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SIS
BTEC Subsidiary Diploma Public Services
Unit 2: Leadership & Teamwork
Workbook
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Quotes for Teamwork
"When two people meet, there are really six people present. There is each man as he sees himself, each man as he wants to be seen, and each man as he really is." Michael De Saintamo
"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Helen Keller
"Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results." Andrew Carnegie
"Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success." Henry Ford
"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual." Vince Lombardi For video click-here
"The nice thing about teamwork is that you always have others on your side." Margaret Carty
"When your team is winning, be ready to be tough, because winning can make you soft. On the other hand, when you team is losing, stick by them. Keep believing." Bo Schembechler
"Individuals play the game, but teams beat the odds." SEAL Team saying
"The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't play together, the club won't be worth a dime." Babe Ruth
"If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to subordinate his personal goals to the good of the team." Bud Wilkinson
"People have been known to achieve more as a result of working with others than against them." Dr. Allan Fromme
"When he took time to help the man up the mountain, lo, he scaled it himself." Tibetan Proverb
"Even eagles need a push." David McNally
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Quotes for Leadership
"A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better."Jim Rohn
"The boss drives people; the leader coaches them. The boss depends on authority; the leader on good will. The boss inspires fear; the leader inspires enthusiasm. The boss says "I"; The leader says "WE". The boss fixes the blame for the breakdown; the leader fixes the breakdown. The boss says, "GO"; the leader says "LET'S GO!" H. Gordon Selfridge
"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." Vince Lombardi
"I am personally convinced that one person can be a change catalyst, a "transformer" in any situation, any organization. Such an individual is yeast that can leaven an entire loaf. It requires vision, initiative, patience, respect, persistence, courage, and faith to be a transforming leader." Stephen R. Covey For tapes and videos click-here
"A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting. A boss is interested in himself or herself, a leader is interested in the group." Russell H. Ewing
"One of the true tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." Arnold Glasow
"People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives." Theodore Roosevelt,
"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." Rosalynn Carter
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." Muriel Strode
"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly." Jim Rohn"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it." Theodore Roosevelt
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Case Study 1: Styles of Leadership
Lewin, Lippitt and White
One of the best known investigations of the effects of different leadership styles was conducted in the 1930s by Lewin, Lippitt and White. The study involved directing groups of schoolchildren in the production of arts and crafts in four different clubs. They had three types of leader assigned to them:
1. Authoritarian - this leader was to remain aloof and to use orders without consultation in directing the group activities;
2. Democratic - this leader was to offer guidance, encourage the children and participate in the group;
3. Laissez-faire - this leader gave the children knowledge, but did not become involved and generally participated little in the group's activities. The results are summarised below.
Democratic - morale was high, relationships between the group members were friendly, as well as with the group leader. When the group leader left the room, the group showed itself capable of working independently. The group showed a fair amount of originality, and, although they produced rather less than the 'authoritarian' group, the quality of their productions was considered higher.
Authoritarian - in these groups, there were found to be two types of behaviour - 'aggressive' and 'apathetic'. The aggressive children were rebellious and constantly demanded attention from the leader, as well as tending to blame other members of the group whenever anything went wrong. The apathetic children placed fewer demands on the leader and were less critical of him, but, when they were given a non-authoritarian leader, they tended to fool around and engage in horseplay. The groups' productivity was higher than the 'democratic' groups, but the quality of their masks was not as high.
Laissez-faire - these were the worst groups of all. They did not produce many masks and those they produced were of poor quality. Their group satisfaction was the lowest; they co-operated little and placed great demands on the leader, showing little ability to work independently.
From this study it would seem that the democratic leadership style is the most successful, although some children, mostly boys, preferred the authoritarian style. It could be that different leadership styles are appropriate in different circumstances.
Source http://www.cultsock.ndirect.co.uk/MUHome/cshtml/groups/lead1.html
Points For Discussion
‘The group with the authoritarian leader did the most work, but not the best work. They couldn't work unsupervised. The group with the democratic leader had good morale. They produced the best work and could work unsupervised. The group with the laissez-faire leader produced the least work and misbehaved all the time.’
Consider this summary of the Lewin, Lippitt and White research.
