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Cardon_3e_Ch03_Instructor_PPTkcedits1.pptxChapter 3 Team Communication and Difficult Conversations
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Team Assignment
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Your Team and Roles
Each of you must assume one of the following roles for the meeting
1. -- Marketing Manager - to represent the customers and the messaging/branding of the company
2– Finance Manager – to represent the financial interests of the company
3– Human Resources Manager – to represent the employees of the company and their needs
Also, each member must take assume one of the following roles:
Meeting facilitator and coordinator
Create and distribute agenda via email before the meeting.
Create and distribute meeting minutes after the meeting
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Practicing Team Communication Business Meetings
The scenario:
Your boss has come to you and asked for a solution to the following problem: Your company's email contact list is down by 30% over the past year because your customers are opting out. You must develop a plan to address the problem. Plan a meeting. Design an agenda and a team to address the problem.
You can choose your company together.
Source: https://www.usbusiness-news.com/2018-consumers-more-aware-than-ever-of-ability-to-opt-out-of-marketing-communications-new-research-finds.
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Your Assignment
1. Create a team.
2. Assign team roles.
3. Via email, the team must find and agree on a meeting time outside of class when you can all participate.
4. Create and send out an agenda out before the meeting
5. Meet to develop a response to the case study scenario.
Be sure to represent your position’s interests within the meeting. Develop a list of potential solutions to the problem for the CEO.
6. Develop and send minutes out after the meeting.
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Your Assignment
By the assignment due date, you need to submit the following items, as a team.
Team participants and roles
Meeting agenda(s)
Meeting minutes
Meeting email invitations and scheduling email (screenshoot).
If any team member doesn’t attend the meeting, or participate in the allocation of duties, he/she will not receive credit for the assignment.
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TEAM FACILITATORS
Tips and Advice
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Barriers to Team Effectiveness
Ineffective communication
Lack of effective chartering and goal setting
Lack of clarity and understanding of roles
Low morale
Low productivity
Lack of trust
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In a recent survey, business professionals cited ineffective communication (66 percent) as the biggest barrier to team effectiveness. Other major barriers included lack of effective chartering and goal setting (56 percent), lack of clarity and understanding of roles (47 percent), low morale (44 percent), low productivity (42 percent), and lack of trust (36 percent). All of these factors relate to communication competencies.
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Frustrating Aspects of Being Part of a Team for Business Professionals
Ineffective use of meeting time
Ineffective communication among team members
Lack of accountability
Individuals who don’t complete assignments
Lack of preparation in meetings
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Similarly, when ranking the most frustrating aspects of being part of a team, business professionals cite the following: ineffective use of meeting time (54 percent), ineffective communication among team members (50 percent), lack of accountability (47 percent), individuals who don’t complete assignments (44 percent), and lack of preparation in meetings (41 percent). All of these factors in turn relate to communication competencies.
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Principles of Effective Team Communication
Teams should focus first and foremost on performance.
Teams go through four natural stages to reach high performance.
Effective teams build a work culture around values, norms, and goals.
Effective teams meet often.
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Your teams will perform far better if they follow the basic principles of team communication, all of which depend on a strong listening-centered approach. Work in teams is among the most researched aspects of work performance, and hundreds of studies have supported each of the following principles:
Teams should focus first and foremost on performance.
Teams go through four natural stages to reach high performance.
Effective teams build a work culture around values, norms, and goals.
Effective teams meet often.
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Developing Quick Trust and Working in Short-Term Teams
Get to know each other.
Hold an effective launch meeting.
Commit to working together and separately.
Set up a deliverable schedule and evaluate performance regularly.
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Many teams are created to accomplish projects in short periods of time, often in just a few weeks up to a few months. Short-term teams face unique challenges. To develop quick trust is critical: Get to know each other; hold an effective launch meeting; commit to working together and separately; and set up a deliverable schedule and evaluate performance regularly.
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Behaviors that Drive Diversity
Making sure everyone is heard
Making it safe to let team members express novel ideas
Giving team members decision-making authority
Sharing credit
Giving useful feedback
Putting feedback into action
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The following behaviors help drive acquired diversity: (1) making sure everyone is heard, (2) making it safe to let team members express novel ideas, (3) giving team members decision-making authority, (4) sharing credit, (5) giving useful feedback, and (6) putting feedback into action. In short, these behaviors drive an innovative, “speak-up culture.”
