The best
example of my experience with high-performance teams is when I used to travel
with a medical team to conduct surgeries in developing countries. Our teams were formed based on the medical needs
of the children that we were helping and the logistical support we needed. The teams consisted of nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists,
translators, photographers and representatives of the clinics that we visited
overseas. In the course of seven days,
we had to evaluate and diagnose as many children as possible and perform
surgery on as many possible candidates that we could. The whole process also had to be documented
for fundraising purposes for the organization. These trips required the use of
high-performance teams.
Working as
a member of this high-performance team required high levels of shared values. In this situation, we were very lucky that
most of our team comprised of volunteers who had joined the team because they
shared in the common vision of the organization, and that was to provide surgery
for children in need. It was very easy
to work with everyone in the group, because no matter what our differences or
opinions, the unwavering opinion of everyone was that the children and their
needed surgeries came first. Therefore,
we were able to resolve our differences very quickly united by this common
value.
Denning
describes four work patterns of working together (Denning, 2011). In one particular situation I experienced both
positive and negative experiences alike. I used to belong to this esoteric/spiritual
online community. People from all walks
of life and all types of beliefs would come together and share their
experiences, thoughts, fears and enlightening moments. I used to love logging on to this forum and in
fact made some very interesting friends. Generally, I don’t make long term friends from
these forums since you don’t really “meet” anyone, but in this particular case
I made a few lasting friends who I still keep in touch with until this day. I think this pattern of working together was
very successful in this case because the community was formed by many like-minded
individuals. People were open-minded and
hungry to learn from each other. Also,
the community monitor had rules that all members had to abide by which included
being respectful to other members, using appropriate language, and things of
this nature. The negative experience
from the online community came when a new member joined. At first everything was great, he had a lot of
knowledge and experience to share with the group. But his communication style was aggressive. It always seemed like he was on the attack
and used sarcasm and put-downs when others did not agree with his opinions (McKay, Davis, & Fanning, 2009). I believed that this individual was what McKay
et al. described as experiencing “criticism as rejection”. It seemed to be a defense mechanism.
Eventually,
this new member to our peaceful online community became a nuisance. It became a game of “us” against “him”. The humorous part of all of it is that he
seemed to enjoy being the center of attention, even if it was negative
attention. People wanted him out of the
group, but he had not broken the rules to the level to get thrown out, but he
was testing his limits. At first, I too
was angry and joined the mob but as I began to get to know this member better,
I began to respect him for the knowledge he shared. He was in terms of esotericism, very highly
evolved and this fascinated me. If I was
going to pick his meanie brain, I needed to get over these feelings of anger
and offense. I began dialoguing with
this individual. This time though I
entered the discussions with an air of intrigue and genuine desire to listen
instead of guarded defensiveness which is how we usually interacted with him. Whenever his responses seemed hostile or
humiliating, I responded assertively to his statements and either agreed with
him, agreed in part or agreed in probability (McKay et al., 2009). I believe that I was able to defuse his
hostility because he felt that I was really trying to understand his
perspective. Larry Dressler explains in
his video that “the most important influencing skill leaders have is actually
their ability to listen deeply and attentively to other people, and to inquire
into their perspectives, especially when that person’s perspective is different
or conflicting with their own” (Dressler,
2011). I think his feelings were as Dressler put it “now
I’m ready to hear him, because he’s heard me”. I feel I was able to influence the outcome of
this negative experience by helping the others in the group understand this new
member and try to see things from his perspective. Also, once the other members saw the shared
bond between me and the “outsider” they were more willing to enter into
discussions with him.
In closing,
I think that high-performance teams can only succeed if all members have the
same common values and are willing to listen to each other and respect and
understand the perspectives of the other members. Also, the assertive-style of communication, in
my opinion, is probably the most effective mode of communicating within a
high-performance team because it allows you to maintain your beliefs and
express your feelings while still respecting and accepting those of your
teammates.
References
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