Hr Summer Training Report by Sanjay Gupta

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OVERVIEW OF THE COMPANY

SRF Ltd., earlier called the Sriram Fibers, has evolved into a modern industrial major. Its roots go back to over a century, with the establishment of the parent company, DCM (Delhi Cloth Mills) in 1889. Since its inception in 1974, the company has been improving continuously and has made its mark in the industry. It is the market leader in its core businesses, namely industrial synthetics and Fluorochemicals. It also enjoys growing presence in light engineering products, engineering plastics packaging films and Pharma chemical business. SRF today operates from nine plant locations in India and abroad and has attained market leadership position in many of the products it manufactures. SRF’s relentless focus on TQM techniques has resulted in the company winning the prestigious Deming Application Prize in 2004 (the first nylon tire cord company outside Japan to be awarded this prize).

SRF PURPOSE

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To be an inspired, caring organization

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To create extraordinary value for all

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To pursue excellence and customer loyalty

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To always meet tomorrow's challenges today

"We Will Make Our Nation Proud By Being the Best at What We Do"

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SRF VISION

To be one of the most admired business organizations in India, deeply loved by its people, respected and sought after by its customers and shareholders. •

To be World Leader in at least one of its businesses with global operations and technology leadership.

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To be one of the most sought after employers in the country. A Company known for its people management skills. One that can unlock the talent hidden in each employee and inspire him or her to take on and accomplish extraordinary future challenges.

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To be a shining example of deep commitment and contribution to development of people and society.

SRF MISSION

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Enable customer satisfaction of a high level and a standard higher than that of competition.

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Provide good returns to our shareholders and other financial stakeholders.

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Continuously enhance the total quality of life of our employees and help them realize their potential.

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Contribute to the development of the society and the nation.

SRF CORE BUSINESSES

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THE INDUSTRIAL SYNTHETICS BUSINESS, which manufactures Nylon Tyre Cord Fabric, and is the 7th largest producer of NTCF in the world and the largest in India.

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THE COATED FABRICS BUSINESS, which manufactures high quality fabrics used for non-tyre applications in the international and domestic market.

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THE BELTING FABRICS BUSINESS, which manufactures fabric used to make conveyor belts, and is the 2 nd largest producer in the world and the largest in India.

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THE

FLUOROCHEMICALS

BUSINESS,

which

manufactures

Refrigerant Gases and Choloromethanes, and is the largest producer in India with exports to more than 50 countries. •

THE PACKAGING FILMS BUSINESS, which manufactures Biaxially Oriented Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (BOPET) also called Polyester (PET) Film, is predominantly used in Flexible Packaging Applications. 3

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THE PHARMA CHEMICALS BUSINESS, which manufactures intermediates/ advanced intermediates and provides contract research, custom synthesis & contract manufacturing services to the Pharma Industry.

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PROCUREMENT SOLUTIONS & SERVICES: Procurement of indirect materials requires organizations to identify and deal with countless suppliers based on imperfect knowledge, in a market that is highly disorganized. SRF eBIZ provides solutions & services to increase efficiencies in the procurement of these indirect items (also known as B & C category items).

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THE ENGINEERING PLASTICS LIMITED caters to the Nylon engineering plastics requirements of companies in the automobiles, white goods, electrical goods, telecom cables, textile machinery, and electronics sectors. The brands which are famous are TUFNYL and TUFBET.

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THE FISHNET TWINES is a niche business where as leaders in the branded segment we sell fishnets, fishing lines, spindles, tapes, nylon belts and straps as well as velcrotapes to end users in India, Sri Lanka, Uganda and Nigeria.

SRF Ltd also has a wholly owned subsidiary SRF Overseas ltd at Jebel Ali, Dubai and is engaged in manufacturing of Tyre Cord Fabric. This was the first overseas initiative of SRF Group.

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LOCATION OF BUSINESSES

PFB (Kashipur)

Industrial Industrial Synthetics Synthetics Business Business (Jebel (Jebel Ali, Ali, Dubai) Dubai) Industrial Synthetic Business (Malanpur)

Chemicals Business (Jhiwana)

Engineering Plastics (Manali) Fish Net Twine (Manali)

Corporate Office Delhi

Engineering Plastics (Pantnagar) Industrial Industrial Synthetics Synthetics Business Business (Thiruvallur) (Thiruvallur) Industrial Industrial Synthetics Synthetics Business Business (Manali) (Manali) Industrial Industrial Fabrics Fabrics Business Business (Viralimalai) (Viralimalai)

SRF e-Biz (Delhi)

PFB Indore

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INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT

Competencies are described as discrete behavioral traits, which are relevant to job performance. These behavioral traits should be observable and they depend on factors like ability, personality, knowledge, skill and motivation levels of the individual. My intention in producing this On Job Training Schedule is to provide a framework, which can be used by HR personnel in SRF (specifically EP Business) to target and develop the competencies in plant jobs, specifically targeted for the department heads (Band O-A Managers). Before we look at a plan to take effective action for skill & competency development, it is helpful to understand why competency gaps may have emerged in a managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assessment and feedback. Here are a few general reasons as to why managers may not have demonstrated the required behavior:

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Lack of opportunity: The current job may not provide adequate opportunities to exhibit a particular competency. Therefore, the feedback providers may not have had the opportunity to see the manager demonstrate a particular competency. Once this is recognized, development activities that would increase the managerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s opportunity to demonstrate that competency in his current job, should be assigned. Lack of Knowledge: The manager may currently lack the necessary knowledge to demonstrate the behaviors. The appropriate response should be to create a personal development plan, which will allow him to acquire and practice the required new behaviors Barrier: The manager may feel discouraged or prevented from performing the desired behaviors by some sort of barrier. The barrier could be a lack of necessary information or organizational roadblocks. The appropriate response is to develop a plan to problem-solve with the right people or group to remove or work around the barrier.

Lack of Skill: Skill is defined as the ability, coming from one's knowledge, practice, aptitude, etc., to do something well. For a manager to be proficient at his job he must have a certain amount of skill. If this skill is absent then the manager will not be able to produce the desired kind of results. Because of this lack of skill, the manager would not exhibit certain behavioral traits. The response should be to first define the skill level required for different job profiles and then they try and bridge the gap between the actual and the desired skill level. UNDERLYING THEORY: 7

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Developing personalities is a tedious and time-consuming job. Human beings start developing their personalities in their formative years and hence changing it drastically in order to enhance performance takes a lot of time and effort. It can only be done through the individualâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own effort. The organization can guide him and cannot do much more. Another challenge we face while developing personality traits of a person is the difficulty in measurement of progress. It is also very difficult to gauge the degree of change of a personality trait. Therefore, we shall deal with factors of developing behavioral traits that are comparatively easy to develop and measure. This should not give the impression that personality is not an important factor in these behavioral traits, here we just understand the limitations of our work and realize that dealing with personality factors under the given conditions would not be fruitful. We would meanwhile discuss in length the impact; different personality factors have on the various behavioral traits. In this training schedule, we will look to address the development of two of the contributing factors to the behavioral traits of the manager i.e. knowledge and the skill of the managers. These factors can be developed and measured with relative ease compared to the other factors. Knowledge is the basic set of facts that a manager should be aware of, in order to exhibit the behavioral traits, which result in better job performance. Without this knowledge, the manager does not stand a chance in being proficient at his job. After acquiring the required amount of knowledge, the personality of the manager pushes the manager to use this knowledge to enhance his skills so that eventually his performance becomes better.

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In other words, knowledge is the base on which the skills are developed. The personality of the manager pushes him to develop these skills and determines the extent to which these skills are developed. Let us understand this concept with the help of an example. We will take the example of the behavioral trait: “Key indicators are effectively transmitted to the senior management.” The manager can only exhibit this behavioral trait if he knows what a key indicator is and what are the specific key indictors for his organization. This is the “knowledge” part of the behavioral trait. Without this knowledge he would never be able to effectively transmit the key indicators to the senior management, in other words he would never be able to exhibit the specified behavioral trait. On the other hand, in order to effectively shift through data and identify key indicators a manager should be able to comprehend data well and subsequently should be capable of analytical thought. If the manager has an evaluative bend of mind i.e. he is capable of critically evaluating information, can look for potential limitations and can focus on errors, then that automatically pushes him to improve his ability to think analytically and consequently improves his skill for this behavioral trait. Hence, as we can see, the personality traits of the manager naturally propel the manager to pursue and acquire these skills. The model shown below is a pictorial depiction of this trend. The knowledge is the base and the personality pushes the person to acquire the skills, which ultimately lead to better performance.

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Knowledge Knowledge OJT

Performance Performance

Skills Skills Personality Personality

Fig.1 The depiction and the explanation above tell us that it is imperative for the managers to have the basic knowledge required to exhibit the behavioral traits. It also shows us the role of personality of the manager in improving his skill level. As modification and measurement of personality factors is very difficult, we here aim to provide the manager with the tools to develop his knowledge and skill for specific behavioral traits. We shall look at individual competencies and aim to identify and provide tools for developing the knowledge required for the manager to exhibit those traits. Subsequently we shall identify skills and ways of acquiring those skills for the managers. The impact of the various personality factors on the various behavioral traits would also be discussed.

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OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

 Create schedules for the managers to fill the gap between the actual competency levels and the levels desired by the organization.  Give managers concrete steps and tasks to do in order to improve their competencies.  Categorization of the factors affecting competencies and their degrees of significance so that managers could focus on the more important factors.  Identification of personality traits which aid skill development, this way through OPQ profiling we can map a manager’s skill development capabilities.

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METHODOLOGY

 Each competency was taken separately and the significance of knowledge, skill and the personality factors on that competency were determined. This was done through a discussion with the HR managers in SRF Ltd.  Researched and assimilated information about imbibing the knowledge, developing the skills and identifying the personality traits that aid in the skill development.  Information was obtained through discussions with experts in various departments as well as the HR department.  This information was compiled in the format as shown and described previously.  Compile all the information and create a schedule which gives methods to develop knowledge, skill of the manager to be able to improve particular competencies.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

In today’s competitive corporate scenario where there is a minimal level of differentiation between organizations, what makes a big difference in business success is the productivity and efficiency of the human resource of the organization. Organizations are consistently striving to develop business leaders who can lead them to business success. Competency identification and development are means to an end, which can be termed as “High Performing Organizations”. These business leaders can be developed in the depicted mannerusing competency as a base:

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Leadership development Succession Mgmt “A” position with “A” person.

Talent Management

Competency Management

Performance Management

Fig 1.1 Leadership Pyramid

High Performing Organizations are the ultimate end we have talked about above and are result of various high performing individuals and well-tuned systems working together. The leaders and systems interact at various levels in the manner described in the model below.:

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SBP

Performance Management System

Talent Management System

Potential Assessment through Competency system

Talent Pool (Leadership Pipeline)

HPO

Execution Excellence

Fig 1.2 Model For HIGH PERFORMING ORGANIZATION

Within a Business context and specific to a company, Competency describes a specific set of behaviors, which have been found to lead to superior Job Performance. The behavior is based upon an individual’s knowledge, skills, personality, values and motives. Competencies are recurrently defined in clear displayed behavioral terms and are possible to be observed in day-to-day work. To take an example, someone who is a successful leader could be observed to “Provide the team with a clear sense of direction, take charge, organize resources and steer others towards successful task completion”. These behaviors can be clubbed into a cluster and the whole cluster can be termed as “Providing direction” which is a subset of Leadership Competency. The following ICEBERG analogy brings a deeper understanding of the term COMPETENCY. An individual brings with him a set of skills, attitude and 15

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knowledge etc, which is in various combinations; enable an individual to display certain behaviors. Skill and knowledge makes the smaller segment and are relatively easier to observe and develop whereas the deep underneath elements of attitude, talent, values are difficult to observe and develop. Together all these interact to help deliver effective or ineffective behaviors in job situations.

Fig 1.3 The Iceberg Analogy

Competencies always include an intent, which is the motive or trait force that causes action toward an outcome. “Intent”

“Action”

Personal Characteristics

Behavior

“Outcome” Job Performance

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Competency therefore is defined as: “Competencies are sets of behaviors that are instrumental in the delivery of superior job performance” In other words competencies are the “How” of performance vis-à-vis goals and targets, which are the “What” of performance. They are important because they provide employees with a roadmap of the kinds of behaviors that will result in excellent performance. When organizations know the competencies required for excellent performance in a job or role they can select and develop employees to perform with set of behaviors leading to superior performance. Research has shown that competencies are those behaviors that “Excellent Performers exhibit much more consistently than average performer”. It is sometimes debated that whether intelligence quotient is a true indicator of job performance. However a number of studies across the globe have shown that only high IQ does not lead to superior performance. In managerial and leadership roles IQ, EQ, SQ, LQ etc lead to competency behaviors leading to superior performance and success. David C McClelland, professor at Harvard University, laid the foundation of the competency movement with the publication of his seminal paper “Testing for Competence Rather Than Intelligence”. This article questioned the practice of accepting IQ as the criteria for selection and prediction of job performance and stressed on the need for identifying and developing “competencies” for superior job performance.

