TeamMax Newsletter:

MEASURING PEOPLE'S TEAMWORK BEHAVIOR

Larry Cole, Ph.D.
TeamMax®, Inc.

Abstract
The Director of a state agency has a vision to replace the bureaucratic environment, characteristic of state government, with a self directed team  environment to better serve its consumers. To accomplish this undertaking, the agency needed a definition of the teamwork performance standards and a means to measure their implementation.
 
The leadership of a state agency is undertaking the formidable task to move from a bureaucratic, top down direct and control environment to a self-directed team environment.  A member of the senior leadership team best expressed a major obstacle that challenged the success of this massive cultural change.  “We know how to measure the team’s performance as it achieves its strategic plan, but we don’t know how to measure the people interaction in this team environment.” 
 
The people track determines the success of the technical track.
 
The leadership of this agency recognized that like a railroad track, there are two tracks inherent in the organization: a technical track and the people track.  And, like the railroad track, both tracks must be maintained for the success of the agency.  The challenge faced by the leadership team was two-fold.  First, how to define the performance standards stating the expectations of how members of the teams were to work together and second, how to measure the use of these standards.
 
Defining the desired performance standards was achieved by engaging the team members into writing their TeamWork Value Statement (TWVS).  That statement reads as follows:
 
In the 21st century, the agency’s self-directed teams consist of colleagues who have a shared sense of purpose, support each other; openly communicate, and are innovative, trustworthy, respectful, and accountable.
 
Self-directed
1. We empower team members to make decisions closer to the customer.
2. We use our authority to go the extra mile to meet each other’s needs.
3. We make decisions through consensus.
 
Shared sense of purpose
1. Our common goals are defined.
2. We understand our common goals.
3. We are held accountable to achieve our common goals.
4. We work to meet the agency’s vision, mission, guiding principles and core goals.
 
Support each other
1. We understand what we need from each other.
2. We proactively meet the needs of others to help each other to be successful.
3. We recognize each other for a job well done.
 
Openly communicate
1. We present the facts of the situation.
2. We feel free to express our ideas.
3. We objectively accept diverse ideas.
4. We openly discuss the behaviors to be implemented to improve teamwork.
 
Innovative
1. We encourage the expression of new ideas.
2. We willingly try new ideas.
3. We practice the philosophy, “mistakes are learning opportunities for competence building.”
 
Trustworthy
1. We are dependable and do what we agree to do.
2. We keep confidential information confidential.
3. We keep each other informed with the necessary information.
4. We are consistent so team members know what to expect from each other.
 
Respectful
1. We accept each other as an individual.
2. We listen to understand that input.
3. We use that input whenever possible.
4. We tell each other how their input was used.
 
Accountable
1. We competently complete our job responsibilities.
2. We competently complete our responsibilities in support of the team’s decisions.
3. We provide each other feedback regarding the progress of meeting each other’s needs.
4. We accept the feedback offered to improve performance.
5. We do what needs to be done to implement the TeamWork Value Statement. 
 
Quantifying team member’s behavior
 
The Leadership Team agreed with the concept that “top down change produces bottom up commitment” and elected to begin implementing their TWVS before cascading the implementation to other teams.  The MBC Software™ methodology was used to measure the degree members of the Leadership Team were successfully implementing this statement. 
 
The baseline results indicated the team could be more successful at implementing the behaviors associated with their teamwork value “supporting each other.” The team collectively needed to better understand what was needed from each other, to proactively meet those needs and to recognize each other for a job well done.
 
Working with these results, the team defined and decided to measure the implementation of the following behavioral strategies on a weekly basis.
 
1. We put the team’s needs over our individual needs.
2. We let each other know what is needed to help the team to be more successful.
3. We ask each other what we can do to help them to be more successful.
4. We do what needs to be done to help each other in accordance to an agreed upon time schedule.
5. We keep each other informed about the status of meeting the identified needs.
6. We objectively listen to understand the feedback/information we are receiving.
7. We celebrate successes.
 
Frustration is Your Best Friend®
 
The data clearly showed the team was not celebrating successes and the other behaviors either flat lined, indicating no improvement, or declined.  The team was struggling to operate, as it desired to function.  Discussing these data opened the volcanic rush of frustration expressed by many team members.  The common denominator of this frustration was that team members were independently engaging in activities that some
members thought should have been coordinated by the team.  The team appeared to be operating with two sets of rules.
 
The expressed frustration was channeled to the creation of the following question set in an effort to better understand the dynamics of the team.  A multi-rater measurement procedure was used to compare each team member’s self-rating versus how their team members rated her/him.  
 
1. Attends most, if not all, the team meetings.
2. Uses the team concept—process decisions through the appropriate team.
3. Presents the facts of the situation.
4. Objectively accepts diverse ideas.
5. Practices the behaviors defined in their TWVS.
 
Additionally, team members rated themselves on the following question set.
 
1. I feel free to express my opinions.
2. I feel team members listen to understand my input.
3. My input is accepted on a status equal to the other team members.
4. I feel free to confront other team members about their inappropriate behaviors.
 
Each team member reviewed their data, prior to the team meeting to discuss the results.  The data very clearly highlighted those team members not using the team processes, but that team members were not comfortable discussing behaviors that were deemed inappropriate and adversely impacted the team’s performance.  A facilitator met with each team member to discuss their personal data in preparation for a team meeting to discuss the data.  Confusion about implementing the specific team process emerged as the predominate topic of this meeting.
 
To clarify this confusion, the team adopted the following standard operating procedures stemming from their TWVS, which speaks to the issues of consensus decision making, empowerment and having input into decisions.
 
1. Consensus is required for the Leadership Team to establish policies for the agency.
2. Individual team members are empowered to initiate activities within the scope of their responsibilities and to engage other team members that are affected.
3. The Leadership Team is to be kept informed about the status of the respective initiatives.
4. The Leadership Team is used when two or more team members reach an impasse on what action needs to be taken on any given issue.
 
A question set was entered into the MBC Software™ and at the time of this writing team members are now measuring the degree to which the team is applying these procedures.  In the end, the frustration associated with the team’s working relationships is helping the team to achieve a higher performance level.  Already the team was able to complete action on several items they previously had been unable to resolve.
 
In conclusion
 
The dynamics of this team improvement emphasizes several features that are crucial for improving working relationships.
 
1. The Agency’s Director is committed to create a self-directed team environment to replace the slow bureaucratic, top down direct and control environment characteristic of state government.
2. The Agency’s TeamWork Vision Statement provided the behavioral guidelines for team members to work together in the team environment.
3. Measuring the implementation of the TWVS with the MBC Software™ identified the specific behaviors the team needed to improve.
4. Defining and measuring the implementation of the improvement strategies facilitated the maturation and efficiency of the team.
5. The MBC Software™ methodology served as a communication tool to encourage the team members to discuss team dynamics that they were initially reluctant to address.
6. Creating the opportunity to discuss frustrations associated with working as a team allowed the team to define what needed to be done to improve the working relationships within the team.
7. Both the TWVS and data were important to hold members accountable to implement the team processes.
8. The multi-rater environment helped individual team members better understand their contribution to the team as seen through the eyes of their team members.

About the author
 
Larry has been pioneering the measurement of individual and team behaviors since 1989, at which time he founded his consulting company.  As a co-founder of PeopleSystems SoftWare, Inc., he served as the primary architect to create the MBC Software™ methodologies to measure behavior change.  MBC Software™ is an electronic performance support system that is revolutionizing the measurement of people behavior in real time and in a variety of workplace applications.

Contact Larry at lcole@cei.net or 800-880-1728
www.people-systems.com
www.teammax.net