TEAM WORK, by WEDC

Learn @WELL
Consultancy Skills
Module
Unit 2 Working in a team

WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2004
Water, Engineering and Development Centre
Loughborough University
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU UK
WELL@lboro.ac.uk

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
WELL@lshtm.ac.uk

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre
P.O. Box 2869
2601 CW
Delft
The Netherlands
WELL@irc.nl

www.lboro.ac.uk/WELL

WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2004

Any part of this publication, including the illustrations (except items taken from other publications
where the authors do not hold copyright) may be copied, reproduced or adapted to meet local needs,
without permission from the authors or publisher, provided the parts reproduced are distributed free, or
at cost and not for commercial ends, and the source of WELL (WEDC, LSHTM and IRC) is fully
acknowledged. The publisher and authors would appreciate being sent copies of any materials in
which text or illustrations have been used.

WELL acknowledges the following for their contributions in developing and producing this module:
Kevin Tayler, Rebecca Scott and Sue Coates

Published by WEDC on behalf of WELL
WELL is a network of resource centres:
WEDC at Loughborough University, UK TREND, Kumasi, Ghana
IRC at Delft, The Netherlands SEUF, Thiruvananthapuram, India
AMREF, Nairobi, Kenya ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh
IWSD, Harare, Zimbabwe NETWAS, Nairobi, Kenya
LSHTM at University of London, UK

This module was funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
The views expressed, however, are not necessarily those of DFID.
UNIT 2: WORKING IN A TEAM Learn @WELL CONSULTANCY SKILLS
WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2004 1
UNIT 2
WORKING IN A TEAM

What this unit is about
This unit provides information designed to help you to operate more effectively in a consultancy
team. The first part of the unit is concerned with the knowledge and skills required by every team
member. It begins by defining what we mean by a team and setting out the advantages of
working in a team. Next we provide guidance on how to be a good team member.

What you will learn
On completion of this unit you will have learned:
the role, functions and elements of an effective team;
some problem solving techniques;
different team leadership styles and ways to guide teams experiencing conflict;
examples of good and bad communication to help improve communication skills; and
the place of delegation.

Contents
1. What is a team?........................................................................................................................ 2
1.1 Advantages of working in a team ....................................................................................... 3
1.2 How to be a good team member ........................................................................................ 4
1.3 Team building ..................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 Dealing with distance .......................................................................................................... 8
1.5 Tools and techniques for effective team working ............................................................... 9
2. Structured problem-solving ................................................................................................. 11
3. Team leadership styles ......................................................................................................... 12
3.1 Resolving differences and reaching consensus ............................................................... 14
3.2 Handling discontent within the team ................................................................................. 16
3.3 Dealing with difficult team members ................................................................................. 16
4. Communication skills ............................................................................................................ 19
5. Delegation ............................................................................................................................... 20

1. What is a team?
Consultancies are invariably fairly short events, requiring all the consultants involved to work
intensively and effectively to achieve the overall consultancy objectives. Note the focus on
working effectively. One measure of effectiveness is likely to be the extent to which the various
consultants work together as a team rather than as isolated individuals. This raises the questions
what do we mean by a team and what is the difference between a group and a team?

Exercise 2.1 Definitions
Write down your definition of a group and a team in the space provided below. Then compare
it with the definitions given on the following page.

Your definition of a group:

Your definition of a team:

Definition of a group: A collection of individuals who happen to be in the same place at a
particular time, each with his or her own thoughts, ideas and objectives.

Definition of a team: A group of people working together to a shared goal or objective.

These definitions suggest that the crucial difference between a group and a team is the shared
objectives of the latter.

Of course, reality is likely to be more complex. There are likely to be teams that work together
well easily and those that require more work. Effective teams pool their resources, help each
other and so share the effort needed to achieve their common goal. Ineffective teams continue to
work as individuals, even though they are nominally working towards the same goal.