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TEAM WORKING

Co-operates works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Is an effective team player â&#x20AC;&#x201C; interacts with multiple interfaces within the organization as relevant. Coordinates with key interfaces within the organization; collates information from different sources and shares with his team members. An effective team player is very good at networking. He interacts with multiple people within the organization as relevant, so that the required information can be acquired easily and conveniently from the various sources as and when needed. Not only acquisition of this information is important, but also, sharing of this information with the team members is equally important to be an effective team player.

Interaction with Multiple Interfaces

Knowledge

Sharing of Information with team members

Acquisition of Information

Skills

Effective Team Player

Personality Factors

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High

Descriptor: Is an effective team player – interacts with multiple interfaces within the organization as relevant. Coordinates with key interfaces within the organization; collates information from different sources and shares with his/her team members.

Knowledge • •

Good Database Knowledge of Roles and Responsibilities

Skills • •

Influencing/Neg otiating skills Interpersonal skills

Personality Factors • • • •

Outgoing Affiliative Emotionally Controlled Trusting

Knowledge: 1. Good Database – An effective team player should maintain a good database of contact information of various sources within the organization. Contact information mainly includes – • • •

Name Phone No. Address

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E-mail address

The above information can be acquired from the organization or from the person directly. For maintaining a good database the employee needs to have knowledge of Microsoft Access. 2. Knowledge of roles and responsibilities – An effective team player keeps himself aware of the roles and responsibilities of the different people within the organization, that is, knowledge of who takes care of what. This is important so that the appropriate person can be contacted at appropriate time. The above knowledge can be acquired by always keeping the eyes and ears open to what is happening in the surroundings, and by interacting with more and more people. Skills: 1. Influencing/Negotiating skills – It is the ability to facilitate positive dialogue with others, with the goal of resolving differences and reaching compromises. That is, working cooperatively with others to resolve issues that impede team success. Suggested Activities for Development • • • • • •

Volunteer to negotiate a problem with other employees. Meet with someone whose negotiating skills you would classify as win/win. Find out what he/she does and apply what you learn to similar situations. When preparing for a negotiation, practice in front of your team members. Do some brainstorming and list a number of ways that you could act to influence a person then consider which are most likely to be effective. Ask for feedback from people who did not support an idea or proposal you developed. Find out what you could have been done to persuade them. Invite your team leader to observe you in a meeting where you will be negotiating or influencing a person or group. Ask for feedback.

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2. Interpersonal skills – It is the extent to which an employee gets along and interacts positively with co-workers. It is the degree and style of understanding and relating to others. Suggested Activities for Development •

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• •

Identify someone who is good at listening and understanding. Spend some time observing what she or he does and says. Ask what he or she was thinking during the conversation and try to use the same reasoning in your next interaction and monitor the other person’s response to it. Over the next two or three weeks, pay close attention to the non-verbal cues of others when communicating with them. Determine what emotions are being communicated and check your assessment with the individual before acting on them. Assess your progress in understanding others. Ask your team members for feedback on your interpersonal skills. Based on feedback, identify one specific behavior you will focus on improving during the next week. Repeat process periodically. Assess progress on behaviors you are trying to improve. Once a week, walk around in your area. Ask team members how things are going; what difficulties they are having and what you can do to help. Revisit their concerns the next time you walk around. If you are the team leader, ask each of your team members how your team can work more effectively with other team. Decide on a plan to implement some of their suggestions.

Personality traits: 1. Outgoing – The employee should be lively and animated when interacting with a person or in a group, so that they feel good and pay attention while interacting with him/her. 2. Affiliative – Also the employee should find it interesting to interact with people having different personalities and varying interests. 3. Emotionally controlled – The employee should be emotionally controlled while interacting with people, so that he/she keeps his/her personal emotions aside and does not mix them with professional life.

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4. Trusting â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One needs to be trusting to share information. If one does not trust others than he/she would not share information.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Is willing to support his staff and encourages them to bring out their best. This descriptor is from the viewpoint of a team leader. The team leader should always be willing to provide the necessary support to his/her team members and help them, as and when they need his/her assistance. He should motivate them to give in their best to whatever they do.

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Effective Team Leader

Provides team members with the necessary support

Encourages team members to give in their best

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

High

Descriptor: Is willing to support his staff and encourages them to bring out their best.

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Knowledge • • • •

Motivational Profile of Team Members Barriers Interests of Team Members Strengths and Weaknesses of Team Members

Skills • • •

Personality Factors

Leadership skills Training skills Interpersonal skills

• • •

Behavioral Caring Persuasive

Knowledge: 1. Motivational Profile of Team Members – Motivational profile of an employee is an indicator of the factors that motivate him/her. The team leader should have knowledge of motivational profile of each team member. This knowledge can be acquired by tracking the performance of each team member under varying situations like – • • •

In different work environments Performance under different tasks Performance in different teams with different kinds of people

Then by noting the situations in which his/her performance is low, appropriate actions can be taken to motivate him and improve his performance. 2. Barriers – The team leader should have knowledge of the barriers which prevent him/her from supporting his team members, like – •

Organization rules and regulations

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Time constraints Financial constraints

For this, he should assess various situations and find out where he could support his team members and where he could not. Then he should try to find out ways in which further support can be given to the team members in similar situations in the future. Also, the team leader should be aware of the barriers that prevent each team member from giving his/her best, like – • • • •

Inappropriate working conditions Sour relationships with team members Task may not be very challenging or interesting Personal problems

The team leader should then find out ways to overcome these barriers. 3. Interests of Team Members – The leader should know about the interests of the team members, so that tasks can be allocated accordingly. It is an accepted fact that a person does a task best that is of interest to him/her. He can acquire this knowledge by observing the team members, by asking them verbally, or by asking them to fill a form. 4. Strengths and Weaknesses of Team Members – This information is important so that the team members can be imparted the necessary training to overcome their weaknesses for their individual development, as well as for the betterment of the team. This will also help the team leader allocate work efficiently. The team leader can assign 'learning tasks' to help team members gain confidence before attempting the more demanding aspects of the project. The team leader can acquire this knowledge by observing the team members, by asking them verbally, or by asking them to fill a form. Skills: 1. Leadership skills – It is the ability to effectively manage and guide team efforts. It includes providing level of feedback concerning each team

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members’ individual progress, as well as feedback on teams’ collective progress. Suggested Activities for Development • • • • • •

• •

Ask for regular feedback on your leadership style from colleagues, managers and team members and employees. Arrange to have regular conversations with some mentors that are good leaders. Make a point of discussing specific issues, and model your behavior after the leadership mentors. Volunteer to facilitate a team meeting. Offer to stand in for your manager at a meeting. Develop and deliver motivational speeches about your team’s successes to create positive morale. Delegate as much as possible and make challenging assignments available to everyone. Keep a journal of tasks that were delegated and their outcome. Provide feedback to team members or employees. Develop a presentation regarding vision of your team. Create a graphical image that reinforces the key concepts of your vision. Present your vision at a team meeting. Identify future trends and events that will impact the working of your team. Work with your team to develop strategies to meet future challenges.

2. Training skills – It refers to the overall ability and concern for the development of team members. It includes taking steps to explain and provide guidance. Suggested Activities for Development •

•

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• • • • •

Regularly share resources or information that you have researched or learned about for the benefit of the individual member as well as the team as a whole. Become a mentor. Provide and participate in mock feedback sessions. Teach a course to address training needs of team members. Identify job assignments that will increase team members’ or employees’ exposure to different divisions and management experience. Identify initiatives in other areas that may provide development opportunities for others.

3. Interpersonal skills – It is the extent to which an employee gets along and interacts positively with co-workers. It is the degree and style of understanding and relating to others. Interpersonal skills play an important role here because they affect the way one interacts or behaves with people, or treats other team members. Respect comes as a part of the intrinsic values and beliefs which form a part of the interpersonal skills. Suggested Activities for Development • • •

• •

•

Listen to each other with an open mind without interruption. Pay attention to others. Practice active listening - To actively listen is to demonstrate that you intend to hear and understand another’s point of view. It means restating, in your own words, what the other person has said. In this way, you know that you understood their meaning and they know that your responses are more than lip service. Your team members will appreciate knowing that you really do listen to what they have to say. Take key decisions based on reasoning not rank. See things from others side also - Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to view situations and responses from another person’s perspective. This can be accomplished through staying in touch with your own emotions; those who are cut off from their own feelings are often unable to empathize with others. Be appreciative - Find one positive thing about everyone you work with and let them hear it. Be generous with praise and kind words of encouragement.

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Say thank you when someone helps you, irrespective of ones level in the organization. Make team members feel welcome when they call or stop by your office.

Personality traits : 1. Behavioral – The team leader should be behavioral so that he analyses and understands the motives and behaviors of the various team members. It is only after understanding them that he/she would be able to provide them with the necessary support and guidance, in order to encourage them to give in their best. 2. Caring – The team leader needs to be caring in order to support his team members. 3. Persuasive – One should be persuasive and comfortable using negotiation so that he/she can change people’s views, and persuade them to give in their best and support you. Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Treats others with respect and as responsible individuals. • • • • •

Team members should treat each other with respect, irrespective of ones’ level, position or department (in cross functional team). Respecting others involves understanding and appreciating individual differences. One should also respect and support other team members’ rights, thoughts and opinions. Communicating respect for other team members helps to reduce conflict and increase participation or assistance in obtaining information or completing tasks. For instance, in order to interrupt someone who is currently preoccupied with a task in order to obtain information needed immediately, it is recommended that one should utilize a deferential approach with language such as, "Excuse me, are you busy? I have an urgent matter to discuss with you if you have the time at the moment." This allows the receiving person to make his/her own judgment regarding the importance of his/her current task versus entering into a discussion with his/her colleague.

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Also team members should have faith in the capability of each other. They should consider each other as responsible individuals and respect each others work.

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Low

High

Descriptor: Treats others with respect and as responsible individuals.

Knowledge •

Talents and Inventories of Each Team Member

Skills • • 30

Interpersonal skills Social skills

Personality Factors • • •

Trusting Emotionally Controlled Modest

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Knowledge: Knowledge about talents and inventories of each team member – Knowledge of talents and inventories of each team members is needed so that roles can be assigned as per each team member’s capability and personality. Defining roles among team members makes assignments more straightforward, helps to understand the decision-making process, and assures the task will be completed. One can acquire this knowledge by making a list of everyone’s skill sets, preference, work experience, courses taken, and interests. This can be done by observing the team members, by asking them verbally, or by asking them to fill a form. Once each team members’ capability is known respect for him/her automatically comes. Skills: 1. Interpersonal skills - It is the extent to which an employee gets along and interacts positively with co-workers. It is the degree and style of understanding and relating to others. Interpersonal skills play an important role here because they affect the way one interacts or behaves with people, or treats other team members. Respect comes as a part of the intrinsic values and beliefs which form a part of the interpersonal skills.

Suggested Activities for Development • • •

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• •

your own words, what the other person has said. In this way, you know that you understood their meaning and they know that your responses are more than lip service. Your team members will appreciate knowing that you really do listen to what they have to say. Take key decisions based on reasoning not rank. See things from others side also - Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to view situations and responses from another person’s perspective. This can be accomplished through staying in touch with your own emotions; those who are cut off from their own feelings are often unable to empathize with others. Be appreciative - Find one positive thing about everyone you work with and let them hear it. Be generous with praise and kind words of encouragement. Say thank you when someone helps you, irrespective of ones level in the organization. Make team members feel welcome when they call or stop by your office.

•

Remain relaxed, or at a tolerable level of anxiety while in social situations Regardless of how skillful you are in social situations, if you are too anxious, your brain is functioning in way unsuited to speaking and listening. In addition, if your body and face give the unconscious message that you are nervous, it will be more difficult to build rapport with others.

•

Listening actively, while letting others know you are listening Good listening skills include: o Making 'I'm listening' noises - 'Uh-huh', 'really?', 'oh yes?' etc.

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o Feeding back what you've heard - "So he went to the dentist? What happened?" o Referring back to others' comments later on - "You know how you were saying earlier…" o Physical stillness, eye contact and attentiveness while the other person is talking.

•

Empathize with and take interest in others' situations A major part of social anxiety is self consciousness, which is greatly alleviated by focusing strongly on someone else. A fascination (even if forced at first) with another's conversation not only increases your comfort levels, it makes them feel interesting.

•

Try to build rapport, whether natural or learned Rapport is a state of understanding or connection that occurs in a good social interaction. Rapport occurs on an unconscious level, and when it happens, the language, speech patterns, body movement and posture and other aspects of communication can synchronize down to incredibly fine levels.