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Running Effective Meetings
Create tradition, culture, and variety
Set expectations and follow the agenda
Encourage participation and expression of ideas
Build consensus and a plan of action
Closing the meeting
Dealing with difficult people
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If you’ve planned and prepared well for the meeting, you are in a great position to carry out your meeting objectives. Ideally, you’ve provided clear expectations for meeting participants—what they should have done before the meeting and what they can expect in terms of content and length of the meeting. Once the meeting arrives, you have several options for achieving productive outcomes:
Create tradition, culture, and variety.
Set expectations and follow the agenda.
Encourage participation and expression of ideas.
Build consensus and a plan of action.
Close the meeting.
Deal with difficult people.
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Principles of Effective Team Communication
Effective teams embrace differing viewpoints and conflict.
Effective teams provide a lot of positive feedback and evaluate their performance often.
Effective teams feel a common sense of purpose.
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Some additional principles are:
Effective teams embrace differing viewpoints and conflict.
Effective teams provide a lot of positive feedback and evaluate their performance often.
Effective teams feel a common sense of purpose.
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Managing Difficult Conversations
Difficult conversations often center on disagreements, conflict, and bad news.
Many people prefer to avoid difficult conversations because they want to avoid hurting the feelings of others or want to avoid conflict.
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Business professionals routinely—often on a daily basis—encounter difficult conversations, especially when working in teams and collaborating with others. Difficult conversations are approached with apprehension, nervousness, anxiety, and even fear. Difficult conversations often center on disagreements, conflict, and bad news. Many people prefer to avoid difficult conversations because they want to avoid hurting the feelings of others, want to avoid conflict, or for other reasons.
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Principles of Difficult Conversations
Embrace difficult conversations.
Assume the best in others.
Adopt a learning stance.
Stay calm/overcome noise.
Find common ground.
Disagree diplomatically.
Avoid exaggeration and either/or approaches.
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Most people back away from uncomfortable or unpleasant conversations. This is particularly the case when we feel we have a lot to gain but risk heavy losses if it doesn’t go right. For these reasons, difficult conversations are often emotionally challenging. Successful people in the workplace do not evade difficult conversations. Those who regularly tackle them with skill and tact improve work performance for themselves and others. These basic, tried-and-true principles for handling difficult conversations in the workplace rely on active listening with a learner mind-set:
Embrace difficult conversations.
Assume the best in others.
Adopt a learning stance.
Stay calm/overcome noise.
Find common ground.
Disagree diplomatically.
Avoid exaggeration and either/or approaches.
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How To Disagree Diplomatically
Typically, you can disagree diplomatically by validating the views and feelings of others and using I-statements.
Validating others means that you recognize their perspectives and feelings as credible or legitimate. It does not necessarily mean that you agree.
I-statements begin with phrases such as I think, I feel, or I believe. During disagreements or difficult conversations, I-statements soften comments to sound more conciliatory and flexible and less blaming and accusatory
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You can disagree diplomatically by validating the views and feelings of others and using I-statements. Validating others means that you recognize their perspectives and feelings as credible or legitimate. It does not necessarily mean that you agree. I-statements begin with phrases such as I think, I feel, or I believe. They soften comments to sound more conciliatory and flexible and less blaming and accusatory.
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Agendas and Meeting Planning
Tips and Advice
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Survey Monkey
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Doodle polls
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Planning for Meetings: Essential Questions
What is the purpose of the meeting? What outcomes do I expect?
Who should attend?
When should the meeting be scheduled?
What roles and responsibilities should people at the meeting have?
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Planning for meetings requires strategy, scheduling, and coordination. At a minimum, you should answer the following questions in your preparations:
What is the purpose of the meeting?
Who should attend?
When should the meeting be scheduled?
What roles and responsibilities should people at the meeting have?
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Figure 3.6 Least Productive Parts of the Workday
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Generally, you should avoid meetings, especially brainstorming meetings, during the least productive times of the day (usually the afternoon). Typically, most employees are at their best performance in the morning (see Figure 3.6).
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Planning for Meetings: Essential Questions
What will be the agenda?