When a group of consultants comes together at the beginning of a consultancy, they are likely to
be closer to a group of individuals than to a team. The members may not have worked together
before and the fact that they come from different disciplines and backgrounds means that they
may have very different perspectives on the work to be carried out. So, one of the key skills
required of team members, an in particular for the team leader, will be to ensure that they really
do work as a team rather than as isolated individuals.

Some consultancies will involve a small number of people, perhaps only two. Still, those two
people need to work as a team and so much of what follows will be relevant, even when the team
is small.

1.1 Advantages of working in a team
Working in a team has several advantages:
A team of specialists, covering a range of disciplines, is more likely to have the full range of
skills required to carry out the consultancy than an individual.
Working in a team ensures that different viewpoints are brought to bear on a problem. You will
often find that other team members will challenge your assumptions, which may be initially
rather threatening, but should make your eventual contribution to the consultancy more
effective.
By working in a team, you can share the workload.
Working in a team allows people to explore and build on each others ideas, so achieving
outcomes that would be impossible for people working in isolation.
Team working can be much more rewarding and enjoyable than working alone.
So, working in a team can and should be a positive experience. It is more likely to be so if you
approach the consultancy in a positive way, recognising that you do not know everything and
welcoming the chance to learn from other team members.
1.2 How to be a good team member
The team will be more likely to be successful if it has good leadership. However, even if you are
not the team leader, you can contribute to the success of the team by being a good team
member. Some guidelines for what this should mean in practice are given below.

Be positive: You may think that the situation in which you find yourself is not ideal. Your terms
of reference may be less than perfect, the local stakeholders with whom you are working may be
less committed than you would like or there may be logistical problems. You can respond to this
situation in two ways:

1. You can complain.
2. You can get on with the job as best you can.

The first is an essentially negative reaction and, on its own is unlikely to achieve much. No-one
likes a person who spends all their time complaining. Apart from that, as a consultant, you will be
judged by the results that you achieve. Remember that consultants are not expected to make
excuses but they are expected to deliver.
So, you should always take a positive attitude, doing what you can to carry out your job within the
constraints and difficulties imposed upon you while exploring ways to remove those constraints.
An example of what this might mean in practice is provided by the actions taken by a group of
British and German consultants who arrived in a town in Sudan, to carry out a study of options for
improving the water supply. When they arrived, they found that the ministry with which they were
working had not been able to arrange transport, in accordance with the conditions specified in
their terms of reference. Apart from anything else, it was difficult to get fuel. They could have
stopped working and waited for someone to solve the problem but they took the positive option,
hiring bicycles for the first few days of the consultancy and riding round town to meetings and to
inspect the existing water supply system. (This was despite the fact that temperatures at the time
were around 40
o
C). In the meantime, they worked with the funding agency and the ministry to
find more suitable long-term transport arrangements.

Be flexible: The consultants in the example just given could not solve a problem in one way so
they looked for another way to solve it. They exhibited flexibility the willingness to find another
way when the approach that you thought you would take is blocked. Flexibility will often mean
inventing aspects of your role as the consultancy progresses. For instance, it may emerge that
there is a need to carry out work that is not specifically identified in the terms of reference of any
team member. An inflexible team will not know what to do in this situation. A flexible team will
consider together the ways in which it might respond to the emerging situation. In such a
situation, the Task Manager must be consulted, especially if there are budgetary considerations
or an impact on an output.
Between them, do team members have the knowledge and skills to cover the additional tasks
required? To the extent that they do not, can they take some intelligent first steps toward dealing
with the tasks, for instance by accessing information on the internet or by talking to local
stakeholders who may have relevant information.

Support your team members: It is possible for the various team members to work
independently, addressing their own terms of reference and paying little attention to those of
others. This will rarely be the most effective way of working for two reasons:
1. Few tasks can be compartmentalised and most will require inputs from more than one
discipline.
2. It is difficult to plan a consultancy in a way that ensures that everyone has the same workload
at any particular time. So, some team members are likely to find themselves with spare time
while others find themselves overworked.