Rapport is an unconscious process, but it can be encouraged by conscious efforts. o Body posture 'mirroring', or movement 'matching' o Reflecting back language and speech, including rate, volume, tone, and words o Feeding back what you have heard

•

Know how, when and how much to talk about yourself - 'self disclosure' Talking about yourself too much and too early can be a major turn-off for the other party in conversation. Good initial small-talk is often characterized by discussion of subjects not personal to either party, or by an 33

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exchanging of personal views in a balanced way. However, as conversations and relationships progress, disclosing personal facts (small, non-emotional ones first!) leads to a feeling of getting to know each other. •

Make appropriate eye contact as the situation demands If you don't look at someone when you are talking or listening to them, they will get the idea that: o You are ignoring them o You are untrustworthy o You don't like the look of them Keep your eyes on the speaker while you are listening.

•

Keep the following basic points in mind while interacting with someone: o

Verbal

Smoothness of delivery (lacks stuttering, awkward pauses, etc.)  Intelligible speech (not too loud or soft, avoiding monotone but not dropping off the end of sentences)  Using muscle words to help describe ideas in conversation.  Variable tone (avoidance of a monotonous tone)  Asking open ended questions o Non-verbal  Active listening  Confident stance (standing up straight but not at attention)  Relaxed manner (not too tense, not falling asleep)  Body language in sync with the verbal message  Leaning forward while talking  Open stance (not close hands)  Touching conversation partner (only where appropriate as this can be misinterpreted)  Smile (Not overdoing it)  Remembering and using names during the conversation Treat the conversation partner as your best friend. 

•

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Personality traits: 1. Trusting – Team members should see each other as reliable and honest and believe what the other says. Respect automatically comes when we trust the other person, and consider him/ her responsible. 2. Emotionally controlled – To be an efficient team member one should be emotionally controlled and should not let his/her personal emotions affect the way he treats others. For eg. Personal dispute should not come in the way of respecting others’ work. 3. Modest – One should not only respect and admire his/her own work or success but also of other team members. He/she should not feel jealous of others’ successes.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Gets his team members to participate effectively. • • •

• • •

When working in a team a person is judged not only by results, but also by how those results are achieved. And, effective participation is the key to successful team results. A good team player not only participates in the effective working of the team, but also encourages other team members whose participation is less to increase their input. A good team player o provides encouragement, direction and inspiration to other team members o manages team relationships and smoothens them over the inevitable bumps in the road overcomes or eliminates any potential roadblocks to team success, such as, personality conflicts and territorial disputes within the team environment o minimizes conflicts by ensuring that the team is structured for maximum participation and collaboration. Team participation depends on an open environment, where new ideas are welcomed and cooperation and collaboration are encouraged. Leaders will need three communication skills to achieve inclusion. These are the non-assumptive question, good listening, and directed response. The team leader needs to set the stage - Plan for and create a team environment that welcomes and encourages active participation. If you want to achieve optimum team participation, you need to let your team members know what you expect, and what is expected from them. With that in mind, you can lay the foundation for open participation and communication through the following strategies and tactics.....

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o Be direct - ask for participation. o Define participation and set appropriate expectations participation can come in many forms, depending on your team situation.... i.e. in meetings, workshops, memos, written comments and suggestions, etc. o Set the groundrules to encourage active team participation ... all ideas are welcome and every member is to be respected. o Push for participation from the very start. o Thank everyone for their contributions - often and visibly. â&#x20AC;˘

Lead by example - Turn theory into action by leading the way to effective team participation. As a team leader, you job is to lead, and to get the team to function as a cohesive unit. To meet this goal, you can follow a few simple steps centered around leadership by example.... o Avoid team domination ... your job is to lead, not to control. Even if you have all the answers, let the team dynamic play out. o Uphold the ground rules ... participation levels will rise when team members can see that all ideas are respected and given due consideration. o Ask open-ended questions to stimulate discussions. o Be sensitive to contentious situations .... team conflicts are unavoidable, but at a team leader you can diffuse tense situations as needed with a few strategic words and actions. For example, depending on the circumstances, you may choose to handle a conflict head-on, or you can table a difficult issue for a later time, when emotions have subsided. In any case, you should avoid isolated, off-side reactions to conflicts, and you should always be consistent in how you react to team conflict.

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

High

Medium

Descriptor: Gets his team members to participate effectively. 37

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Knowledge • • •

Team Goals Team Mission and Vision Meeting Agenda

Skills • •

Team skills Persuasive Communication skills

Personality Factors • •

Democratic Persuasive

Knowledge: 1. Team goals – Why has the team been formed and what does it need to accomplish? To cultivate optimum team participation, one must have a good handle on team goals and overall dynamic. As such, one should be prepared to answer the following questions – •

Why has the team been formed e.g. for a project, to solve a problem, or to brainstorm? • How large is the team - should it be broken up into smaller subgroups to foster participation and communication? • Who all have been assigned to the team, have they worked together in the past? • Do you anticipate any internal conflicts or political situations? 2. Team mission and vision - The driving force behind every team is a clear mission and vision. A mission is the task at hand…what the team does…its purpose for existing. A vision is a mental image of a possible and desirable future state for the team that is better than what now exists. The team leader needs to ensure that all members of the team share a

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common understanding of the mission and vision, and have great clarity of how their mission and vision support those of the larger organization. He or she also needs to understand the (sometimes private) aspirations of all the team members to encourage them to participate. 3. Meeting Agenda – To encourage maximum participation from team members and for the meeting to be effective and useful, the meeting agenda should be clear and well communicated to all. For the meeting to be effective, following steps should be followed: • • •

•

Before scheduling any meeting, first consider the necessity of the gathering, as well as any alternative methods for sharing information and gathering feedback. Assuming that the meeting is necessary, the team leader should quantify objectives, and compile a meaningful agenda, one that promotes an engaging and interactive meeting. Before the team meeting, the leader must circulate/communicate the list of issues to be discussed (the agenda), and remind team members when and where the meeting will be and what to bring to the meeting. The leader should then establish appropriate expectations for active participation and give the attendees fair warning of what is expected from them, as well as what they can expect from him/her.

•

A clear agenda would help the team members prepare for the meeting.

•

The team leader should write notes at the team meeting, note what has been decided, and who is responsible for actions (work) arising from the meeting.

Skills: 1. Team skills – Team skills refer to the ability to effectively work and complete assignment in-group settings. An employee with good team skills works cooperatively with other to achieve common goals. Team skills can be developed by – Suggested activities for development

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• • • • • •

• • • • • • • •

•

Work with people you do not normally work with or do not know very well. Volunteer to participate on a project that will require a high level of cross-functional teamwork. Keep a record of all your involvement in committees, meetings, and informal team activities for a period of time. Work to increase the involvement and keep track. Each week, volunteer to help at least one person in your work unit or department. Volunteer to summarize notes from team meetings and send them to all team members. Create a system where employees can recognize each other for good work. Devise a plan to create team spirit in your work unit or department (e.g., organize informal team get-togethers, contests, parties, team chants, impromptu celebrations or participate in community service activities, etc). Recognize team members’ contributions at each team meeting. Make a habit of asking people who do not normally work together to work on projects together. As a team building exercise, have each team member describe how each person contributes to the team uniquely. Make a list for each person to show the differences and likenesses of all team members. Seek feedback from your manager and staff regarding your team management techniques. Work to improve problem areas. Work with team members to create or refine the team’s mission statement. Identify a critical issue within your organization. Volunteer to lead a task force to solve the problem that involves people from different departments. Work with a manager or co-worker who has effectively managed teams to develop your skills in this area. Identify a current obstacle that is impeding your team from working effectively. Determine the root causes and possible solutions. Share your ideas with your manager. Develop a plan to implement the solutions you have identified. Monitor the results. Facilitate a group discussion with team members to solve a problem in your work unit or department.

2. Persuasive Communication skills – It is the ability to alter beliefs, attitudes, intentions, or behavior of others by the conscious and unconscious use of 40

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words and nonverbal messages. Persuasion involves motivating listeners to accept a new idea, alter an existing opinion, or act on a given premise. Suggested Activities for Development • •

•

Always try to have a clear understanding of the audience and an intense listener focus. The speaker must take the audience through five stages of understanding in a persuasive speech: o awareness of the team goals o understanding the team goals – by showing how the team goals affect the audience o understanding the proposed way to achieve those goals o visualization of the effects of the results – to guide the audience into imagining how the achievement of team goals would be beneficial to them o understanding how they, the audience, must act – indicating what actions, individually and collectively must be taken. Use persuasive appeals of credibility, logic and emotion to mobilize the audience towards achievement of goals.

Personality traits : 1. Democratic – A good team player should consult widely, involve other team members in decision-making, and invite participation from all. 2. Persuasive – One should be persuasive and comfortable using negotiation so that he/she can change people’s views, and persuade them to give in their maximum participation.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Creates a work atmosphere where each individual is seen as a team member. Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

High

Low

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This descriptor is from the viewpoint of the team leader. It is the responsibility of the team leader to create such a work atmosphere that brings a sense of belongingness among the team members. This would increase their commitment to group goals above and beyond their personal goals and agendas. Also they would know their roles, feel a sense of ownership, and see how they personally, and as a team, make a difference. Such a work atmosphere can be created by laying down certain team values and common goals.

Descriptor: Creates a work atmosphere where each individual is seen as a team member.

Knowledge • • • •

Team Mission and Vision Team values Team Goals Current Status of the Team

Skills •

Leadership skills

Personality Factors •

Democratic

Knowledge: 1.

Team mission and vision - The driving force behind every team is a clear mission and vision. A mission is the task at hand…what the team does…its purpose for existing. A vision is a mental image of a possible and desirable future state for the team that is better than what now exists. 43

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The team leader needs to ensure that all members of the team share a common understanding of the mission and vision, and have great clarity of how their mission and vision support those of the larger organization. He or she also needs to understand the (sometimes private) aspirations of all the team members. 2.

Team values - Values in teams are the specific beliefs about what is right and wrong around us. Team values are about the culture we should encourage, the operating principles that should underpin the team’s efforts, and the standards of behavior that build and strengthen the team. They are the essential building blocks of teambuilding. Team values help lay down a Set of Standards or a Code of Conduct.

Team goals – Team goals provide the team meaning and purpose. The goals must be understood by each team member, such that each team member can clearly articulate them. • Team leader should set SMART goals: o Specific - Goals must not be generic, such as "increase production". Goals must be specific, such as: "increase product produced by 30% with no increase in cost by the end of the fourth quarter". o Measurable, or at least verifiable - Without measurable goals, the team members may lose direction and will not be able to gauge performance or determine progress. o Attainable - Goals must be achievable, that is, neither too easy nor too difficult. o Realistic – Goals should not be unrealistic. For eg. Increase production by 100% without increase in costs. o Timebound - Goals need to have defined, dates for accomplishment. A sense of urgency keeps the team members motivated and moving towards goal achievement. • Goals need to be set by the team, not imposed by the organization or the team leader. The organization establishes the team to solve a problem. Team goals and how the problem is to be resolved is up to the team. • The team leader should see to it that all team members have a part in setting the vision and goals. This • Reduces barriers to change

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• • •

Encourages team members to be more committed If the leader is in too much of a hurry and does not involve their team in decision making, team involvement may be lost The team leader should structure the goals so that there are opportunities for "small wins" along the way in the progression to full achievement. This aids as a motivating factor for the team members.

Current status of the team – The leader should keep the team members abreast of the details, direction and progress. Members want to feel that they know what is going on at all time and are informed about things such as plans, priorities, and progress the team is making. Some ways to communicate is by email, online messengers, telephone, or face-to-face methods.

Skills: 1. Leadership skills – A good team player should possess team-building skills. Team building skills come as a part of leadership skills. It is the ability to make people work cooperatively and comfortably in a team environment for the achievement of common goals. Cooperative efforts result in the participants striving for mutual betterment so that all team members benefit from each other’s efforts. Suggested Activities for Development • • • •

Devise a plan to create team spirit in your work unit or department (e.g., organize informal team get-togethers, contests, parties, team chants, and impromptu celebrations or participate in community service activities, etc). As a team building exercise, have each team member describe how each person contributes to the team uniquely. Make a list for each person to show the differences and likenesses of all team members. Keep a record of all your involvement in committees, meetings, and informal team activities for a period of time. Work to increase the involvement and keep track. Work with team members to create or refine the team’s mission statement.

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•

• •

Work with a manager or co-worker who has effectively managed teams to develop your skills in this area. Create a system where employees can recognize each other for good work. Recognize team members’ contributions at each team meeting. Make a habit of asking people who do not normally work together to work on projects together. Develop a short list of ‘values’ with your department or unit to guide decision-making and interpersonal behavior. Get your team involved in making the list. Review the list at meetings. Seek feedback from your team members regarding your team management techniques. Work to improve problem areas. Keep team members informed and up-to-date about any relevant or useful information While taking action, keep in mind the concerns of other members as well as your own concerns Defend the team’s reputation when others criticize Speak of team members in positive terms

•

Demonstrate co-operation in working with others.

