eam Within A Health And Social Care Or Children And Young People

Explain the features of effective team performance
The features of effective team performance is set up through positive leadership, this is something which is developed and nurtured. An effective team will work together, be focused and all the time supporting each other along the way to achieve and reach goals. For a team to be effective, each team member needs to be clear on their roles and responsibilities relating to their job. Team performance will be more effective if there is respect for the leader/manager and each other. They must have a good understanding towards their job role and responsibility.

The leader/manager should also be aware of the skills or weakness within the team and be able to provide support were necessary and also utilise their strengths.

Training and support will enable staff to improve performance, develop confidence and lift spirits within the team.

A leader should encourage any conflicts to be resolved through healthy, professional confrontation and willingly and openly negotiate necessary changes.

An effective team interacts, shares advice, gives and receives constructive criticism and adapt practice as necessary. An effective team will ask for appropriate advice, support and information when required. In an absence of the manager the team is train to be able to self-manage themselves and to work under pressure.

Features of an effective team
Care for each other
The teams that are most effective care about each other. They have a genuine interest in each other and their success and fulfilment. Think about times when things were going really well in a group. More than likely one of the most powerful things that was pulling the team together was genuine interest in each other.

Open and truthful
Openness and truthfulness is the second key characteristic of effective teams. When teams are open and truthful, they step forward, say things that need to be said, all in the interest of helping the team to get results.

High levels of trust
Teams that are looking over their shoulder all of the time, who worry about what is being said in smaller groups, who don’t believe they can rely on others and are looking to points score will not create high levels of trust. If there are low levels of trust, it is extremely difficult to excel as a team. Why? You don’t have a team, just a group of individuals who are thrown together to achieve something.

Consensus decisions
If you are someone who looks at decisions through a lens of getting what you want and this is replicated across a team, how effective do you think that team would be? Consensus decision making is not about avoid taking decisions or watering down decisions. It is about looking for the best win-win outcome for the team.

Commitment
The teams that are effective are committed to getting the results they desire. They know where they are heading, are highly motivated and persistent even when setbacks arise. Commitment in many ways is about doing what it takes to get the result you want. Think of a team that achieved results and ask yourself what qualities they drew on to get the great results they got.

Address conflict
Sometimes people wrongly believe that in effective teams there is no conflict. The difference between those teams that excel and those that struggle is that conflict is addressed. Rather than seeing it as something negative, teams recognise it as healthy and to be worked through in order to get the desired results.

Real listening
Listening is key to effective communication and effective teams know that it is important to really listen and understand. Real listening is about focusing attention on the communicator rather than your own personal agenda. Teams who only master this will go a long way to being more effective.

Express feelings
We are often told to keep emotions and feelings out of the work place. Yet in truth, if teams want to be effective they need to create a safe and courageous space for feelings to be expressed. Think about an investment decision. Accounting, marketing, operations, production, distribution and human resources will feel differently about the decision. It is important that these feelings can be expressed without fear or ridicule

Identify the challenges experienced by developing teams
There are many problems that hinder good group dynamics. We don’t usually have the luxury of picking who we are going to work with on a team; dealing with different personalities and personal agendas are common challenges in working within a team. Other commons challenges like, poor leadership, bad communications, and lack of focus can be helped or eliminated by establishing team roles.

Identify the challenges experienced by established teams
A team leader faces many challenges such as co-ordinating a team to achieve a set goal or objective. Every team is created for a purpose, and each one must succeed in meeting objectives. Learning how to get the best out of a team is really the key to making things work. Other factors and challenges that may affect a team leader include budgets, schedules, project timelines, and complaints or bad relationships with underlings. Balancing a series of tasks and roles is really what being a leader is all about, so the most successful leaders will have a dynamic blend of diplomatic skills. Leaders know how to motivate “the troops”, and they also know how to quiet down and relate one-to-one when that sort of approach is needed. The best way to become a good leader is to be organized, select the best suited team members, and then delegate.

Explain how challenges to effective team performance can be overcome Working as part of a team can be overwhelming and stressful at times, depending on those you are working with and what you are doing. Although teamwork is challenging, it also can be rewarding and can help you complete tasks quickly. You can overcome the challenges of working on a team by having commitment, a positive attitude and an open mind.

Communicate thoroughly with everyone working on your team. Set objectives and goals, along with rules for communicating and respecting one another.

Listen to each member of your team, and try to ensure that each member is doing so. This will keep communication fair and will avoid divisions on the team.

Take advantage of downtime so that team members can relax and break the tension and get to know one another better. Having breaks between tasks will help avoid burnout or creative droughts.

Treat every member of your team equally, and balance time with each one. Avoid giving special treatment or attention to one person on the team.