The team will be more likely to reach its objectives if the various team members support each
other, providing advice and inputs to one anothers tasks when required and offering their
services in support of other team members when they have some free time. Always ask the
question, what needs to be done and in what way might I assist in ensuring that it is done. This
does not mean, of course, that you should neglect your own terms of reference but time given to
assist others will increase the likelihood that you will receive help from others when you require it.

Make your particular knowledge and skills available for the benefit of the team: Team
members with knowledge of the local situation and good contacts with local stakeholders can
share this knowledge with other team members, thus reducing the time needed to get the
consultancy started. In many cases, a phone call from someone who knows a key local
stakeholder can secure a meeting where that might otherwise have been difficult to achieve.

You may have developed skills that other team members do not possess. For instance, it may be
that you have skills in preparing diagrams or spreadsheets on the computer. If diagrams or
spreadsheets are required for the final consultancy report, you may be the best person to prepare
them. At least, you may be able to explain how to carry out a task to other team members.

Do not wait to be asked to contribute your own particular knowledge and skills but volunteer them
when appropriate. If they are not needed, you will not have lost anything and if they are, you will
have contributed to the success of the consultancy.

The material included up to this point should be of use to all team members. The material
that follows is aimed primarily at those who might be in a position to take a leading role in
the management of a team. This role might be that of the official team leader. It might
also be that of a senior team member who is trusted and respected by the team leader and
is thus able to provide advice on the conduct of the consultancy

1.3 Team building
Standard texts on working in teams place a strong emphasis on the need for team building.
Clearly this is important but how can it be achieved within the short duration of a typical
consultancy, with a group of consultants who will almost certainly come from different
backgrounds, disciplines and organisations and may not have met before the consultancy?
The team leader is best placed to bring the individual consultants together into a team although
other team members can also play a part. The suggestions that follow are intended primarily for
team leaders although other team members may wish to act upon them when the team leader, for
whatever reason, does not do so. The point to remember here is that it will be important to work
in a way that does not jeopardise relations with the team leader.

Exercise 2.2 Helping to build a team
As a starting point, spend a few minutes thinking about the ways in which you might try to
develop a team feeling within a group of consultants and write your ideas down.
Write your ideas here:

Also, think about the actions and attitudes that might create barriers to team development.
Write your thoughts here:

Now compare your ideas with the suggestions on the next page.


Actions that help to build teams Actions (or lack of them) that tend to
undermine teams

1. Bringing together all the team members as
early as possible in the consultancy to
discuss the consultancy, its objectives and
the role of the various consultants in
meeting those objectives.
2. Spending time together in more or less
informal settings for instance the hotel
restaurant or bar.
3. Encouraging other team members to talk
about their background, interests and
views. If possible do this in a group and
always show interest in what they have to
say. It will normally be a good idea to ask
the members of the team to say
something about themselves at the initial
meeting.
4. Providing opportunities in the course of
the consultancy to discuss problems and
issues.
5. Asking individual consultants and sub-
groups within the team to informally
present and discuss their findings with
other team members.

1. Leaving individual consultants to decide
what they have to do to meet the
consultancy objectives in isolation from
other team members.
2. Telling all consultants exactly what they
have to do rather than encouraging them
to give their views on the best way to fulfil
their terms of reference.
3. Changing the basic approach in the course
of the consultancy.
4. Lack of clarity about the consultancy
objectives.