•

Avoid taking control of the agenda, or being the first to make suggestions, instead try playing different roles within the group.

•

Strive to deal directly with individuals with whom you are displeased rather than complaining to others.

•

Avoid destructive messages such as:

• • • • • • •

o Communication Shut-down - a statement or action that cuts off discussion with no plan to continue. o You Should - statements like “You should do this...” which sound parental and insinuate that I know better than you. o Discounting - minimizing another person’s comments inappropriate reassuring, distracting or humouring.

o Threatening - expressing an intention to do harm. o Communicating Through Someone Else - a statement that expresses dissatisfaction indirectly to the person but through someone else. o Mind Reading - assuming that your perception of a confusing message is right without clarifying or assuming the other person can read your mind. 46

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o Silent Treatment - feeling resentment or anger toward another, but not addressing it directly with that person. o Double Bind - sending a message where the words say one thing but the body language or attitude convey a different meaning. o Judging/Blaming - placing blame or making judgments about another person; often involves finger pointing. o Premature Advice - offering immediate advice to someone without showing concern for their feelings, listening, or helping them problem-solve. •

Listen productively during team meetings. o Don’t answer your own questions, practice remaining silent for at least 10 seconds after you ask a question. o If you disagree with someone in a team meeting, first acknowledge that person’s point of view before offering your opinion. o Summarize objectively differing points of view on issues and explicitly acknowledge that there is a difference of opinion. o Ask for the group’s help when there appears to be conflict in the group.

•

Solicit opinions from all team members when making a decision that affects the team. o Hold regular information meetings with your team to keep them up to date on activities in your department, the larger organization and the community. o Solicit input from team members regarding how your team can best realize the organization’s goals and contribute to area/department goals. o Consider all of the ideas and suggestions you receive. o Allow this information to have an impact on your team’s discussion of priorities, objectives and approaches. o Ensure that the team can explain why certain suggestions are utilized.

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o Avoid taking significant action or making an important decision until the opinions of all the team members have been heard and all members agree to support the decision. â&#x20AC;˘

Ask questions that draw out the needs, interests, concerns, and objectives of other team members. o Demonstrate your interest in and understanding of what was said by restating it in your own words. o Seek points of agreement between your positions, making an effort to point out the similarities, not just the differences. o Make a list of all the concerns. o Brainstorm an action plan with other team members so that as many concerns can be addressed as possible in achieving the group objective.

â&#x20AC;˘

Lead open dialogue and information sharing among your team. o Encourage team members to identify what information resources they need to achieve individual and team objectives. o Work to provide access to these resources. o Circulate current organizational data regularly, including status reports, strategic documentation and any other information to help your team.

â&#x20AC;˘

Show willingness to support team decisions. o Identify one of your ongoing projects which would particularly benefit from involving others working together as a team. o Identify which individuals are or will need to work together on this project. o Organize a team meeting for the express purpose of deciding how the project will be conducted. Prior to the meeting, obtain two flipcharts or a room with a whiteboard. o Ask the team, at the beginning of the meeting, to generate a list of the key decisions that need to be made and write this list on one of the flipcharts or on one side of the whiteboard.

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o Make certain that you contribute your own views to this list but, in general, say as little as possible. Rather, focus your contribution on encouraging each member of the team to contribute to the discussion. o Ask the team for their views on the best answers to each decision. o Record their suggestions on the other flipchart or the other side of the whiteboard. Again, say as little as possible about yourself and encourage others to speak. Where you agree with the advice, say so and personally endorse the decision. Where you disagree, explain why and provide a more effective answer. o Support your team decision even when it is different from your stated point of view, unless it has serious implications. In this instance, indicate that you will be requesting your Manager to participate in the decision-making process. o Make a brief note of the decisions that were made and give a copy to everyone who was at the meeting. •

Practice the following skills and behaviors when you have situations of potential conflict in your team. o Emphasize people’s common goals, and how everyone depends on each other. o Treat each person and their opinions with respect. o Practice good listening skills. o Have the group develop its own rules of conduct (e.g., “Voice facts not emotions”). o Help to define the problem by coaching others to be concise and stick to facts. o Coach them to avoid repeating the same points over and over. o Insist on true consensus within the team.

•

Look for opportunities to acknowledge team and individual success, formally or informally. o Recognize the contributions of team members in public forums, referencing specifically what individual members did well. 49

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o Use formal communication channels to acknowledge successful team performance. o Let individual team members know your appreciation through personal memos or face-to-face communication. o Encourage and support team celebrations at the completion of a new, difficult or challenging task or project. •

Make a list of the unique strengths and contribution of each person on your team. o Review your list with your manager and ask for his or her input. o Look for opportunities and plan projects to capitalize on the strengths of each individual. o Seek your manager’s assistance to find opportunities to maximize team member strengths and to provide developmental opportunities for other team members to learn from the unique contributions of others.

•

Organize a team-building event. o Solicit advice from the team to ensure the event will appeal to everyone. o Make the event fun for everyone and include elements that require people to co-operate and work as a team together. o Encourage team members to assist you in organizing the event if they have time.

Personality traits : 1. Democratic – The team leader should consult widely and not take decisions alone. He should involve all team members in the decision making process.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Creates a sense of joy in the work. This descriptor is relevant for all team members, but is especially significant for the team leader. It is the responsibility of the team leader to create a sense of joy in the work. This is because culture flows from top to bottom. If the team leader does not allow then it may not be possible for other team members also to feel that joy while working. So, the leader should try to draw all team members into active and enthusiastic participation. Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

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Low

Medium

High

Descriptor: Creates a sense of joy in the work.

Knowledge Knowledge plays a minor role in this descriptor.

Skills •

Leadership skills

Personality Factors • • •

Optimistic Innovative Relaxed

Skills: 1. Leadership skills – It is the ability to effectively manage and guide team efforts. It includes providing level of feedback concerning each team members’ individual progress, as well as feedback on teams’ collective progress. Suggested Activities for Development •

Ask for regular feedback on your leadership style from colleagues, managers and team members and employees.

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• • • • • • •

Arrange to have regular conversations with some mentors that are good leaders. Make a point of discussing specific issues, and model your behavior after the leadership mentors. Volunteer to facilitate a team meeting. Offer to stand in for your manager at a meeting. Develop and deliver motivational speeches about your team’s successes to create positive morale. Delegate as much as possible and make challenging assignments available to everyone. Keep a journal of tasks that were delegated and their outcome. Provide feedback to team members or employees. Develop a presentation regarding vision of your team. Create a graphical image that reinforces the key concepts of your vision. Present your vision at a team meeting. Identify future trends and events that will impact the working of your team. Work with your team to develop strategies to meet future challenges.

Personality traits : 1. Optimistic – Team members should expect that things would turn out well, and look to the positive aspects of the situation with an optimistic view of the future. Positive thinking helps keep spirits high so that the person always enjoys his/her work. 2. Innovative – Generating new ideas and proposing original solutions bring a feeling of confidence within the team member, which motivates him/her to strive more and more towards the goal while enjoying work at the same time. 3. Relaxed – To feel joy while working, one should always remain cool , calm and composed.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Demonstrates trust in his people. •

Trust means confidence in team members and their efforts.

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• •

•

Team members should demonstrate faith in each other to honor commitments, maintain confidences, support each other and generally behave predictably and consistently. Trust mainly includes three key components: commitment, consistency and capability. o Commitment means both the commitment to each other and to a goal or direction of the team. o Consistency is doing as you say or walking the talk. o Capability is the ability to accomplish what has been promised. Establishment of trust leads to – o Improved Relationships o Increased Efficiency o Enhanced Unity/Team cohesiveness o Mutual Motivation o Open Expression o Information Equity o Performance Reliability

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Medium

High

Descriptor: Demonstrates trust in his people.

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Knowledge • • • •

Team members capabilities Team members aspirations Team plan Leadership Commitment

Skills •

Interpersonal skills

Personality Factors •

Trusting

Knowledge: 1. Team member’s capabilities – Attention to team basics, beginning with the formation of the team will help the team to build trusting relationships. Selecting team members that have the skills to fulfill the team's goals helps members trust each other’s capability to perform. Also as team members capabilities enhance with time one should keep himself/herself updated with the changes. 2. Team member’s aspirations – The team leader should facilitate a conversation among team members about what they hope to achieve as a group and what each individual wants to achieve for him/her. This builds commitment. 3. Team plan – Team members should come to an agreement about how they want to work together and how they expect to be treated on the team. This assures consistency. 4. Leadership Commitment – Trust is most efficiently established when leadership commits to vision first, and everyone knows those commitments are genuine. With leadership's commitment to a clear vision, and a genuine plan to share risks and rewards, the atmosphere for trust is in place. 55

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In an environment where leadership is visibly as accountable for trust as everyone else, team members are far more likely to plunge in, to be creative and generous with their talents, to subordinate selfish territorial agendas to the common productivity. Now in order to obtain buy-in and build trust among team members the basic tasks are to communicate the vision, make sure it is understood, communicate leadership's commitment, and elicit and address peoples' doubts. Skills: 1. Interpersonal skills – It is the extent to which an employee gets along and interacts positively with co-workers. It is the degree and style of understanding and relating to others. Interpersonal skills play an important role here because they affect the way one interacts or behaves with people, or treats other team members. Suggested Activities for Development • • •

• •

•

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•

Say thank you when someone helps you, irrespective of ones level in the organization. Make team members feel welcome when they call or stop by your office.

2. Training skills – It refers to the overall ability and concern for the development of team members. It includes taking steps to explain and provide guidance. A leader has more faith in his/her team members if he/she has himself/herself trained them. Suggested Activities for Development •

• • • • • •

Schedule individual one-on-one time with each team member to the sole purpose of development. Focus on coaching and development, what is accomplished well and what could be done differently to be more effective. Arrange to meet and work with people who are good at coaching and teaching others. Incorporate their methods in your own teaching style. Regularly share resources or information that you have researched or learned about for the benefit of the individual member as well as the team as a whole. Become a mentor. Provide and participate in mock feedback sessions. Teach a course to address training needs of team members. Identify job assignments that will increase team members’ or employees’ exposure to different divisions and management experience. Identify initiatives in other areas that may provide development opportunities for others.

Personality traits: 1. Trusting – A good team player trusts his/her team members and their capabilities and commitments towards the team. He/she sees them as reliable and honest and believes what they say.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Creates an environment of mutual respect – takes initiative to maintain relationships with coworkers. • •

• •

Mutual respect means giving space to each other’s views. Team members should try to maintain cordial relationships by giving feedback in the form of recognition for work well done, rewards, by appreciating each other, etc. Team players should also give suggestions for how to contribute better to the team, and reminders of expectations and commitments. Teams that allow time to play and for members to get to know each other strengthen the bonds among team members.

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Medium

High

Descriptor: Creates an environment of mutual respect – takes initiative to maintain relationships with coworkers.

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Knowledge •

Psychological profile of team members

Skills • •

Listening skills Social skills

Personality Factors • • •

Behavioral Modest Socially confident

Knowledge: 1. Psychological profile – Team members should keep themselves aware of the psyche (what hurts a person?; what makes him/her positive?; how the other person likes to be treated?; what makes the other person happy like rewards, recognition, etc?; what causes the other person to behave negatively? etc.). This information is needed so that one can treat a person as he/she likes to be treated. Skills: 1. Listening skills – Attuning to a vocal or auditory message including nonverbal clues. Body language/positioning and eye contact of listener is considered. Ability to understand and derive meaning from spoken material. Requires the ability to remain attentive. Suggested activities for development • •

Identify someone who is a good listener and observe what she or he does. Seek advice on how to improve your listening skills. Volunteer to summarize information discussed during team meetings.

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• • • • • • • • •

Keep a log of situations where you made an attempt to listen effectively. List the situation, what you did well and what you need to work on. Ask a colleague or manager to observe and critique your listening skills when you interact with others. Work on problem areas. Each time you have a conversation with someone, log the number of times you stopped yourself from interrupting others to let them complete their thoughts. Identify situations in which you have the most difficulty being a good listener and devise a strategy to prepare for them in advance. Listen to books on audiotape. Write a summary of the book or discuss the main ideas with others. Facilitate focus group sessions. Make a habit of regularly walking around in your work area to see how things are going and if people are facing any difficulties. Summarize their concerns and revisit them the next time you walk around. Volunteer to serve on an interview panel. Meet with customers to discuss their needs or problems they are having with a service or product.

•

Listening actively, while letting others know you are listening Good listening skills include:

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o Making 'I'm listening' noises - 'Uh-huh', 'really?', 'oh yes?' etc. o Feeding back what you've heard - "So he went to the dentist? What happened?" o Referring back to others' comments later on - "You know how you were saying earlier…" o Physical stillness, eye contact and attentiveness while the other person is talking.

