Thursday, January 19, 2012

Participating in Teams during Change

One way you can contribute to your team during change is to keep your attitudes positive and focused. These principles give you direction in keeping your attitude centered on team success.

Support each other
During periods of change, you sometimes feel like you are on a tightrope without a net. Even though other members of the team may be experiencing the same change, you tend to feel isolated and alone during organizational change. Make a commitment to express support to everyone else on the team, and let them know that the whole team is in this effort together. If you give unconditional support to your fellow team members, you will receive support in return.

Communicate expectations
The best way to break out of isolation is to communicate openly, honestly, and often. What are your expectations of each other as a team? What are your expectations of the team effort and the results that you can produce? Commit to discussing these expectations and applying the highest levels of listening to one another. In this way, all members of the team can unite in a common purpose.

Have fun
Let's face it. Sometimes you take yourself a little too seriously. Sure, you are engaged in serious, demanding team efforts during periods of organizational change, but teamwork at its highest level is fast-paced, engaging, and fun. Many of us feel that the most exciting and rewarding efforts in our work are team efforts. Let's make a commitment to make teamwork during change enjoyable and fun, rather than dreary and dull.

Find efficiencies
One of the advantages of working on a team is that you can capitalize on the individual strengths of your team members. You don't have to do everything or even know everything when you are on a team. Focus on utilizing individual team members' skills, experience, and abilities to achieve a high level of team efficiency and accomplishment.

Build competitive team spirit
You can take tremendous pride in being a member of high-achieving teams. As you set and achieve goals, why not compete with each other and push each other and the team to an ever-higher level of performance? When you tap into your competitive spirit, you unite as a team and reach higher levels of success.

Think big
Maybe the changes that you are undergoing as a team will be the best thing that ever happened to each of you. Maybe you will come through the change so successfully that you will achieve team recognition. Instead of viewing yourselves as merely surviving the change, think big and imagine the organizational change as a springboard to greater individual and team success.