Interaction Skills in a Team

Skills are essential conditions when building a team or being part of one. In order for a team to be effective it is necessary that we consider the interaction skills that their members have. In today's business world more interaction among people from diverse cultures, beliefs, and backgrounds than ever before is necessary. Interaction skills have been identified, but not limited to:

Attitude awareness

Conflict handling

Co-operation

Diversity tolerance

Teamwork willingness

Etiquette

These skills will be described and their importance will be established in team building.

Attitude Awareness

Attitudes represent our covert feelings of favorability or un-favorability toward an object, person, issue, or behavior. Formally, attitude is defined as "a learned predisposition to response in a consistently favorable or unfavorable manner with respect to a given object" (Fishbein and Ajzen 1975, p. 6).Some people refers to it as disposition, manner, temperament, spirit, approach, position, posture, outlook or opinion your attitude has a major bearing on your level of success.

Your attitude, feelings, or moods will infect or effect the actions, moods, and feelings of those around you. If you face the world with a cheerful expectant attitude, the world (and those in it) will know you expect more from it and will perform accordingly. If you face the world with a negative, down trodden attitude it will know you expect poor action from it and will give you those actions. Remember that the world will reflect your attitude back to you. Your attitude to the world will determine its attitude towards you (cause and affect). So one of the main rules to a successful life is to know that the world is a mirror, often a merciless mirror, of our selves and the habitual attitude we carry within us. When establishing the goals for the team, every team member has to set their minds on what they want because in our life we need to make the choices that will move us there. You get back what you put out. As soon as we begin to change, the world will begin to reflect those changes - immediately. So as you shape and mold your life whether personal or professional, know that it is further detailed and textured by your habitual attitude. Successful people's edge is their attitude.

Conflict Handling

At any moment in which you have people interacting, conflict is expected, due to the existent diversity in today's world. Conflict can be both positive and negative, and can bring also positive and negative feelings to the team and workplace. Conflict has different definitions, and when defining conflict we tend to think negative first. Conflict can be defined as: difference of opinion with another, a time when no one is communicating; whether people are angry silently or are yelling at one another, someone acting in direct opposition to your request, and defending our rights when they are being ignored. In a positive sense, conflict can be a/an: time in which problems can be solved creatively by looking together at a variety of alternatives, time for us to increase our knowledge of one another, chance to reveal our unique ways of thinking, acting, and feeling, and chance to show understanding, respect, and acceptance of the unique ways in which others think, act, and feel.

Organizations shield individuals from intense conflict through rules, policies, and the diffused responsibility that characterizes committee deliberations of conflicts that are not readily settled through the application of policy. Team leaders need to learn facilitation skills in order to make people more comfortable resolving conflicts in team settings. Some behaviors that can help in managing conflict are: Use ``I'' statements. Be assertive, not aggressive. Speak calmly, coolly and rationally. Avoid blaming. Create an atmosphere of healing. Be willing to forgive. Be willing to forget. Be honest. Focus on feelings rather than on content. Show respect for yourself and for others. Be willing to apologize or admit a mistake. Be willing to compromise.

Co-operation

Co-operation is key in teams; you have to work together to reach a common goal. There are some factors that facilitate cooperation in the team and they are: task structure, group boundaries, norms and authority; there are also some hindering and facilitating factors.

Task structure

1. Members have good knowledge of tasks.

2. There is a consistent and clear link of tasks with the team's mission.

3. Members have a meaningful piece of work, sufficient autonomy to perform it

and access to knowledge of its results.

Group boundaries

1. The membership of the team is appropriate for the task to be performed.

2. Members have collective knowledge and skills to perform the work.

3. Members have sufficient maturity and interpersonal skills to be able to work

together and resolve conflicts.

4. Members may have differing perspectives and experiences but can

communicate with and relate to one another.

Norms

1. Members share an appropriate set of norms working as a team.

2. It is necessary to regularly scan and review prevailing norms to ensure that

they support overall objectives.

3. It is necessary to ensure that conflicting norms do not confuse team members.

Authority

1. There is firm authority that is also flexible in enabling the team members to

make their best efforts.

2. There is competent team leadership that allows the group to comply when

conditions demand it (such as in emergencies).

3. The team leader is able to establish a climate for team member to feel

empowered to provide expert assistance when appropriate.