Whatever else he or she does, the team leader should aim to give the team direction. Some
ways in which this might be done are suggested below:

At the beginning of the consultancy, make sure that every team member is clear about the
objectives of the consultancy.
Share information about meetings to which you have been invited without other team
members.
Lead by example, showing by your actions how you expect the team to operate and where
you expect it to be going.
Encourage informal sharing of experience between the various team members at the end of
each day.
1.4 Dealing with distance
There will be occasions during the field work when team members will be working in different
places. In extreme cases, it may be that the team is divided for almost the whole of the fieldwork
period. In such situations, the team leader has a particularly important role in ensuring that the
team continues to function as one unit rather than disparate sub-units.
In this situation, communication is the key to successful team working. The team leader should
keep regular telephone contact with the various sub-teams. This will not always be easy,
particularly when team members are working in remote locations where they may be out of
telephone contact for long periods. The following steps can be used to ensure that telephone
contacts are effective:

1. Develop a draft timetable for making contact to share information at the outset of the
consultancy. Agree, as precisely as possible, when telephone contact will be made and try to
stick to the times that you have agreed.
2. Spend some time while the team is still together to develop a list of issues to be raised during
telephone contacts at different stages of the consultancy. The priorities for discussion are
likely to change during the course of the consultancy. Thus, for instance, the focus during the
early stages might be on the degree of success achieved in making initial contacts with key
stakeholders. Later the focus will switch more to the findings of field work.
3. Ask each team to be particularly concerned to pass on findings that it thinks might be useful
to other teams. It might be, for instance, that one team discovers that the procedures followed
by local stakeholders differ from those required by official rules and regulations. It may be that
this point has not been picked up by other teams and identifying it will help to make sure that
they explore whether it is also a factor in the areas in which they are working.

Each party to each telephone call should have a notepad available during the call and should
note the important points made by the other party to the call. Whenever possible, write up your
rough notes of the conversation in more detail as soon as the conversation has finished. Unless
you do this, you may find that you do not fully understand the notes that you have made when
you return to them later.
Information should be passed on to other team members as soon as possible after the telephone
call. This may be done verbally but it will there is less possibility of misunderstanding if the
information is also presented in the form of brief written notes.
It may also be possible to make contact by email. Even where hotels do not have email facilities,
there are often internet cafes, which can provide access at a nominal cost. The advantage of
email contact is that it allows you time to think about the way in which you will structure the
information that you send. The advantage of a telephone conversation is that it is better suited to
discussion and dialogue than email, which requires that one person states their views before the
other can respond.
In many cases, the best communication strategy will involve a combination of telephone
conversations and email contacts. Email can be used before the telephone conversation to
identify key points for discussion and after the telephone conversation to further elaborate and
explain points made in the course of the conversation.

1.5 Tools and techniques for effective team working

Brainstorming can be used to generate ideas quickly and is likely to be a particularly useful
team tool in the early stages when options have to be identified and the general direction of the
consultancy determined. Participating in a good brainstorming session can help to build
confidence and trust within the team as its members experience their collective power to generate
ideas.
There are two basic brainstorming rules:
Record every idea on the basis that no idea is a bad idea.
Do not attempt to evaluate ideas.

Simple as these rules may seem, many team members will find them hard to follow. In particular,
there will be a tendency to try to evaluate ideas. A facilitator may be necessary to make sure that
team members adhere to the two rules, at least approximately. This can be the team leader or
anyone else in the team who is happy to take the role. He or she should not participate in
generating ideas. To ensure that everyone has a chance to participate, it might be possible to
change the facilitator at intervals during the brainstorming session.

Flipcharts can be used to present and develop ideas. One person may present an idea or
argument using one or more sheets of the flipchart paper. Other team members can then respond
to this idea or argument by either:
adding comments and suggestions on the same flipchart sheet;
developing an alternative idea or argument on new flipchart sheets.

The advantages of this method are that it can involve the whole team and that it leaves a
permanent record of ideas.
Good practice requires that team members are allowed to present their ideas without being
interrupted and questioned. Once they have completed their ideas, the floor should be open for
discussion and verbal argument until another person comes up to present their ideas on the
flipchart.
As for brainstorming sessions, it will normally be best if someone takes the role of facilitator,
ensuring that everyone gets a chance to put forward their views and that presenters are not
interrupted.

