SOLUTIONS and PROCESSES

Teaming by Design

Design for Team Environments

Whether a group, a team, or a unit – an organization is first a collection of people working together to ensure the success of their organization.

Organizations are recognizing the need to encourage people to work collectively and to employ entrepreneurial activity at every level of the workforce. Yet, technological and organizational red tape often hinder individual contributions. Therefore, the best way to use entrepreneurial talent within an organization is to establish accountable work groups who champion a particular process, product or cause.

Creating those workgroups to achieve results without assistance can often be a cumbersome and error-ridden experience. To help organizations see their way through the obstacle course and onto the smooth team path ahead, McFletcher’s Teaming by Design process, facilitated in a consulting mode through learning transfer, enables organizations to design team structures, roles and tasks; to implement reward systems for both individual and team performance; and to train employees as they transition into new areas of accountability.

The Need

• Systems to support teams with:
  • communication methods
  • linkages with other teams
  • reward mechanisms
  • integration of teams’ work
  • computer tracking and access for shared information and planning
• Structure of the work environment to support the implementation of teams
• Role clarification for teams within the structure of the organization
• Assignment clarification – How one team assignment differs from another

McFletcher’s Response

• Design of the team structures in parallel with the creation of the organization’s vision
• Design processes for linkages and integra tion with other teams, and training team members on the process, establish communication methods and reward mechanism.
• Prototype training and coaching with the Teaming By Design book on how teams can work and think differently from a systems point of view.
• Demonstrate documentation formats and instructions for the organization and teams to use
• Implement WorkStyle Patterns® (WSP™) Inventories for Role Clarification:
  • Team Role Assessment Inventory
  • Team Assignment Inventory
• Equip organization with a Facilitator System and training programs for Facilitator’s role clarification and skill development

Teams are highly visible and valuable in organizations today. They may differ in title or purpose, such as semi-autonomous teams, multi-skilled groups, customer service units, high performance work groups, or quality control circles. However, they are not the result of any new discovery – traditional cultures have known for centuries that cohesive work groups with interdependent tasks and common goals outproduce and outperform any random collection of individuals.

For nearly three decades, The McFletcher Corporation has conducted various studies and collected data on WorkStyle preferences and team activities. We have created inventories such as the Team Role Assessment Inventory to help individuals and organizations profile assignments, match individuals to those assignments and build more effective teams.