4. Team members feel comfortable in questioning the leader on decisions that

have no clear right answers.

Diversity Tolerance

Diversity is generally defined as acknowledging, understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect to age, class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, sexual orientation, spiritual practice, and public assistance status. Diversity is beneficial to both associates and employers. Although associates are interdependent in the workplace, respecting individual differences can increase productivity. Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity, and business image (Esty, et al., 1995). In an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organization's success. Also, the consequences (loss of time and money) should not be overlooked.

There are challenges to managing a diverse work population. Managing diversity is more than simply acknowledging differences in people. It involves recognizing the value of differences, combating discrimination, and promoting inclusiveness. Managers may also be challenged with losses in personnel and work productivity due to prejudice and discrimination and complaints and legal actions against the organization (Devoe, 1999). Negative attitudes and behaviors can be barriers to organizational diversity because they can harm working relationships and damage morale and work productivity (Esty, et al., 1995). Negative attitudes and behaviors in the workplace include prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination, which should never be used by management for hiring, retention, and termination practices (could lead to costly litigation).

Effective managers are aware that certain skills are necessary for creating a successful, diverse workforce. First, managers must understand discrimination and its consequences. Second, managers must recognize their own cultural biases and prejudices (Koonce, 2001). Diversity is not about differences among groups, but rather about differences among individuals. Each individual is unique and does not represent or speak for a particular group. Finally, managers must be willing to change the organization if necessary (Koonce, 2001). Organizations need to learn how to manage diversity in the workplace to be successful in the future (Flagg, 2002).

According to Roosevelt (2001), managing diversity is a comprehensive process for creating a work environment that includes everyone. When creating a successful diverse workforce, an effective manager should focus on personal awareness. Both managers and associates need to be aware of their personal biases. Therefore, organizations need to develop, implement, and maintain ongoing training because a one-day session of training will not change people's behaviors (Koonce, 2001). Managers must also understand that fairness is not necessarily equality. There are always exceptions to the rule. Managing diversity is about more than equal employment opportunity and affirmative action (Losyk, 1996). Managers should expect change to be slow, while at the same time encouraging change (Koonce, 2001). Another vital requirement when dealing with diversity is promoting a "safe" place for associates to communicate (Koonce, 2001). Social gatherings and business meetings, where every member must listen and have the chance to speak, are good ways to create dialogues. Managers should implement policies such as mentoring programs to provide associates access to information and opportunities. Also, associates should never be denied necessary, constructive, critical feedback for learning about mistakes and successes (Flagg, 2002).

Teamwork willingness

Teamwork requires a willingness on the part of individuals to enter into interdependencies involving risk. Trust is fundamentally at stake in such decisions. Widespread teamwork therefore requires many interdependencies and a foundation of trust. Rewards, recognitions, and performance evaluation systems must be developed and administered with sensitivity to the problem of not undermining interdependencies or trust between individuals. For a group to be successful, its members need four specific "willingness" traits: Willingness to accept everyone in the group.

Good group members don't wait to see who measures up.
They don't wait to see where someone stands before accepting him or her.

1. Willingness to learn from each other.
   Good group members recognize that everyone brings strengths to the group. They are not control freaks.
2. Willingness to share ideas, power, expertise and the floor.
   Good group members don't talk people to death.
3. Willingness to stay focused.

Good group members commit to staying on task.

Etiquette

Is a name for the codes of rules governing social or diplomatic intercourse? These codes vary from the more or less flexible laws of social usage (differing according to local customs or taboos) to the rigid conventions of court and military circles, and they extend to the legal, medical, and other professions. All cultures include forms of etiquette; often, etiquette has been used to enforce class distinctions, as well as safeguarding against conflict in social interactions. The practices and forms prescribed by social convention or by authority.

Every organization has a set of established norms and policies which must be followed, when a team is formed a set of rules should be set in order to make processes easier and have the team more controlled in terms of behavior and on how to conduct themselves within and out of the team in order for the team to be more successful.

References:

http://www.answers.com

http://www.ccs.neu.edu

http://www.abs.uci.edu

http://home.snu.edu

http://www.coping.org

http://www.unescap.org

http://edis.ifas.ufl

http://www.ciadvertising.org

http://www.chicagojobsource.com

All websites were accessed on 27 February 2006