Welcome to the August 10, 2005 issue of The Total View

Published by Success Performance Solutions, Written by Ira S. Wolfe

Visit our Human Resources Blog and Perfect Labor Storm Blog where we can post daily (and more often) human resource updates, news, and Perfect Labor Storm facts. 

What's Inside:

1. Use Conflict to Build High Performance Teams......just don't take it personal!

When Dave talks about a team building workshop, he's considering a management retreat to make sure everyone is aligned with the revised strategic plan of the company. That isn't always what is going through the minds of other senior managers. For Elaine team building means getting everyone to focus on results and to stop the bickering and shouting at meetings.

Over time, I've learned that team building has become the universal magic bullet code name to solve many work-related problems: interpersonal clashes, motivating employees, aligning workers with expectations, identifying the "real players", fixing problem employees, improving sales. I think you're getting the picture.

My message this week is simple. I believe team building is an absolutely essential process for every business but too often these workshops and trainings are often billed as team building to avoid dealing with the real issues.

Over half the requests we receive for team building activities are really just poorly shrouded efforts to "give a certain employee an attitude adjustment" or "make the personality conflicts go away." Often times, the conflicts do emanate from just one employee but to avoid singling him or her out, the manager decides that a team building workshop sounds less threatening. The manager hopes an inspirational talk or a fun day climbing ropes will fix the attitude of the dysfunctional or disruptive employee. If any change happens at all, it's usually short-lived.

Using team building workshops to resolve interpersonal conflicts is a poor use of time and big waste of valuable resources. If the problem is interpersonal conflict, then deal with the conflict. Don't beat around the bush because you'll never experience real teamwork until you help employees deal with the conflict first.

Conflict isn't a bad thing. In fact, constructive conflict is a good thing because it generates energy and passion. This reminds me of something I used to hear as a kid from my best friend's mother, "fight nice children or I'm sending you home." I didn't understand how you can fight nice until a few years ago when I learned that sharing your opinions is necessary - if you do it in a way that doesn't attack the person.

You might be asking, "how could conflict ever be good?" Conflict allows people to voice their opinions, make recommendations even if not popular, and an opportunity to get off their chest what is bothering them. But productive conflict only occurs if individual team members can trust each other and debate doesn't turn into an "I'm right - you're wrong" competition. And teamwork can occur only if people can avoid making and taking the conflict personal.

While it's easier said than done, focusing everyone's energy toward achieving the best outcomes for the team allows conflict to work for the good of the organization. Success means keeping employees' attention on the issues being discussed, not the personalities of people discussing them.

Unfortunately many people get so focused on defending their position and winning the argument, they take every challenge to their viewpoint as a personal attack. As a result, other members of the team grow uncomfortable with even the most modest signs of conflict, not to mention the occasional screaming, shouting, and flaring tempers. They want to be the good team player so they "play nice" and keep their emotions and opinions tucked away for the good of team. "Don't add fuel to the fire," they think.

To encourage employees to work together as a team, they must appreciate the value of conflict and learn how to funnel its energy toward making better decisions. To appreciate and be willing to engage in conflict, employees must trust one another. To trust one another, employees must learn the vocabulary and behaviors that energize their co-workers, not incite or deflate them.

Energize your team and maximize results with CriteriaOne DISC and Values behavioral profiling today.

2. Perfect Labor Storm Alerts #434 to #436

Don't miss day-to-day updates on Perfect Labor Storm. Save the Perfect Labor Storm blog to your favorites.

Fact #434: Half of America's scientists and engineers are forty or olders, and the average age is steadily rising, (Source: National Science Foundation)

Fact #435: Nearly 40 percent of NASA employees are age fifty or older. (Source: NASA)

Fact #436: Twenty-two percent of NASA workers are fifty-five or older. NASA over sixty outnumber those under thirty by a ratio of about three to one. Only 4 percent of NASA workers are under thirty.
(Source: NASA)

Don't be caught in storm without all the facts. "The Perfect Labor Storm Fact Book: Why Worker Shortages Won't Go Away" is a must-read leading edge forecast that predicts workforce trends for decades to come. Order your copy today - Only $7.95.

3.  DISCstyles™ - A unique 360 multi-rater program.

One of the biggest single reasons that teams misfire is that personality differences are ignored. In short, who's selected for the team will very likely affect the outcome. So, for best results, we can’t just order an off-the-rack model—we’ve got to design one that'll best do the job.

If, when you create a team, you employ knowledge of the four personality types, or behavioral styles (see sidebar), you greatly improve its chances for success.

Most DISC systems helps each team member identify his individual strengths and weaknesses. With DISCStyles each employee can request an unlimited number of co-workers, peers, managers (and even customers) provide him (or her) feedback on his/her work and communication styles. By comparing these e-DISC graphs, an employee can identify potential sources of conflict and learn to adapt his/her communication to master conflict.

To fully experience the magic of DISCstyles, including 360 DISC graphs, order your DISCstyles Online Assessment today....

........ receive your FREE PeopleSmart eBook (294 pages) by Tony Alessandra and Michael O'Connor.

4.  Pocket Guides for the Inexperienced Manager

Today's busy leaders and knowledge workers are looking for informative, to the point self-study resources that will answer questions, stimulate new thinking and help solve problems.

These management development pocket guides are ideal for self-directed learning, training and coaching workers, corporate universities, or to use in seminars and workshops.

Each guide covers an important topic such as managing generations, mentoring, creativity, project management, knowledge management or strategies for handling people issues such as conflict management, sexual harassment and performance.

Order the complete library of these 32 best selling Manager's Pocket Guides for only $279 - that's like getting 5 books free, a savings of $39. Start your management development today by ordering all 32 Pocket Guides for Management Development here or call us about our Manager's Book of the Month Club..

Manager's Pocket Guides can be ordered individually for $9.95 each plus shipping.

5.  The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.....

.......explores the fundamental causes of organizational politics and team failure.

This gripping fable centers on Kathryn Petersen, an old-school CEO who comes out of retirement to accept the monumental task of transforming a dysfunctional group of high profile, egocentric executives into a cohesive and effective team. With an amazing gift for building teams, Kathryn forces her colleagues to confront the behavioral pitfalls that destroy most teams and adopt the five characteristics of a truly cohesive one.

Learn to Overcome the Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Ira S. Wolfe. 2005 - All Rights Reserved. Reprints and other distribution by permission only.

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