Coordinator - Sweet Adelines International

Chapter 1: Team Tools
Regional Management Team Handbook
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Confidentiality and Communication
Communication is critical to the success of any organization. It affects each member,
especially since technology has increased the speed and frequency with which we can
disseminate information and opinions to one another. It is important for each regional
team member to ensure that others who need to know certain information receive copies
of appropriate one-to-one communications.
Learning to trust that others have the best interests of the organization at heart, rather than
their own personal ambitions and goals, is a challenge. Openness and honesty among
team members is crucial; disagreements should be addressed within the team, not through
private conversations away from the group.
The other side of communication is confidentiality. Certain information available to
regional management team members, such as performance evaluations, is obviously not
for general knowledge. Other information and discussion topics may not be so clearly
identifiable as confidential. In some cases, premature or unplanned communication can
complicate an issue immensely, can lead to interpersonal difficulties, and can damage
team relationships and the team’s credibility with regional members. To prevent such
communication mishaps, committee chairs should state at the beginning and end of each
meeting that all discussions are considered confidential unless and until a plan of
communication has been established for that subject. When every team member is
“singing off the same page,” the opportunity for a harmonious outcome increases.
Conflict Management
Constructive Controversy Improves Productivity
Most people have a negative concept of conflict and controversy. Often regarded as
undesirable and as signs of sickness in group functioning, conflict and controversy
are natural and desirable parts of any problem-solving situation that should not be
avoided or repressed.
Controversies are inevitable if members are involved in and committed to the work of a
team. If differences of opinion, interest, and values are not dealt with directly, the work of
the team will deteriorate. Unresolved feelings create biased, nonobjective judgments and
actions. When controversial discussions are handled successfully, team members become
increasingly involved with and committed to one another.
Group discussion with a high rate of constructive controversy is more productive than
individual thinking. Working through differences of opinion often leads to more creative
solutions to problems than what could have been achieved by any single person.
Controversies allow team members to express emotions such as anger and indignation
that would interfere with the team’s work if repressed. Expressing emotions can greatly
reduce the natural tension and frustration of working together, enabling team members
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