Diplomacy in handling different ideas from each team member Encouraging and maintaining effective (and courteous)

communication between team members

4 Stages of Team Development:

1 Leader:

YOU!

4 Stages of Team formation*

*These 4 stages were discussed by Bruce Tuckman in his 1965 article, “Developmental Sequence in Small Groups.”

FORMINGIn this stage, most team members are polite, anxious about the upcoming project, and/or excited for the task ahead.

The leader plays a dominant role as the responsibilities & roles of each team member aren’t yet clear to them.

4 Stages of Team formation

STORMINGAt this stage, team members begin to push back at boundaries established in the original formulation of the group. If the boundaries set were unclear or insist upon a singular mode of communication or style of working (which may not be appropriate for all team members), then members begin to feel frustration over various conflicts. This is most often the stage where a team will fail.

4 Stages of Team formation

NORMINGIf a team has made it through the Storming stage, they move into Norming. Here, the team members have begun to resolve their differences and appreciate one another’s strengths.

They’ve also come to accept their roles and responsibilities on the team and respect the authority of the team leader.

The team may begin to make clear progress toward its goal (however, as new challenges are met, the team can lapse back into the storming stage).

4 Stages of Team formation

PERFORMINGThis is the stage where much of the hard work is accomplished, without friction, as the team reaches its goal.

Leaders may now delegate much of their work to team members and focus on mentoring team members.

Surviving “storming”...

How can you not only help your team through this stage, but also help them use the storming stage to establish processes and structures which will allow them to disagree in a constructive and useful way?

Surviving “Storming”... The format of a Team Charter can vary from team to team,

however the value of the charter comes from thinking through and agreeing on various elements.

Surviving “Storming”... Some elements often included on team charters:

Context – Explains why the team was formed, the problem it’s trying to solve, etc.

Mission & Objectives – Defines the team’s mission (this allows team members to pursue their own agendas independently in order to complete their segmented tasks).

Composition & Roles – Establishes the team leader, the liaison between the team and stakeholders, and who is responsible for what duties and outcomes?

Authority & Empowerment – Outlines what members can and cannot do to achieve the team’s mission.

Resources & Support – Lists resources available to the team (budgets, time, etc.) as well as training & coaching support available to team members.

Operations – Outlines how the team will operate on a day to day basis Negotiation & Agreement – Essentially the established rules and

processes for bringing up, negotiating, and settling disputes.

Negotiation & Agreement

This portion of the Team Charter can make or break your team, if members cannot bring up issues or disputes; assert their opinions; or find compromise or solutions to problems, a team can fall apart as members become frustrated and stressed.

A few tips...

Acknowledge the conflict as soon as possible – Passive aggression or allowing a problem to fester can kill a team.

Agree to a cooperative process – Ask team members to set aside their personal opinions or ideas. If a team member is more concerned about “winning” the conflict, it will inevitably end in a stalemate.

Agree to communicate – Allow each team member to express their feelings about the issue. Encourage active listening in order to ensure that each group member understands where the other is coming from.

Make sure every team member is given the opportunity to express their point of view and clarify their positions.

A Few Tips...

Don’t let the conflict get personal – stick with facts and issues, not personalities.

List facts, assumptions and beliefs underlying each point of view (ie Monica and Derrick believe that option A is best because...However, Jessica and Laurie believe that option B is best because...)

Utilize techniques that can help the team make a more objective decision (such as a Cost/Benefit Analysis).

Finally, find the best compromise.

Conflict Can be Constructive

Don’t discourage disagreements,

when team members learn to see issues from

different perspectives, it

opens up new ways to think. This can lead to creative and innovative

solutions.

Don’t discourage disagreements,

when team members learn to see issues from

different perspectives, it

opens up new ways to think. This can lead to creative and innovative

solutions.

Help your team to learn how to

navigate negotiations and disagreements so that they do not escalate or disrupt team

work.

Help your team to learn how to

navigate negotiations and disagreements so that they do not escalate or disrupt team

work.

Resources & Citations Here are a few resources I recommend for learning about

leadership, communication, and team management: Mindtools.com CCL.org Fastcompany.com Cherry, Kendra. “Lewin’s Leadership Styles.”

About.com. N.p., n. d. Web. 20 Mar 2014. <http://psychology.about.com/od/leadership/a/leadstyles.htm>

Manktelow, James. “Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.” Mindtools.com. N.p., n. d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014.http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_86.htm

Any Questions or Comments?

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about leadership communication and team management, please feel free to contact me: KaylynneH@gmail.com Twitter: @KaylynneH