•

Empathize

with

and

take

interest

others'

situations

A major part of social anxiety is self consciousness, which is greatly alleviated by focusing strongly on someone else. A fascination (even if forced at first) with another's conversation not only increases your comfort levels, it makes them feel interesting. •

Try

build

rapport,

whether

natural

learned

Rapport is a state of understanding or connection that occurs in a good social interaction. Rapport occurs on an unconscious level, and when it happens, the language, speech patterns, body movement and posture and other aspects of communication can synchronize down to incredibly fine levels. Rapport is an unconscious process, but it can be encouraged by conscious efforts. o Body posture 'mirroring', or movement 'matching' o Reflecting back language and speech, including rate, volume, tone, and words o Feeding back what you have heard

•

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characterized by discussion of subjects not personal to either party, or by an exchanging of personal views in a balanced way. However, as conversations and relationships progress, disclosing personal facts (small, non-emotional ones first!) leads to a feeling of getting to know each other. •

Make

appropriate

eye

contact

the

situation

demands

If you don't look at someone when you are talking or listening to them, they will get the idea that: o You are ignoring them o You are untrustworthy o You don't like the look of them Keep your eyes on the speaker while you are listening. •

Keep the following basic points in mind while interacting with someone: o

Verbal

•

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Personality traits : 1. Behavioral – Team members should try to analyze each others’ motives and behaviors. They should understand each others’ views and perspectives. This would help maintain good relationships with team members. 2. Modest – One should not only respect and admire his/her own work or success but also of other team members. He/she should not feel jealous of others’ success. 3. Socially confident – The employee needs to feel comfortable when meeting with people for the first time, so that he is confident while interacting with them. If the employee is not at ease then it shows lack of confidence, which makes it difficult to influence others. Being socially confident creates a positive impact which helps maintain relationships.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Is transparent with his/her people. 63

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Transparency means that there should be no gap between what one does, what one says and what one believes. One should not hide anything from his/her team members. Team players to try to share as much information as possible with their team members.

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

High

Low

High

Descriptor: Is transparent with his/her people.

Knowledge •

Roles and Responsibilities of team members

Skills •

Interpersonal skills

Personality Factors •

Trusting

Knowledge: 1. Roles and Responsibilities of team members – This knowledge is needed, so that one can judge what information is needed by whom, who can use the information in a wrong manner, with whom to share information and with whom not, when to share information. 64

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The level of transparency needed differs from team member to team member. Specially, when in a cross-functional team precaution should be taken while sharing information. One should not share his/her departments critical information. Skills: 1. Interpersonal skills – It is the extent to which an employee gets along and interacts positively with co-workers. It is the degree and style of understanding and relating to others. Suggested Activities for Development •

•

• •

Personality traits : 1. Trusting – One would share information with his/her team members and be transparent in his/her working only if he/she considers them as honest and reliable.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Generates team spirit. •

Team spirit is the spirit of a group that makes the members want the group to succeed. A good team member generates team spirit in others and works together in order to be productive and successful. He/she keeps group interest above individual interest and helps in creating group synergy in pursue of collective goals. People who help create group synergy:

• • •

o o o o

Model team qualities like respect, helpfulness, and cooperation Draw all members into active and enthusiastic participation Build team identity, esprit de corps, and commitment Protect the group and its reputation; share credit

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Medium

High

Descriptor: Generates team spirit.

Knowledge • •

Team goals Team mission and vision

Skills •

Persuasive communication 66 skills • Conflict Management skills

Personality Factors • •

Democratic Persuasive

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Knowledge: 1. Team mission and vision – The driving force behind every team is a clear mission and vision. A mission is the task at hand…what the team does…its purpose for existing. A vision is a mental image of a possible and desirable future state for the team that is better than what now exists. The team leader needs to ensure that all members of the team share a common understanding of the mission and vision, and have great clarity of how their mission and vision support those of the larger organization. Team members need to understand the team mission and vision, so that they work collectively and cooperatively towards the accomplishment of team goals, while keeping their personal issues aside. 2. Team goals – Why has the team been formed and what does it need to accomplish? To cultivate optimum team spirit, one must have a good handle on team goals and overall dynamic. As such, one should be prepared to answer the following questions – • • • • •

Why has the team been formed e.g. for a project, to solve a problem, or to brainstorm? How large is the team - should it be broken up into smaller subgroups to foster participation and communication? Who all have been assigned to the team, have they worked together in the past? Do you anticipate any internal conflicts or political situations? How the accomplishment of team goals would be beneficial to the individual himself/herself.

Skills:

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1. Persuasive Communication skills – It is the ability to alter beliefs, attitudes, intentions, or behavior of others by the conscious and unconscious use of words and nonverbal messages. Persuasion involves motivating listeners to accept a new idea, alter an existing opinion, or act on a given premise. Suggested Activities for Development • •

•

2. Conflict Management skills – It is the ability to effectively resolve disputes or manage disagreements among others. It requires the ability to remain impartial and unbiased. Suggested Activities for Development • • •

Seek out a manager or co-worker who has effective conflict resolution skills and ask them to coach you or give you feedback. Subscribe to management newsletters or websites. Conflict management is usually a popular topic. Read the articles and apply what you have learned. Research past incidents of workplace violence in both private and public sector (newspapers, magazines). Form a group discussion on the initial conflict and how it could have been resolved before violence occurred.

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•

Keep a log of situations that involve conflict and stress. Write down key points and try to identify any common themes. • Participate in role plays where you must deal with a difficult customer, coworker, or employee. Ask for feedback. • Volunteer to assist in mediating between team members to resolve conflicts. • Involve yourself in projects or committees that will require working with challenging persons or colleagues that you have difficulty working with. Keep a journal of difficult situations and how you handle them. Identify recurring conflict situations. Investigate the barriers that prevent agreement to help determine the root cause for disagreement. Discuss your observations with your manager/team leader and create a plan to address the 3. Leadership skills – It is the ability to effectively manage and guide team efforts. It includes providing level of feedback concerning each team members’ individual progress, as well as feedback on teams’ collective progress. Suggested Activities for Development • • • • • •

• •

Personality traits :

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1. Democratic – A good team player should consult widely, involve other team members in decision-making, so that everybody feels that they are an important part of the team, and hence strengthen team cohesiveness. 2. Persuasive – One should be persuasive and comfortable using negotiation so that he/she can change people’s views, and persuade them to work cooperatively in the interest of the team. This is needed so that one can persuade team members to keep team interest above individual interest.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Does not steal credit due to others. People often steal each others credit when working in a team. This is known as social loafing, where a person might not have contributed a lot to achievement of team goals, but still he/she gets recognition for the work done by others. It requires honesty and integrity on part of the person to admit his/her contribution while crediting others for their’s. Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Low

Medium

High

Descriptor: Does not steal credit due to others. 70

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Knowledge •

Knowledge plays a minor role in this descriptor.

Skills •

Leadership skills

Personality Factors •

Modest

Knowledge: Knowledge plays a minor role in this descriptor. Skills: 1. Leadership skills – A team player should be assertive. Assertiveness comes as a part of leadership skills. Assertiveness is a way of thinking and behaving that allows a person to stand up for his or her rights while respecting the rights of others and not being taken advantage of. Nonassertive people may be passive or aggressive. Passive individuals are not committed to their own rights and are more likely to allow others to infringe on their rights than to stand up and speak out. On the other hand, aggressive persons are very likely to defend their own rights and work to achieve their own goals but are also likely to disregard the rights of others. Additionally, aggressive individuals insist that their feelings and needs take precedence over other people's. They also tend to blame others for problems instead of offering solutions. A person with an assertive attitude recognizes that each individual has rights. These rights include not only legal rights but also rights to individuality, to have and express personal preferences, feelings and 71

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opinions. The assertive individual not only believes in his or her rights but is committed to preserving those rights. An assertive person respects the rights and contributions of others and does not steal credit due to them. Suggested Activities for Development • •

• •

•

Develop a value and belief system which allows you to assert yourself. Practice on your friends and family. But tell them what you are doing first! Enlist their help; ask for feedback on how you're doing. In the long run, communicating honestly can help your relationships. Be direct and upfront in your behavior. Use assertive body language. Face the other person, stand or sit straight, don't use dismissive gestures, be sure you have a pleasant, but serious facial expression, keep your voice calm and soft, not whiney or abrasive. Use facts, not judgments. Example: "Your punctuation needs work and your formatting is inconsistent" instead of "This is sloppy work." or "Did you know that shirt has some spots?" instead of "You're not going out looking like THAT, are you?" Ask people to take ownership of their thoughts, feeling, and opinions. Example: "I get angry when he breaks his promises." instead of "He makes me angry." or "I believe the best policy is to…" instead of "The only sensible thing is to..”

Personality traits : 1. Modest – One should not keep on discussing his/her achievements all the time, but should also respect others achievements.

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Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Is able to garner requisite support from other team members.

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Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Low

High

Descriptor: Is able to garner requisite support from other team members.

Knowledge •

Knowledge plays a minor role in this descriptor.

Skills • •

Negotiating/ Influencing skills Social skills

Personality Factors • • •

Persuasive Emotionally Controlled Outgoing

Knowledge: Knowledge plays a minor role in this descriptor. Skills: 1. Negotiating/Influencing skills – It is the ability to facilitate positive dialogue with others with the goal of resolving differences, reaching compromises, or influencing the listener. It involves working cooperatively with others to resolve issues, which impede team or personal success. Suggested Activities for Development •

Volunteer to negotiate a problem with a customer. 74

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• • • • • • • • • • •

Attend an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) workshop. Meet with someone whose negotiating skills you would classify as win/win. Find out what she or he does and apply what you learn to similar situations. When preparing for a negotiation, practice in front of your manager, colleagues, or family members. Do some brainstorming and list a number of ways that you could act to influence a situation, then consider which are most likely to be effective. Ask for feedback from people who did not support an idea or proposal you developed. Find out what you could have been done to persuade them. Videotape yourself participating in a role-play where you are persuading someone to take action. Review it and give yourself feedback on your approach. Invite your manager/team leader to observe you in a meeting where you will be negotiating or influencing a group. Ask for feedback. Negotiate a contract with a customer. Volunteer to serve as a mediator. Volunteer to work on a cross-functional team. Make a presentation to senior management/team leader about providing an innovative product or service to customers.

•

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with •

others.

Listening actively, while letting others know you are listening Good listening skills include: o Making 'I'm listening' noises - 'Uh-huh', 'really?', 'oh yes?' etc. o Feeding back what you've heard - "So he went to the dentist? What happened?" o Referring back to others' comments later on - "You know how you were saying earlier…" o Physical stillness, eye contact and attentiveness while the other person is talking.

•

Empathize

with

and

take

interest

others'

situations

Try

build

rapport,

whether

natural

learned

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•

Make

appropriate

eye

contact

the

situation

demands

Keep the following basic points in mind while interacting with someone: o

Verbal

•

Personality traits:

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1. Persuasive – One should be persuasive so that he/she can persuade the other person to provide him/her the necessary support. 2. Outgoing – One needs to be outgoing, so that he/she can ask for support as and when needed. Many people hesitate in asking for help. This is detrimental to the interest of the team. 3. Emotionally Controlled – The employee should be emotionally controlled while interacting with people, so that he/she keeps his/her personal emotions aside and does not mix them with professional life. One asks for support when some task needs to be done, when one needs help. We may be stressed from within, but we should be controlled while asking for support.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Brings to bear a blend of stern but flexible approach in interactions with people.

Firmness with Flexibility

Achievement of team goals with cooperation

•

Team players should be direct, straightforward and assertive while interacting with each other. But at the same time they should not behave rudely or aggressively with others.

•

One should stick to his/her point if he/she feels it is correct. But he/she should not act stubborn.

•

One should be flexible enough to listen to views and opinions of others. That is, one should be firm while giving the required space to others.

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Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Low

High

Descriptor: Brings to bear a blend of stern but flexible approach in interactions with people.