1. Discuss why you think the children would have reacted in theses ways.
2. When (if ever) would each of these 3 leadership styles be used most effectively in the uniformed public services and why?
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Case Study 2: Communication Skills and Team Leadership
When leading a team the leader needs to be able to communicate verbally, showing understanding of appropriate tone of voice, speed and volume of delivery, the use of appropriate language and the needs of the audience. For example, the use of jargon, abbreviations and technical terminology should only be made if the leader is sure that all the team will understand.
The leader also needs to understand non-verbal communication language, so tone and body language add up to 93% of our ability to communicate effectively.and display appropriate body language, such as maintaining eye contact, good posture and the use of gestures to support oral communication.
In communication we derive 7% of the meaning from the written or spoken word, 38% from the tone used (which conveys your emotive state) and 55% from body
Good listening skills are also important, as is the ability to invite and respond to questions from the team and check the team’s understanding of the requirements of the task and the objectives to be achieved. It is often forgotten that communication is a two-way process. This places responsibility on the sender to make sure the message is conveyed in a way that will maximise the chances of understanding by the receiver, and check that the message has been understood.
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MEDIUMWrittenSpoken
ElectronicVisual
1:1Group
How the message is conveyed
How the message is interpreted
FEEDBACKMessage received and
understood?
SENDERRECEIVER
Case Study 3: Briefing & Debriefing the Team
The human body has the ability to receive 7 million pieces of information a day. We only ever use a small percentage of this information. Often the message we interpret gets distorted through ‘noise’ or interference, and breakdown in communication results. If you thought you had briefed a member of the team really clearly to do something and they approach the task in the wrong way, or get the wrong message, or take offence, it’s your responsibility. As team leader you need to check the understanding of those being briefed and clarify the task with them. Any message we send gets distorted by noise in the environment, e.g. phones ringing, people talking, and other distractions. There are other sorts of interference - the person themselves may not be listening, or you may not have explained things as clearly as you think, or the receiver of the message puts the wrong interpretation on it. The feedback loop is crucial in this process – as a leader when briefing the team you need to use feedback to check understanding and to prevent problems further down the line.
When briefing your team you should consider the following points:
Ground orientation Safety issues Summarising the task or situation Explaining the key aims of the task Methods to be used to achieve those aims Who will take which role in the team and why Key timings (to brief, undertake the task and debrief) Any equipment that might be needed Motivating the team Do team members fully understand the task requirements?
When debriefing the team, individual and group feedback should be provided with acknowledgement of success, clear identification of strengths and weaknesses, and action planning for future development.
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Case Study 4: Belbin’s team roles
Dr Meredith Belbin and his research team investigated the behaviour of managers from all over the world over a period of nine years, using psychometric testing and other tools to understand what roles and behaviours they would adopt in a range of different teams undertaking complex management tasks.
From this research the original model of eight team roles was developed.
ImplementerThis person is disciplined, conscientious, aware of external responsibilities, such as the need to keep people informed about what the team is doing. They respect established conditions in the organisation and one weakness of the role is rigidity.On the other side, this person is practical, trusting and tolerant of others around them. The Implementer’s strengths are in putting other people’s ideas and plans into operation and carrying out plans that the team have agreed in a systematic and efficient way.
ChairmanThis role shows the ability to lead the team towards its objectives. This person is able to recognise individual strengths and weaknesses in team members, ensuring each individual’s potential is maximised. Their main weakness is not being effective in crisis management; they prefer a participative, consultative style of leadership, carrying the rest of the team with them. In circumstances where the team needs to act effectively in times of pressure and at high speed, the shaper can take over.
ShaperShapers are people who have a strong need for achievement and success. They are highly competitive with an active desire to win – they put life into a team and can drive through change at the expense of popularity. On the negative side, shapers can be seen as pushy, aggressive and insensitive to the feelings of other people. The Chairman and Shaper roles are complementary.
PlantThe Plant is the creative member of the team, who is full of new ideas and ways of doing tasks and they are particularly concerned with finding an innovative solution to major issues. They usually have high levels of intelligence. They can often be weak in communicating their ideas to others and they seem to be on a different level of thinking; they are sensitive to criticism or praise. If the team has too many people who all appear to be strong in this role then that may cause conflict with other team members. This person would be good within a management role as they have the ability to produce new ideas that make efficient use of time and training and with the ability to solve major issues.
