Unit 5: Building Effective Teams

Unit 5 Overview

This unit introduces the concept of teams and how they can be used in libraries to increase organizational performance. Unit content will describe what teams are, how they develop, what styles team members prefer, and some of the key characteristics and behaviours of teams.

Unit Objectives

By completing this unit, you will be able to:

• define what a team is
• identify the stages of development through which every team moves
• outline the key characteristics of high performing teams
• describe critical team behaviours and how they contribute to the team process
• outline a plan for how you can build trust in your organization
• effectively solve problems and make decisions by engaging in a six step problem solving process
• identify the roles that different team members display and work with them to explore other styles.

Unit Outline

5.1 Team Defined
5.2 Stages of Group Development
5.3 Characteristics of High Performing Teams
5.4 Building Trust
5.5 Critical Team Behaviours
5.6 Group Problem Solving and Decision-Making
5.7 Team Player Styles
5.8 Increasing Team Effectiveness
5.9 References and Additional Resources
5.10 Discussion and Comments

Summary of Required Learning Activities and Assignments

• 5.3 Assignment 3: Write a short report on team performance.
• 5.4 Participate in a discussion on building trust in your organization.
• 5.7 Participate in a discussion on team styles.