c



  



Effective team building and employee motivation fit together. Successful

organizations are not involved in team building as an end unto itself but rather because with
effective team building employee motivation increases and organizational results are
achieved. Effective team building starts with efforts that are aligned with the organizational
strategic plan. Employee motivation increases when employees are working on real issues for
the organization. Six sigma plus projects have team building components and employee
motivation elements aimed at improving well-defined issues.

Enjoyment in work increases team building effectiveness. Team building is a tool for
improving employee motivation. All teams go through very predictable phases. Knowing and
understanding these phases gives leadership the confidence to continue in the team
building even when during one of the phases the employee motivation appears to be
declining. When leadership understands this is a normal phase they have confidence to
continue team building for world class performance.

Assessments aimed at understanding yourself and others can speed team building.
Understanding is the first step in developing employee motivation. With an understanding of
other employees' motivation every individual has the opportunity to add to the synergy of the
team.

Empowerment of employees can go a long way in developing employee motivation.

The level of employee empowerment is likely at exactly the level that the management of the
organization actively supports and cultivates. To increase the level of employee
motivation the leadership will need to increase the level of employee empowerment in the
organization. Never have we see the level of employee motivation increase with out
leadership making efforts to increase the level of employee empowerment first. In order to
increase employee empowerment and thus the employee motivation a program that starts
with the executive leadership and then moves to management training and supervisor
training is needed. Only when the leaders, managers and supervisors have a common
understanding for employee motivation is it likely that that the level of employee
motivation will increase. Employees may need training in problem solving skills, Green Belt
training and personal leadership skills to be effective.
h 

  


Experience has demonstrated that successful teams are empowered to establish some
or all of a team's goals, to make decisions about how to achieve these goals, to undertake the
tasks required to meet them and to be mutually accountable for their results. There are several
characteristics of an effective team. These include:

 
 
  
There was free discussion of the objectives until members could commit themselves to them;
the objectives are meaningful to each group member.

  
  
 

 

The group has taken time to explicitly discuss group process -- how the group will function to
achieve its objectives. The group has a clear, explicit, and mutually agreed-upon approach:
mechanics, norms, expectations, rules, etc. Frequently, it will stop to examined how well it is
doing or what may be interfering with its operation. Whatever the problem may be, it gets
open discussion and a solution found.

      

    
For itself and has translated these performance goals into well-defined concrete milestones
against which it measures itself. The group defines and achieves a continuous series of "small
wins" along the way to larger goals.

     

      
There are no obvious tensions, a working atmosphere in which people are involved and
interested.

 
  




 
  


but it remains pertinent to the purpose of the group. If discussion gets off track, someone will
bring it back in short order. The members listen to each other. Every idea is given a hearing.
People are not afraid of being foolish by putting forth a creative thought even if it seems
extreme.
È   

 


  



! 

  



 
Disagreements are not suppressed or overridden by premature group action. The reasons are
carefully examined, and the group seeks to resolve them rather than dominate the dissenter.
Dissenters are not trying to dominate the group; they have a genuine difference of opinion. If
there are basic disagreements that cannot be resolved, the group figures out a way to live with
them without letting them block its efforts.

"# 



 
   
However, those who disagree with the general agreement of the group do not keep their
opposition private and let an apparent consensus mask their disagreement. The group does
not accept a simple majority as a proper basis for action.

$ 


 

  


 
meeting or exceeding the expectations of other group members. Each individual is respectful
of the mechanics of the group: arriving on time, coming to meetings prepared, completing
agreed upon tasks on time, etc. When action is taken, clears assignments are made (who-
what-when) and willingly accepted and completed by each group member.

%h



&  '  
    
The criticism has a constructive flavour -- oriented toward removing an obstacle that faces
the group.

( )
.
Effective teams share leadership roles depending upon the circumstances, needs of the group,
and expertise of members. The formal leader co-ordinates the integration of effective team
functions and models appropriate behaviour to help establish positive norms. Ineffective
teams often have one person dominating.