When You Can't Get a Volunteer Recorder

We've been looking at the role of the team recorder in the last two days. You may want to read those posts first.

Today we'll look at a technique and a ground rule for getting a recorder when no one wants to volunteer. When I'm leading a meeting, I first ask if someone will volunteer to be our recorder. If no one volunteers I then look someone in the eye and ask them directly: "'Sam', would you be good enough to record for us? I sure would appreciate it." In my experience it is a rare situation when the person says "no," even though it is quite common that the person asked does show a bit of reluctance. But I have a ground rule that tends to make the assigned recorder much more comfortable in their role.

As soon as the assigned recorder accepts their role, I turn to the rest of the team and say: "Thanks 'Sam'. Now here's the ground rule for the rest of you. If anyone criticizes Sam's handwriting, spelling. or any other aspect of his recording, 'Sam' gets to turn over his recorder job to them."

That usually gets everyone's attention, cooperation, and appreciation for "Sam;" and generally eliminates any laughter, comments or poking fun at "Sam."

One other thought. If the meeting goes on for awhile and "Sam" is publicly recording (on a flip chart or white board for example), I will ask for another recorder at some point. If I don't get a volunteer then, I will look someone else directly in the eye and ask them to take over for "Sam."

About Pelleyblog: We focus on topics of interest to supervisors, group leaders, foremen, department managers, project managers, team leaders, assistant managers, associate managers, office managers, nurse managers, crew leaders, unit managers, and other first-line managers. But managers at all levels, and people interested in management topics are welcome and are encouraged to join us.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Thank the Volunteer Recorder

Being a team recorder can be quite the chore, so it's no surprise that many team members try to avoid it. However, some people don't mind doing it, are good at it, and will either offer to do it or accept the role if asked. If your team is lucky enough to have a volunteer recorder, please remember to thank them profusely and frequently for their efforts. And it wouldn't hurt to get them a coffee, soda or other treat from time to time. A volunteer recorder who does a good job is a strong asset to any team effort.

On a slightly different note, some team facilitators needing a recorder will attempt to get an outspoken team member, one who tends to monopolize much of the conversation, to do volunteer. If the outspoken team member accepts, becomes the recorder and does the job well, the team should see a reduction in conversation domination time. If the team leader who uses this approach has any luck, the monopolizer will be less outspoken thus leaving room for others to participate in the conversation. And, of course, the team gains a volunteer recorder who in turn should be thanked profusely (see above paragraph).

About me: Dan Pelley teaches Participative Management, a 16-hour program concerned with the idea of encouraging all employees of a company to share their ideas, opinions, knowledge and skills in a process of continuous improvement. Topics include the levels of a participative environment, team formats and structures, leadership skills designed to empower employees at an appropriate controlled pace, how to conduct productive team meetings, and coaching and facilitation skills that support team member integration and positive team dynamics. The program is offered to companies as an on-site program, and it is also offered on an open enrollment basis in Danielson, CT and Lincoln, RI. Click here to see program learning objectives.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

The Job of the Team Recorder

The job of the recorder is to keep accurate records of team activities at the level of documentation that the team requires. Some teams want written documentation of all team discussions. Other teams only want to record and document points of agreement and/or action items. Some teams want details. Others want summaries.

When it comes to documentation, the team can generally decide how much documentation it needs. But it would be a mistake for a team to have no documentation of its activities, or documentation that is so minimal it becomes practically useless. At minimum, the recorder should maintain documentation that clearly states points of agreement and decisions, provides detailed lists of action items to be carried out including the name of the responsible team member and a target completion date, and contains sufficient information so absent team members can be brought up to date.

About me: Dan Pelley discusses the roles and responsibilities of team members as part of his "Participative Management (Building High Performance Teams)" program, one of five programs leading to a Certificate in Supervisory Management. 139 companies in Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Massachusetts (MA) and New York have one or more people who earned this certificate.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

That's Who I Want

Had a conversation the other day about people who are good team players. One person told us of a person he knew who was a caring helpful person with a great attitude. Whether external customers or internal associates, she would go out of her way to be as helpful as she could be. If a co-worker needed information, assistance, a favor or a ride home she was there to help. Although other associates may be ready to serve the customer now, many customers will wait to speak with her. They know she is someone who listens to them and wants to be helpful to them in any way she can.

The person telling us about this great team player summed it up by saying: "That's who I want on my team!" And I will simply say: "Me too!" And to those who aspire to customer service excellence, you know you're doing well when the customer's will wait to be served by you.

