Developing Effective Team Relationship - Literature review Example

Communication Skills Required in Developing Effective Team Relationship And Monitoring Performance of Group Activities Communication Skills Required in Developing Effective Team Relationship And Monitoring Performance of Group Activities There is no person who does not use interpersonal skills because interpersonal communication relates all the human activity. Communication is a complete process beginning with communicator’s sending message to receivers (Courtland and Thil 1992). Skills of communication have a vital role in building up a good reputation. Effective communication in team building happens with great effort which includes participation and agreement between the members (Rosemboun 2005). When all the members are convinced of achieving the same goal effective team building is made possible. It is important to se how vital is communication skill in effectively motivating the team members to achieve the same goal. Eventually a team tastes success when there is a solid and healthy relationship with each other and measuring the improvement in the performance of it as a group. Developing to be an Effective Communicator In order to develop effective communication skills one must have a change in attitude towards the environment. Such transformation makes a person free of all inhibitions. This change will bring certain qualities in a person who undergoes that change in his/her personality. Firstly, good communicators have good perceptions for instance they can read the mind of their audience and can modify their message accordingly. A communicator will have precision as they will be able to create an accurate vocal picture in the mind of the listener. Good communicators also develop a credibility as they would appear to be believable and trust worthy people. Moreover, good communicators can control the conversation as well as the minds of the listeners. He can motivate the listeners in line with the intend of the message. Finally, good communicators always develop congeniality as they always maintain pleasant and positive relationship with their audience (Hamilton, et. al 1998). An effective communicator can motivate and hold people together for communication can be used as the glue to hold the solidarity of the team. A good leader, therefore, must craft the massage with utmost care, so that he/she will be able to overcome barriers and influence the listeners to act in the intended way. As species, the development for homo sapience was faster than all other species. The obvious reason to such a phenomenon was human being’s ability to communicate. Hence the skill of communication became the core of cooperation and betterment of mankind. The times have passed, human beings based their existence and development on this skill which taken humans across communities, countries and continents. Now he is on the verge of moving across planets. The narration explains how communication is being the key to success in leadership. Communication is the most common denominator that supports all the activities of a team (Courtland and Thil 1992). None of the basic procedures of managing or leading a team is possible with out communication. As explained earlier, a leader need to have those qualities explained earlier such as precision, perception, control and congeniality. Potential of a group is in close relation with the self efficacy of the group members, argues Lindsly, Brass and Thomas (1995). However, both these terms would mean the self belief every member of a team has about the team’s ability to achieve the goal. This positive forebear of effectiveness is made possible due to the good communication of the team leader and the existing positive communication among the team members. Starting from the initial process of management – the pioneering personality declaring the need of a group to achieve certain objectives – the flow of ideas, thoughts, and actions begins by the means of transferring information. Thus, the stages of planning, leading, appointing and controlling are the key areas which cannot progress without effective communication skills. Communication a Medium and Conductor Information would remain stagnant if not communicated properly on time; the teams would either remain immobilised or get dispersed if it lacks adequate information. The communication in a group is usually done in two levels like individual level and group level. At the individual level the communication is a one-to-one oral conversation. It was a common practise in the small firms in the earlier days, whereas, the practice has changed and group level communication has become more prevalent as the companies started designing jobs for a more socially accepted concept of team working (Hamilton, et. al 1998). Companies have experienced the fact that effective team operation can increase the speed and quality of the work, even when the team members are stationed in different locations. It is important understand a team, in order to fully comprehend the role of communication in the effectiveness of a team. Developing on the work of Alderfer (1997), Hackman (1987) had argued that a team is a collection of interdependent individuals who aim to achieve same task completion and share the responsibility for the outcome. Being an intact social entity implanted in one or more social systems, they need to manage their relationship across organisational boundaries. For instance, in a working group one of them might pass the product of her/his work to the other to do the next level, the responsibility for the quality of outcome is equally shared by all the members. While effective team relationships are achieved through internal communication, researches show that positive results are generated by various reasons such as better communication and cooperation with external groups as well as better knowledge (Magjuka and Baldwin 1991). Vinokur-Kaplan (1995) states collaboration to be a positive factor in boosting the overall effectiveness and individual well being in a group. The process of leading is based up on decision making and action taking. These two aspects are vital in all the levels of a project implementation. A sum total of these procedures are to be turned into departmental objectives and corporate goals. It is effective communication that links both decision making and action taking. So in accomplishing common objectives and