1. 1 Define the key features of effective team performance
The features of an effective team could be best summed up by Kenneth Blanchard’s Mnemonic PERFORM; this can be broken down into the following:
P = Purpose
E = Empowerment
R = Relationships and communication
F = Flexibility
O = Optimal Productivity
R = Recognition and appreciation
M = Morale
Purpose – The purpose must be commonly shared between each team member. There must be clear goals within the team that are relevant to the purpose or task. Managers must ensure that the strategies are clear in how the team will achieve those goals and that individual goals are clear to each staff member.
Empowerment – There must be a mutual respect between the team with a willingness to support one another. Each member of the team must have access to resources. A collective and personal sense of power must be in place.
Relationships and communication – The people within the team must be open and honest and must be received by one another with warmth and understanding. Team members must actively listen to one another and allow for and value differences of opinion.
Flexibility – Members of the team must be willing and ready to jump into various roles as and when needed to support their colleagues. Staff must be ready to adapt to the changing needs of the team and the service and must do so by been open to different ideologies and approaches.
Optimal productivity – Output within the team must remain high whilst been of quality. Decision making must be effective to allow for this to happen. Each team must have active problem solvers in order to adapt to difficulties and find solutions.
Recognition and appreciation – The contributions of each individual must be recognised and appreciated by all staff as well as the leader. It is beneficial for team members to feel respected and their contributions recognised in order to feel valued by the organisation.
Morale – Individuals must feel good about been a part of the team. Without this staff members will not feel confident and will not be motivated to have a meaningful input into the team. High moral involves a strong sense of group cohesion and a team spirit creating a culture that will go above and beyond for one another.
1. 2 Compare the models used to link individual roles and development with team performance
It is my responsibility as a senior manager to ensure that all my staff is highly trained, competent and effective in their roles. Some of the methods used to ensure that this is in place are through group supervision with individual feedback. This takes place every third supervision and allows for constructive criticism within the team enabling a culture of openness and honesty to be developed. We have regular monthly meetings, within these meetings key people within the team are invited to speak. This may take place through key workers discussing and evaluating young people, using feedback from staff to update behaviour plans and risk assessments. My team has been consistent for some time now, however, should a new staff member be brought into the team this would be done so under strict guidelines and policies/procedures for the induction of new staff. The new staff member would be assigned a ‘ buddy’ worker.
This buddy worker is someone who has been in the setting for some time and has an in-depth knowledge of procedures, the young people, recording and reporting etc. in doing so the new staff member is brought on by someone who is experienced and competent and will form a part of the induction to the highest of standards. Before commencement to any shadow work, the new staff member will have undertaken all mandatory training. Mandatory training will include, H&S, Food Hygiene, Safeguarding, RPI Training, CALMS theory, DOLs, Fire safety, Mental Capacity training, Attachment and loss, Autism awareness. The staff member will then undergo a fortnightly supervision for the first 6 weeks and monthly thereafter. The staff member will be expected to complete an induction booklet over the first 9 months of employment and will be signed up to L3 diploma within 3 months of commencement should they not already hold this qualification.
2. 1 Analyse the stages of team development
Tuckman and Jenson 1965 developed the 4 stages to group development. In 1977 Tuchman added the 5th stage which was to be known as ‘ Adjourning’. The Tuchman stages of team development grew to underpin subsequent models of team development. The 5 stages can be seen here;
Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Adjourning
Forming – The forming stage of team development focuses on the team coming together. In this stage of team development, staff members have a tendency to work as individuals rather than in unity with another. They may avoid any threat of conflict with another team member. This results in a delay in productivity within the team. Most team members will focus on wanting to be ‘ liked’ and ‘ accepted’ by their colleagues and for this reason they may withhold any personal feelings to the task for fear of making a wrong impression on their colleagues, however, this is non the less a very important time in team development as at this stage they may make new friends and get acquainted with one another.
Storming – Each team will move into the storming stage. At this stage each member of the team may insert their own ideas and may compete for recognition of these ideas. The storming stage is necessary for the growth of the team; however, it can be a destructive and unkind time. This stage may mostly affect the team members of who are not adverse to conflict and find this a difficult prospect to accept. A mature team may be able to move pass this stage, however, some teams may never move on. At this stage teams have a tendency to choose what problems they really need to resolve and how they will function together to address these problems. This can lead to an increase in the functioning of the team.
Norming – The team manages to share a common interest and goal at this stage. The team will have increased maturity and will collectively agree on a plan. Team members who are more accepting may pass on their own ideologies to share the common interest of the team. At this stage the team work in unity and are comfortable with one another, responsibilities are taken and a shared ambition results in making the goals of the team successful.
