Problem Solving: Team Strategy
When a problem arises within a team, what does it take for a team to be successful enough to actually resolve the issue at hand? There are various types of problems that arise daily, but how can teams effectively utilize the skills of their teammates to accomplish the goals? I would venture to say that there are four major contributors to the ways in which teams can ensure that a problem can be resolved.
The tone at the top is very important. If leaders within a team are not leveraging employee strengths to execute problem solving strategies, they may as well just give up from the get-go. Sometimes leaders allow their personal feelings to hinder the progress of teams by not including those most skilled teammates. Whether or not teammates are favored, it is imperative that leaders leverage the strengths that each team member fosters. It is very important that each team member readily contributes to the team, but also actively listens to the contributions of others. It takes more time for a proper resolution to arise if the strengths within a team are not used. Leaders within the team should avoid using authority to discourage any team member from sharing their thoughts or eliminating their ideas.Team unity can be built just by utilizing the expertise of various team members.
Team unity is a crucial aspect of problem solving. Teammates must be devoted to the team, and then must be willing to devote time to strategic planning before coming to a resolution. If a team comes together, whether it is to problem solve, come up with a new logo or even plan an event, if the team does not have a strategy to come up with the solution, the meetings are a waste of time. Team members should understand the value of time so conversations are constructive and aim to arriving at the ultimate solution. Without a strategy, the team is unorganized and unable to leverage the strengths of it’s teammates.
As a team works together through coming up with a solution for a problem, it is imperative that the team re-evaluate their strategy through periodic monitoring and brainstorming. When team leaders or even team members realize that the current strategy is not working to a solution, it is so important to re-establish a strategy. If the process in which a team is currently engaging is not working, it is okay to re-strategize to work more efficiently to identify a solution.
Once solutions are present, a team must select the best possible solution. So it is of utmost importance that team members demonstrate proficient negotiation skills when problem solving. When team members with various strengths are brought together, no one solution might seem like the “best” solution to everyone. Team members must be able to communicate and negotiate with their solutions for the team to collective agree on the best solution. Often times disagreements are a critical aspect of finding the best solution, so negotiation is important. Team members should feel comfortable to challenge anyone in their team, but not just for the sake of argument; they must do it to bring to the surface the facts of a suggestion. It is crucial though, that challenges or disagreements are resolved through discussion and negotiation, not just voting or people “selecting sides”. The important aspect of a good negotiation, however, is that all parties feel as though the solution is a win-win solution.
It is often very difficult for teams to agree on the best solution, so it is important to continue to re-evaluate the strategy that the team is using and continue to foster the strengths of each team member to ensure that the best solution is indeed reached. Each person on the team must feel valued as they contribute, and each team member must more importantly, respect the contributions of others.
Please check out this entry on another blog put together by Scott Morency. I will be posting to his blog in regards to teamwork on a weekly basis. He already has a number of teamwork blogs, so please visit at http://powerofteamwork.wordpress.com/.