in influencing others, oral communication is the most powerful form of communication. Power of oral communication derives from the fact that in oral communication one has the opportunity to hear and to be heard. In other words, listening is an essential and integral part of effective communication. Building up an effective group requires the leader to be attentive towards the needs, wants, desires and expectations of the team members. In order to determine the effectiveness of the team relationship, a continues assessment of the employee progress and performance must be carried out. This assessment will not be possible if managers start micro-managing the team members, but while communicating with the employees effectively, the managers must observe the interpersonal relationships, individual behaviours and their team dynamics. There have to be regular group meeting where the leader needs to listen and communicate adequately. This is the phase in which external communication also play a significant role. The team at this phase needs a lot of protection and support so the team members would constantly communicate between themselves as well as to their seniors in the organizational hierarchy. The project coordinators or supervisors will need constant advice on the details of the design and implementation of the activities, in addition, the temporary changes in the allocation of the task. Activities and interviews are to be conducted to look for ideas regarding the market in general, competition and technology. Communication with the team members regarding the protection of the information from leaking out to the other competitors is also an essential aspect at this stage. Though these communications are conducted within the group or with in the organisations, such type of conversations has an external nature. Excessive communication in any of these aspects could result in a negative impact, therefore, external communication is positively associated with manager rating. In fact, there are many factors that turns a team into a successful team. Aviations’ crew management is the industrial sector historically believed to have come up with research studies on effective team work. Effective leadership, common purpose, measurable goals, mutual respect, good cohesion and most importantly good communication are considered to be the characteristics of an effective team. “Good teams share ideas and information quickly and regularly, keep written records as well as allow time for team reflection. Some of the most in-depth analysis of inter-professional team communication has occurred in high stakes teams such as are found in surgery” (Lingard, 2006) The importance of team work and group decisions are up with contemporary business and management trends. The communication for team leaders in the given atmosphere requires communicating persuasively and with purpose. Group meetings are essential in coordinating today’s business operations. Good communication skills leads a team meeting towards a better decision due the combined intelligence put in the meeting. It is the communication that makes the members feel respected, recognised and involved in the society. It improves the commitment and loyalty of the concerned person. Brain storming and group dynamics are made possible in a group meeting. When communicating with team one needs to keep a simple language, a language appropriate to your operational sector. It is not necessary for everyone to know the technical terms the leader might use, it will be the responsibility of the communicator to alter the speech in accordance with the audience. Always communicate to the group in a credible manner, even if the information is not pleasant to the listeners. Get to know each other well, because working together becomes more fun and productive as you know each other more (Rosemboun 2005). Moreover, when the group start meeting regularly they start developing their own norms of behaviour and will be self motivated to obey them. As one improves to be an effective communicator leading a successful team, it is vital to improve in listening skills. At no point of one education or training listening is taught. Other three operational skills of the language such as reading, speaking and writing are taught. Listening of a leader is a conscious effort to here a speaker. As far as the communication is concerned it is matching of the signals of the sender and the receiver. Listening is the most significant part of the entire process of communication. The extend of listening and understanding in a conversation determines the effectiveness of the communication (Courtland and Thil 1992). Overall, communication is the sole requisite for forming a performing team and assessing its performance. Communicating in a language is not a coveted skill, but making effective communication to lead a group towards successful business operation is a skill which needs to be practiced and acquired. Listening well and continually clarifying and answering the queries of the members in a credible manner are some of the important aspects in maintaining the solidarity within the team’s operations. Reference Alderfer, C. P. (1997) Group and Intergroup Relations. Palisades CA Goodyear. Courtland, B. L and Thil, J. (1992) Business Communication Today. New York, McGraw Hill Inc. Hackman, J. R. (1987) The Design of Work Teams. Englewood Cliffs NJ Prentice-Hall Hamilton, Cheryl and Cordel (1998) Communicating for Results a Guide for Business and the Professionals. Washington, USA Wordsworth Publishing Co. Lindsly, H., Brass, D. J. and Thomas, J. B. (1995) Efficacy Performance Spirals: A Multi Level Perspective. Academy of Management Review 20(3) 645-678. Lingard, L. (2006) A theory Based Instrument to Evaluate Team Communication in the Operating Room: Balancing Measurement Reliability and Authenticity. Quality and Safety in Health Care 15(6) 422-426. Magjuka, R. J. and Baldwin, T. T (1991) Team Based Employee Environmental Program: Effects of Design and Administration. Personal Psychology 44: 793-812 Rosemboun, T. (2005) Effective Communication Skills for Highway and Public Works Officials. Cornell local roads program Ithaca New York. Vinokur-Kaplan, D. (1995) Treatment Teams That Work (and Those That Don’t): An Application of Hackman’s Group Effectiveness Model to Interdisciplinary Teams in psychiatric hospitals. Journal of Applied Behavioural Science 31(3) 303-327 Read More