Team working skill

                   The questionnaire which follows should help you to analyses the workings of a group and should help you to reach some tentative conclusions about your role in a team. For this exercise you will need to think of teams of which you are or were a part. These could be project groups for your course, seminar groups, sports teams, societies or clubs in which you were involved, vacation jobs in which you were part of a team, or even perhaps when you were sharing a house with a group of students. The roles people play in meetings. There are a number of different roles that people adopt in meetings, some of which are listed below. These roles are not always constant - one person might adopt several of these roles during one meeting or change roles depending on what is being discussed. Your score for each category should give you some idea of which of these roles you play in teams. 

What makes an effective team? 

 It has a range of individuals who contribute in different ways (see the roles above) and complement each other. A team made up just of planners would find it difficult to cope with changing deadlines or plans whereas a team full of spontaneous individuals would be disorganised: you need both types. A good team produces more than the individual contributions of members. 

What makes an ineffective team 

 People talk more than they listen and only a few people may contribute.  Some members are silent and don't contribute. They may be indifferent, bored or afraid to contribute.  Members ideas are dismissed or even ridiculed and their views are ignored.  There are arguments between members of the group (as opposed to constructive differences of opinion).  One or two members dominate the others and make the decisions.  Disagreements are put to the vote without being discussed.  Some members are unhappy with decisions and grumble privately afterwards.  Little effort is made to keep to the point or to work to deadlines.  There is a lack of clarity regarding goals and specific tasks are not agreed to.  Roles are not delegated to particular team members.  There is a lack of trust and helpfulness.  Members don't talk about how the group is working or the problems it faces. 

Destructive or selfish group roles to avoid! 

 Autocrat: tries to dominate or constantly interrupt other members of the team.  Show Off: talks all the time and thinks they know all the answers.  Butterfly: keeps changing the topic before others are ready.  Aggressor: doesn't show respect to others, comments negatively about them.  Avoider: refuses to focus on the task or on group relationship problems. 

 Critic: always sees the negative side to any argument, but never suggests alternatives. Puts down the ideas of others.  Help seeker: looks for sympathy from others: victim  Self-confessor: uses the group as a forum for inappropriate talk about self. More read