Resource InvestigatorWhen studying managers that could be classified as ‘Plants’, Belbin identified another complementary role – the Resource Investigator. More outgoing and communicative than the plant, this person gets around, finds out what is going on, meets people and asks relevant questions. This person is often described as ‘always on the phone’. A real networker, good communicator and negotiator; always ready to explore new opportunities and make new contacts. Good at thinking on their feet and getting
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information. However, they get bored easily and lose enthusiasm if the task is not stimulating enough for them.
Monitor/EvaluatorThis person is serious minded and sensible, valued for an ability to make shrewd judgements and able to debate with a Plant over the latter’s ideas. To other team members the Monitor/Evaluator can appear as rather dry, boring and too critical, but this role is essential in a team where the decision-making process is complicated and it is difficult to reach consensus; the Monitor/Evaluator can be relied upon to reach the most appropriate decision for the situation the team faces.
Team WorkerTeam workers are diplomatic and perceptive with a strong interest in people. They are good at building on other peoples suggestions, improving communications between different members of the team and generally can raise team spirit. They are particularly effective at averting interpersonal conflict and dealing with difficult team members. The team worker will let Plants in the team have their say even if their ideas may appear impractical to others in the team; he or she can draw out the slower but essential Monitor/Evaluator. A team composed of team workers might sound good, but they do not have the attributes of some of the other roles and members of such teams would spend all their time supporting one another.
Completer/FinisherThe Completer/Finisher is the final ingredient. They have the ability to carry anything through to the finished product with thoroughness. A team might have agreed on things, but if action is not done in the agreed way, the team will fail to achieve its objectives. This person is very concerned with nothing being overlooked and checks everything because they have very high standards for themselves and others in the team. They are often known as ‘perfectionists’.
Dr Meredith Belbin later modified his team roles, renaming the Chairman role as the Co-ordinator and adding a very important additional role, that of the Specialist. As the name implies, this role is to do with bringing specific technical knowledge and skills to the team.
Action-oriented roles Shaper, Implementer and Completer/Finisher
People-oriented roles Co-ordinator, Team worker and Resource investigator
Cerebral roles Plant, Monitor/Evaluator and Specialist
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http://www.belbin.com/history.htm
The relevance to public services is that every team member can contribute something distinctive and different to the benefit of the whole team. This encourages public services to be more imaginative and democratic.
Case Study 5: Building the team
Teams are formed in a number of ways and so the team building requirements for each team will vary, both when they are first established and throughout the life of the team, although the pattern defined by Tuckman (forming, storming, norming, performing, transforming) will be evident in that team building process.
Work teams will have responsibility for a function, department or project area. The team may consist of members from one uniformed public service or it may be a multi-agency or service team. As personnel move roles within organisations (through promotions, moving to specialist roles, sideways moves to a new department) or leave the organisation, so the work team will need to reform each time a team member leaves or joins.
An effective team leader will be aware of the need to build the team(s) they are responsible for, bearing in mind the strengths and development needs of the individuals in the team and the goals the team is seeking to achieve.
There are many ways of building a team. While special activities and events may be seen as a good starting point or an effective approach if team performance seems ‘stuck’, day-to-day work and development activities are how most team building occurs.
When new members join the team they need a period of induction. The leader may manage this or may decide to delegate the induction to an existing and experienced team member.
Team meetings and briefings can be used to monitor progress, action plan if targets are not being met and celebrate team achievements. Team meetings and briefings can be used to motivate and inspire the team to better performance and to deal with potential conflict before it impacts on team performance.
Coaching and mentoring can be used so that the leader can work on a one-to-one basis with a team member, or use an experienced and competent team member to assist in developing their colleagues.
Case Study 6: Measuring team performance
How can we measure the effectiveness of teams? To start with, we need to set clear targets for the team and identify the performance indicators we will use to monitor how well targets are being met. Targets need to be set at all levels of organisations. Team and individual targets should derive from the mission or purpose of the organisation. Clear
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accountabilities need to be identified so everyone is clear who is responsible for each aspect of performance and task achievement.