What materials should I distribute prior to the meeting?
When and how should I invite others?
What logistical issues do I need to take care of (reserving rooms, getting equipment, printing materials)?
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Other questions that you should answer in preparing for meeting include the following:
What will be the agenda?
What materials should I distribute prior to the meeting?
When and how should I invite others?
What logistical issues do I need to take care of (reserving rooms, getting equipment, printing materials)?
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Creating and Distributing the Agenda
Agendas provide structure for meetings.
Most agendas should include:
Date time and location of the meetings
Agenda items
Time frames
Goals/expected outcomes
Materials needed
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Agendas provide structure for meetings. For most meetings, preparing and distributing an agenda ahead of time allows each meeting participant to form expectations and prepare. Most agendas should include items to be covered, time frames, goals and/or expected outcomes, roles, and materials needed. You can foster more effective meetings by getting others involved in the agenda-creation process. For example, at least several days in advance, ask meeting participants for agenda items they want included.
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Figure 3.6 Creating and Distributing the Agenda
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As you develop the agenda, pay attention to the ordering of items so that it flows much like you would expect other written communications to flow from point to point. Also, consider placing those agenda items of most importance near the beginning. This way, if items take longer than expected and you are forced to shelve some items, you have addressed the highest-priority items. See Figure 3.7 for an agenda for the Prestigio marketing team.
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Meeting Agenda Email
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Taking Meeting Minutes
Tips and Advice
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Record the meeting.
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Share minutes promptly after meeting.
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Meeting Minutes/Follow Up
Meeting minutes must include:
Who attended?
What are the important decisions that were made?
What are the important action items that need to be addressed and who is responsible for each item?
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Meeting follow-up/minutes components include the following:
Date and time
Team members present
Meeting roles
Key decisions
Key discussion points (optional)
Open issues (optional)
Action items and deadlines
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Figure 3.7 Following Up After Meetings
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Follow up by distributing the minutes of the meeting. Minutes of the meeting should include the date and time, team members present, decisions, key discussion points, open issues, and action items and related deadlines. You can also include names of people who were invited but were absent and the assigned roles (i.e., note-taker). The minutes serve as a record of what your team accomplished. Figure 3.8 provides an example of meeting minutes.
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Working in Virtual Teams
Focus on building trust at each stage of your virtual team.
Meet in person if possible.
Get to know one another.
Use collaborative technologies.
Choose an active team leader.
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In addition to the principles for working effectively in traditional teams, consider the following tips when working in virtual teams:
Focus on building trust at each stage of your virtual team.
Meet in person if possible.
Get to know one another.
Use collaborative technologies.
Choose an active team leader.
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Virtual meetings
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Run Effective Virtual Meetings
Start the meeting with social chat.
Start with a contentious question.
Ask “what do you think about” questions.
Make sure each team member is involved.
Articulate views precisely.
Take minutes in real time.
Focus on your teammates and avoid multitasking.
Use video when possible.
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Consider the following tips to make your virtual meetings more productive:
Start the meeting with social chat.
Start with a contentious question.
Ask “what do you think about” questions.
Make sure each team member is involved.
Articulate views precisely.
Take minutes in real time.
Focus on your teammates and avoid multitasking.
Use video when possible.
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Stages of Development in High-Performance Teams (1 of 2)
Forming stage
Team members focus on gaining acceptance and avoiding conflict.
Storming stage
Team members open up with their competing ideas about how the team should approach work.
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In the forming stage (months 1 and 2), team members focus on gaining acceptance and avoiding conflict. In some ways, this stage is a honeymoon period in which team members get to know one another.
In the storming stage (months 2 and 3), team members open up with their competing ideas about how the team should approach work. This stage is typically the least productive, since team members are attempting to make sense of uncertain roles, goals, and accountabilities.
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Figure 3.1 Stages of Development in High-Performance Teams
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Nearly all high-performing teams go through four stages before they maximize their performance. In best-case scenarios, work teams take roughly six to seven months to reach this level (see Figure 3.1). Typically, leaders become less directive and more consultative as the team progresses through the stages: forming, storming, norming, and performing.
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Stages of Development in High-Performance Teams (2 of 2)
Norming stage
The team arrives at a work plan, including roles, goals, and accountabilities.