Performing – At this stage the team is highly function as a unit and efficiently complete their task without conflict. Leadership at this stage can focus on other areas as decision making within the team is highly effective through knowledgeable and well trained staff. Some teams may never reach this stage of team development; others may make it and then revert back to earlier stages when changes within the team become prominent, for example, changes in management etc.
The 5th stage, adjourning that was later added by Tuchman. This involves the dissolution of a team. This may happen through the departure of a team member and may be deeply felt by colleagues. The group structure may change and roles and responsibilities differ. This can be very stressful for a team.
2. 2 Identify barriers to success and how these can be overcome.
Within any team there are barriers that may affect team development. These can vary in severity dependent upon how they are managed. For the success of a team any barrier will need to be overcome in order for the growth of the team. Some of these barriers may be: Leadership and management – A lack of direction from senior staff may lead to confusion within a team. Identification of roles and responsibilities will need to be developed and understood. Lack of communication – an inability to effectively communicate within a team can have detrimental impacts on the productivity of the team. Clear lines of communication must be established. As a manager we must recognise when lines of communication are breaking down and put measures in place to remedy this situation. Lack of goals – A team must have clear goals; this can be team goals and individual goals.
If this is not disseminated effectively, or, the responsibilities of team are unbalanced and Individuals can’t meet deadlines then the morale of the team can be lowered leading to demotivation within the team. Managers must be aware of this and have clear roles and responsibilities laid out. This can be addressed in supervision to ensure that staff levels of stress are not at an unacceptable level. Group dynamics – Staff that have high egos or where duplications in work are present can have an impact on morale. This will need to be closely observed and monitored to ensure that it is not having a negative impact on the team. Where it is, this may be addressed in supervision and honest feedback offered to staff members.
2. 3 Analyse the effect group norms may have on team development
Group norms are established early on within team development usually within the forming stage of team development and are a shared belief that shapes the way that a team may interact and respond with one another. Group norms set standards and values amongst the team on how the team should communicate and interact with one another. Group norms can be beneficial to a team and can be formed on their own, however, should a team form norms without direction, these norms can be dysfunctional, create aversion to changes within the team and may create conflict within the team. When effective group norms are established, the team may begin to hold colleagues accountable for issues they face and keeps the team’s performance moving forward. Staff members will be less uncertain and will have faith in their colleagues creating higher levels of morale.
When group norms are not effectively managed, this can lead to lowered levels of professionalism, uncertainty and non-unity within the team. Performance will be affected and targets not met. Another issue with group norms is ‘ group think’ a term coined by Janis (1972). This may affect how a group thinks and responds to change in situations. Members of the group may choose to avoid individual thought and opinion and opt for the group norms even when morally the group norms are not acceptable. This is to avoid potential conflict and alienation from the group. The group may have a tendency to make irrational decisions and Group Think is more prominent when a group is from similar background and lack direction and outside opinion.
2. 4 Differentiate between beneficial conflict and destructive conflict in teams
Conflict may unfold when a staff member feels that they are under scrutiny from a colleague (either real or perceived) to their own actions or values. Conflict may occur at any level and will need to be effectively managed. Although some conflicts may relate to disorderly conduct, aggression or in some instances violence, when managed effectively can produce effective and positive outcomes when both parties’ needs are met.
Beneficial conflict (or constructive conflict) refers to those conflicts that have happened where the benefits have outweighed the costs. Individuals come together to strengthen their previously harmed relationships for the greater good of those involved and for the organisation.
Destructive conflict ordinarily occurs from rigid goals and ends in a negative result. Those involved become more rigid and opposed to embracing the situation for positive outcomes. The staff members may feel that the conflicting party must suffer and will not allow for the situation to be resolved.
2. 5 evaluate methods for dealing with conflict within a team.
When evaluating methods for dealing with conflict, prominent figures are Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Killman. Thomas and Killman identified 5 main styles of dealing with conflict. Thomas and Killman argued that individuals have a preferred style when dealing with conflict management. With this in mind Thomas and Killman also identified that there are benefits to using certain styles in certain situations. The 5 main styles are as follows:
Competitive
Collaborative
Compromising
Accommodating
Avoiding
Competitive – this is when you stress your position of rank without considering others points of view. The goal of this is to win by been highly assertive and non-cooperative. This style of conflict management can be effective in emergency situations or when dealing with non-assertive staff, however, when not used in an urgent conflict management situation, this style can lead to resentment and uncooperative attitudes from staff.
Collaborative – this style is ordinarily used when the idea is to satisfy both parties of the conflict. The aim is to find a win/win outcome to the situation. This style is appropriate to use commonly within the team environment. This style aims to instil that everyone’s views are of equal importance.
Compromising – this style is ordinarily used to find middle ground in the conflict. One party may have to give up on or compromise there issue to find resolution. This is a temporary solution to a problem and used when time is of the essence and deadlines are looming.
