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Business Communication Skills for Managers

Module 12: Collaboration in and across Teams

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Why does collaboration in and between teams matter?

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Team Communication in the Workplace

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Learning Outcomes: Team Communication in the Workplace

12.1 Discuss the role and types of teams in workplace communication

12.1.1 Discuss the value of teams in business communication

12.1.2 Discuss types of teams in organizations

12.1.3 Explain advantages and disadvantages of teams and team dynamics

12.1.4 Discuss impact of group size on communication

12.1.5 Describe various ways of interpreting and responding to conflict in interpersonal communication

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The Value of Teams in Business Communication

Why do teams exist?

Teams bring together members of the organization with a wide variety of skills to achieve a common goal.

Organizations accomplish these goals by carefully selecting the type of teams they use.

This module provides skills related to workplace communication in these valuable groups and teams. It examines types of teams, roles of team members and how to communicate within teams.

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Types of Teams

Types of teams:

Cross-functional teams
Task Forces
Virtual Teams
Self-Managed Teams

Types of teams:

A cross-functional team is just what it sounds like—a team that pulls its members from across the different functional areas of an organization. These teams are typically permanent or long-standing teams. Cross-functional teams may be used to implement new solutions into the workplace. Without a strong leader and very specific goals, it may be hard to foster social cohesion in cross-functional teams and to create a system of accountability. A cross-functional team might be brought together to review and make recommendations on potential acquisitions or mergers.

A task force is a group or committee, usually of experts or specialists, formed for analyzing, investigating, or solving a specific problem. The goal of a task force is to offer solutions, support, and, if possible, create preventive measures for issues.

Virtual teams are groups of individuals working together with a common purpose but from different locations. Virtual teams in definition may overlap with the team types listed above. The obvious advantage of a virtual team is the low cost, both in time and money to maintain it. Working across cultures can be as challenging as working cross-functionally. Working with different cultures means working with very different leadership styles and decision-making processes. All teams may need to be sensitive to these issues and they may be far more prevalent with virtual teams.

A self-managed team is a group of employees that is responsible and accountable for all or most aspects of producing a product or delivering a service. A self-managed team carries out the supporting tasks as well, such as planning and scheduling the technical workflow tasks, and human resource tasks such as managing vacations and absences. Because of the autonomy given to self-managed teams, these teams have greater ownership of the jobs they perform. Some benefits of self-managed teams are: team members share accountability for what they accomplish, which can be a great motivator; individuals have greater commitment to the task because they’re directly responsible for its results; and they take on some of a manager’s work so he can continue on other tasks.

However, self-managed teams are not without problems. Groupthink occurs more frequently with these teams.

Image: Team meeting. Authored by: StartupStockPhotos. Located at: https://pixabay.com/en/startup-start-up-people-593343/. License: CC0: No Rights Reserved

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Practice Question 1

Customer and installer complaints are on the rise due to shipments that seem to either have the wrong cables, missing cables, or too many cables. Which type of team is best suited to solve this problem?

task force
a virtual team
a project team

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Teams and Team Dynamics

What are the advantages

of teams?�

What are the disadvantages

of teams?

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Group Communication Networks

Reporting structures avoid information overload and maintain good information flow.

Organizations should consider the various types of structures above and then modify them based upon the employee need to know, timeliness of information needed, and communication tools available

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Discussion: Conflict Resolution

Divide into small groups and discuss your answers to the following questions:

What are some sources of team conflicts?

What are the symptoms of team conflict?

How can destructive conflict be avoided?

What are some solutions to conflict?

How do teams prevent damaging conflict?

What is the best way to resolve conflict?

Examples of sources of conflict:

Fund allocation
Differences with management
Sales versus service

Symptoms:

lack of communication
opposing agendas

How to avoid:

establish ground rules
listen compassionately
point out the advantages of avoiding conflict
maintain a neutral vantage point and be willing to be persuaded
avoid all-or-none statements
create a goal of discovery rather than winning or persuading
be alert to common goals
use clarifying statements to ensure the other party feels understood and listened to
help team members separate the problem from the person
use techniques such as role-playing, putting yourself in someone's shoes, or conducting war games
team members should recognize each other for having expressing their views and opinions
help each team member to understand each other’s perspective, and help them reframe the situation

Solutions to conflict:

address it immediately

How to prevent:

set a clear goal for the team
make expectations clear
assemble a diverse team
meet together regularly and often
clearly assign roles
actively manage conflict

Resolve:

take care of it BEFORE it causes irreversible damage
ACKNOWLEDGE that there even is a problem
communicate openly and supportively
actively seek to

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Collaborative Projects

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Learning Outcomes: Collaborative Projects

12.2 Discuss strategies for working in collaborative projects

12.2.1 Discuss different styles of decision making in groups

12.2.2 Discuss digital tools for communicating with groups

12.2.3 Describe the process of collaborating with others to create a business message

12.2.4 Discuss digital tools for collaborative writing

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Decision Making in Groups

Decision Style Theory:

This theory examines the context for decisions across two continuums. One side relates to the decision-makers tolerance from uncertainty to certainty against relationship to task accomplishment.

The four quadrants represent four decision making styles.

Directive individuals need and value structure. They prefer to make decisions based on clear, undisputed facts and impersonal rules and procedures. They trust their own senses and short, focused reports from others.

However, leading a group in conflict to conflict resolution may not work well with this style. The leader of the group desires clear resolution that accomplishes the task.