Performing stage
The team operates efficiently toward accomplishing its goals.
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In the norming stage (months 4 and 5), the team arrives at a work plan, including the roles, goals, and accountabilities.
In the performing stage (months 6 and 7), teams operate efficiently toward accomplishing their goals. They have evolved to a level where they can transform disagreement and conflict into consensus for future action.
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Image Descriptions Appendix
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Figure 3.1 Stages of Development in High-Performance Teams Appendix
A line graph is shown. Its vertical axis, team performance level, is labeled high at the top, medium in the middle, and low at the bottom. Its horizontal axis, months together as a team in best-case scenario, lists the numbers 0 through 7. The area of the graph is divided into four columns: forming, storming, norming, and performing. A line represents the team’s performance level over the course of the 7 months.
The line begins at a medium performance level in the forming stage. It drops to medium-low by 1.5 months, transitioning into the storming stage. Storming shows the team’s performance dipping down to its lowest point just before month 3. After that, performance begins to increase. By month 3.75, the line transitions into the norming stage. The team performance line increases sharply and steadily upward here, arching toward the highest level as it transitions from the norming stage to the performing stage a little after month 6. The performing stage sees the highest level of team performance at month 7.
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Principles of Effective Team Communication (5 of 5) Appendix
Mission Statement: We provide marketing for Prestigio that matches its mission of outstanding guest service, superior financial results, and sustainability. Values: Excellence in all work, creativity, honesty, sharing and collaboration, professional growth. Goals: (a) To become the premier resort destination for sustainable conferences in this region; (b) to increase revenue annually by 12 percent; and (c) to maintain 95 percent guest satisfaction among business travelers and reach 85 percent guest satisfaction among conference attendees.
Team Member Roles/Responsibilities are (from left to right):
Andrea Garcia, general manager, oversee all marketing initiatives.
Nancy Jeffreys, director of marketing, lead marketing efforts for non-convention guests.
Barbara Brookshire, director of conventions, lead marketing efforts for convention guests.
Kip Yamada, marketing associate, develop campaigns for business travelers.
Jeff Anderton, marketing assistant, conduct market research and analytics.
Kailey Change, marketing assistant, create concepts and graphics for campaigns.
Communication Protocol
We will post project updates, recommendations, and relevant experiences to our team blog. Team members should post roughly twice per week.
We will respond to direct messages from each other (emails, phone calls) within four hours.
We recognize the value of each team member’s ideas. We will discuss differences of opinion with one another immediately, directly, and respectfully.
Meetings
We will hold meetings on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month at 10:00 a.m.
We will rotate facilitators for each meeting. The facilitator will ensure agenda items are covered with the input of all team members.
The facilitator should create the agenda. By the Monday preceding each meeting, the facilitator should make a call for agenda items. The facilitator should distribute the final agenda as a blog post by Tuesday at noon on the day before each meeting.
We will rotate note-takers for each meeting.
The note-taker should post minutes to the team blog by the end of the day on Tuesday.
The note-taker will create calendar entries for all action items.
Decision Making
We aim for consensus. If we do not achieve consensus, decisions will be based on a majority vote of the general manager, the director of marketing, and the director of conventions.
Feedback
After each major marketing initiative, we will evaluate each team member’s performance.
In June and December each year, we will evaluate team performance and communication.
We are dedicated to professional growth. We will constantly help one another reach our professional goals.
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Embracing Differing Viewpoints (2 of 2) Appendix
This image depicts the cycle of dissociation and association in team communication. A solid horizontal line with a defined starting point and end point is presented. On the left side, it’s labeled “start of meeting or team communication.” On the right side, it’s labeled “end of meeting or team communication.” Surrounding the line is a clock-wise-moving dotted line. The dotted line points to the word “disassociation” over “start of meeting or team communication.” The dotted line proceeds and points to the word “association” over “end of meeting or team communication.”
