Inspiration and news
"When does a team need team development?"
If one has never experienced team development and the associated added value of it, it can remain unclear when a team needs such a team-out. However, the experiences associated with team development are not always positive, as my own first experience many years ago shows: the external facilitator had not been informed about the team-internal conflicts, the day’s agenda was as a consequence chosen inappropriately, the tensions exploded an hour before the end of the day, and on the same evening the team leader resigned.
Maybe that is why it is important to me to repeatedly explain what good team development can be, as I hear too often from teams that a day ended in tears, that individuals felt exposed, or that team dynamics were even worse afterwards. Yet, with the right set-up and the appropriate methods, great things can be achieved.
Together, more can be achieved when skills, interests and personalities complement each other.
This is why companies continue to rely on teamwork – and on team development – so that the collaboration and performance of a group of people improves in such a way that common goals are achieved more efficiently and mutual trust is strengthened. Such team development usually takes place in workshops off-site and can be triggered by a variety of factors: the formation of a new team, a change in leadership, changes in tasks and work processes, conflicts or communication problems, or a sudden drop in performance.
How can I tell if a team development process is set up for success?
For a workshop to end with more energy, clarity, and team cohesion, there are a few things to consider when selecting the facilitator and designing the workshop structure:
The facilitator shall focus on guiding the process and providing structure while remaining impartial and neutral. Offering ideas and input is ok to a limited extent, as is providing feedback on team interaction. However, the new clarity and possible solutions must come from the team itself, as it is the team and not the facilitator who is responsible for their implementation after the workshop has ended.
It is not the facilitator or the team leader who should do most of the talking, but the team itself. If not everyone is “on air” within the first 15 minutes, a passive, wait-and-see attitude often results, which cannot be overcome later.
The focus should be on the truly relevant issues, even if they are controversial or unpleasant. The task of a facilitator is then to build the necessary psychological safety and courage and to help everyone get through the difficult moments.
Everyone feels comfortable during team development, which is evident through mutual listening, eye contact and shared laughter. If anyone feels excluded, the reasons for this and how it affects the team are examined together.
In the end, everyone has more clarity about the next steps towards a solution and feels jointly responsible. Accordingly, the focus of team development is more on finding solutions than on exploring problems, more on experience than on rational thinking, and more on involving everyone than on delegating responsibility to the team leader.
When team development is experienced in such a way, the associated investment quickly pays off in the form of greater commitment to team goals, greater cohesion, and greater clarity about mutual (performance) expectations. This may be the reason why many teams begin to schedule regular time-outs to reflect on their collaboration and develop further...
Running a retrospective as a short team development exercise
Conducting a retrospective is a good way to reflect on teamwork. Within a short period of time, clarity emerges regarding the strengths and areas for development in teamwork, and potential improvements can be realised. The following steps help to ensure that such reflection is successful:
Clarify the focus of the retrospective and suggest categories for reflection (10 minutes): Either reflect on the collaboration in general or focus on one aspect of it (e.g. communication, clarity of responsibilities, etc.). The categories most commonly used are ‘keep’, ‘change/restart’ and ‘stop’. Alternatively, the keywords ‘our success factors’ and ‘our blockers’ can also serve as points of reference.
Assess the current situation alone or in small groups (10 - 15 minutes): Describe the team situation on Post-it notes so that the resulting notes can then be shared in a plenary session.
Share findings and derive action points (45 - 60 minutes): Reflect on the collaboration Post-it notes based on the categories to derive improvements and action points. The latter are recorded, assigned to individuals and their implementation is ensured.
Reflection on the retrospective (10 minutes): As a brief feedback from everyone, the quality of the retrospective is reflected upon at the end, e.g. with questions such as ‘how comfortable did you feel?, ‘how helpful was it?, ‘how honest were you? or simply ‘how much energy did you get?'.
As a reminder: you can use the team compass to quickly identify any need for action.
Decision-making process to know whether team development is needed
Are there collaboration problems in the team?
If not, keep working and enjoy the good atmosphere in the team!
If yes: Is the whole team affected or just individuals?
If only individuals are affected: The issue should be resolved bilaterally or with the individuals concerned. Depending on the scale of the problem, external support may come in helpful to reduce the pressure on oneself as team leader.
If the whole team is involved: Is it a conflict or more a communication and collaboration problem?
If it is a conflict: In this case, (external) mediation is recommended, as one as team leader is either biased or involved in the conflict.
If it is communication and collaboration problem: Team development proves to be help here as it creates the time and space to address the issues at hand and develop ideas for improvement together. If the problems are minor, such discussions often work out pretty well even with no external support. If the challenges are more substantial, external moderation is recommended to benefit from a wider range of methods and a neutral outside perspective.
Is there a desire to further improve collaboration?
If not: Continue working and, if necessary, create interest in further development!
If yes: Do individual persons or the entire team wish to improve collaboration?
If individual persons wish to improve collaboration: Collaboration can be reflected upon bilaterally to realise potential for improvement.
If the whole team wants to participate: Team development is recommended here, e.g. in the form of a reflection sequence during a team meeting, which is self-moderated, or as a one-day workshop with external support.
"Whenever an ambulance drives past me, I know I have to be careful today!"
I remember this statement and the exercise that went as if it was yesterday. 2016 in Berlin on a gloomy Friday afternoon during my training as a change process facilitator. We were given the task of choosing a question that was currently on our minds. To then go outside. To completely clear our minds and connect with the world. “Flirt with the world, and the world will flirt with you!” was the invitation. I do not remember the question I chose, nor do I remember my attempts to flirt with the world. But the subsequent debriefing and the comment made by a fellow participant “When an ambulance passes me on the way to a workshop, I know that today I have to be careful” is still with me today.
"It should be possible to use a few questions to find out where a team's strengths lie and where the areas for development are!"
"It should be possible to use a few questions to find out where a team's strengths lie and where the areas for development are!" A participant in the ETH leadership seminar asked me this in a slightly demanding tone. I thought for a moment and replied: "There are various questionnaires and models for teams and team dynamics, but they each focus on one aspect of a team. As far as I know, there is no collection of questions that looks at a team as a whole. But something like that can be developed.".
Feeling a bit like Heidi Klum!
A little Heidi Klum feeling: an impressive CV and the skills required for the next step in your career. An assessment center as a stopover to achieve this goal. Me as a coach at my side, helping with the preparation and suddenly feeling a little bit like Heidi Klum sending her models onto the catwalk.
Can you kiss the frog prince?
Can you kiss the frog prince? This question stuck with me and I still differentiate between HR and organizational development based on this logic today. While HR development is about helping employees realize their potential and turning them into princesses, organizational development is about a system that cannot be kissed.
"Since I turned my vocation into my profession, working feels like leisure time!"
This feedback pleased me particularly, as I feel the same way since the change into my current role but also because the starting point for the coaching regarding a professional reorientation had not been the easiest: a position that had been achieved through a lot of effort and personal investment, with the prospect of a next career step. Further education in a field that did not immediately promise career change opportunities combined with the desire for more meaning and fulfilment at work.