Analytically minded people can process ambiguity given enough time and information. They rely heavily on abstractions and instrumental logic, and tend to go over all aspects of a problem with a fine-toothed comb, carefully acquiring and organizing large amounts of data. When presented, their solutions are comprehensive, detailed and very thorough. Analytical team members or leaders want information that leads to a conclusion. This style may not work well with determining which benefits to include to the health care plan next year along with a hiring plan designed to expand diversity. Analytical will look toward the data and may overlook the individual issues presented with the new hiring plan.

Conceptual decision makers are creative, exploratory, interested in novelty and comfortable taking risks. They are big-picture, creative thinkers who like to consider many different options and possibilities. They gather and evaluate information from many different perspectives, integrating diverse cues and passing intuitive judgments as they work to identify emerging patterns.

Behavioral decision-makers focus on the feelings and welfare of group members and other social aspects of work. They look to others for information, both explicit information in what others say and implicit information sensed during interactions with them. They evaluate information emotionally and intuitively.

Behavioral decision making will focus almost exclusively on relationship, rather than on task. The decision will take as long as it takes to interact with most individuals impacted.

Image: Rowe and Boulgarides - Decision Style Theory. Provided by: PAEI - Structures of Concern. Located at: http://paei.wikidot.com/rowe-boulgarides-decision-style-theory. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike

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Decision Making in Groups (cont.)

The left side of the continuum is is better aligned with Conceptual and Behavioral decision making styles, while the right side is better aligned with Directive and Analytical styles.

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Tools for Communicating With Groups

Communication Tools:

Meeting scheduling
Quick conversation (use tools like Slack, Google Hangouts, etc.)
Email
Conferencing
Project management (use tools like Basecamp, Trello, etc.)

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Collaborative Writing

Collaborative Writing: Projects where written works are created by multiple people rather than individually.

How the writing takes place should be determined by the following:

Individual writing skill
Length of time to final product
Expertise in subject matter

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Tools for Collaborative Writing

Which program are you using?

Microsoft word:

Track Changes: allows each user’s changes to be highlighted
Compare Documents: the original document and the edited document can be displayed side by side

Google Docs: multiple users can work on a single document

Dropbox: more focused on file storage and retention

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Activity

Compare and contrast tools for collaborative writing. Discuss which collaborative writing tools have made it easier to design better work processes. List the ways each tool helps to monitor what users are contributing and when they contribute, so managers can quickly verify that assigned work is being completed.

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Workplace Etiquette

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Learning Outcomes: Workplace Etiquette

12.3 Discuss best practices in workplace etiquette

12.3.1 Discuss appropriate ways to behave in a workplace

12.3.2 Discuss appropriate and inappropriate conduct at company events

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Interaction in the Workplace

Aspects to consider:

Attire
Body Language

Handshakes
Eye contact
Gestures

Volume and Location
Written Communication
Be on Time

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Company Events

External events:

Conversation starters:

Have you always lived in [state]?
What brought you to work for [company]?

Introductions: give people a way to enter the conversation
The basics: leave your phone in the car and don’t chew gum!
Table manners
Alcohol and marijuana: keep your intake far less than the legal limit.

When in doubt, err on the side of greater formality and respect!

Table manners:

Put your napkin in your lap once seated. If a hosted event, wait for the host or hostess to place his or her napkin. As you finish the meal, casually fold your napkin and place it on the table. Never place the napkin on a used plate, or on the table while others are eating.
Start with dining utensils from the outside and work your way in. For example, the smaller salad fork is far to the left. The main dinner fork is to the right of the salad fork. The dessert fork is to the right of the dinner fork or nearest your plate.
Order items that your company would be willing to pay for yourself or items that seem similar to that of the hosting company.
Take your first bite only after everyone is served. If this event is hosted, do not start eating until the host or hostess places his or her fork on his or her plate or takes a bite.
Pass food to your right. If you are starting this dish, offer it to the left and then take your portion before passing.
Ask others to pass items to you, rather than reaching in front of anyone.
Bread is torn, not cut.
Never speak with food in your mouth. Take small bites so the lull from question to answer is small.
Focus less on eating and more on the guests. Second servings should be taken only when offered. Your main goal is to develop relationships; enjoy the food but remember where your focus should be.
Do not feel required to eat food you do not care for. However, you should avoid announcing what you don’t like. Appreciate the effort in your behalf, even if you do not appreciate the food item.

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Company Events

Internal Events:

Conversation: it is your responsibility to meet and greet others that have been invited.
Introductions: Look for the individuals who are alone in the crowd and introduce yourself to them.
The basics: don’t get too comfortable! You need to remain professional even among just your coworkers.

When in doubt, err on the side of greater formality and respect!

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Practice Question 2

Gretchen walked in to the corporate awards dinner meeting room. There was a bar in each corner, two long tables of appetizers, and about 50 people milling about. None of these people were from her region. What should Gretchen do?

head to the bar for a glass of Chardonnay. It will fill her hands, calm her nerves, and help her look like she has something to do.
Put a smile on her face and move toward someone new to meet.
Get a plat and slowly walk down to the table of appetizers while waiting for a familiar face.
Head out to the hallway and text one of her co-workers.

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Quick Review

What are the different roles and types of teams in workplace communication?
What are strategies for working on collaborative projects?
What are the best practices in workplace etiquette?