About Pelleyblog: Pelleyblog focuses on management topics for supervisors and other first-line managers. We are an extension of Dan Pelley Educational Services which conducts management development programs primarily in Connecticut (CT), Massachusetts (MA) and Rhode Island (RI), although we also serve the other New England states. Pelleyblog welcomes and looks forward to new readers from any geographic location.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

The Mandatory Team Member

The day before yesterday, our post discussed the non-participating team member from the perspective of finding the cause of the trouble before we go to work on the cure. In exploring those causes we may discover that the non-contributor simply doesn't value the team's work, and/or its importance, and/or may simply have other priorities to attend to. If the non-contributor's participation is voluntary (or at least not mandatory), we can usually solve the problem by thanking the team member for letting us know, releasing the person from the team and seeking a new team member who wants to be an active contributing member.

But what if team membership is not optional for the person? Because of certain skills, or expertise, or some other aspect of their function in the company the person's membership in the team is mandatory and, therefore, a certain level of commitment, cooperation, contribution, participation and support is required from that person. What do you do when the mandatory team member fails to live up to their team obligations?

Assuming you've done everything you possibly can to get the person to live up to obligations and responsibilities of the team, you no longer have a team issue. You have a performance issue that transcends the team. The person is not doing their job. And that will require a level of counseling and discipline that goes beyond the functions of most team facilitators. If the non-contributor happens to also report directly to you, its time to remove your team facilitation hat and put on your boss hat. If the non-contributor does not report to you, then you need to let the non-contributor's boss know that their performance is not acceptable in terms of meeting the requirements of the team.

About me: Dan Pelley teaches coaching, counseling and team facilitation skills as part of his "Participative Management (Building High Performance Teams)" program, one of five programs leading to a Certificate in Supervisory Management. 137 companies in Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Massachusetts (MA) and New York have one or more people who earned this certificate.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Understanding the Non-Participating Team Member

A team member who fails to participate, to attend team meetings, to make suggestions, to do their share of the work, to support and encourage the team effort, and/or to truly be an active member of the team certainly detracts from the team effort. And since most teams are small, that detraction can be significant indeed. Think about it this way: If you have a five person team and one person is withholding their contributions, you've lost 20% of your team's potential.

This is a very common situation experienced by manager's who must facilitate teams of all types, but it seems especially applicable to manager's who must facilitate cross-functional special project teams.

Before you can effectively deal with this problem, you must understand the problem. And the best way to do that is by getting the non-contributor's perspective. Find out what he thinks about the team and its mission. How does she see her role in the team? What does she like about the team? What does he dislike? What would he like to see changed? How would she like things to be? If given a choice, what role in the team would she like to have? What does the team need to do to increase his or her interest in the team?

If the answers to these and similar questions are getting you nowhere, and if the non-contributor's participation is voluntary (or at least not mandatory), you might them move on to discuss a different question: "Would the person like to be relieved as a team member?"

About Me: Dan Pelley teaches coaching and facilitation skills that support team member integration and positive team dynamics as part of his "Participative Management" (Building High Performance Teams) program. This program can be presented in-house at your company. Click here to visit our website to learn more about this and other programs offered.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

Developing New Team Members

I've just finished reviewing homework assignments in my "Participative Management (Building High Performance Teams)" program. The assignment looks at the manager's expectations of the team, descriptions of stronger and weaker team players, and what the manager will do going forward to strengthen the weaker team player.

As usual, several people noted that their weakest team player was labeled that way simply because they were new to the team; hadn't learned the necessary jobs skills; and were still getting used to their role in the team.

One manager talked about a new employee who lacks confidence, is afraid to ask questions and makes mistakes. "He is slowly starting to rely on team members but still needs to improve." The manager went on to talk about his coaching plan for the team member. The entire coaching plan focused on the daily efforts of the manager to help develop the team member into a stronger team player.

Another manager talked about a new employee who simply hasn't had enough time on the job to be proficient in his work. The manager said "other team members are still 'feeling out' the new person and do not yet feel comfortable with his ability to contribute to the team." In a manner similar to the first manager, this manager went on to talk about his coaching plan which again focused on what the manager was doing to help develop the team member.

To the first manager I suggested he think about how he might get the other team members to reach out to the new person, instead of waiting for the new person to reach out to them. To the second manager I suggested he involve the entire team in helping to teach the new person so they can see and assess for themselves each increase in the new person's abilities.

In this post I will combine both thoughts. When you have new team members, get started on the right foot by having your team members make a special effort to make the new person to feel welcome and to begin immediately to help the person learn how the team operates, why he is important to its efforts, and how to do do his part of the work to team standards.

About Me: Dan Pelley teaches coaching and facilitation skills that support team member integration and positive team dynamics as part of his "Participative Management" (Building High Performance Teams) program. This program can be presented in-house at your company. Click here to visit our website to learn more about this and other programs offered.