Knowledge

Skills

• Knowledge plays • Assertiveness a minor role in skills Knowledge: this descriptor. • Interpersonal Knowledge plays little role in this descriptor.skills Skills:

Personality Factors • • • •

Emotionally Controlled Democratic Adaptable Relaxed

1. Leadership skills – One should be assertive in order to bear a blend of stern but flexible approach in interactions with people. Assertiveness comes as a part of leadership skills. Assertiveness is a way of thinking and behaving that allows a person to stand up for his or her rights while respecting the rights of others and not being taken advantage of. Nonassertive people may be passive or aggressive. Passive individuals are not committed to their own rights and are more likely to allow others to infringe on their rights than to stand up and speak out. On the other hand, aggressive persons are very likely to defend their own rights and work to achieve their own goals but are also likely to disregard the rights of others. Additionally, aggressive individuals insist that their 79

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feelings and needs take precedence over other people's. They also tend to blame others for problems instead of offering solutions. A person with an assertive attitude recognizes that each individual has rights. These rights include not only legal rights but also rights to individuality, to have and express personal preferences, feelings and opinions. The assertive individual not only believes in his or her rights but also is committed to preserving those rights. Suggested Activities for Development •

• •

•

• •

•

Try and avoid the fear of displeasing others or not being liked. You may avoid some immediate unpleasantness by not being assertive, but you could also jeopardize the relationships in the long run if you refuse to assert yourself and feel taken advantage of over and over again. Develop a value and belief system, which allows you to assert yourself. Maintain direct eye contact; keep your posture open and relaxed; be sure your facial expression agrees with the message; keep a level, well-modulated tone of voice; select an appropriate time to be assertive. Practice on your friends and family. But tell them what you are doing first! Enlist their help; ask for feedback on how you're doing. In the long run, communicating honestly can help your relationships. Be direct and upfront in your behavior. Use assertive body language. Face the other person, stand or sit straight, don't use dismissive gestures, be sure you have a pleasant, but serious facial expression, keep your voice calm and soft, not whiney or abrasive. Use "I" statements. Keep the focus on the problem you're having, not on accusing or blaming the other person. Example: "I'd like to be able to tell my stories without interruption." instead of "You're always interrupting my stories!" Use facts, not judgments. Example: "Your punctuation needs work and your formatting is inconsistent" instead of "This is sloppy work." or "Did you know that shirt has some spots?" instead of "You're not going out looking like THAT, are you?" Express ownership of your thoughts, feeling, and opinions. Example: "I get angry when he breaks his promises." instead of "He

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•

makes me angry." or "I believe the best policy is to…" instead of "The only sensible thing is to …" Make clear, direct, requests. Don't invite the person to say no. Example: "Will you please ... ?" instead of "Would you mind … ?" or "Why don't you … ?"

2. Interpersonal skills – It refers to one’s ability to interact firmly but flexibly with others. These skills are needed as they help a person welcome other peoples views while putting forward their point. Suggested Activities for Development • • • •

• • • •

Be open-minded while others are speaking. Make it a habit to take decisions only after listening to everybody’s views. Do not be stubborn regarding your views. There may be disagreements. But they should not result into conflicts. Tell your peers you are trying to improve your flexibility and ask them to give you feedback when you are or are not being flexible. Keep a log of the situation and determine ways in which you could be more flexible in the future. Each week commit to doing something different (e.g., spend time with someone from a different background, listen to different music, take a different route home). Make a list of routine tasks in your team. Volunteer to do a task that is different from your normal work. Volunteer to work with someone whose viewpoint is different from yours.

Personality traits : 1. Emotionally controlled – The employee should be emotionally controlled while interacting with people, so that he/she keeps his/her personal emotions aside and does not mix them with professional life. One should not consider personal issues while listening to other peoples’ views. That is, personal bias should not come in the way of achievement of team goals.

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2. Adaptable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One should change his/her behavior according to the situations and people. He/she should not be stubborn. 3. Relaxed â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One should stay relaxed and not get aggressive while dealing with others.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Takes a personal interest in others.

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•

A good team player regularly interacts with his/her team members. He/she asks team members how things are going, what difficulties they are having and what he/she can do to help them towards the achievement of team goals.

•

He/she listens to their problems, understands them, empathizes with them, supports them and provides solutions as needed.

•

He/she also strives for the individual development of his/her team members.

•

A good team leader also provides the necessary training as the tasks demand. He/she cares for the growth of his/her team members.

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Medium

High

Descriptor: Takes a personal interest in others.

Skills

Knowledge • • •

Roles and Responsibilities Current level of skills Problems faced by team members

• • •

Interpersonal skills Social skills Listening skills

Personality Factors • •

Caring Affiliative

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Knowledge: 1. Knowledge of roles and responsibilities – An effective team player keeps himself/herself aware of the roles and responsibilities of the different people within the organization, that is, knowledge of who takes care of what. This is needed so that he/she can help them in whatever manner possible. The above knowledge can be acquired by interacting more and more with the team members. 2. Current level of skills – Team leader should be aware of the current level of skills of his/her team members so that he/she can provide them necessary training for their individual development, to open more growth perspectives for them in the future. 3. Problems faced by team members – In order to help the team members one should be aware of the problems they are facing, so that he/she can suggest solutions to them. Skills: 1. Listening skills – Attuning to a vocal or auditory message including nonverbal clues. Body language/positioning and eye contact of listener is considered. Ability to understand and derive meaning from spoken material. Requires the ability to remain attentive. Listening skills are needed so that the team members can listen to each other’s personal interests, their problems, etc. effectively. Suggested Activities for Development • • •

Identify someone who is a good listener and observe what she or he does. Seek advice on how to improve your listening skills. Each time you have a conversation with someone, log the number of times you stopped yourself from interrupting others to let them complete their thoughts. Identify situations in which you have the most difficulty being a good listener and devise a strategy to prepare for them in advance.

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• • • • •

Make a habit of regularly walking around in your work area to see how things are going and if people are facing any difficulties. Summarize their concerns and revisit them the next time you walk around. Restate, in your own words, what the other person has said. In this way, you know that you understood their meaning and they know that your responses are more than lip service. Make 'I'm listening' noises - 'Uh-huh', 'really?', 'oh yes?' etc. Refer back to others' comments or statements later on - "You know how you were saying earlier…" Physical stillness, eye contact and attentiveness while the other person is talking.

2. Social skills – Social skills are skills a social animal/human being uses to interact and communicate with others to assist status in the social structure and other motivations. Social rules and social relations are created, communicated, and changed in verbal and nonverbal ways creating social complexity useful in identifying outsiders and intelligent breeding partners. Social skills are needed so as to interact with people in a manner that makes them feel that you are taking interest in them. This would make the other personal feel more comfortable in interacting with you. Suggested Activities for Development •

Remain relaxed, or at a tolerable level of anxiety while in social situations Regardless of how skillful you are in social situations, if you are too anxious, your brain is functioning in way unsuited to speaking and listening. In addition, if your body and face give the unconscious message that you are uninterested, it will be more difficult to build rapport with others.

•

Empathize

with

and

take

interest

others'

situations

A major part of social anxiety is self consciousness, which is greatly alleviated by focusing strongly on someone else. A fascination (even if forced at first) with another's conversation not

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only increases your comfort levels, it makes them feel interesting. •

Try

build

rapport,

whether

natural

learned

•

Make

appropriate

eye

contact

the

situation

demands

If you don't look at someone when you are talking or listening to them, they will get the idea that: o o o o

You are ignoring them You are untrustworthy You don't like the look of them You are uninterested

Keep your eyes on the speaker while you are listening. •

Treat

the

conversation

partner

your

best

friend.

3. Interpersonal skills – It is the extent to which a team player gets along and interacts positively with team members. Interpersonal skills are needed so that team players can understand and relate with each other. 86

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Suggested Activities for Development •

•

Interact regularly. Once a week, walk around in your area. Ask team members how things are going; what difficulties they are having and what you can do to help. Revisit their concerns the next time you walk around. Smile. Few people want to be around someone who is always down in the dumps. Do your best to be friendly and upbeat with your team members. Maintain a positive, cheerful attitude about work and about life. Smile often. The positive energy you radiate will draw others to you. Be appreciative. Find one positive thing about everyone you work with and let them hear it. Be generous with praise and kind words of encouragement. Make colleagues feel welcome when they call or stop by your office. If you let others know that they are appreciated, they’ll feel more comfortable communicating with you.

•

Pay attention to others. Observe what’s going on in other people’s lives. Acknowledge their happy milestones, and express concern and sympathy for difficult situations such as an illness or death. Make eye contact and address people by their first names. Ask others for their opinions.

•

Humor them. Don’t be afraid to be funny or clever. Most people are drawn to a person that can make them laugh. Use your sense of humor as an effective tool to lower barriers and gain people’s affection.

•

See it from their side. Empathy means being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand how they feel. Try to view situations and responses from another person’s perspective. This can be accomplished through staying in touch with your own emotions; those who are cut off from their own feelings are often unable to empathize with others.

Personality traits : 1. Caring – Only if one cares for his/her team members would he/she be sympathetic and considerate towards them. If a person is not caring enough then he/she may not help others solve their problems, and would not work for their development. He/she would then be focused just on personal development.

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2. Affiliative â&#x20AC;&#x201C; In order to find interest in others the employee should find it interesting to interact with people having different personalities and varying interests. This would help him/her listen effectively to their thoughts, opinions and problems.

Competency: Co-operates and works well with others in the pursuit of team goals. Shares information and supports others. Descriptor: Reciprocates support to others.

Support

Help

â&#x20AC;˘

Assist

Encourag e

Team members support each other's efforts to learn by helping, assisting and encouraging each other. This is achieved by orally explaining to each

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other how to solve problems, by sharing knowledge, and discussing connections between present and past learning. •

Team members should alternate in taking roles in the team in order to support each other. Roles include leader, the mediator (encourager), innovator and other roles as needed by the team.

•

The mediator acts to continue discussion, to initiate alternate solutions when one method has stalled, to keep the team focused on task, and to ensure the involvement of every team member. In small teams, the leader assumes these functions.

Knowledge

Skills

Personality Factors

Low

High

Descriptor: Reciprocates support to others.

Knowledge • •

Needs of team members Roles and Responsibilities

Skills • •

Listening skills Problem Solving skills

Personality Factors • • •

Caring Affiliative Evaluative

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Knowledge: 1. Needs of team members – Team members should be aware of each other’s needs and help others in accomplishment of tasks. For this purpose they should interact with each other regularly and ask for and give support and assistance when one needs. 2. Knowledge of roles and responsibilities – An effective team player keeps himself/herself aware of the roles and responsibilities of the different people within the organization, that is, knowledge of who takes care of what. This is needed so that he/she can help them in whatever manner possible. The above knowledge can be acquired by interacting with the team members on a regular basis. Skills: 1. Listening skills – Attuning to a vocal or auditory message including nonverbal clues. Body language/positioning and eye contact of listener is considered. Ability to understand and derive meaning from spoken material. Requires the ability to remain attentive. Suggested Activities for Development • • • • • • •

Identify someone who is a good listener and observe what she or he does. Seek advice on how to improve your listening skills. Volunteer to summarize information discussed during team meetings. Keep a log of situations where you made an attempt to listen effectively. List the situation, what you did well and what you need to work on. Ask a colleague or manager to observe and critique your listening skills when you interact with others. Work on problem areas. Each time you have a conversation with someone, log the number of times you stopped yourself from interrupting others to let them complete their thoughts. Identify situations in which you have the most difficulty being a good listener and devise a strategy to prepare for them in advance. Listen to books on audiotape. Write a summary of the book or discuss the main ideas with others.

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• • • •

Facilitate focus group sessions. Make a habit of regularly walking around in your work area to see how things are going and if people are facing any difficulties. Summarize their concerns and revisit them the next time you walk around. Volunteer to serve on an interview panel. Meet with customers to discuss their needs or problems they are having with a service or product. 1. Problem Solving skills – Problem solving is the process of tackling problems in a systematic and rational way. It is the ability to recognize problems and devise and implement plans of action.

Problem solving skills are needed so that team members can understand each other’s problems, and support each other by proposing solutions to problems. Suggested Activities for Development •

• •

•

Brainstorming – asking the team members to present the problem to the team and have the team brainstorm about possible causes of the problem. Determine which factors are symptoms of the problem and which factors are causes of the problem; making the team embers play games that increase problem solving skills (e.g., bridge); identifying a problem that the other team member was not able to solve and then taking some time to reconsider the issue. This can be done by writing down solutions that could have been used to solve the problem and then using them in similar situations; asking the team members to: identify problems that were unexpected and see if there is a trend. Determine the root cause of the problem, and also what could have been done to prevent the problem from occurring. Identify the cost to the organization if the problem is not solved and the impact of the alternatives that were identified; motivate the team members to examine various problems from different perspectives. For example, how would the boss or someone with excellent problem solving skills would have handled the problem?

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â&#x20AC;˘

Examine the projects that the team would be working on within the next 6 months. Make a list of the problems that the team is anticipated to face. Ask the team members to determine the root causes of the problems and action steps to overcome those problems. Check to see if the team has faced similar problems in the past. If so, how did the team address the problem and what was the outcome?

Personality traits : 1. Caring â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One needs to have a caring (sympathetic an considerate) attitude towards his/her team members in order to support them in their work. 2. Affiliative â&#x20AC;&#x201C; To help others and support them it is necessary to find interest in interacting with people of varying interests and solving their problems.

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QUALITY ORIENTATION

Committed to the achievement and maintenance of quality; sets high standards of performance to meet customer requirements.

