Discussion Guide for Team Effectiveness
The following are elements that indicate a need for improvement and sample questions to explore them.
Psychological Safety
Signs that psychological safety on the team needs improvement:
Anxiety about asking for and giving constructive feedback
Reluctance to make different suggestions or ask simple questions
Questions to assess the state of your team:
Is each team member comfortable brainstorming in front of others?
Do team members feel they can take the risk of failure? Or are they afraid of being rejected by others because of their mistakes?
Mutual trust
Signs of a need to improve mutual trust in the team:
Inadequate understanding of project priorities and progress
Blurred division of responsibilities and lack of clarity about who is in charge of tasks and issues
Questions to ask yourself to understand the state of your team:
Are team members who have been assigned to work on the project working as promised?
Do team members call ahead if work will be delayed? Are they willing to take responsibility for the work?
Structure and Clarity
Signs that structure and clarity in the team need to be improved:
Unclear who is responsible for what
Unclear decision-making process, who is in charge, and rationale
Questions to help you understand the state of your own team:
Do team members understand the team/project goals and the process for achieving them?
Do team members feel they are given autonomy and responsibility and that their roles are clear?
Meaning of Work
Signs that the meaning of work in the team needs improvement:
Work assignments are made solely on the basis of competence, expertise, and workload, with little consideration given to individual development and motivation.
Accomplishments and milestones are not regularly reviewed
Questions to assess the status of your own team:
Are team members given tasks that give them a sense of accomplishment as individuals and as workers?
Are team members being given tasks that are commensurate with their motivation, not just their skills and abilities?
Impact
Signs that indicate that improvement is needed regarding the impact of work on the team:
Work is viewed as irrelevant to growth and progress
Too many goals are preventing the development of skills in a meaningful way
Questions to help you understand the state of your own team:
Do team members see their work as an opportunity to create change for the better?
Do team members perceive their work as "important work to achieve higher goals"?
How do current team processes affect the team's sense of well-being or exhaustion?
This guide is not written by me, it is provided from google re:work research https://docs.google.com/document/d/1obuZy1ioLNme3geU69cdCQM2cs8cu6QafG99NjrdY3o/edit
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