Lesson 5: Team Building

Collaboration

DODD 5000.1 states the following:

The Defense acquisition, requirements, and financial communities shall maintain

continuous and effective communications with each other and with the operational
user through the use of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs). Teaming among
warfighters, users, developers, acquirers, technologists, industry, testers,
budgeters, and sustainers shall begin during requirements definition. PMs and
MDAs shall be responsible for making decisions and leading implementation of their
programs, and are accountable for results.

Integrated Product Team (IPT) Operating Principles

IPTs are under the following broad principles:

• Open discussions with no secrets.

• Qualified, empowered team members.
• Consistent, success-oriented, proactive participation.
• Continuous "up-the-line" communications.
• Reasoned disagreement.
• Issues raised and resolved early.

Team Development

Over the years, social psychologists have observed the "building" of a team.
According to Bruce W. Tuckerman's research, every team goes through the
following stages:

1. Forming
2. Storming
3. Norming
4. Performing
5. Adjourning

Stage 1: Forming

During the Forming Stage, the team spends time trying to figure out how to
accomplish the tasks and little time actually doing tasks.

Typical emotions include:

• Excitement, anticipation, and optimism.

• Pride in being chosen for the project.
• Initial, tentative attachment to the team.
• Suspicion, fear, and anxiety about the job ahead.

Typical group behaviors include:

• Attempts to define the task and to decide how to get it done.

• Attempts to determine acceptable group behavior.
• Decisions about what information to gather.
• Lofty, abstract discussions.
• Complaints about the tasks or organization.

Stage 2: Storming

During the Storming Stage, the team begins to realize that the task at hand is
different or more difficult than they had imagined.

Typical emotions include:

• Resistance to the task and to new approaches.

• Uncertainty about the team's success.
• Impatience, hostility, and discomfort.
• Disunity, tension, and jealousy.

Typical group behaviors include:

• Arguing among team members even when they agree.

• Defensiveness and competition; factions and "choosing sides."
• Questioning the wisdom of superiors.
• Establishing unrealistic goals.
• Concern about excessive work.
• Perception of a pecking order.

Stage 3: Norming

During the Norming Stage, the team reconciles competing loyalties and
responsibilities. The team develops spoken or unspoken rules on how to proceed.

Typical emotions include:

• A new ability to express criticism constructively.

 • Acceptance of membership in the team.
• Relief that is seems that everything is going to work out.
• Renewed energy.
• Common spirit and team cohesion.

Typical group behaviors include:

• Attempts to achieve harmony by avoiding conflicts.

• More confiding and sharing of information.
• Establishment and maintenance of spoken or unspoken ground rules and
group norms.
• More acceptance of all team members and their ideas.

Stage 4: Performing

During the Performing Stage, team members work collaboratively to get the job
done and solve problems.

Typical emotions include:

• Acceptance of other team members' strengths and weaknesses.

• Satisfaction with the team's progress.
• Pride in being part of the team.
• Excitement.

Typical group behaviors include:

• Taking actions to prevent or work through group problems.

• Balancing the behaviors for maintaining effective team relations with the
behaviors required to get the job accomplished.
• Taking steps to maintain close attachment within the team.

Stage 5: Adjourning

During the adjourning stage, the team is preparing for the group's dissolution.

Typical emotions include:

• Melancholy acceptance of the team's separation.

• Pride in the team's success.

Typical group behaviors include:

• Congratulating fellow team members.

• Bidding farewells.
Team Development Stages: Summary Concepts

Although all effective teams go through each stage, the time it takes each group to
complete a stage varies greatly.

The goal is for the team to reach the Performing Stage and remain in that stage until
the work is accomplished.

Not every team achieves and stays in the Performing Stage. Changes in team
members, new work assignments, policy modifications, or other events may cause a
team to return to an earlier stage. When this happens, team members need to work
together to reconfirm the commitment (forming), clarify roles/relationships
(storming), and reestablish group rules (norming).

Team Decision Making: Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages of Team Decision Making

• Greater commitment from those implementing the decision.

• Allows for more points of view to be considered.
• There may be reasoned disagreement.
• More creative options may be generated.

Disadvantages of Team Decision Making

• Can be time consuming.

• The team needs to be in the norming or performing stage to work well
together.

What is Consensus?

Team decisions are based on reaching consensus. Consensus means:

"We can live with 'x' as a solution, and we all agree to go along with whatever it
takes to implement it."

Consensus does not mean that everyone gets his or her wishes. Consensus works
when team members are willing to explore alternative solutions.

Consensus-Building Tips

• Be open and honest when expressing your ideas and opinions.

• Avoid judging ideas instantaneously. Let team members state their cases
and ask questions.
• Be willing to explore alternatives and to be flexible.
• Analyze decisions and problems in a systematic manner.
 • Agree at the beginning on the issue you are analyzing and your goal.
• Share the same information with all team members.
• Allow enough time to reach consensus, but know when enough time has
passed.

Team Decision Making: Ethics

Ethics are a set of standards of behavior defined by a group or organization. Ethics

involve our ability to distinguish right from wrong and commitment to do what is
correct and proper. Values are core beliefs that guide behaviors and attitudes.
Ethics help translate values into appropriate actions.

Ethical Decision Making

Ethical decision making requires:

• A belief in the importance of ethics and sensitivity to perceive and understand

the ethical implications of decisions you make as a member of the acquisition
workforce.
• Evaluation of complex, and sometimes ambiguous or incomplete information
and the skills to use that information to make ethical decisions.

Ethical Decision Making Factors

Ethical decision making requires three facts:

• Ethical Commitment: Ethical commitment entails a strong desire to do the

correct thing and act ethically, even when ethics could have social or
financial "costs." Because they lack the strength to follow their ethical
conscience, some people may compromise their values. As a member of the
acquisition workforce, you may be confronted with situations that will test
your ethical commitment.

• Ethical Consciousness: While a weakness of will often times can explain

improper conduct, a greater problem arises when we fail to understand or
perceive the ethical implications of our actions and conduct. We may not be
aware that conduct that is perfectly legal could appear to be inappropriate or
improper to the public. The ordinary tax payer expects government
employees to avoid even the appearance of impropriety.

• Ethical Competency: Sometimes being ethically conscious and being

committed to act ethically is not enough. In complex situations that we are
involved with in the acquisition environment, the following problem solving
skills and reasoning are needed:
 Skills Description
Evaluation Evaluation is the ability to collect and evaluate
relevant facts and issues, know when to stop, and
make prudent decisions based on incomplete or
ambiguous facts.
Creativity Creativity is the capability to develop or create
alternatives to accomplish goals and objectives, in
ways which avoid or minimize ethical problems or
issues.
Prediction Prediction is the ability to foresee potential
consequences of conduct or decisions and assess the
risk or likelihood that persons could be helped or
harmed by the conduct or decision.

Tips for Being an Effective Team Member

Each team member shares the responsibility for the success or failure of the overall
team. Following are tips for being an effective team member:

Area Tips
Shared Take responsibility for the overall team
Responsibility performance, not just your specialty area.
Commitment to Make sure you understand the team goals and
Team Purpose make a commitment to them.
Open Help foster trust among team members by providing
Communication honest, open feedback and constructively airing
differences.
Resources and Allow the team to match your individual strengths to
Talents appropriate tasks and share your talents freely.
Team Evaluation On a frequent basis, work with other team members
to assess how well the team is doing and generate
suggestions for improving the team's performance.