Business Communication Chapter 3 PDF

CHAPTER 3 Team Communication and Difficult Conversations Access the text alternative for slide images. © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC. ...

CHAPTER 3 Team Communication and Difficult Conversations Access the text alternative for slide images. © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.  Learning Objectives 3.1 Explain the principles of team communication in high-performing teams. 3.2 Describe and demonstrate principles of effective in-person and online meetings. 3.3 Identify practices to increase creative capacity in teams and groups. 3.4 Describe strategies for effective group writing. 3.5 Explain basic principles for handling difficult conversations. © McGraw Hill LLC 2  Why Does This Matter? Organizations of all types recognize that teams deliver more innovation and better business results. During your career, you can expect to spend a significant amount of time working in teams. © McGraw Hill LLC 3  Principles of Effective Team Communication 1 Basic Principles 1. Focus on performance. 2. Go through four stages to reach high performance. 3. Build a work culture around values, norms and goals. 4. Meet often. 5. Focus on psychological safety and ensure all voices are heard. 6. Recognize and actively seek to avoid groupthink. 7. Embrace diversity. 8. Solve problems and generate creative solutions. 9. Provide positive feedback and evaluate performance often. © McGraw Hill LLC 4  Figure 3.1 Stages of Development in High-Performance Teams Access the text alternative for slide images. Source: Adapted from Wheelan, S. A. (1999). Creating effective teams: A guide for members and leaders. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, which examines hundreds of scholarly studies on teamwork. © McGraw Hill LLC 5  Stages of Development in High-Performance Teams Forming Storming Team members focus on Team members open up gaining acceptance and with their competing ideas avoiding conflict. about how the team should approach work. Norming Performing The team arrives at a The team operates work plan, including roles, efficiently toward goals, and accomplishing its goals. accountabilities. © McGraw Hill LLC 6  Principles of Effective Team Communication 2 Team Culture Shared perceptions and commitment to collective values, norms, roles, responsibilities, and goals. Typically develops during norming stage. Team Charter Provides guidelines in meeting shared objectives. Includes purpose or mission statements, values, goals, team member roles, tasks, ground rules, communication protocol, meeting protocol, decision-making rules, conflict resolution, and feedback mechanisms. © McGraw Hill LLC 7  Principles of Effective Team Communication 3 Psychological Safety One study says the most important predictor of team success is psychological safety. All team members must spend about same amount of time speaking during conversations. Team members must be empathetic and understand one another’s feelings. © McGraw Hill LLC 8  Principles of Effective Team Communication 4 Symptoms of Groupthink Collective rationalization. Moral high ground. Self-censorship. Illusion of unanimity. © McGraw Hill LLC 9  Figure 3.3 Groupthink Teams often suffer from groupthink because of self- censorship and the illusion of unanimity. © McGraw Hill LLC Source: Clavien, J. (2016). What do I need to know about groupthink? 42hire. 10  Principles of Effective Team Communication 5 Symptoms of Groupthink (continued) Peer pressure. Illusion of invulnerability. Complacency. Mindguards. Stereotyping. © McGraw Hill LLC 11  Principles of Effective Team Communication 6 Inherent Diversity Acquired Diversity Involves traits such as Involves traits you acquire age, gender, ethnicity, etc. through experience, such as customer service experience, retail experience, or engineering experience. © McGraw Hill LLC 12 Behaviors that Drive Acquired Diversity 1. Making sure everyone is heard. 2. Making it safe to let team members express novel ideas. 3. Giving team members decision-making authority. 4. Sharing credit. 5. Giving useful feedback. 