Show consistency when working with the team by completing all tasks assigned to you. Offer to help if possible to demonstrate teamwork, and encourage others in your group to do the same.

Ask team members for advice and opinions, and have open discussions about issues. Open communication will allow your teammates to build trust and help streamline the work.

Analyse how different management styles may influence outcomes of team performance Management styles are characteristic ways of making decisions and relating to subordinates. Management styles can be categorized into two main contrasting styles, autocratic and permissive. Management styles are also divided in the main categories of autocratic, paternalistic, and democratic. This idea was further developed by Robert Tannenbaum and Warren H. Schmidt (1958, 1973), who argued that the style of leadership is dependent upon the prevailing circumstance; therefore leaders should exercise a range of management styles and should deploy them as appropriate.

Analyse methods of developing and maintaining: Trust & Accountability The workplace is where you spend many hours of your life, so getting along and working productively with your colleagues is very important. Unfortunately, many employees experience stress because team members argue, give each other the silent treatment or allow one person to do all the work. Trust and respect are two essential elements for building relationships in the workplace. It’s all about the relationships you have with people – which doesn’t necessarily mean friendships. Relationships are built over time, when one person has respect for another. Gradually, trust beings to build, too. You don’t have to be a close personal friend with everyone at work, but you do always need to show each person respect and professionalism. Here are some guidelines to facilitate accountability and build trust among your team:

Define the duties. Eighty percent of the job is specified by your job description and responsibilities. Twenty percent of your time, however, is spent helping colleagues and clients.

Create an atmosphere where everyone bends over backward for the other person. A successful, trusted and well-respected team member uses words like, absolutely or certainly when asked for help. Look for things that need to be done and do them without being asked! This is the true definition of teamwork.

Be clear with prospective employees during the interview process. What are your expectations? Hold your existing employees and new hires to consistent standards, outlined in your policy manual. True teamwork demands that all employees are held to the same standards and, most importantly, ensure the service users wishes and needs are met.

Compare methods of addressing conflict within a team
There is bound to be some amount of conflict in any team. In fact, it is actually a bad sign if there is none because that means someone on your team is afraid of voicing their opinion or differing from the pack.

It is inevitable that there will be some amount of conflict on a team with a variety of skills and personalities. Some amount of conflict can be healthy, as long as it is discussed and a conclusion is reached. Clashing personalities or opposing viewpoints can actually bring new thoughts and discussions to the team. The type of conflict you have to worry about more is unspoken resentment that can erupt in an outburst, or even more deadly, in quiet mutiny or deviation from agreed upon roles, tasks and goals.

The manager should be able to get their team to a place where they can openly discuss differing views without it resulting it a shouting match or hurt feelings.

Be Aware That Conflict Occurs
Knowing that conflict may and will occur is the first step to resolving it, especially if you know that certain team members may disagree with each other. By recognizing that there will be conflict, a project manager knows what to expect.

Set the Ground Rules
At the beginning of your project set some ground rules in your first meeting. Be sure to address what process will be taken to address conflicts, as they are bound to rise and will need to be taken care of before they spiral out of control. Tell team members that everyone’s ideas are valid and that they shouldn’t be dismissed, even if you do not agree with them.

Learn About Destructive Conflicts
Conflict becomes destructive when no resolution is in sight or the issue cannot be resolved. A psychological model for explaining destructive
patterns is the persecutor-victim-rescuer triangle. The persecutor would be the bad-guy or bully in this scenerio, but the rescuer is also placing him or herself in a position of superiority over the supposed victim. Stop yourself if you see yourself slipping into any of these roles and also try to recognize it in your team.

Stop Conflict
Conflict should be addressed immediately before it can grow. If a discussion grows heated during a meeting, do not wait until the next meeting to address the issue. Instead, discuss the issue while in the meeting; even if members disagree, they are still able to see each other’s points of view.

Get the Whole Story
Be sure you understand the perspectives of every person involved. Conflicts arise when there are differences of opinion, but also due to miscommunication or misunderstanding. As the manager, you should get all the information you can in regards to the conflict so that you can resolve it efficiently and effectively.

Meet for Resolutions
If the conflict can’t be resolved during the initial meeting, set up a separate meeting with those that are having the conflicts, so that a resolution can be reached without getting the other team members involved and picking sides.

Discuss Both Sides of a Perspective
Even if you are inclined to agree with one side of the conflict, do not make a final judgment until each person has had their say. Ending a discussion without hearing each person out can escalate the problem. Explain the pros and cons of both ideas, so that both people can consider the opposing view.

Make Compromise a Goal
Compromising between parties is helpful, as it can allow for both conflicting parties the ability to use their ideas. Most times, points can be combined in order to make a better idea or solution.