Monitoring will happen as a task or project progresses – milestones or review points may have been identified and monitoring and review will enable the team leader to see if both the team overall and individual team members are achieving desired outcomes at the review points.
If the team or individuals in the team are not achieving the required outcomes then support and development should be offered both by the leader and by team members who have the required competences, knowledge and skills. This could be done, for example, by mentoring, coaching, on- or off-the-job training.
In the uniformed public services individual targets and objectives are set through the staff appraisal process – although these vary slightly, all uniformed public services expect line managers to agree objectives with each individual they manage and to monitor those on a regular basis. Team targets are measured by the achievement of published performance targets and indicators for each work area.
Activity
1) Why do targets and goals need to be set?
2) Why should these be SMART(Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic; Time bound)?
3) Why does performance at all levels of an organisation need to be monitored and reviewed?
4) How can individuals and teams who are underperforming be supported?
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Activity 1: Listening Skills
Complete the table below individually, and then we shall discuss your answers.
To listen attentively you should: This is important because:Be attentive
Listen for key words
Use any pauses to collect your thoughts
Summarise to check your understanding of what is being said
Listen for and ‘hear’ what has not been said (awareness of NVC)
Pick up ‘hooks’ (clues) from the conversation going on
Maintain eye contact with others involved
Use nods, smiles, and other empathetic communications to encourage others to share their ideas with you
Maintain an interest in what is being said
Handle your own ‘mental chat’
Take notes (with agreement)
How effective a listener do you think you are? Make a list of things you could do to improve your listening skills.
1)
2)
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3)
4)
Activity 2: Non Verbal Communication Skills
Case study 2 identifies that 55% of the communication message comes via non-verbal communication, so it is important that we can interpret these clues to aid our understanding.
In groups discuss what the following non-verbal signals suggest to you. There may be differences as acceptable NVC varies between different cultures – for example, the amount of body space we feel comfortable with – Mediterranean cultures are much happier to be close to people (and show affectionate gestures such as kissing) than white northern European cultures. Maintaining eye contact is generally considered important in European cultures but may be seen as disrespectful in some Asian cultures.
Complete the following chart.
Body orientation
Signal Possible interpretation
Arms folded
Facing towards you
Facing away from you
PostureSignal Possible interpretation
Sitting forward or straight in the chair
Sitting back
Slumped in chair
Eye contactSignal Possible interpretation
Looking directly at you
Eyes moving around the room
Looking down
Head and facial movements
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Signal Possible interpretation
Tilted head
Looking down
Abstractly fiddling with items such as pens or jewellery
Activity 3: Briefing Teams
When you are briefing teams, you are giving them information which is new to them. To ensure that the information is understood and absorbed, it should be structured and organised in a way which makes it clear and meaningful to your listeners.
Stage of Briefing This means…… What the team leader says
Ground OrientationThis is the introduction to your briefing, general topic, purpose, introductions, and ground rules for behaviour.
Right then, team. I’ve called this briefing to explain what we’re going to do, and then I’ll answer any questions.
Safety Points
Summary of Situation
Primary Aim
Method to achieve aim
Designated roles
Timings
Equipment
Team motivation
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Check understanding
On completion of the task it is now necessary to ‘debrief’. Debriefing is the process of talking with team members after a task, project or activity, in order to find out how the task went and what they think of their own, other people’s and the organisation’s role in carrying out the task. It consists of 1) Feedback from team to leader, 2) Feedback from leader to team, 3) Acknowledge success, 4) Identify strengths and weaknesses, 5) Development points for the future.Activity 4: Leadership Log Number 1
Self-evaluation sheet
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
My role in the team (leader, member, other)
How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
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How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:Activity 4: Leadership Log Number 2
Self-evaluation sheet
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
My role in the team (leader, member, other)
How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
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How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:
Activity 5: Motivating the team
McGregor’s X/Y theory
The statements below represent views, which people commonly hold about other people at work. Consider each pair of statements for a few moments and in each case circle the number on the scale, which most accurately represents your view.