Accommodating – this style involves forgoing your own concerns in order to satisfy that of others. This is best used in situations where you wish to show the other party that you are reasonable and willing to cooperate. This style may be used when keeping the peace within the team is more important than winning.
Avoiding – This is when the concerns of you and the concerns of others are not satisfied. The aim of this is to delay the resolution of the conflict and the importance is low. This may also be used when someone else is best placed to resolve the conflict; however, using this style can be detrimental and can be viewed as a sign of weakness.
2. 6 Compare the methods of developing and establishing trust and accountability within a team.
As a leader in a workplace it is important to hold accountability of staff. Accountability and clarity leads to trust within the team. In order to make best use of the team there should be clearly defined responsibilities. When responsibilities and timescales are set, it allows for the responsible individual to be held accountable for meeting deadlines. An effective manager should always review and check on the progress made by the individual. The roles of each staff member should be clearly identified; this will increase the understanding behind each team. The team should be working in unity and working together, managers should ensure that everyone is involved in this. Should a manager make a promise to their staff, the manager should ensure that this promise is upheld and communicate this back to the staff member effectively. Support and advice should be offered in an open and honest manner. The environment should be built upon on an honest and open culture where staff can discuss issues and problems without the fear of persecution and ridicule from others.
3. 1 evaluate ways of promoting a shared vision within a team
As a manager you may have an inspirational vision for the team and the home in which you are managing, however, this vision will be rendered useless unless it is effectively portrayed to the staff team that is working within the unit. The strategic direction in which your vision moves will need to be embraced by all those involved in order to make it a useful venture for the home. The key to success with this vision is communication. The staff team must know what the vision is and how they will achieve it. They will also benefit from been a part of the planning process. The team may also be extending past the staffing team to the extended professionals around the child who may all be consulted with in the planning process. Within our service we have a well written statement of purpose, its content highlights what is expected of the home, the ethos and what we stand for. It highlights the training staff must undertake, how children and young people will be appropriately safeguarded, how they will be consulted with and the expectations we will place on them. The S. O. P is discussed in team meetings and any updates will be fed back to them.
This document centralises what is expected of everyone within the home. To complement this, the homes manager has a development plan. This development plan is target driven and highlights what will need to take place to drive the service towards been outstanding. This is shared with staff in team meetings and from this a team plan is developed that is SMART. Each member of the team will have responsibilities that complement how we will make the service outstanding. This team plan is discussed in team meetings and is shared with the staff, the staff will ask for roles that they wish to undertake in the forthcoming month and will work to the deadline in achieving this. This allows staff to have a sense of ownership and involvement in the process. The success of the previous month’s targets will be discussed in the next meeting to allow for a sense of achievement and morale.
3. 2 Review approaches that encourage sharing of skills and knowledge between team members
There are a number of reasons why knowledge and skills sharing is essential to the effective running of teams. This is beneficial in order for keeping the team up to date on relevant legislation to working in best and current practices. In order for it to be successful, the input from all members of the team should be valued. The sharing of new skills and knowledge can be disseminated down into staff meetings and handovers where the information can be discussed between staff members. Supervisions allow for an ideal time for the sharing of information and skills. This can be done by using a variety of different techniques such as individual supervision, peer supervision and group supervision.
4. 1 Define the meaning of a ‘ no blame’ culture
A no blame culture is a culture that is tolerable of mistakes made by a staff member on the provision that a staff member uses this opportunity to reflect in a self-critical manner to learn from that mistake and develop a way in which to improve their practice as a result. This ultimately allows staff to learn from their experiences. There may be difficulties associated with a no blame culture as managers must resist the traditional methods of telling a staff member what they should be doing in favour of persuading and encouraging them to reach their own conclusions and decisions.
4. 2 Evaluate the benefits of a ‘ no blame’ culture
When a no blame approach is adopted, discrepancies, disputes and difficulties are mediated rather than investigated and blamed. Both parties are invited to discuss and resolve situations and find another way to resolve it. In the traditional ‘ blame culture’ the focus is on avoiding blame and redirecting this to others. As a result of this nothing is resolved and tensions may remain high. The ‘ no blame culture’ eradicates this issue. Both parties are invited to view a situation and finding a way to respond to it that benefits both parties through reflection and given voice to their concerns in a mediated environment. This can lead to a culture of openness and honesty within the team, the ability to find ways of dealing with conflict in a professional manner and dealing with issues more efficiently.
4. 3 Describe how systems and processes can be used to support a ‘ no blame’ culture
In order for systems to support a no blame culture, recording and reporting must be of a high standard in order to effectively monitor situations and then ask simple questions to support staff to understand what has happened. This is achieved when staff have an understanding that the information presented will be used to ask WHAT happened and then creating the opportunity to learn from this mistake rather than asking WHY did you do this and blaming the staff member to force compliance. When staffs are encouraged to reflect on the recording and reporting system, they will be able to evaluate any trends, take steps for change and then result in increased performance and understanding ultimately leading to reduced risk.
