Lessons from the Pygmies suggests that effective teams need communication patterns that instill basic trust among members and demonstrate respect for one another, that

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Lessons from the Pygmies suggests that effective
teams need communication patterns that instill
basic trust among members and demonstrate respect
for one another, that protect and support team
members, and that promote open dialogue
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Effective teams often stipulate their preferred
modes of communication as part of their team
norms or team guidelines
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Active listening is more than just picking up
sound. It is being fully present when the speaker
is talking, interpreting, and remembering what is
being said to you and it is hard to do.
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Why is active listening critical in teams?

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• How to listen actively to team members
• make appropriate eye contact (cultural)
• avoid distracting gestures
• do not multi-task
• do not jump in to fill in pauses
• do not interrupt w/own story
• ask clarifying questions about the issue
• paraphrase/reflect at end to ensure
  understanding

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What is your body saying about your
listening? We need to be aware that our team
members may pay closer attention to our body
language in certain situations.
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Feedback to team members
informal communication with humor is often the
first step
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Guidelines for providing formal peer feedback
effectively
When providing feedback to team peers, there are
a number of things to consider. It is often
awkward, and if handled incorrectly could have
negative implications not only for you and the
other team member, but also for the team as a
whole.
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Should feedback to a team member be provided by
the entire team at once, or by an individual
team member?
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If the feedback pertains to something that is not
necessarily a team issue, but is more personal
between two members, the feedback should be
provided by one of the two members involved
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Overall, there are 5 main areas of of concern of
which the feedback provider should be aware when
giving feedback to peers.
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• 1 feedback providers motivation
• 2 content of the feedback
• 3 context in which it is given
• 4 recipients possible responses
• 5 feedback providers credibility as source

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Motivation
The motivation relates to the actual reasons for
giving the feedback (e.g., to improve the teams
performance) as well as the feedback recipients
beliefs about why the feedback is being
provided and they may not be the same.
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Content
This issue relates to what is actually being
conveyed during the feedback episode. There are
specific aspects that should be contained in the
feedback message and things that should be
avoided. The issue of framing is critical here.
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Content

• Specific
• Not personal
• Instructive
• Focused on something they can fix

• Provide in respectful tone that permits the
  recipient to save face

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Context
This issue deals with the delivery of the
feedback in terms of time, place, and
circumstances. If the context is wrong, the
content of the message may be missed,
misconstrued, or rejected.
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Context

• Give when emotions under control
• Give in private
• Give close to the time of incident
• Give early

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Possible responses to negative feedback from
peers

• Defensiveness
• Disconfirmation
• Deflation

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What makes you a credible feedback source for
your peers?

• Respect
• Trust / Liking
• Intent (perceived motivation)
• Experience
• Skills

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If the feedback pertains to a team issue, it is
still best to initially have one member who
represents the team provide the feedback to the
focal team member
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The feedback provider should make it clear that
s/he is representing the team and its collective
concerns
All of the 5 areas of concern (e.g., content,
motivation, context, etc.) still apply and need
to be considered
If the feedback is not heeded by the recipient
and behaviors do not change, a feedback session
involving the entire team should be planned
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Emotionally intelligent teams are able to
recognize and address issues and/or dynamics and
discuss them in a constructive manner
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Name the Team Dynamic exercise which
legitimizes team members identifying some dynamic
or process within the team that may run counter
to its effectiveness
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The goal of your communication as a team member
when you express a concern should be to have
other members listen (and not tune out),
understand your point of view and why you feel
like you do, acknowledge your position, and
consider how to deal with the concern.
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• Steps to take for ensuring that Name the Team
  Dynamic works in teams
• Pay attention to voice and tone

• State your motivation for your concern

• Clearly share the concern (be specific)

• Illustrate how the situation is problematic

• Inquire about understanding

• Suggest alternatives to fix the issue

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Empathetic perspective-taking involves 3 steps
1 understanding what the other persons story
might be about the situation
2 understanding how the situation might affect
the other persons sense of identity
3 understanding what emotions the other person
might be experiencing about the situation
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it is important to frame the conversation taking
into consideration that this team member may have
a different story than you about the situation
it is important to frame the conversation taking
into consideration that this team members sense
of identity may be tied up in some aspect of the
situation
it is important to frame the conversation taking
into consideration emotions this team member may
be experiencing about the situation