A People are fundamentally lazy 1 2 3 4 5 People enjoy work and achievementB People are only interested in
their own benefit1 2 3 4 5 People have others’ interests at heart
C Punishments get results 1 2 3 4 5 Excessive punishments are counter-productive
D People have no interest in the work they do
1 2 3 4 5 People are basically in their working lives
E People are basically dishonest 1 2 3 4 5 People are basically honestF People are basically sly 1 2 3 4 5 People are basically open in their
dealings with othersG Discipline and control bring the
best results1 2 3 4 5 People respond best when given
freedom of actionH People are not interested in the
performance of their team1 2 3 4 5 People are interested in the performance
of their teamI People dislike responsibility 1 2 3 4 5 People enjoy responsibility
This questionnaire relates to McGregor’s motivational theories, where the ‘X’ manager believes in beating the donkey with a stick, whereas the ‘Y’ manager believes in encouraging with a carrot. Place your total score on the line below.
X Type Y Type(9 Points) (45 Points)
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The average person dislikes work and will avoid it he/she can.
Therefore most people must be forced with the threat of punishment to work towards organisational objectives.
The average person prefers to be directed; to avoid responsibility; is relatively unambitious, and wants
Effort in work is as natural as work and play.
People will apply self-control and self-direction in the pursuit of organisational objectives, without external control or the threat of punishment.
Commitment to objectives is a function of rewards associated with their achievement.
People usually accept and often seek responsibility.
The capacity to use a high degree of imagination, ingenuity and creativity in solving organisational problems is widely, not narrowly, distributed in the population.
In industry the intellectual potential
Activity 6: - Models of Team Development
Groups go through various stages as they develop to effective team working. A common model used to track the development of groups was suggested by B.W. Tuckman and outlines five stages of team development.
a) Bruce Tuckman’s Model
For further details of these team development stages a useful site is www.businessballs.com/tuckmanformingstormingnormingperforming.htm
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Forming
Storming
Norming
Performing
Transforming
Use this model to analyse your team after you have completed a range of team activities.
b) Peter Honey’s 3 Stages
Honey identified three stages that teams might progress through.
Stage 1- the chaotic stage
Stage 2- the formal stage
Stage 3- the skilful stage
c) Michael Woodcock’s Theory of Team Development
The Undeveloped Team
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The Experimenting Team
The Consolidating Team
The Mature Team
Activity 7: Team Types
List five different types of teams you are/have been a member of (these could be through work experience, school/college activities, outside interests). What is their purpose? What is the stage of team development? (One has been filled in for you as an example.)
Description of teamPurpose of team Stage of team
Development
Team 1- Local Rowing Club
To train to a county competitive standard
Forming (Tuckman)- First meeting this week
Team 2-
Team 3-
Team 4-
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Team 5-
Present your findings to the rest of the class for discussion.Activity 8- Models of Team Roles
Margerison and McCann’s 8 Team Roles
1) Reporter- Advisers
2) Creator- Innovators
3) Explorer- Promoters
4) Assessor- Developers
5) Thruster- Organisers
6) Concluder- Producers
7) Controller- Producers
8) Upholder- Maintainers
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Peter Honey’s 5 Team Roles
1) ………………………………
2)……………………………….
3)………………………………..
4)………………………………..
5)………………………………..
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Activity 9: Skills required of team members
Using the checklist below to analyse your performance in a number of team activities and identify any areas where development is needed.
Use the following scale to help you.
1 2 3 4Not at all confident Partly confident Mainly confident Fully confident
I have never done this or I have tried without success
I have tried this but am unsure how well I performed
Generally I think I perform effectively
I am competent and confident in this area
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Discussion
Good team work is not just about turning up. It’s about taking an active part in the team and the tasks set; having commitment to the team’s goals and other team members; supporting and encouraging others.
Discuss the ideas above and come up with a list of 10 rules for effective teamwork. Title this piece of work ‘P4 D2 The Ten Rules for Effective Teamwork’
Activity 10 : Lost at Sea
You are adrift on a yacht in the Pacific Ocean. Much of the yacht and its contents have been destroyed by fire. The yacht is now slowly sinking. You have an inflatable rubber life raft just large enough to carry yourself, the crew and the inventory below. The total contents of the survivors’ pockets are a packet of cigarettes, matches and some paper money.