4. 4 Describe strategies for managing risks associated with a ‘ no blame’ culture
Every change in a service or organisation involves risk; a degree of risk taking is inevitable if your organisation is to achieve its goals. The majority of organisations are aware that risk management is critical, so why are so few effective at managing risk. Together these elements can be summed up in the statement that ‘ adoption of well managed risk taking is likely to lead to sustainable improvements in service delivery’. Organisations need to have in place the skills and management structures to take advantage of potential opportunities to perform reduce the possibility of failure. The task of risk management is to limit the organisation’s exposure to an acceptable level of risk by taking action on the probability of the risk occurring, its impact or both. The principles of risk management can be directed both to limiting adverse outcomes and achieving desirable ones.
The key elements that need to be in place include:
• Risk management policies, and the benefits of following them, clearly communicated to all staff. • Providing high quality appropriate training, supervision and support in risk making decision making and which are also essential for discussing and refining ideas, as well as providing a reality check to prevent idealism overwhelming realism. • Existence and adoption of a framework for management of risk that is transparent and repeatable. • Existence of an organisational culture that supports well thought-through risk taking and innovation. • Management of risk fully embedded in management processes and consistently applied. • Management of risk closely linked to achievement of objectives. • Risks associated with working with other organisations explicitly assessed and managed. • Risks actively monitored and regularly reviewed on a constructive ‘ no-blame’ basis • Training and mentoring.
• Communications and stakeholder engagement
• Risks actively monitored and regularly reviewed on a constructive ‘ no blame’ basis.
5. 1 compare different styles of management and leadership
Management have a wide variety of tasks that they have to complete and a varying degree of roles that they must undertake. In order to complete this, a manager will have a style that they conduct themselves in. Some managers may only use one style while others may respond to situations by changing their management style to match different situations. Some of the different styles are as follows:
Authoritarian
Paternalistic
Democratic
Transactional
Transformational
Authoritarian leadership style – When this is used the manager is in full control and dictates the policies and procedures, roles and responsibilities. All activities or tasks are decided without any participation from staff. Direct supervision is how they feel a team should be managed in order to create a successful environment. Authoritarian leaders will ensure tasks are completed as fast and efficiently as possible. An authoritarian leadership style can create a climate of fear and complaining or speaking up may be considered futile.
Paternalistic leadership – this type of leadership is where a manager may feel that he is in a position to know what is best for the organisation than any of his followers are. This may occur as a conscious or unconscious attempt to lead in this manner. It is considered that these colleagues are to be unconditionally loyal to one another and the workers are expected to stay with a company for a longer period of time because of the loyalty and trust. Not only do they treat each other like family inside the work force, but outside too. These workers are able to go to each other with any problems they have regarding something because they believe in what they say is going to truly help them. Many managers adopt this style in some way or another, however, when used in conjunction with an ego or ignorance towards his followers opinions, this can lead to the manager becoming dictatorial and poor decisions and judgements may occur as a result.
Democratic leadership – this style of leadership is where members of the team are involved and actively participate in any decision making processes. Discussion is encouraged and ideas freely exchanged. While the democracy exists and the exchange of ideas encouraged there is still a leader in place that will guide the team. This style of leadership can lead to high levels of productivity and a sense of belonging leading to high levels of morale in the workplace.
Transactional leadership – first researched by Max Weber, a sociologist from the 1980s. This style of leadership places its focus on supervision and group performance. It places an emphasis on reward for good work and punishment for bad work. It considers that people work best when the chain of command is strictly followed and those under them are closely monitored and scrutinised. This style of leadership may be required in some instances, however, overall this style can hinder the performance of both the leader and the staff.
Transformational leadership – Transformational leadership is a style of leadership that may inspire, motivate and lead a group to success, they are ordinarily extremely enthusiastic and passionate about what they do and lead with energy and encouragement with a shared vision or goal. This leader may be passionate about ensuring each member of his team succeeds. It is considered that there are four key components to success in this leadership style; Intellectual stimulation, encouraging creativity amongst the team while exploring different ways to achieve tasks Individualised consideration, offering support and encouragement to the individual staff member to develop a supportive relationship Inspirational motivation, a clear vision that they can articulate to their team, while assisting other team members to share their passion and enthusiasm. Idealised influence, a role model to their team through trust and respect.
5. 2 reflect on adjustment to own leadership and management style that may be required in different areas
My personal leadership style would fall between, transformational and democratic leadership. This however, is dependent upon my personal thoughts and feelings around the time and the staff team that I am leading at that time. There are times where I would benefit from using more of an authoritarian approach in my practice when dealing with stronger willed teams that don’t share my vision and ideas. This been said, that may lead to an environment that is resentful to their role and position.