Copyright (c) 2009 Daniel W. Pelley All rights reserved

A Benevolent Dictatorship

There are many different structures for organizing people into work teams including leader-centered, shared leader, self-directed and self managed. But there’s another structure that can be very useful even though you rarely hear of it. It’s called the benevolent dictatorship and I learned about it from a company president who was skeptical about his teams’ ability to stay focused and move forward on a timely basis.

After thinking about the available team structures he concluded that none precisely fit what he was trying to do. So he modified self-directed team fundamentals to insert review sessions at critical points. If he was happy with the progress achieved by the time of the review session he would allow the team to continue without interference. But if he was unhappy with the progress achieved he did not attempt to coach or counsel or negotiate with the team to come to a suitable answer acceptable to all. Instead he would dictate what he wanted done, set a new review date and then allow the team to work without interference.

For example, he might begin a project by discussing the problem, area of concern or desired improvement with the team. When he believed that the team had a good grasp of what he was asking them to do, he would ask them when they would be ready to present project goals and a rough outline of approach. Based on the response, which might be negotiated or even dictated to the team, he would set the date for the first review meeting. At that meeting, if he was pleased with the results he would ask the team when they would have a detailed action plan ready for review. Based on that response, which might be negotiated or even dictated to the team, he would set the date for the next review meeting. As long as he was pleased with the results, each review meeting would continue on the same basis.

The dictatorship came into play in a powerful way whenever he was not pleased with the progress made or the results achieved by the time of a review meeting. At that time he would decree what he wanted done. Using the example above, if the team didn’t make sufficient progress by the first review meeting or if at the first review meeting he disagreed with either the goals or the rough approach set by the team, he would decree the goals as well as the approach they were to follow. Then he would ask the team when they would have a detailed action plan ready for review. Based on that response, which might be negotiated or even dictated to the team, he would set the date for the next review meeting.

I see a lot of merit in his approach. If done correctly, it balances control with empowerment. As long as a team understands its mission by carefully listening to his input, he will empower them to work independently to the first review point. If they are on target at that point, he allows them to move independently to the next review point. And so on until he ends up with mission accomplished. Teams are not overly pressured, but they are not allowed to slack off. Teams are allowed a lot of flexibility as long as they stay on target. And the strategic review points prevent the waste of time and resources associated with a team that gets itself way off base.

About me: Dan Pelley teaches team organization, formats and structures as part of his "Participative Management (Building High Performance Teams)" program, one of five programs leading to a Certificate in Supervisory Management. 137 companies in Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Massachusetts (MA) and New York have one or more people who earned this certificate.

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.

A Thought From Theodore Roosevelt

Our "Participative Management" program focuses on the idea of hiring good people, training them well, giving them clear assignments, then getting out of the way and letting them do their jobs. Carrie Norris, supervisor-in-training at Staples, Inc., Wauregan, CT recently completed that program in Danielson, CT. On the last day of class she told me how our discussion on empowering employees reminded her of a saying she she valued highly. She was kind enough to share it with me so I can share it with you.

"The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it." -- Theodore Roosevelt.

Thanks Carrie!


About me: Dan Pelley teaches leadership and facilitation skills that encourage high levels of performance from empowered employees as part of his "Participative Management (Building High Performance Teams)" program, one of five programs leading to a Certificate in Supervisory Management. 137 companies in Connecticut (CT), Rhode Island (RI), Massachusetts (MA) and New York (NY) have one or more people who earned this certificate.

When Teams Fail

I have over fifteen years of team building experience as an educator, consultant, facilitator and "hands-on" team leader. I've seen some great successes with teams including companies that attribute substantial increases in performance to their teams. I've also seen some miserable failures, even to the extent that some companies may never try a team approach again. My years of observing successful teams, marginal teams, and failures has lead me to one solid conclusion about teams that fail.

When teams fail it is rarely the employees on the team that fail. Usually its the managers who fail the team. Through a lack of direction. Or a lack of support. Or insufficient resources. Or canceling the team effort without explanation or justification. Or any other of a number of reasons.

When the teams fail, I find those failures often reinforce the belief of many employees that management "never follows through on its initiatives, so why should we bother?"

Successful team efforts can provide extraordinary benefits to companies, and I encourage companies to use teams and support them in the proper way. But when companies approach me about a major team building initiative, I always give them this caution: "Don't start this process unless you are serious and committed and are willing to do what it takes to make the team efforts successful. If you start this and fail, you'll do far more damage to your company than if you never started the team effort in the first place."


About me: Dan Pelley conducts employee involvement and team building programs in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island. His most popular programs include "Team Participation Skills," and "Team-Oriented Problem Solving." Both are "hands on programs."

Copyright © 2009 Daniel W. Pelley
All rights reserved.