You do not know your exact position because your navigational equipment has been destroyed and because you and your crew were distracted while trying to bring the fire under control. Your best estimate is that you are about 1000 miles south-south-west of the nearest island.
On the inventory are listed the 15 items left intact and undamaged after the fire. Your task is to put them in order of importance to your crew in helping them to survive. Place a number 1 by the most important item, a number 2 by the second most important and so on, through to 15, the least important.
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Teamwork skills 1 2 3 4
Preparation
Organising information
Organising equipment
Managing my diary
Problem solving
Identifying issues
Considering options
Scheduling activities
Performance
Maintaining focus
Being open to criticism
Being responsive
Taking responsibility
Being adaptable
Being accountable
Identify any areas which require development, how will you develop them?
Inventory
Activity 11- Team Activities Log 1
Self-evaluation sheet 1
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
My role in the team (leader, member, other)
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Shaving mirror…………………………..
Sextant…………………………………..
5 gallon can of water……………………
Mosquito netting………………………..
One case of rations……………………...
Maps of the area………………………...
Seat cushion (flotation device)………….
Two gallon can of oil/petrol mixture……
Small transistor radio………………..
Shark repellent………………………
Opaque plastic x 20ft………………..
One quart of 160 proof rum…………
Nylon rope x 15ft……………………
2 boxes of chocolate bars……………
Fishing Kit…………………………..
How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:
Activity 11: Team Activities Log 2
Self-evaluation sheet 2
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
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My role in the team (leader, member, other)
How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:Activity 11: Team Activities Log 3
Self-evaluation sheet 3
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
My role in the team (leader, member, other)
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How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:Activity 11: Team Activities Log 4
Self-evaluation sheet 4
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
My role in the team (leader, member, other)
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How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:Activity 11: Team Activities Log 5
Self-evaluation sheet 5
Name: Date:
Details of team activity:
My role in the team (leader, member, other)
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How did I perform?
How did the team perform? Did we achieve the task?
What were my strengths?
What were my weaknesses?
How could I improve my performance?
Learner signature: Teacher/tutor signature:
Activity 12- Tools to analyse effective performance - SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis is a very effective way of identifying your strengths and weaknesses (or development needs), and of examining the opportunities and threats (or limitations) you face. It is a framework that helps you to focus on your strengths, minimise weaknesses, and take the greatest possible advantage of opportunities available. It can be used on a personal level or a team level. Organisations also use this process when undertaking strategic analysis and planning. Write down answers to the following questions.
Strengths What advantages do you have? What do you do well? What relevant resources do you have access to? What do other people see as your strengths?
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Consider this from your own point of view and from the point of view of the people you deal with. Don't be modest. Be realistic. If you are having any difficulty with this, try writing down a list of your characteristics. Some of these will hopefully be strengths!
Weaknesses What could you improve? What do you do badly? What should you avoid?
Again, consider this from an internal and external basis. Do other people seem to perceive weaknesses that you do not see?
Opportunities Where are the good opportunities facing you? What are the interesting trends you are aware of?
Opportunities may come from such things as technology, government policy related to your chosen uniformed service, changing social patterns, crime, lifestyle changes, etc. A useful approach to looking at opportunities is to look at your strengths and ask yourself whether these open up any opportunities. Alternatively, look at your weaknesses and ask yourself whether you could open up opportunities by eliminating them.
Threats What obstacles do you face? Are the required specifications for your chosen job, or uniformed service
changing? Could any of your weaknesses seriously threaten your success?
Tools to analyse effective performance- SWOT Analysis
Complete the personal SWOT analysis based on your performances as a team member.
Strengths Weaknesses
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Opportunities Threats
How can your weakness be addressed and threats turned into opportunities?
How could the use of SWOT analysis help you in leading or developing your team?
Activity 12- Tools to analyse effective performance – GAP Analysis
Based on Kurt Lewin’s force field analysis, GAP analysis is a simple tool that can be used at individual, team or organisational level to help with planning development.
The example below shows how Hampshire’s F&R Service uses this approach for planning development for new entrants to the service.
