CS4L-6

BUS 4040, Communication Skills for Leaders 1

UNIT VI STUDY GUIDE

Meetings and Team Leadership

Learning Objectives Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. Propose how to plan and conduct productive leadership meetings. 2. Discuss techniques to manage meeting problems and conflict. 3. Develop strategies for ensuring that meetings lead to action. 4. Determine how to build an effective team. 5. Develop cohesion among team members. 6. Evaluate types of team conflict and conflict management. 7. Identify challenges to leadership of virtual teams.

Unit Lesson Planning and Conducting Productive Leadership Meetings Many leaders feel stressed by the amount of time that they are likely to be engaged in meetings. Organizations breed meetings, but often meetings lack any clear purpose. Leaders should always consider the validity of a meeting before arranging it. To determine whether a meeting is needed, assume that it is unnecessary unless the meeting has a clearly defined purpose, it has measurable outcomes, and there is an entirely functional membership present. Establishing meeting roles and responsibilities, along with ground rules for how the meetings are conducted, serve to avoid potential procedural conflicts. Ensure that meetings have valid goals – there is no point in bringing people together to consent to decisions that have already been made – and that they are time-effective. Go into every meeting with a plan for what needs to be accomplished. Many times this means that the leader will need to change his or her ideas. Emphasize to the members that the group has been formed for a specific purpose, and that the particular skills of each individual member are fundamental to the success of the project. This helps group members identify with the organization’s goals, and empowers them to use their creativity. Techniques to Solve Meeting Problems and Conflict Even successful groups can develop disagreements. Everyone in a group meeting thinks in a different way. When resolving an issue, whether involving yourself, or between group members, try to analyze the situation calmly. Start with the group’s objective. Is it shared by the combatants? If so, what factual points are at issue? If they can be resolved, are there emotional problems that are preventing agreement? When possible, work to defuse the emotion associated with conflict before tackling the issues. Working to treat everyone equally will avoid causing resentment. Strategies to Ensure That Meetings Lead to Action In taking the chair, the leader’s role is to run an orderly discussion and to ensure that everyone who has something to say has the opportunity to speak. Transfer

Reading Assignment Chapter 9: Meetings: Leadership and Productivity Chapter 10: High-Performing Team Leadership

Presentations Cross-Cultural Literacy and Communication High-Performing Team Leadership

Key Terms None

BUS 4040, Communication Skills for Leaders 2

specific responsibilities to specific individuals making them accountable for resolving those points. End the meeting with a summary that includes an action plan, with deadlines and personnel responsibilities for every action item. Follow up on the assigned action items within a reasonable amount of time to resolve any concerns that might have developed, and to ensure that agreed upon deadlines are being met. Building an Effective Team Team leadership ability can determine whether an organizational leader will be successful. A team usually consists of a few people working together toward common goals. Teamwork is an understanding and commitment to group goals on the part of all the team members. All teams are considered groups, but not all groups are able to work effectively as a team. Likewise, a team works collaboratively to accomplish their objective, where group consists of individuals working more independently. The leader has several key roles in a team-based organization. Transformational leaders are skilled at building trust between team-members. Coaching leaders provide encouragement, while inspirational leaders support and empower team- members as they achieve their goals. Developing Cohesive Teams Group members are held to an expected level of behavior that allows for a productive, supportive group environment. Developing norms for expected behavior among the group encourages a cooperative working relationship among the team-members. By sharing information, team-members begin to develop a sense of cohesion which will allow them to more easily reach consensus in their future decisions. These introductory meetings can consist of personality assessments, interest inventories, and other activities that encourage team-members to learn about themselves and the other team-members. Minimizing Team Conflict Conflict within teams can be a timely concern for leaders. Team members may be able to settle differences between themselves, but when they can’t, third party mediation or group involvement may be needed. Mediators are valuable participants in disputes as they help to restore communication between the parties without having policymaking authority. Team interventions should be structured so that the conflicted parties do not feel as if they are being interrogated. Providing Leadership for Virtual Teams A virtual working environment, which is the basis for many organizations, creates the need for virtual teams who can operate successfully without the luxury of a close working relationship with team- members. Communicating through technology alleviates the benefit of non-verbal communication between members and creates more opportunity for cultural differences to impede the decision- making process. Ensuring that a clear mission and purpose are understood by team-members is critical for maintaining a high level of trust and commitment on the part of these teams.