Action planning sessions can be a useful tool, particularly early in the consultancy. To facilitate
planning, it will be necessary to prepare a chart like the one shown below.

Overall objective:
Actions required to
achieve objective
Action by whom? With help from whom? Completed by when?

You may wish to make variations on this basic format. For instance, it might be worthwhile to add
a column in which you define the resources required.
When using this format, make sure that there is discussion on the actions required and
responsibilities for carrying them out. Actions should be described as clearly and precisely as
possible, the team must agree that the action is worth carrying out and the person or people
nominated to carry out the task must agree to do it.

Communication boards can be used to display information about the activities and whereabouts
of team members, approaching deadlines, issues, intentions and queries. The communication
board should be located in a prominent position in a place that is regularly used by all the team
members. This might be the office from which the team is working. If no office has been
allocated to the consultant team, discussions with local stakeholders may provide ideas on a
possible location. The board itself may be a blackboard or whiteboard on which messages can
be added and removed as necessary. The danger that someone may inadvertently rub off an
important message before everyone has had a chance to read it will be reduced if one team
member takes responsibility for maintaining the board and is the only person allowed to remove
information from it.

2. Structured problem-solving
It is important that, as a team, you take a structured approach to problem solving. This might
include the following stages:
1. Obtain relevant information
2. Define problems and possibilities
3. Generate ideas
4. Group ideas
5. Choose options based on ideas
6. Develop and refine options
7. Make final choices and record your decisions in the consultancy report.

These stages will correspond roughly to the stages in the consultancy. In its early stages, you will
be concerned with obtaining relevant information and defining problems and possibilities. At this
stage, team members will probably be working independently but it will be important for you to
keep in touch with each other and to share the information that you gather.
As you come near to the information collection stage of the consultancy, you might come together
as a team to generate, group and choose ideas. Give yourself plenty of time for this and make
sure that one or more team members have been given the remit of ensuring that the logistics for
the session are in place (room, whiteboard/flipchart, pens and papers etc).

Start by brainstorming in order to generate ideas. Write ideas out, ideally on cards so that they
can be moved around.
Next work together as a team to group the cards so that you can see which ideas can be
grouped together. Which ideas are complementary and which are contradictory? Ideally, you
should arrive at two or more sets of ideas that together indicate broad ways forward.
The next step should be to choose between the various options that the team has developed.
There may be some differences in opinion at this point and the next section of this unit
considers how these differences might be resolved.

At the end of this stage, you should choose at the most two options to be carried forward and
explored further. Decide the actions required to achieve this. They might include:
further information collection;
action by individuals and groups within the team to develop and refine concepts;
discussion of options with local stakeholders;
Once the options have been developed and refined, you should be able to meet as a team to
decide the preferred way forward. You can then finalise your ideas and develop them for inclusion
in the final report.

3. Team leadership styles
All the guidance given until this point in the Unit is intended for all team members, including team
leaders. However, team leaders play a particularly important role in ensuring that teams operate
effectively. The team leader also has the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that the consultancy
outputs are delivered on time and to a standard that is acceptable to the client and the employer.
How might you do this? Some possible leadership styles are introduced and briefly discussed
below.

Leader as resource manager In this style of leadership, the leader attempts to take rational
management decisions in order to make the most use of the resources that are available within
the consultancy team. The leader will tend to decide what has to be done and who should do it.
They may produce detailed instructions for each member of the team, setting out the outputs
required of that member and the timetable for delivering them. Team members will have to
produce cogent arguments to justify any deviations that they wish to make from the instructions
that they have received.

Leader as exemplar This style of leader tends to lead from the front. The leader will usually
be energetic and strongly committed to achieving the consultancy objectives. They may provide
general guidance to team members but will often assume that the terms of reference provide all
the information required by the various team members to allow them to carry out their tasks. The
leader will then take an active role in carrying out consultancy tasks, assuming that the other
team members will follow their example.

