dinsdag 16 november 2010

Five Steps to Effectively Manage Team Conflict

Teams often avoid conflict, fearing that it will disrupt the interpersonal relationships of team members and lead to poorer results. However, some conflict is necessary, even beneficial to team outcomes. "Passionate, unfiltered debate around issues of importance to the team" is essential to maximize team effectiveness (Lencioni, 2005, p. 37). In fact, one of the major advantages of cross-functional teams is the diversity of experts that come together to address a problem. In such a setting "we expect and want these differences to surface, because, in the end, we expect a better outcome to result" (Parker, 2003, p. 171). However, too much conflict can derail teams.

To gain the benefits of functional diversity that cross functional teams afford, and minimize debilitating conflict, I recommend the following five step process:

   1. Teams should complete a Myers Briggs (MBTI) or other personality profiling instrument for each team member. Many of these tools provide both individual and team profiles. A meeting can then be dedicated to explore each team member's and the team profiles. This allows team members to learn more about what motivates each individual, what their needs are, what they are uncomfortable with, etc... This builds more trust and understanding between team members and may provide insight into how each team member approaches conflict.
   2. Teams should also take a conflict style survey such as the Thomas-Kilmann survey which determines how each team member approaches conflict. "The Thomas-Kilmann Model describes five different approaches to conflict according to how people think about the importance of a task versus the importance of their relationship with people they work with" (p. 131). Individuals may be described as; Authoritative/Competitive; Problem Solving; Compromising; Avoiding; or Smoothing. An understanding of each other's conflict style helps team members recognize behaviors that may impair or impede effective teamwork.
   3. Based on the understanding acquired from personality and conflict profiles, team norms should be set to determine in advance how they will manage conflict. For example, if the team recognizes that more authoritative/competitive individuals may dominate discussions they will recognize the need to build norms that increase involvement by those who may have an avoiding style.
   4. Once norms are set, teams should brainstorm any possible obstacles which may interfere with open and productive discussions. They should agree on which obstacles threaten to derail the team and plan how to overcome these obstacles in advance. Teams that recognize potential obstacles will be less likely to become distracted by them when they occur.
   5. If certain conflicts have derailed discussions in the past, or if the team faces a new conflict, the team needs to address these issues. Too often, teams are reluctant to address these issues because they may fear the damage such a discussion has on the interpersonal relations of the team. Damage to interpersonal relationships can be avoided if team members a four step process for managing conflict assertively. This process entails:

Name the conflict, problem, emotion or situation that is causing the problem. In doing so, team members should not attack each other personally.. Rather they should "WACem" (Pachter and Magee 2000, p. 66). "WACem" stands for:

W = What. Tell the individual or team what the issue is without attacking personally.

A = Ask. Ask the individual or team what you would like the individual or team to change or do differently

C = Check-in. Ask the other individual or team what they think about the request.

As the team discusses the request, they should explore what the possible consequences of the problem may have on the team, the project, the clients, the results, etc...

Reach agreement on how to overcome the problem. Explore the positive outcomes that may occur by overcoming the issue or obstacle.

References:

Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team: A field guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pachter, B. and Magee, S. (2000). The power of positive confrontation: The skills you need to know to handle conflicts at work, at home, and in life. New York: Marlowe and Company.

Parker, G. M. (2002). Cross-functional teams: Working with allies, enemies, and other strangers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stowell, S.J. and Starcevich, M.M. (1998). The coach: Creating partnerships for a competitive edge. Salt Lake City, Utah: (CMOE Press).

Magnify: "To make great or greater; to enlarge; to augment; to exalt." - Webster

James' vision is to magnify individuals' natural abilities; maximizing their full potential and increasing their value as leaders and professionals in the organizations where they work and serve. He is the founder of Magnify Leadership and Development, a training consulting company with global experience in management/leadership and sales force effectiveness training; and the author of Magnify Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Leading Teams in Times of Change and training consultant.