6. Putting feedback into action. © McGraw Hill LLC 13  Managing Meetings 1 Planning for Meetings: Essential Questions What is the purpose of the meeting? What outcomes do I expect? Who should attend? When should the meeting be scheduled? What roles and responsibilities should people at the meeting have? © McGraw Hill LLC 14  Managing Meetings 2 Planning for Meetings: Essential Questions (continued) What will be the agenda? What materials should I distribute prior to the meeting? When and how should I invite others? What logistical issues do I need to take care of (reserving rooms, getting equipment, printing materials)? © McGraw Hill LLC 15  Figure 3.6 Least Productive Parts of the Workday Access the text alternative for slide images. Source: Adapted from Perrotte, K. (2018, August 18). Accountemps survey: Employee output is weakest late in the day. Retrieved from www.newswire.ca/news-releases/accountemps-survey-employee-output-is-weakest-late-in-the-day-545226522.html. © McGraw Hill LLC 16  Creating and Distributing the Agenda Agenda Components Agenda items. Time frames. Goals/expected outcomes. Roles. Materials needed. © McGraw Hill LLC 17 Figure 3.7 Sample Meeting Agenda Access the text alternative for slide images. © McGraw Hill LLC 18  Running Effective Meetings Create tradition, culture, and variety. Set expectations and follow the agenda. Encourage participation and expression of ideas. Use a facilitator. Build consensus and a plan of action. Closing the meeting. Dealing with difficult people. © McGraw Hill LLC 19  Following Up After Meetings Meeting Follow-up/Minutes Components Date and time. Team members present. Meeting roles. Key decisions. Key discussion points (optional). Open issues (optional). Action items and deadlines. © McGraw Hill LLC 20  Working in Virtual Teams 1 Virtual Teams Generally consist of team members located at various offices (including home offices) and rely almost entirely on virtual technologies to work with one another. In addition to the principles for working effectively in traditional teams, consider the following tips when working in virtual teams: Focus on building trust at each stage of your virtual team. Meet in person if possible. Get to know one another. Use collaborative technologies. Choose an active team leader. © McGraw Hill LLC  Running Online Meetings 1 Maintain Professionalism and Understanding Dress professionally. Ensure your background is attractive. Show your attentiveness to others with effective nonverbal communication. Manage time well. Create a distraction-free environment and demonstrate understanding for the situations of others. © McGraw Hill LLC 22  Running Online Meetings 3 Increase Interaction and Participation Consider ways to make energetic and lively conversations. Articulate views concisely and precisely. Consider taking minutes in real time. Give meeting participants many ways to provide input (including anonymous input). Practice and Experiment with Meeting Features Effective meeting leaders and participants need practice to use tools and orchestrate effective team communication. Pay attention to emerging tools. Virtual reality. Augmented reality. © McGraw Hill LLC 23  Solving Problems with Creativity 1 Creativity Among most important skills for professionals. All people can be creative and innovative. Team environments can be barriers to creativity because of fears related to confronting uncertainty, being judged, taking the first step, and losing control. Foundation for creativity is psychological safety. © McGraw Hill LLC 24  Managing Difficult Conversations 1 Difficult conversations often Principles of Difficult center on disagreements, Conversations conflict, and bad news. Embrace difficult conversations. Many people prefer to avoid Assume the best in others. difficult conversations Adopt a learning stance. because they want to avoid Stay calm/overcome noise. hurting the feelings of others Find common ground. or want to avoid conflict. Disagree diplomatically. Avoid exaggeration and either/or approaches. © McGraw Hill LLC 25  Components of Difficult Conversations Steps 1. Start well/declare your intent. 2. Listen to their story. 3. Tell your story. 4. Create a shared story. © McGraw Hill LLC 26  Disagree Diplomatically Disagreeing Well Validating others means that you recognize their perspectives and feelings as credible or legitimate. It does not necessarily mean that you agree. I-statements begin with phrases such as I think, I feel, or I believe. Soften comments to sound more conciliatory and flexible and less blaming and accusatory. © McGraw Hill LLC 27 Initiate the Conversation, Share Stories, and Focus on Solutions Initiating a difficult conversation is stressful. Starting well is crucial. Frame or orient the conversation for problem solving. Listen to the story of others first, then tell your story, then create a shared story. © McGraw Hill LLC 28  End of Main Content www.mheducation.com © McGraw Hill LLC. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution without the prior written consent of McGraw Hill LLC.