Leader as facilitator This style of leader is mainly concerned with ensuring that all team
members have the resources that they need to carry out their tasks efficiently and effectively.
The leader is likely to pay particular attention to the logistical arrangements for the consultancy
and believes that an essential part of their role is to provide a sounding board for team members
to suggest ideas and discuss problems.

Leader as motivator This style of leader is concerned to maintain the morale and commitment
of the team. The leader may do this in two ways, by challenging the team to meet deadlines and
achieve objectives and by knowing the needs of each member of the team and satisfying those
needs to the best of his ability.

Leader as visionary This style of leader sees their role as standing above the petty issues that
arise in the course of the consultancy in order to ensure that the overall vision of what has to be
achieved is not lost. The leader is likely to be an ideas person, who sees their role as producing
ideas that can then be worked through and developed by other team members.


Exercise 2.3 Leadership styles
Think about each of the leadership styles identified. For each, make two lists, one identifying
the strengths of the approach and the second identifying its weaknesses.
Leadership style Strengths Weaknesses
Resource manager

Exemplar

Facilitator

Motivator

Visionary

Next, think about yourself. Which style of leadership suits your personality and way of
working?
Write your thoughts:

Now think about the strengths and weaknesses of the various styles that you have already
identified, focusing particularly on the weaknesses of the style that you have identified as your
preferred way of working and the strengths of the other styles.
Recognising that you do not have to conform exactly to any of the styles listed above, think how
you might combine aspects of the various styles to make you a better leader.

3.1 Resolving differences and reaching consensus
The members of the team will come from different disciplines and will no doubt have different
ideas about some issues that arise in the course of the consultancy. It will be important to resolve
these differences in a positive way, so that all members of the team can come to a shared view of
at least the major points to be included in the consultancy report.
How might this be done? There is no one right way to answer this question but it is possible to
identify some general principles and to suggest procedures for resolving differences.

The first and perhaps most important principle is to express and debate opinions openly and
honestly. The team leader can play an important role in ensuring that such open and honest
debate takes place within the team.

Dealing with differences in opinion requires both discussion and dialogue.
Discussion involves communication around a particular topic. Ideas are exchanged and
different points of view put forward. In some circumstances each person with an opinion tries to
persuade others to adopt their point of view.
Dialogue is communication that intends to expand the understanding of the group as a whole,
going beyond any one individuals understanding, in order to gain further insights.
This approach to dialogue recognises that ideas are not static entities and do not belong
exclusively to one person. You may think an idea is solely your own but the reality is that it will
have been influenced by the various people with whom you have talked and the books and
articles that you have read over the years. Once we recognise this, we can be open to the
possibility that interaction within the team can help us to arrive at a level of insight and
understanding that would not be possible if we attempted to solve a problem on our own.

So, how should discussion and dialogue be used to resolve differences and move towards a
shared perspective on the objectives to be achieved and the way to achieve them? The first point
to make in answering this question is that both are required.

In discussion, different views are presented and defended and this may provide a useful
analysis of the whole situation. In discussion, decisions are made.

In dialogue, different views are presented as a means toward discovering a new view, which
allows complex ideas to be explored. Participants in a dialogue should suspend their
assumptions, not in the sense that they are discarded completely but rather in that of holding
them up for inspection, examination and questioning.

Dialogue is not easy! Our habits of thought continually pull us back towards discussion and
away from dialogue, particularly when we are unfamiliar with the concept of dialogue. This
suggests the need for dialogue sessions to be facilitated to ensure that the dialogue keeps
moving and that it is not dominated by one or more people and that participants do not focus
solely on promoting and defending their own views. The facilitator should be one of the team,
perhaps but not necessarily the leader. He or she should participate in the discussion but should,
in the main, respond to other peoples ideas by raising questions and suggesting alternatives
rather than taking the lead in the development of ideas.
There will, of course, be occasions when the introduction of a new idea or insight will be needed
to move the dialogue forward. Where the facilitator sees the need to do this, he or she should
introduce the idea or insight but should then withdraw from the dialogue for a time to allow other
team members the opportunity to assess the idea and begin to explore it.