Avoid Falling into Groupthink
Groupthink is when a group suppresses the opposing views of members in order to create harmony. While it is always good to maintain harmony within a group while working on a project, this idea of keeping opposing viewpoints at bay because they will disrupt the norm will end up doing more harm than good. To avoid this, make sure that there is one or two members that bring up constructive criticism to ideas.

Don’t Try to Change a Team Member
Just as in any type of relationship, do not try to change a member of your team. They are an individual person with unique ideas and forms of expression. Trying to change their feelings or viewpoints will only lead to resentment. You can propose to them alternatives, or list benefits of other ideas, but in the end you may just have to accept that they will disagree with an outcome.

Sometimes conflict can be productive by bringing ideas up from different people; sometimes it can be detrimental to the overall productivity of the group and its members. Remember to allow people to express their ideas, even if they different to your own.

Identify the components of a positive culture within own team Good leadership will promote positive attitudes from employees. A negative culture will dampen the mood and result in more employees calling in sick, feeling unhappy and unmotivated and eventually handing in their letter of resignation. There are many ways to build a productive culture at work. I can help myself to do this by looking at my current situation and finding ways to improve the workplace culture by changing people’s attitudes to their job, their environment, each other and themselves. Firstly identify any deficiencies that are causing negative attitudes. These could include issues like favouritism, lack of recognition or different sets of standards for different employees. So I can get the best from my teams and inspire a positive workplace culture. Some of the positive influences is fair and equal treatment of all employees and to make sure achievements are recognised and rewarded.

I try to have an open management style
Regular feedback
Open and honest communication
Clear goals set out
Regular training
Treat everyone equally

Creating a supportive workplace culture is the first step to creating pro-active attitudes. To develop my employee’s attitudes further, I will need to provide them with the opportunity to assess their feelings, beliefs and behaviours. I can’t change other people’s attitudes, they need to change their own. But, I can provide an environment and the resources to encourage self-awareness and effective behaviours. A positive environment makes me and service users feel happy, cosy, relaxed and see it as their own home.

Identify the factors that influence the vision and strategic direction of the Team
Dr Meredith Belbin identified a set of eight roles, which, if all present in a team, give it the best chance of success. These roles are:
• Co-ordinator
• Shaper
• Plant
• Monitor-Evaluator
• Implementer
• Resource Investigator
• Team Worker
• Finisher

The Co-ordinator clarifies group objectives, sets the agenda, establishes priorities, selects problems, sums up and is decisive, but does not dominate discussions.

The Shaper gives shape to the team effort, looking for pattern in discussions and practical considerations regarding the feasibility of the project. Can steamroller the team, but gets results.

The Plant is the source of original ideas, suggestions and proposals that are usually original and radical.

The Monitor-Evaluator contributes a measured and dispassionate analysis and, through objectivity, stops the team committing itself to a misguided task.

The Implementer turns decisions and strategies into defined and manageable tasks, sorting out objectives and pursuing them logically.

The Resource Investigator goes outside the team to bring in ideas, information and developments to it. They are the team’s salesperson, diplomat, liaison officer and explorer.

The Team Worker operates against division and disruption in the team, like cement, particularly in times of stress and pressure.

The Finisher maintains a permanent sense of urgency with relentless follow-through.

All of these roles have value and are missed when not in a team.

Evaluate how the vision and strategic direction of the team influences team practice The purpose for agreeing realistic targets for work is to keep everyone on task and focused on accomplishing a target that is obtainable, not out of reach. This way, everyone can contribute effectively and reach targets efficiently instead of struggling to achieve the impossible. The benefits include fast and reliable compliance and completion of tasks at hand. The purpose of agreeing and setting high standards for work assures that each person tries their hardest and always reaches for new heights. By setting a high bar there is no room for excuses, and the atmosphere in the workplace becomes one of excellent behaviour and work completion. Everyone benefits from setting high expectations for themselves. Everything can be done better, faster, and more efficiently. There is never room for an “I can’t” attitude. Striving for the best is the true meaning of excellence. One can set high standards for work by putting 100% into every task at hand. By putting forth the best effort, only the best results can be produced. By challenging oneself in areas of weakness, self-improvement is sure to follow.

Explain how team members are managed when performance does not meet requirements Managing underperformance and performance management can be an extremely daunting and stressful experience. The process for performance management in the case of underperformance in most organisations is formal and involves evidence gathering, regular meetings and action planning with the employee’s concerned. Some areas of underperformance can be corrected quickly, other areas of underperformance cannot be resolved as easily and may involve managing the person outside of the organisation through performance appraisals or disciplinary meetings. It is important to first identify what the source of underperformance is and action it from there.