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Figure 3.6 Least Productive Parts of the Workday Appendix
The vertical axis lists the percentage of employees indicating a time frame is the least productive part of the day. The horizontal axis lists workday time segments by increments of two hours: 8 to 10 am, 10 am to noon, noon to 2 pm, 2 pm to 4 pm, and 4 pm to 6 pm. Ten percent of employees say 8 to 10 am is the least productive part of the day. This falls to less than 5 percent during 10 am to noon. From there, the lack of productivity in a certain time frame climbs steadily through the rest of the day, reaching a high of almost 40 percent in the 4 pm to 6 pm slot. According to the graph, the best times for meetings are in the 10 am to noon segment.
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Figure 3.7 Creating and Distributing the Agenda Appendix
Date: November 9, Start Time: 10 a.m., and End Time: 11 a.m.
Purposes:
1. Discuss plans to conduct market research about (a) Internet pricing for groups and (b) customer satisfaction levels relative to our local competitors.
2. Discuss progress on our Staff & Service Initiative started in January.
3. Examine ways to improve participation on our marketing team blogs and wikis.
4. Finalize plans for the Valentine’s Day marketing campaign.
Desired outcome:
Create action items to complete within the next month (by December 15). At our December 15 meeting, we will develop our annual marketing plan, which will include priorities for improving guest satisfaction and pricing.
Agenda Item 1: Internet Pricing for Groups (20 minutes). Summary of findings from Internet pricing survey for groups (Jeff), 5 minutes. Industry standards for Internet pricing for conference groups (Barbara) ,5 minutes. Group discussion of findings and options, 10 minutes. Develop action items, 5 minutes.
Agenda Item 2: Improving Customer Satisfaction (20 minutes). Summary of findings from customer satisfaction research on external websites (Jeff), 5 minutes. Group discussion of findings and options ,10 minutes. Develop action items, 5 minutes.
Agenda Item 3: Enterprise Social Software. Discuss goals for increased use of wikis and discussion forums (Andrea), 5 minutes.
Agenda Item 4: New Promotions. Valentine’s Day hotel promotions (Nancy), 5 minutes.
Summarize Action Items: 3 minutes.
Participants: Andrea Garcia, Nancy Jeffreys, Barbara Brookshire, Kip Yamada (note-taker), Jeff Anderton.
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Following Up After Meetings Appendix
Meeting follow-up/minutes components:
Date and time
Team members present
Meeting roles
Key decisions
Key discussion points (optional)
Open issues (optional)
Action items and deadlines
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Figure 3.8 Following Up After Meetings Appendix
Date: November 9 Start Time: 10 a.m. and End Time: 11 a.m.
Agenda Item 1: Internet Pricing for Groups
Discussion: Jeff presented survey findings about conference attendees’ purchases of Internet service while here. The group agreed that Internet-service purchases are far too low and that less use for lower-income groups suggests high price sensitivity.
Action Items: Develop and conduct survey that identifies price points at which conference guests are willing to purchase Internet service. Responsibility: Barbara and Jeff; Completion time: December 15. Develop price sensitivity estimates and related revenue impacts. Responsibility: Barbara; Completion Time: December 15.
Agenda Item 2: Improving Customer Satisfaction
Discussion: Jeff presented customer satisfaction ratings of Prestigio and three local competitors. The group agreed that our customer satisfaction ratings have improved, particularly in relation to competitors. We are most concerned about the areas of cleanliness, business center, and meeting rooms.
Action Items: Develop plans to improve the equipment and furnishings of the business center. Responsibility: Andrea; Completion Date: December 15. Develop plans for improving cleanliness and meeting rooms. Responsibility: Nancy, Andrea; Completion date: January 15.
Agenda Item 3: Enterprise Social Software
Discussion: Andrea encouraged the group to log on to the new enterprise social platform throughout the day, share documents, use wikis, and stay aware of progress on shared projects.
Action Item: Use a wiki to collaborate on a joint project with another member of the marketing team. Responsibility: All members of marketing team; Completion Time: December 15.
Agenda Item 4: New Promotions
Discussion: Nancy introduced her plans for Valentine’s promotions, including a price special and advertising campaign designed to cater to local-area couples.
Action Item: Negotiate TV and print ad campaign details with ad agency. Responsibility: Nancy, Kip; Completion Time: December 1.
The participants are listed at the bottom of the meeting minutes: Andrea Garcia, Nancy Jeffreys, Barbara Brookshire, Kip Yamada (note-taker), Jeff Anderton.
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Business Communication Chapter 3
The End
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