There can be no hard and fast rules as to the ways in which dialogue and discussion can be used
in the course of a consultancy, but we would suggest the following broad framework for action.
1. Gather information so that you have some facts upon which to base your deliberations. (If
you neglect this step, dialogue will be difficult and you will tend to move straight into a rather
sterile discussion in which different team members promote their own opinions and
prejudices).
2. Arrange for the available information to be presented at a meeting of the whole team. Use
the presentation of initial findings as the starting point for open-ended dialogue on the way
forward for the consultancy. Ask yourselves the question what does this information mean in
relation to the consultancy objectives and the options for achieving them. Ask team members
to put forward ideas. Some individuals within the team will, no doubt, put forward strongly
held views at this stage but the aim at this stage should not be to discuss the merits and
demerits of these views but rather to explore their implications. Do not discard ideas out of
hand, even if they seem at first sight to be a little off the wall. Allow perhaps 15 minutes for
this process but extend the time allocated if the process is still going strong. You do not want
to restrict thinking by setting tight time limits.
3. It is possible that a shared overall view of the way forward will emerge from this exercise. On
the other hand, it may be that differences of opinion and/or emphasis remain. Now will be the
appropriate time to move into discussion mode with different team members attempting to
convince the rest of the team of the validity of their views. At this stage, two possible
situations may emerge:
Disagreements are resulting because people are making different assumptions, based on
inadequate information
There are fundamental differences within the team on approaches and principles.
4. Where differences in opinion result from a lack of information and it is possible to collect that
information, decisions should be deferred to allow action to be taken for the necessary
information to be collected.
5. Where there are fundamental differences in approach and priorities within the team, work
together to see how these differences in approach accord with the clients basic approach, as
contained in any specific documents.
6. If you still cannot agree on the way forward, it may be worthwhile to continue to retain two
options for a time, gathering and analysing further information on each, obtaining feedback
from local stakeholders and so further refining your thinking as a team. In most cases, you
will emerge from this process with a clear preferred option, which everyone can support.

3.2 Handling discontent within the team
Despite the best efforts of the leader, and unfortunately sometimes because of them, tensions
and conflicts are bound to arise within a team on occasion. If you detect problems of this nature,
you should aim to solve them before they get worse and threaten the objectives of the
consultancy.
First, try to assess the reasons for conflict, recognising the possibility that you yourself might be
part of the problem. Consider the following possibilities:

Your leadership style Are you giving team members sufficient direction as to what you expect
of them? Alternatively, are you defining tasks in too much detail and not allowing team members
enough space to develop their own ideas? Are you taking a full role in carrying out the
consultancy tasks? (Dont assume that the team leaders sole role is to manage the inputs of
other consultants. This will rarely be the case, particularly when the consultancy team is small).

Interpersonal conflict There are a number of reasons for interpersonal conflict. One team
member might be seen to be promoting his or her own interests at the expense of those of the
team as a whole. Another person might be seen to be failing to either pull their weight in the
team or perform to an acceptable standard. In some cases, an individual will be seen by other
team members to be guilty of both. The other possibility is that two or more individuals will have
different personalities so that the chemistry between them is not right and they quarrel.

As team leader, you should monitor the way in which your team is working, looking particularly for
signs of discontent or friction between team members. Make sure that there is time at the end of
each team meeting for individual members to raise any problems and concerns that they feel
need to be addressed. People are less likely to be discontented if they know that you are listening
to them. Problems can only be addressed if they are raised. Where a problem cannot be solved,
open discussion will at least make team members aware of the fact and this should make it easier
for them to live with it.