7 Steps For Right and Effective Recruitment

After spending around 6 years in Staffing and Recruiting for IT, Software and BPO companies; I learned that attrition rate in all the companies are increasing day by day. The managements of many companies are not being able to retain their permanent employees and it results in decrease of the overall performance of the organization.

After thinking on this issue, I came to one conclusion: The attrition or turnover of the employees start from the very first step and that is Recruitment. If the recruitment is not right, there are more chances for an employee to leave the organization in a very short time.

One should take a lot much care while recruiting a permanent employee and should not only emphasize on technical skills. Even if one has to compromise little with the technical skills of a candidate to make sure he stays with the company for a long time, he should do that.

There are n number of factors which can give the hint whether the person will stay long with the company or he will run away soon!! Based on my experience, below I am listing few points which should be taken care while recruiting a permanent employee. These are my views and opinions based on my experience and readers are welcome to comment or criticize..:)

7 Steps for Right Recruitment

1. Understanding the Requirement

Make sure you have understood the requirement very well. You should not only look at the technical requirements but also try to understand the entire environment and situation of the vacancy. Why the vacancy is there? Is it a new vacancy or a replacement? If it is a replacement, what are reasons the previous employee on that position left the job or shifted or promoted?

2. Analyzing the position and team situation

After understanding the requirement, make sure you analyze the team environment and situation where the vacancy is open. Figure out the size of the team one has to work with. For example, if the team size of the position is 10 people, and if the incumbent has never worked in such team size, he wont be able to get adjusted easily. There are people who only gets adjusted with small teams and there are also professionals who can only work in big teams. This is the case with leading and management positions as well. If you try to hire a person who has led a team of 100 people and if he has to lead a team of only 5 people, there are always chances that he will be not satisfied and not get adjusted in the environment.

One also needs to check what kind of person the incumbent has to work with. Who is his supervisor; what kind of attitude he has and so on. In most of the cases, the study has found that an employee leaves because of his supervisor. Ultimately, the supervisor is the person who deals with him directly!!

3. Sourcing the right person

After analyzing the above two steps, now is the time to look for a right person. Match the technical skills, match the above two criteria and then call him for the interview. Salary is always an important criteria so never forget to match what he expects, what he has drawn, what is he drawing and what you can offer.

4. Gathering basic information

Many recruiters find it silly to gather the basic information about the candidate. However, this is where they make a big mistake. Basic information like birth place, current location, family background, marital status, hobbies etc. make a big difference. These are the details which can help a recruiter to figure out the candidate's current situation, his attitude, his hidden talents and skills and many more.

For example, if you have sourced a candidate who is female, recently married; there are chances for her to ask for maternity leave and the organization has to suffer. If you have a candidate who is relocating himself from his native location to a distant place, there are chances that if he gets a good opportunity in his native, he will accept it and run away. Similarly, if you find out the hobbies of a candidate you can figure out little about his attitude. If a candidate has been a soccer player in past, he may prove to be a good team member. If he is tennis player, he may like to work independently and so on..

So next time you interview someone, make sure you gather the basic information.

5. Interviewing

I will not discuss about the common things we ask while interviewing a candidate. Most of the recruiters or interviewers know what he has to check. But there are some other factors which need to be considered while interviewing. These are not the questions but hints we can get while interviewing.

    * Body Language
    * Facial expressions
    * Speech
    * Attitude
    * Habits


6. Presenting profiles to management

It is very important for a recruiter to see how he is presenting the profile to the management. Once a recruiter has shortlisted one profile, he should wait for few more to get shortlisted. A recruiter should always give choices to the management and not just one resume. The management should have a chance to compare at least 3-4 profiles for a position. So make sure, you always present at least 3-4 resumes for a position to your management.

7. Recruiter as a sales person

I always consider a recruiter as a sales person. He is actually selling jobs to a right candidate and again selling the right candidate to the management. The sales always include after sales service. Always make sure you update the candidates and management about the latest status and keep both of them updated and posted.