
Teams, Teambuilding and Co-operation

Teambuilding is more than just training

When working in a classical way the organisation will be different than when working with groups or teams. In most of our structures and regulations even in our laws the emphasis is on the individual in the organisation.

When deciding for teams, training is just not enough. The organisation, the structure and the way we "do and measure" things have to change. The way we measure performance, we reward people, we structure our departments, positions, etc.

Restructuring and training have to go hand in hand. Training without restructuring and restructuring without training will not be effective in the end.

Within SYNACT both skills are brought together and focused on working with teams. In the change process organisation goals are as important as personality. We look at remuneration and at relationships. In a process of change and training on the job, an organisation will be converted to teams. Leadership will change, but the focus will stay on mission values and goals.

How does SYNACT do teambuilding?

In a teambuilding programme SYNACT addresses all seven requirements using its unique Theory of Phases described below. In practice SYNACT professionals take the following four steps. We:

1. take a quick scan of how the team currently functions.

2. give feedback to the customer and collect information about the mission and goals of the organisation.

3. conduct tailor-made teambuilding sessions, in which the team itself:

analyses its current situation;
sets its own goals;
creates its own work plan.

4. review the team's progress by:

evaluating the attainment of the teamgoals;
defining and gaining agree-ment for the next work plan.

Teambuilding by SYNACT:

Creating teams that meet the 7 requirements,
that fulfils the 7 prerequisites

1. Clear goals which have the agreement and commitment of the entire team.

Especially at the outset, SYNACT insists that a team expresses its goals in clear, unambiguous terms.

A team's goals must be embedded in the policies and goals of the organisation itself. We usually start the process of clarification by analysing how well the team presently operates. Bottlenecks that inhibit the team from reaching its primary goals become evident to everyone on the team.

Removing these bottlenecks then becomes a goal that is integrated into the other goals of the team on a "prerequisite tree". This is a diagrammatic representation of the order in which things need to be done if the principal team goal is to be achieved. (See the illustration) In this process teammembers can articulate their goals in unambiguous language and prioritise them in a way all can see.

Since the team members themselves uncover the bottlenecks and set the goals they want to reach, they become very explicit about the direction they must take. They see with utmost clarity what their challenges are and, because they have done the work themselves, are truly committed to meeting them.

2. Sufficient variety among its members.

Among the advantages that a team enjoys over working individually is its ability to bring together individuals with complementary skills and styles. What one person cannot do, another can. A team brings together a richness of experience, knowledge and personality. A team will be stronger, for example, if its quiet and meticulous workers support and are supported by its creative extroverts. This is why we look for variety when selecting a team.

3. Acceptance of the attributed roles.

"Teamrole management", an approach developed by Professor Belbin of Cambridge University is at the heart of SYNACT's teambuilding methodology.

Within well-functioning teams Belbin distinguished nine different roles. Every team member is normally good at two or three of these roles and sees them as his or her own. Other team members provide the missing roles, resulting in a completely functioning team.

SYNACT professionals help each team member to gain insight into the roles that are most natural for him or her and the roles that must be provided by others. In addition, we help the teammembers to see the importance of "being different" from each other. Putting this insight into practise can turn annoyance and irritation with others' differences into appreciation and even admiration.

When we find an imbalance of roles, or find that certain roles are missing in an already in-place team, we encourage individual team members to consciously develop and use their secondary and

tertiary role capabilities, to provide the roles the team needs to be complete.

4. A well-defined workplan with clearly-set processes and procedures.

To develop a work plan, a team prepares several action plans as starting points. These meet the demands that come both from its analysis of its own current condition and the goals it wants to reach.

Each action plan is linked to the prerequisite tree. The team agrees on which members will be responsible for each action and sets deadlines for completion.

During planning sessions, action plans are always diagrammed in a clear and structured way so that they can be seen and understood by all. Everyone is involved in creating the plans.

SYNACT professionals along with the team leader initially guide the process, but soon all team members become involved in and responsible for the directions taken. We challenge the team with probing questions.

The team learns to build checkpoints into each plan and to control and evaluate the results without disturbing their normal meeting structure.

5. Positive interrelationships.

SYNACT uses a number of methods to accomplish mutual appreciation and trust. Highlighting the teamroles and the value of being different (see point 3), is one of them. People will learn to accept themselves as they are as well as to contribute in a positive way.

Furthermore, SYNACT has available a number of games, like the training game DIVERSOPHY™. This game is suited for use in international teams, which like to appreciate their differences in culture and background. THE CHALLENGE PROGRAM™ is a management learning game.

6. Effective leadership.

SYNACT teaches the team leader to guide the team by means of participative management.

This is taken into account during all the sessions with the team. Attention is paid to leadership style and skills throughout the training sessions.There is also the option that the team leader will be privately coached by a SYNACT professional. (This is an optical service)

7. Shared success.

SYNACT deliberately strives to get the team to start working on the actionplans already after the first set of sessions.

These concrete plans are aimed at accomplishing goals that are of value to the organisation. The team gets an opportunity to score quickly. The fact that these goals already contribute to the accomplishment of the main goal, makes the scoring even more intense and therefore valuable.

Cycle of Phases

The sequence in which these seven prerequisites are given attention to, has a strong influence on the success.

The team is going through these phases in a cyclic way. The five phases through which a team can develop success are:

A) Selection: bringing the team together. To select the members according to their roll, skills and experience of working in a team.

B) Information: clarifying the purpose and goal of the team in view of their assignment within the organisation.

C) Identification: the participants have to identify themselves, on a professional and personal level, with the team and the goal.

D) Integration: the natural step after Identification. The team combines skills and make plans of action under a clear team co-ordination.

E) Innovation: all steps are brought together to achieve the realisation of the goal. And make the transition within the organisation.

The Playfull Approach

The maze is a training module forcing the participants to concentrate on the customer / supplier relationship. The participants deal with a task set within an electronic labyrinth .

The route can only be found by trial and error. As in real life, there are rules which are binding everybody in the game. Before starting, a strategy will be agreed, which must be adhered to by everybody. The process of agreeing on a strategy is in itself an extremely important part of the training. The correct solution of this task requires the participants to think strategically and to co-operate. During the game the group is observed by the trainer. The information thus acquired is used in the debrief. A number of common aspects, such as the effect of inertia, goal setting, effectiveness and efficiency will be discussed. During the debrief session many aspects will be discussed including:
- how mistakes slip in
- complying with agreed strategy
- customer / supplier relationship
- clarity of communication
A strategy for the second round will be formulated using the experience gained to date.
The best results will be achieved when this game is introduced as an integral part of a team training on strategy or establishing common goals. Many aspects of how the work is done and can be done will be come clear and it will be possible to see what can go wrong.

The maze is an excellent module for integration into a Team Training or in a one-day-training with a very precise goal. One day is needed to obtain the optimum benefit from this module. The special characteristics of this module enable it also to be used for an evening program, an introduction or at the end of a program.

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