3.3 Dealing with difficult team members
No matter how well the team is chosen and briefed, there will be occasions when you have to
deal with difficult team members. These difficulties might arise because:
1. A team member holds views that cannot be reconciled with the clients approach and
priorities.
2. A team member shows little awareness of the needs and concerns of other team members.
3. A team member may have an overcritical manner, which can upset others and disrupt the
functioning of the team.
4. A team member may be a poor listener, which means that he or she ignores points made by
the rest of the team.

Exercise 2.4 Dealing with difficult team members
What would you do to deal with the difficulties listed above? The answer to this question will
vary, to some extent, depending on the situation.


1.

2.

3.

4.

Then look at the following suggestions, which should prove useful.
Suggestions on how to deal with difficult team members:
1. At the beginning of the consultancy, ask the Task Manager to identify any potential problems
with team members that may have emerged during the selection process. Forewarned is, at
least to some extent, forearmed.
2. Where a team is comprised of members with very different disciplines and viewpoints, try to
bring them together at the beginning of the consultancy to talk as openly as possible about
their approach to the assignment. Remember the distinction that has already been made
between dialogue and discussion and, as far as is possible, encourage team members to
work in dialogue mode.
3. In the case of a person failing to cooperate with the rest of the team, a quiet word in private
will usually be the best approach. The same is true of a person who thinks that he or she is
better than the rest of the team, who do not meet his or her standards. Try to avoid discussing
these issues in front of other team members. This may lead to both sides taking entrenched
positions, from which they are reluctant to back down because to do so would cause them to
lose face.
4. Team members who are not pulling their weight should be tackled as early as possible, in
private in the first instance. Try to find out the reasons for their lack of performance. Perhaps,
they have difficulty in determining exactly what they should be doing. They may be worried
about issues unconnected with the work. In the first instance, the aim of the team-leader
should be to encourage and assist but there may come a time when you have to lay down the
law. Do this as calmly and constructively as you can giving clear information on what you
expect and what will and will not be acceptable.

4. Communication skills
Communication is important for all team members but particularly so for team leaders. We have
to consider not just what we think we are saying but also how other people are likely to interpret
what we say. Be aware that your body language can give a very different message to that given
by your words. Some ideas on how you can ensure good communication with team members and
other stakeholders are given below.
Do not monopolise conversations give other people a chance to talk and develop ideas. Try
not to interrupt them, no matter how strongly you feel. (Some find this difficult but it is
important).
Try to present criticism as constructive comment. Do not say things like why did you do that
and that is wrong but rather explore ways of saying lets look together at how we can do this
better.
Avoid the use of statements of the type this is your last chance and this project will close
down unless you work harder. Rather, the aim should be to find ways of making a similar
point but in a constructive way.
As a general rule, ask rather than order people to do things.
Do not give unsolicited advice using words like I would do this if I were you. Rather, say
something like you might consider this approach. It worked on such and such a project. If you
are interested, I can let you have more information on it.
Exercise 2.5 Good and bad communication
In the first column of the table below are examples of communicating ideas that are unclear,
critical or impolite. In the second column write in your suggestion for a better way to
communicate the same idea.
Bad communication Good communication
(write your suggestions in this column)
Unclear: If you can tell me what you think,
then I can include that with my ideas in this
report.
Clear:

Critical: That is not what I wanted you to
do.
Supportive:

Impolite: Bring me that report first thing
tomorrow morning.
Polite:

Unsolicited advice: You should have
thought about writing this instead.
Gentle advice:

5. Delegation
It is important to delegate responsibilities as well as tasks. Team members will soon sense
whether or not the team leader trusts them to work independently.
The consultancy team that you lead will invariably contain people who, between them, possess a
wide range of skills. By failing to delegate responsibilities, you are failing to acknowledge this fact.
Rather, you are giving team members the message that you are the only person in the team with
the capacity to take responsibility. This is bound to cause resentment.
Consider carefully what responsibilities can be delegated to each team member and do this as far
as is both possible and practical, taking into account your ability to manage each team member.

TEAM WORK, by WEDC

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

TEAM WORK, by WEDC

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Learn @WELL

You might also like