Managing Sticky Situations at Work

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Sticky Situations in Meetings 99you, I will not do what I must do to be part of the team. If I feel I cando a better job on a project alone, I will not push myself to be part ofa team.In the early stages of team formation members struggle with goals,norms, and conflicting needs. Until they resolve those issues, ‘‘teams’’do not exist. What exists instead is simply a group of individuals. Oftensticky situations in meetings occur during this struggle.In addition to common goals, shared norms, and interlockingneeds, groups go through certain clear stages of development. Understandingthese stages helps us recognize what to do when and how tokeep from igniting sticky situations. Similarly to a child who is maturing,teams call for nurturing in order to grow strong in the early stagesof development.THE TEAM DEVELOPMENT PROCESSIn the mid-1960s, Bruce Tuckman studied the way teams work andnoticed emerging patterns. These patterns became the crux of today’steam theory. Tuckman demonstrated that all teams go through certainstages of growth and that within those stages there exist certain thingsthat team members can do and certain things that they are not yetready to do. 1 Thinkofyourteamasanewbaby.Youwouldn’taskyour new baby to tell you when he feels hungry or to let you knowwhen he has to go to the bathroom. Most sticky situations withingroups occur because we ask a team to do something it is not readyto do. Knowledge of the stages of team development can minimizefrustration and maximize growth and high achievement.TUCKMAN’S STAGES OF TEAM DEVELOPMENT• Forming. In first stage of team development a group of individualscome together with little knowledge of each other. In this stagemembers want to be part of the team, but they also pull away. Theirdesire to be part of the team typifies our human desire for belonging.At the same time, individuals fear they will lose their persona. Somepeople call this stage approach/avoidance. Members wonder if theother team members will accept them and their ideas. Membersquestion the motives of others. Psychologically they do not wish tobe absorbed by this team. The task a team at the forming stage canperform adequately is Orientation to each other and to the missionof the team.
100 Managing Sticky Situations at Work• Storming. The second stage of team development is often identifiedas the most uncomfortable for any team. Although members nowrecognize the value of the team itself, they also want others to noticeand respect their own individual value. Imagine everyone on the teamvying for attention. Members unseat each other for power and control.Instead of listening to other members, people talk about their ownexperiences and knowledge. The initial fear of being overlooked thatsurfaced in the Forming Stage becomes the guiding motive for theStorming Stage. The only task teams can adequately perform at thisstage is Organization of the conflicting struggles around the teamgoals. For example imagine a team that wants to create a group slogan.That team might organize around each individual’s strengths. Who hasdeveloped slogans in the past? Who is good at limericks? Whoconsiders themselves creative? What other skills are needed to help usdevelop the slogan? Rather than look at what the slogan needs to say,the team organizes itself around individual strengths. Suchorganization enables team members to share information aboutthemselves. As they share and as they listen, members learn who isbest suited to do what.• Norming. The third stage of team development feels very comfortableto team members, but it can also be one of the most dangerous stagesin the process. In the Norming Stage team members no longerdisagree. They support each other in everything. Membersacknowledge one another with statements like, ‘‘That’s a great idea,’’or, ‘‘I really like what you are saying.’’ Maintaining group intimacybecomes the motivation of the team. The biggest danger this teamfaces is a phenomenon called groupthink. The term groupthink cameout of sociological research before and during the Bay of Pigs incidentin 1961. 2Shortly after John F. Kennedy became president, he faced thedecision of whether or not to invade Cuba. The previous administrationhad been about to launch a preemptive strike on the island.Kennedy wondered if such action was in the best interest of the UnitedStates. He called together key national advisors and asked each onewhat he thought. All the advisors wanted to do what everyone elsewanted to do. They did not wish to ‘‘rock the boat.’’ Instead ofsharing their concerns about the outcome of such an invasion, theyagreed to the operation known as the Bay of Pigs. Today, in hindsight,we know that operation failed. Simply defined, groupthink is wheneveryone decides to do something stupid together. In the NormingStage groups are not yet ready to make decisions. Instead they arequite adept at Data Flow, or open sharing without evaluation. In thisstage groups generate creative ideas.
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ContentsIllustrationsviiAcknowledgm
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AcknowledgmentsAs a disclaimer, all
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xiiIntroductionis the word that oft
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xivIntroduction4. You supervise a g
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Chapter 1The Say It Just Right (SIJ
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The Say It Just Right (SIJR) Model
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Chapter 2Personality OverlayAtthiss
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Personality Overlay 19BOLD PERSONAL
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Personality Overlay 21energy seems
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Larry is clearly a Technical person
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Personality Overlay 25‘‘John kn
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Personality Overlay 27Resolve the I
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Chapter 10Sticky Etiquette Situatio
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202 Appendix 14. True5. False6. Fal
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204 Appendix 1Strategic interviewer
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206 Appendix 2360 By Design®—Des
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IndexAdjourning Stage in groups, 10
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Index 211hot seat, 35-39How Good a
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Index 213Teenage Daughter Is Busted
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Managing Sticky Situations at Work

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