Group Development Month: Tools for Building a High Performance Team
by Family Councils Ontario
In Group Development Month, we first discussed how in order to work effectively to achieve your goals, your Council needs to come together as a group and work together as a team. In our second blog post in the series, we explored the stages of group development and associated challenges and successful approaches. This week, we’ll discuss tools that can help build an effective, high performance team that helps to realize your goals.
Ensuring Input
While Family Councils are a special type of group, there are team development tools that can prove useful in supporting Council member participation and feedback. Getting feedback from all Council members can be challenging but is essential in ensuring that everyone feels heard and valued. One tool for helping gather input at a meeting is called Round Robin. Simply put, at key points in a meeting the meeting Chair or facilitator checks in with all Council members in attendance. This can be done by going around the table and asking each member if they have anything to add or want to provide their opinion on the point raised. Ask open-ended questions e.g. “what do you think about that idea?” This will help to ensure that less vocal members have an opportunity to speak and that participation is balanced, while not putting anyone on the spot. Facilitating the participation of all Council members will help strengthen your group and support achieving your goals.
An alternative version of Round Robin can further help quieter, more reflective members participate in the discussion. Give people time to write down their thoughts first and then go around the table to get feedback. If someone does not want to say anything at the time, simply move on to the next person. It’s important not to pressure anyone into speaking, but rather to provide an opportunity for them to do so if they wish. This tool helps to ensure that everyone is given an opportunity to provide input and shows that every member is valued.
Evaluating How Your Group is Working
One tool for evaluating how your group is working is called GRPI. This consists of four components: Goals (G), Roles (R), Processes (P), and Interpersonal relationships (I). These components are four essential aspects of a high performing group or team.
Goals:
- Do all Council members know the specific goals and activities?
- Are your goals recorded in your Council’s Terms of Reference?
- Is there a shared understanding of your Council’s mission/purpose?
- Has everyone had an opportunity to contribute to activities to achieve the goals?
- Does everyone agree that the goals are SMART: specific (S), measurable (M), attainable (A), realistic (R), and timely (T)?
Roles:
- Are all Council members aware of their role and responsibilities?
- Does everyone have a role to play in the Council (as much as is possible)?
- Does the current leadership structure still make sense for your group?
Processes:
- Does your Council have a current, up-to-date Terms of Reference?
- Does your Council operate according to the Terms of Reference?
- How does your Council communicate, make decisions, address conflicts?
- Are processes in place and understood?
Interpersonal relationships:
- Do Council members trust each other?
- Is there acceptance and openness to different opinions and approaches?
- Do Council members support each other?
You can use the GRPI tool in an open forum or in an anonymous survey. Ask these questions and use either close ended ranking-scales or open-ended response options. Use the results to identify what you’re doing well as a group and where you can improve your effectiveness. You can use this tool as part of your annual evaluation, or whenever you feel it would be useful.
A Simple Way to Evaluate Meetings
The majority of Family Council work is done during meetings so it’s essential to ensure that meetings are working well. A simple tool that can be used to get input on Council meetings is called Plus/Delta. This tool gathers input in two areas: Plus- what worked well, and Delta- what can be improved. Start with a blank flipchart paper and ask Council members two questions:
- ‘What worked well at this meeting?’ (Plus)
- ‘What can be improved for next time?’ (Delta)
This can be done in 5-10 minutes at the end of a meeting, and does not need to be done at every meeting. Once feedback is gathered, the leadership team can use this input to make changes to future meetings. You can also use this tool for other activities (e.g. Council projects or events). It’s a quick and effective way to gather feedback and ideas for improvement. This doesn’t replace your annual Council evaluation, but provides a way to do quick, regular evaluation that can be acted upon quickly.
Family Councils are ever changing. Old members leave, and new member join. Priorities, goals, and activities shift to meet changing needs of residents and families. Whatever level of formality or stage of development your Council is in, there are tools to help you reflect on your successes and improve your work. The Round Robin, GRPI, and Plus/Delta tools can all be used to help support ongoing group development and success. If you use any of these tools, let us know how they worked for you! Share your feedback on our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FamilyCouncilsOntario/. Next week we’ll continue our Group Development month series so stay tuned!
Source: Arora, Mohit, and Haig Baronikian. Leadership in Project Management: Leading people and projects to success, 2nd edition. Leadership Publishing House, 2013.