PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR - Mental Health Academy

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THE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR 03 2008 team members you will want to ensure that your message gets read and is clearly understood. To construct an effective email it may be helpful to remember the following key points: 1. Make use of the subject line: The subject line provides an opportunity to inform the receiver of the purpose of the email. A subject line ideally should describe exactly what the email is about. An appropriate subject line will maximise the possibility of your message being read. 2. Use concise language: Like any written business correspondence it’s important to keep business emails concise and to the point. Often the viewing area for emails is limited, so if possible limit messages to a few short paragraphs. Everyone is busy – don’t waste their time – be clear and concise. 3. Make any required follow up clear: If your email is a request for action or follow up from a team member make this clear in your message. Remember to include any contact details (such as phone or fax numbers and addresses for snail mail) that the receiver may require. 4. Respond to emails in a timely manner: Prompt responses to emails not only promote efficiency but often encourage team members to respond in a similar timely manner. Tip – These communication modes are suitable to use both within and between teams. ACCOUNTABILITY “It’s not a blame game. It’s accountability! It’s accountability!” ~ Terry Moran To maximise team performance, each team member should be aware of the responsibilities of their individual role and how their “purely self-directed teams rarely exist.” role contributes to the achievement of team objectives. By defining individual roles and responsibilities, each team member can ensure that their own input and action is beneficial to the overall performance of the team. A lack of clarity around roles and responsibilities can lead to drawn out decision making processes and create frustration within the organisation. However purely self-directed teams rarely exist. Teams usually operate within the confines of organisational policy and as such often have to adapt to decisions that are made from external sources. Team decision making/Types of team decisions As a member of a team, you will be affected by decisions that are made both within the team and from outside the team. Sometimes the members of your team will have full responsibility for the decision making, yet on other occasions team members may have no influence over decisions, yet they will filter through to impact on the team. The four main types of decisions you may face as a team member are demonstrated below: 1. Predetermined: Decisions over which your team has no influence. 2. Consultative: Decisions where team members are consulted for their ideas, opinions or feedback during the decision making process, however the final decision lies with the team leader. 3. Shared: Decisions that are made with shared input from all team members including the team leader. No decision is finalised until joint agreement is reached. 4. Full Responsibility: Decisions that the team is fully responsible for and does not have to seek the input of others. The key to good decision making is undertaking the ‘value added’ test. Therefore, allocate decision making authority only where it adds value to your business through: faster decisions; better decisions and; increased commitment of team to decision. Tips to assist in defining accountabilities • All team members should be provided with a position description outlining their responsibilities and tasks within the organisation/team. • Ensure that team members are aware of the decision making capacity. It is not productive and decreases individual commitment to spend time discussing decisions that are pre-determined by an outside source. • When full responsibility lies with the team, ensure that collaborative processes are established so that all team members are able to provide input. Team decision making techniques In instances where the team has shared for a decision or in the lead up to a consultative or shared decision the following team decision making technique may be beneficial. PMI (plus, minus, implications). The PMI is a variation on weighing the pros and cons. To conduct a PMI, follow the steps below: 1. Construct a three (3) column table. Label each separate column with the headings plus, minus and implications. 2. Ask the team a relevant question. For example “Should we use our allocated budget to buy a new photocopier” 3. Fill out each column with the following in mind: In the Plus column – Brainstorm and write down all the likely positive results from taking this action In the Minus column – Brainstorm and write down the likely negatives that may result from this action In the Implications column – Brainstorm and write down the possible outcomes (or 14
THE PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLOR 03 2008 implications) of taking this action (both positive and negative). 4. Weigh the ideas out of five and assign them as positive or negative accordingly. For example: The question – “Should we use our allocated budget to buy a new photocopier” could produce the following ideas: PLUS... More efficient copier (+3); Better quality copies (+4); Copier could stack, scan and staple (+5). MINUS... Less money left for a team social event or other office equipment (-3); Training in the new copier will be required (-1). IMPLICATIONS...We could produce more professional documents (+5); We will waste less time trying to fix the old copier (+2); Training in the operation of the new machine may take time (-1). Total = +12 Total = -4 Total = +6 The score for this table is 12 – 4 +6 = 14 A positive score indicates support for the decision; a negative score indicates that the consequences of implementing the decision may be too high for the likely benefits. In this instance the positives of buying a new photocopier outweigh the negatives, so the purchase of a new photocopier should go ahead if this is a full responsibility decision. If it was a consultative decision, team members would make a recommendation based on the PMI but the final decision would lie with team leader/s. The problem of “Groupthink” Groupthink is a term that has been coined to describe the process of team members making decisions based on their preference to conform with the majority. Groupthink can greatly hinder team decision making processes as members alter their opinions to fit in with the norm. All teams are susceptible to the groupthink phenomena, but there are some strategies to minimise the risk of groupthink occurring within your team. Try the following: • Encourage creative, spontaneous and free flowing thought; • Reward and encourage risk taking and outside-ofthe-square thinking; • Use suggestion boxes and brainstorming to initiate the sharing of ideas or opinions. MONITORING PERFORMANCE Most organisations have performance management strategies in place for individuals, not so common however is performance management for teams. Effective performance management processes are crucial to ensure that the team continually meets or exceeds its target objectives. Team performance monitoring allows teams to recognise: 1. When they have achieved their key performance indicators 2. When a team member is not being accountable 3. What the team is doing well 4. What is not working well and areas that may need improvement or change 5. What makes a good performance monitoring system Effective performance monitoring will differ between teams and between organisations, there are however some key factors that should be incorporated into any performance monitoring system. Performance monitoring systems should: be directly related to “All teams are susceptible to the groupthink phenomena.” key performance indicators and team goals; highlight individual accountability for tasks and; have a regular review or evaluation date. How to implement performance monitoring On the assigned date of review a team meeting involving all team members should be conducted. The team’s action plan should be reviewed and all required actions need to be assessed as achieved or not achieved. Teams should monitor their performance regularly; therefore it is a good idea to include the review of your action plan as a standard agenda item at your team meetings. Actions that have not been achieved may need to be carried over to the next action plan or if further intervention is warranted, a performance improvement plan may be developed. Performance improvement plan: A performance improvement plan is a more detailed plan that outlines steps to further highlight team member accountabilities. A performance improvement plan may need to be repeated until desired actions are achieved. Celebrating success It is vital that teams celebrate their successes. Celebrating success increases team commitment and enhances team communication. In the development of a high performance team it is crucial to remember to celebrate the achievements and successes along the way – no matter how small those successes may be. Attention is so often placed on the areas of performance that require improvement that teams sometimes forget to identify and celebrate team achievements. © Counselling Academy, 2008 This article was based on the “Managing a Counselling Team” professional development online course. To access these and dozens of other courses, visit the Academy’s website at www.counsellingacademy.com.au. 15
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