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Competency: Quality Orientation Committed to the achievement and maintenance of quality; sets high standards of performance to meet customer requirements. Descriptor: Keeps to the TQM practices. TQM (Total Quality Management) is a Japanese approach towards quality improvement. It is a management approach for an organization, centered on quality, based on the participation of all its members and aiming at long-term success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society. The Total Quality Management (TQM) paradigm focuses on elimination of causes of defects and, thereby, improves quality of systems, products, and services. Enhancement of quality leads to total customer satisfaction. TQM requires that the company maintains quality standard in all aspects of its business. This requires employees to ensure that things are done right the first time and that defects and waste are eliminated from operations.

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TQM Based Initiatives: Standards Kaizen 5S Daily Management Autonomous Maintenance QC circles Problem Solving

Projects in own areas for maintenance and improvement in quality

Better quality

Higher level of customer satisfaction

Knowledge: Effective implementation of TQM requires knowledge about the following mechanisms: 1. Standards for the job – • • • • • • • •

Work Instructions Procedures Guidelines Regulations Process documents and work flows Production standards Safety, health, and environment (SHE) regulations Quality assurance (QA) regulations.

2. Kaizen – For details on KAIZEN refer to “Kaizen Manual version 3.0”. 95

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3. 5S’s – For details on 5S refer to “5S Manual version 1.0”. 4. Daily management – For details on Daily Management refer to “TQM Basic Course”. 5. Quality Circles – For details refer “16 QCC manual version 2.1”. 6. Domain Knowledge - Domain knowledge is knowledge about the specific environment in which the employee operates. The requirements for domain knowledge differ from employee to employee. Domain knowledge can be acquired from users in the domain (as domain specialists/experts) or by working in the domain. However, the problem arises when the domain expert is not skillful in communicating the needs or does not know how to determine those needs. An effective method for developing and refining knowledge about a particular domain is by creating a repository of project experiences. Subsequent projects can then benefit from these experiences by locating similar projects and reusing the knowledge accumulated in the repository. 7. PDCA cycle – For details refer “TQM Basic Course – Band OA. 8. Problem Solving Process – Refer “TQM Basic Course”. 9. Autonomous Maintenance – Refer “Autonomous Maintenance manual”. Skills: 1. Problem solving skills – Refer above. 2. Observation skills – Refer above. 3. Learning skills – Learning skills refer to the desire and effort to acquire new knowledge and skills for work. It is the concern for the acquisition of new job knowledge. Learning skills can be developed by 1  Ask the manager and/or colleagues to point out sources of information that can help to increase knowledge in a particular area. Review the information and share the learning with others.

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 Commit to reading professional journals, books, and articles that will expand the knowledge in a particular area.  Regularly view the organization’s website and/or intranet.  Volunteer to accompany and/or stand in for the manager at meetings.  Keep abreast of new legislation. Sharing with others how it impacts the work unit or department.  Make a list of areas that the employee would like to know more about. Identify specific steps you can be taken to enhance knowledge in these areas (e.g., reading books, attending classes, talking to experts).  Become an active member in a professional or community organization.  Ask someone to become your mentor.  Ask for feedback when working on projects and keep a journal of the feedback that you receive. Then identifying trends that reveal areas for improvement and devise a learning strategy to develop skills in these areas.  Teach yourself how to use software programs that will help on the job.  Attend meetings in other work units or departments to learn more about what they are working on.  Volunteer to work on a project outside of your work unit or department.  Join an online discussion group or participate in roundtable discussions on a topic in your field.  Implement a Lunch and Learn program where your colleagues can share information about what they have learned in their field every month.  Develop a new concept that would impact the industry and develop a plan to support its implementation  Establish professional goals and develop a personal learning agenda, which includes specific steps needed to accomplish these goals.

Personality: 1. Rule Following – For effective implementation of TQM an employee needs to be rule following. That is, he needs to follow rules and regulations, set clear guidelines, and should not easily break rules. The employee needs to be disciplined.

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2. Data Rational – Implementation of TQM requires the employee to deal with a lot of data. So, the employee should enjoy working with numbers and analyzing statistical information, so that the decisions are based on facts and figures. This avoids any random decisions on the part of employees. 3. Evaluative – TQM implementation requires critical evaluation of information, so that the potential limitations and errors are identified, and the various actions needed for improvement are taken. 4. Conceptual – A proper understanding of the concept of TQM is crucial to effective implementation of TQM. It requires the employee to have interest in theories and abstract concepts of TQ M. 5. Detail Conscious – It is important for the employee to focus on minute details, for focused improvement so that corrective actions can be taken wherever needed. Also the employee must follow a methodical, organized and systematic approach to work for TQM implementation.

Competency: Quality Orientation

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Committed to the achievement and maintenance of quality; sets high standards of performance to meet customer requirements. Descriptor: Ensures quality and meets customer expectations. Focuses on the customer and ensures that the customer is satisfied. Customer satisfaction is the degree to which customer expectations of a product or service are met or exceeded. The expectations of different customers for the same product or service will vary according to: • • • • •

social and demographic factors economic situation educational standards competitor products experience

Satisfied customers: • • • •

do not switch easily require no advertising or other persuasion, and they bring a friend along with them. profit and growth come from these customers who can boast about the product or service - the loyal customers. it takes a lot less money to increase the retention of current customers than to find new ones-but employees don't give it as much effort as they should because it take a lot of energy and effort.

However, top performers: • • •

build positive long-term relationships with customers bend rules and make decisions for the long-term good of the customer relationship when necessary tend to retain customers and build loyalty

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First time customer

No dissatisfacti on

Regular customer

Figure 1 Example - Marketing

Satisfaction and Value creation

Loyal customer

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Compensation Packages

Employee Satisfaction and Retention

Other Benefits

Job Profile

Figure 2 Example - HR Knowledge:  Systems and Procedures – • •

understanding of the formal and informal systems and procedures in the organization in depth understanding of the organizational constraints and the various offerings.

Knowledge regarding organizational systems and procedures can be acquired in the following ways: •

Review documents that provide information regarding the organization’s history, structure and operating environment (e.g., organizational charts). Regularly review the contents on the organization’s intranet, newsletters, websites, etc.

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Read the department's strategic, information technology, and workforce plan. Ask your manager about anything that you do not understand.

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List out the things you would like to know more about in your organization. Locate documents or people within the organization that can provide you with this information.

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Identify someone who has been with the organization for a long time. Ask the person about the organization’s history, how things get done, how decisions are made, key players in the organization, how to get buy-in, and the political culture of the organization.

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Accompany your manager to meetings and/or volunteer to “stand in” for your supervisor when she or he cannot attend a meeting.

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Take advantage of opportunities where informal discussions about the organization may take place. Participate in events outside of the work environment.

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Regularly attend meetings outside of your work unit or division. Introduce yourself at meetings. Find out what the other people do and how it impacts your work. Conduct informational interviews with people from other work units or divisions. Find out what they do and problems they are facing and/or will be facing in the future. Explore ways in which your department may assist them. Volunteer to work on cross-functional teams and/or committees. Seek input from others about ways in which you can increase your organizational knowledge.

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 Customer requirements – • • •

Quality is “consistently meeting customer’s expectations”. Meeting expectations is “conformance to requirements”. Customer’s requirements may be formal written requirements or informal mental expectations of meeting their purpose or satisfying their needs. A product may meet formally defined “requirement specifications” and yet fail to be a quality product, indicating defective requirements.

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So, understanding customer requirements clearly and then interpreting them correctly is critical to achievement of quality, and hence for satisfaction of customer.

Ways to determine customer requirements and measure customer satisfaction are: • •

Surveys - Intuitive logic says the higher the satisfaction level, the better product. Thus, customer satisfaction is also a good indicator of the quality of the product. Customer feedback - Positive feedback indicates what is good about the product or service and should be consistently maintained. Negative feedback throws a light on the areas where there is scope for improvement in quality and hence an opportunity.

Customer requirements for a marketing employee may be good quality product, functional specifications, etc. Customer requirements for an HR employee would employees’ requirements in terms of compensation packages, training programs, other benefits like medical insurance, etc.  Market trends – An employee should keep himself/herself updated with the prevailing market trends. Knowledge of the market trends needed differs from role to role. For eg. •

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For a marketing person it may be knowledge about the offerings of the various competitors. This would indicate the customer demands, and help the organization change its offerings, so as to keep its products at par with those of competitors. For an HR person the customer would be the employee, and he would need knowledge about the compensation packages offered in the market for various posts, so that appropriate salary can be offered to the various employees. For a Finance person it may be knowledge of the prevailing interest rates of the various Financial Institutions.

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Knowledge of the prevailing market trends can be acquired through: • •

Market Research Surveys - The organization can conduct surveys by itself, or can gather information from surveys conducted by others.

An employee should also possess knowledge of estimation tools to predict future market trends (such as changes in customer demands, changes in interest rates, etc. as per the area).  Customer Relationship Management – CRM aims at providing better service to your customers than your competitors. A good CRM capability: • • • •

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improves the service to customers reduces costs, wastage, and complaints reduces staff stress, because attrition - a major cause of stress - reduces as services and relationships improve enables instant market research as well: opening the lines of communications with your customers gives you direct constant market reaction to your products, services and performance, far better than any market survey helps you grow your business: customers stay with you longer; customer churn rates reduce; referrals to new customers increase from increasing numbers of satisfied customers; demand reduces on fire-fighting and troubleshooting staff, and overall the organization's service flows and teams work more efficiently and more happily

Employees can learn about CRM by reading books on CRM or through the material on internet.  External Environment – External environment consists of factors outside the organization: • legal • political • social • technology • competition 10

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Knowledge about the external environment can be acquired in the following ways: •

Spend some time gathering information about the product and service offerings of the various competitors. Identify relationships between the products and services offered by your organization and those of competitors.

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Regularly read information on the websites of your competitors. Read documents and publications and listen to television programs to learn more about the structure and politics of state government. Consider how the information you have learned impacts your organization’s offerings and hence the customer. Talk to others outside of your organization about their perceptions of your organization. Take the information you have gathered into consideration when making decisions, for further improvement. Also, share this information with others in your organization. Attend seminars and lectures outside of your organization. Participate in external forums that discuss current government issues and future trends. Think about how the information you have learned impacts your work. Scan your environment to identify both internal and external factors impacting the department. Consider the impact of the factors on the department and establish a plan of action to address any issues for quality improvement and satisfaction for customer requirements. Go through various magazines that talk about the technological advances in various areas. Establish a list of great resources where you can get information regarding current social, demographic, technology, legal, and environmental trends. Prepare a quarterly report summarizing the trends and establish a formal system for tracking them. Determine if any changes are needed in your area based on the information gathered.

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Skills: 10

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1. Skills at collecting, organizing and interpreting information about different customers – The first step to improving customer satisfaction is to collect good information and correctly analyze that data. Sufficient time and resources should be dedicated to: gather customer information, conduct quality monitoring (call monitoring), analyze the data, and communicate results to all affected parties, especially the leaders who can authorize investment in corrective action. Information may be new or static (customer names, addresses, contact numbers, etc.). These skills can be developed in the following ways: •

Take a Microsoft Access class to learn how to create or maintain a customer database.

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Take a Microsoft Outlook class to learn how to organize emails, schedules, and contact information.

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Establish an electronic system for storing great websites and/or articles in your field. Organize information in a format so that it is easily accessible to colleagues.

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Establish a method for identifying customer needs and/or problems. Analyze information and present findings to others. Interact with customers on a regular basis for maintaining and updating information.

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2. Problem Solving Skills – Problem solving is the process of tackling problems in a systematic and rational way. It is the ability to recognize problems and devise and implement plans of action. PSP skills are important for identifying the shortfalls and inefficiencies in carrying out various tasks, so that actions can be taken for task improvement. Problem solving skills can be developed by – o reasoning – Discovering a rule or a principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and applying when solving a problem; o Brainstorming – ask the employee to present the problem to a group of people and have the group brainstorm about possible causes of the problem. Determine which factors are symptoms of the problem and which factors are causes of the problem; o making the employee play games that increase problem solving skills (e.g., bridge);

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o identifying a problem that the employee was not able to solve and then taking some time to reconsider the issue. This can be done by writing down solutions that could have been used to solve the problem and then using them in similar situations; o ask the employee to: identify problems brought forth by customers that were unexpected and see if there is a trend. Determine the root cause of the problem, and also what could have been done to prevent the problem from occurring. Identify the cost to the organization if the problem is not solved and the impact of the alternatives that were identified; o motivate the employee to examine various problems from different perspectives. For example, how would the boss or someone with excellent problem solving skills would have handled the problem? o Examine the projects that the employee would be working on within the next 6 months. Make a list of the problems that the employee is anticipated to face. Ask the employee to determine the root causes of the problems and action steps to overcome those problems. Check to see if the employee has faced similar problems in the past. If so, how did the employee address the problem and what was the outcome? o Identify someone who is successful at solving problems and ask if there is a problem that the employee can think through with her or him to enhance his/her problem solving skills. Make the employee discuss the problem with the person. Ask the employee to look for causal relationships and develop a response to the problem. Then compare the employee’s response to the other person’s response. Discuss similarities and differences in their responses. Personality: 1. Adaptable – The employee should be able to change his/her behavior and as per different situations and customers. Different customers have different demands and each customer needs to be treated differently. So, in order to achieve customer satisfaction it is important that the employee is adaptable. 2. Innovative – An employee should generate new ideas and be creative, so that the existing products and services can be improved to fulfill the customer requirements, and also new products and services can be introduced with the changing needs for further satisfaction of the customer.