Source http://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/skills_gap_analysis
Everyone who starts with the Hampshire F&R Service will receive help, support and guidance leading to a structured development programme. Individual strengths, weaknesses and current skill level will be identified. You will be working to standards that are clear and relate directly to your role. The formal procedure for discovering what
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is needed for an individual is called a Skills Gap Analysis.
Step 1 - Identify the role you will undertake in the F&R service.
Step 2 - Assess the required competences: this involves deciding which skills an individual should have to meet their role. These have been formalised in role maps.
Step 3 - Assess the candidate's current skills: this involves looking at the current skills of any given individual and see how they match up to the skills that are required for any person in that role.
Step 4 - Determine the skills gap: look at the skills identified in Step 3 to determine where there are any gaps in the skills of the individual. Assess any gaps in skills, whether the individual is maintaining their skills and knowledge in order to continue in their current role or wishes to enhance their skills and knowledge in order to proceed to the next level.
Step 5 - Develop an appropriate learning programme: the last step of the Skills Gap Analysis involves giving individuals specific and relevant training in the areas where weakness has been identified and where skills need to be updated. A structured development programme should be written.
Use the template below to analyse your own skills gap for being an effective team member
1: Define where you want to be – your goalDescribe what it will feel like when you have achieved your goal
2: Clarify where you areWhere are you now? What are your key strengths and identified development
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needs?
3: Identify drivers and constraints
Drivers (things that will help me achieve my goals) are:
Constraints (things that will get in the way of achieving my goals) are:
4: PrioritisePrioritise – what should you work on first?
5: Plan action
Key Issue 1 Required action Who Is involved Review date
Key Issue 2 Required action Who Is involved Review date
Use the template below to analyse your own skills gap for being an effective team member
1: Define where you want to be – your goalDescribe what it will feel like when you have achieved your goal
2: Clarify where you are
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Where are you now? What are your key strengths and identified development needs?
3: Identify drivers and constraints
Drivers (things that will help me achieve my goals) are:
Constraints (things that will get in the way of achieving my goals) are:
4: PrioritisePrioritise – what should you work on first?
5: Plan action
Key Issue 1 Required action Who Is involved Review date
Key Issue 2 Required action Who Is involved Review date
Solution to ‘Lost at Sea’
This exercise was originally used by the US Navy Coastguard in training recruits.
Their view of the correct answers is based on setting the following priorities:
1) Rescue- almost all successful rescues at sea occur within the first 36 hours of the disaster. During this period food and water are less important than signaling devices. If you cannot attract attention you have no chance of survival.
2) Survival- next in importance are items to sustain life until rescue arrives.
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3) Navigation/movement- articles for navigation/sailing etc are valueless- you cannot reach land. It is too far away. It does not matter where you are, but where your rescuers are.
Against these criteria, the articles available can be prioritized as follows:
1) Shaving mirror- vital for signaling2) 2 gallon can of oil/petrol mixture- vital for signaling- will burn on water3) 5 gallon can of water- top priority for sustaining life4) One case of rations- life sustaining in longer term5) Opaque plastic x 20ft- to collect rainwater and provide shelter6) Two boxes of chocolate bars- reserve food supply7) Fishing kit- ranked lower than rations because there is no guarantee you will catch anything8) Nylon rope x 15ft- for securing equipment or constructing sea anchor9) Seat cushion (floatation device)- life saver if man overboard10) Shark repellent- obvious11) One quart of 160 proof rum- valuable as antiseptic but dehydrating if consumed12) Small transistor radio- useless as it will not transmit13) Maps of the area- irrelevant14) Mosquito netting- there are no mosquito’s in the Pacific Ocean15) Sextant- useless without chronometer and tables
Scoring System
The objective is to get as close to the ‘right’ answer as possible. When the inventory has been completed, each item on the inventory will have been given a priority number between 1 and 15. You then need to score the priority accorded to each item. To do this, you need a copy of the solution in front of you. Then for each of the items, calculate the difference between the position in the solution and the position given by your team.
Example
Sextant Position accorded in solution 15Position accorded by team 10Score 5
Fishing Kit Position accorded in solution 7Position accorded by team 8Score 1
When you have scored each item on the inventory, you should add up all the scores. This number is the final total. The team with the LOWEST score wins!
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