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3. Behavioral – The employee needs to understand the behavior of various customers, and analyze them, in order to offer them the desired product and satisfy them. 4. Evaluative – Critical evaluation of information about various customers is very important to learn about their desires and interests. An employee should be able to look for potential limitations so that necessary improvements can be made to improve quality and remove errors, thereby leading to customer satisfaction. 5. Competitive – The employee should have a need to win, so that he consistently focuses on improvements, so that the products are at par with those of competitors, thereby creating higher value for the customers. Competency: Quality Orientation Committed to the achievement and maintenance of quality; sets high standards of performance to meet customer requirements. Descriptor: Ensures the tasks are achieved to a high degree of quality. This descriptor is mainly concerned with the performance aspect of the various tasks and processes. The employee must ensure that the various tasks and processes are carried out efficiently by solving problems as and when they stem, so that the problems do not lead to further pitfalls in the final products or services. The employees should keep the following guidelines in mind when creating tasks: •

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A sound strategy for developing good task is to start with the math goals and skills, developing specific scoring guidelines for the task, and then creating the activities. That is, starting with the end in mind and then going backward from there. To ensure this, goals should be clear and not confusing. Also, the goals should be scorable, and not vague. Achieving high quality tasks is challenging. Once the task is achieved, the employee should pilot it with colleagues and revise it, based on their responses.

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Improved ability to meet customer requirements

Improved quality of tasks

Improved outcome or better quality end product

Knowledge: 1. Information –  Standards – Standards specify how repetitive tasks are to be performed. The employee should possess knowledge regarding – • • • •

functional standards technical standards quality standards standards relating to job policies, procedures, work instructions, etc.

 Statistical tools – Statistical tools help in the prevention and detection of errors. They can also be utilized to determine the current process capability and what is attainable, so that reasonable quality targets can be set. The employee should possess knowledge regarding statistical tools such as –

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• • • • •

measures of central tendency and dispersion confidence intervals hypothesis testing frequency distributions and histograms probability distributions etc.

 Domain Knowledge - Domain knowledge is knowledge about the specific environment in which the employee operates. The requirements for domain knowledge differ from employee to employee. Domain knowledge can be acquired from users in the domain (as domain specialists/experts) or by working in the domain. However, the problem arises when the domain expert is not skillful in communicating the needs or does not know how to determine those needs. An effective method for developing and refining knowledge about a particular domain is by creating a repository of project experiences. Subsequent projects can then benefit from these experiences by locating similar projects and reusing the knowledge accumulated in the repository.  IT Technology – Knowledge about the latest state-of-the-art technologies specific to the domain is needed for optimal utilization of resources and improvement of processes to achieve higher levels of quality. The IT knowledge required would be different for different roles. Skills: 1. Technical skills specific to the domain – Technical skills are important for efficient use of technology for the accomplishment of various tasks and processes in the employees’ domain. The requirement of these skills differs from role to role. They can be acquired by –  periodically selecting technologies that an employee does not normally use and then encouraging the employee to learn to use it by reading the instructions and practicing;

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 asking someone who is proficient in a technology that is unfamiliar to the employee to teach the basics;  devising a “how to” manual for available technologies;  making a list of training courses, seminars, conferences and/or workshops that will help the employee develop his/her technical skills and then asking the employee to apply the concepts learned in training on the job; Give feedback to the employee regarding change in on-the job behavior.  asking the employee to volunteer for involvement in projects that require the use of technology he/she does not normally use. 2. Problem solving skills – Problem solving is the process of tackling problems in a systematic and rational way. It is the ability to recognize problems and devise and implement plans of action. PSP skills are important for identifying the shortfalls and inefficiencies in carrying out various tasks, so that actions can be taken for task improvement. Problem solving skills can be developed by –  reasoning – Discovering a rule or a principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and applying when solving a problem;  Brainstorming – ask the employee to present the problem to a group of people and have the group brainstorm about possible causes of the problem. Determine which factors are symptoms of the problem and which factors are causes of the problem;  making the employee play games that increase problem solving skills (e.g., bridge);  identifying a problem that the employee was not able to solve and then taking some time to reconsider the issue. This can be done by writing down solutions that could have been used to solve the problem and then using them in similar situations;  ask the employee to: identify problems brought forth by customers that were unexpected and see if there is a trend. Determine the root cause of the problem, and also what could have been done to prevent the problem from occurring. Identify the cost to the organization if the problem is not solved and the impact of the alternatives that were identified;  motivate the employee to examine various problems from different perspectives. For example, how would the boss or someone with excellent problem solving skills would have handled the problem?  Examine the projects that the employee would be working on within the next 6 months. Make a list of the problems that the 11

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employee is anticipated to face. Ask the employee to determine the root causes of the problems and action steps to overcome those problems. Check to see if the employee has faced similar problems in the past. If so, how did the employee address the problem and what was the outcome?  Identify someone who is successful at solving problems and ask if there is a problem that the employee can think through with her or him to enhance his/her problem solving skills. Make the employee discuss the problem with the person. Ask the employee to look for causal relationships and develop a response to the problem. Then compare the employee’s response to the other person’s response. Discuss similarities and differences in their responses. 3. Observation skills – Observation skills help to assess how the various processes and tasks are being achieved. Based on the observations the employee can make decisions whether to continue or modify the way the various tasks are accomplished. Observation skills can be developed by –  increasing patience in order to slow down and watch;  paying close attention to the physical surroundings: who, what, when, where and how;  observing with an optimistic curiosity;  asking questions that can be answered through observing;  increasing awareness about people’s reactions, emotions, and motivations. Personality: 1. Detail Conscious – It is important for the employee to focus on minute details, while following a methodical, organized and systematic approach, so that even small errors can be removed, and tasks are achieved to a high degree of quality, leading to a quality end product. 2. Rule Following – The employee must be able to abide by the rules and regulations, while following clear guidelines, so that various tasks are achieved in an efficient and systematic manner, without any ambiguities.

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Competency: Quality Orientation Committed to the achievement and maintenance of quality; sets high standards of performance to meet customer requirements. Descriptor: Constantly focuses on improvements and bettering the inputs. • •

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An employee should constantly focus on Quality Improvement. That is, in order to offer quality services, improvements should happen every day and not once a year. The process of “Input” → “Identifying Need” → “Improving Plan” → “Monitoring Outcomes” → back to “Input” should be a part of every staff meeting, management meeting, team meeting, and Board or Policy Council meeting. In many cases ongoing situations would be identified quickly and ideas for improvement would be sought for immediate implementation. This would lead to improved quality on a day-to-day basis. An employee should try to involve senior managers also in the quality improvement process. Constant quality improvement can be carried in the following way: First, FOCUS on a particular issue. o o o o o

Find a process to improve Organize to improve a process Clarify what is known Understand variation Select a process improvement

Then, move through a process improvement plan, PDCA o Plan: create a timeline of resources, activities, training and target dates. Develop a data collection plan, the tools for measuring outcomes, and thresholds for determining when targets have been met. o Do: implement interventions and collect data. o Check: analyze results of data and evaluate reasons for variation. o Act: act on what is learned and determine next steps. If the intervention is successful, work to make it part of standard

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operating procedure. If it is not successful, analyze sources of failure, design new solutions and repeat the PDCA cycle.

Plan

Act

Chec k

Knowledge: 1. Systems and Procedures – An employee should have knowledge of current systems and procedures, so that once a level of quality is achieved they can be regularly visited, verified and updated as necessary. 2. Kaizen – Kaizen means "improvement". Kaizen strategy calls for neverending efforts for improvement involving everyone in the organization – managers and workers alike. An employee should focus on two things as a part of constant quality improvement: i. Maintenance of quality, and ii. Improvement of quality 11

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The objective of the maintenance function is that employee should maintain current technological, managerial, and operating standards. Under the maintenance function, the employee must first establish policies, rules, directives and standard operating procedures (SOPs) and then work towards ensuring that he/she follows SOP. The latter can be achieved through discipline. The improvement function is aimed at improving current standards. Under the improvement function, the employee must work continuously towards revising the current standards, once they have been mastered, and establishing higher ones. Improvement can be broken down between innovation and Kaizen. Innovation involves a drastic improvement in the existing process and requires large investments. Kaizen signifies small improvements as a result of coordinated continuous efforts by all employees. For details on KAIZEN refer to “Kaizen Manual version 3.0”. 3. Quality Circles – For details refer “16 QCC manual version 2.1”. Skills: 1. Problem solving skills – Problem solving is the process of tackling problems in a systematic and rational way. It is the ability to recognize problems and devise and implement plans of action. PSP skills are important for identifying the shortfalls and inefficiencies in carrying out various tasks, so that actions can be taken for task improvement. Problem solving skills can be developed by –  reasoning – Discovering a rule or a principle underlying the relationship between two or more objects and applying when solving a problem;  Brainstorming – ask the employee to present the problem to a group of people and have the group brainstorm about possible causes of the problem. Determine which factors are symptoms of the problem and which factors are causes of the problem;  making the employee play games that increase problem solving skills (e.g., bridge);

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 identifying a problem that the employee was not able to solve and then taking some time to reconsider the issue. This can be done by writing down solutions that could have been used to solve the problem and then using them in similar situations;  ask the employee to: identify problems brought forth by customers that were unexpected and see if there is a trend. Determine the root cause of the problem, and also what could have been done to prevent the problem from occurring. Identify the cost to the organization if the problem is not solved and the impact of the alternatives that were identified;  motivate the employee to examine various problems from different perspectives. For example, how would the boss or someone with excellent problem solving skills would have handled the problem?  Examine the projects that the employee would be working on within the next 6 months. Make a list of the problems that the employee is anticipated to face. Ask the employee to determine the root causes of the problems and action steps to overcome those problems. Check to see if the employee has faced similar problems in the past. If so, how did the employee address the problem and what was the outcome?  Identify someone who is successful at solving problems and ask if there is a problem that the employee can think through with her or him to enhance his/her problem solving skills. Make the employee discuss the problem with the person. Ask the employee to look for causal relationships and develop a response to the problem. Then compare the employee’s response to the other person’s response. Discuss similarities and differences in their responses. 2. Observation skills – Observation skills help to assess how the various processes and tasks are being achieved. Based on the observations the employee can make decisions whether to continue or modify the way the various tasks are accomplished. Observation skills can be developed by –  increasing patience in order to slow down and watch;  paying close attention to the physical surroundings: who, what, when, where and how;  observing with an optimistic curiosity;  asking questions that can be answered through observing;  increasing awareness about people’s reactions, emotions, and motivations.

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Personality: 1. Innovative – An employee should be innovative so that he/she can consistently develop new ideas for continuous improvement. Development of new ideas would lead to better and better quality over time. 2. Evaluative – One should be evaluative so that he/she critically evaluate information to look for potential limitations, so that errors can be corrected and changes can be made.

RECCOMENDATIONS

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Descriptors need to be revised as some are overlapping and vague. They should be made more specific.

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Also a few descriptors need to be included: o Team Working –  

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Group Think Team Cohesiveness

The 32 personality traits given do not cover all personality aspects. Some more traits need to be added. Some traits that cover the following aspects should be included – o Enthusiasm 11

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o o o o o

Confidence Commitment Empathetic Flexible Helping

REFERENCES BOOKS: •

Competency at Work (By Spencer & Spencer)

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Interpersonal Skills Training (By Philip Burnard)

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Leadership Skills Training (By Elizabeth M Cristopher & Larry E Smith)

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Problem Solving Skills (By Mike Robson)

INTERNET LINKS:

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http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&q=personality+traits&meta = http://www.squarewheels.com/scottswriting/empower.html (customer satisfaction) http://www.confirmit.com/solutions/survey/customer_satisfaction/ 11

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http://www.nbrii.com/blog/10FactorsThatAffectCustomerSatisfaction.aspx http://search.bnet.com/search/customer+satisfaction+and+process+improve ment+and+quality+management+system.html http://www.businessballs.com/crmcustomerrelationshipmanagement.htm http://www.instam.org/files/rrm/QUALITY_MANAGEMENT_AND_CUS TOMER_DEMANDS.pdf http://www.learner.org/channel/workshops/missinglink/pdf/tools3.pdf http://www.leadershipadvantage.com/tskills.shtml http://www.teambuildinginc.com/tps/020c7.htm http://www.trustedleader.org/team_values_g.asp?page=75 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teamwork http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessplanning/a/bizplanningpr.htm