Future Performance Training
Developing Relationships:
When working with others you are working with the total person. People bring to the workplace not only their skills but their mind, thoughts, desires and motivation. All people in the workplace deserve to be treated with dignity and respect no matter what their job.
Each worker will usually have a good idea of the effort and time involved in completing their tasks safely and to a satisfactory standard. Everyone has different ways of working to achieve the desired outcome and people work at different speeds. The outcome, meaning the final product or service, is important, as are deadlines. It is up to the managers/supervisors and workers to create an environment in which the workers try to do the best job they can possibly do within the given timeframe.
When working with others it is important to be able to put yourself in their shoes and try to see things from their point of view. Outside influences that we may not be aware of can have an impact on the way one person sees something.
Seeing a situation from other points of view, will help people make decisions that are more effective and encourage better relationships within an organisation. Individuals need to know that even though a decision has been made, it was done fairly and with knowledge of the possible impact on other people or groups within an organisation.
Organisational Communication:
Communication is the method by which people share their ideas, information, opinions and feelings. People sharing ideas, information, opinions and feelings may contribute to the operations of teams and the work of individuals. Communication is a two-way activity between two or more people. There are various modes of communication, some of which are used more commonly in some workplaces than others.
In an organisation there are various methods of communication. The following is a list of some methods of communication:
a) Person to person - face to face, reading a letter, making a phone call
b) In a small group - planning, problem solving, decision making, written reports, memos, notice boards
c) In a meeting - presenting, bargaining, negotiating agreements
d) Using mass media - speaking in public, on radio or television, writing for print media such as newspapers and journals, books, advertising
e) Others - training, teaching and entertaining.
You have all heard, and undoubtedly, drawn up a couple of organograms of organisations. One of the most important aspects that one can derive from organograms is the direction of flow for communication within the organisation.
When you have two levels of management, junior and middle management between the workers and executive management, the flow of information will, and must, undoubtedly follow the chain of command. From the workers communication will flow to their immediate management (junior management) who will try and resolve the matter.
Should they be unable to do so, they will consult with their management (Middle managers). Most often a solution will be formulated at this level, but this will be communicated to executive management to ensure that the decisions are in line with the organisations’ policies and procedures. In effect, the situation has gone through all levels of management before it has come full circle, back to the workers at floor level.
Yet, it is not part of an organisations’ communication structure to have all issues from floor level be communicated directly to executive management. This is merely because most of the times, the solution can be found at the first level of management where it is reported to.
Communicating with Management
During day-to-day operations the staff of organisations are required to provide their immediate management with feedback with regards to the operations of their teams/sections. These reports are done in written format to ensure that there are records, more importantly; the feedback is also done on a face-to-face level to ensure that the feedback given is understood. Feedback sessions are scheduled for constant intervals to ensure that management remains on top of their sections/departments at all times.
Feedback is a two-way process, as it is given from one level of management to another; feedback is also received, more often from the higher level management to the lower level. This occurs in cases where guidance is required for situations in the department, or when decisions are necessary.
Examples of such feedback sessions are:
• Daily/weekly/monthly progress reports
• Productivity reports
• Attendance reports
• Incident/accident reports
These may differ from one organisation to another as well as from one industry to another. Each organisation has their own methods of reports and feedback, which is specifically designed to be in line with their policies and procedures as well as fall in line with their reporting structure.
Communicating with Team Members
Teamwork has a dramatic effect on organisational performance. An effective team can help an organisation achieve incredible results. A team that is not working can cause unnecessary disruption, failed delivery and strategic failure. Nowadays it is almost impossible to avoid being a member of team.
If you're not on an official team at work, chances are you function within one in one way or another.
So it's important for your personal and career development to know your team working strengths and weaknesses. Let’s take a look at one of the most comprehensive team relationship- management tools:
The Johari Window
The Johari Window is a communication model that can be used to improve understanding between individuals within a team or in a group setting.
Based on disclosure, self-disclosure and feedback, the Johari Window can also be used to improve a group's relationship with other groups
Developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham (the word "Johari" comes from Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham), there are two key ideas behind the tool:
1. That individuals can build trust between themselves by disclosing information about themselves; and
2. That they can learn about themselves and come to terms with personal issues with the help of feedback from others.
By explaining the idea of the Johari Window to your team, you can help team members understand the value of self-disclosure, and gently encourage people to give and accept feedback. Done sensitively, this can help people build more-trusting relationships with one another, solve issues and work more effectively as a team.
Explaining the Johari Window:
The Johari Window model consists of a foursquare grid (think of taking a piece of paper and dividing it into four parts by drawing one line down the middle of the paper from top to bottom, and another line through the middle of the paper from side-to-side).
This is shown in the diagram on the previous page. Using the Johari model, each person is represented by their own four-quadrant, or four-pane, window. Each of these contains and represents personal information – feelings, motivation – about the person, and shows whether the information is known or not known by themselves or other people.
The four quadrants are:
Quadrant 1: Open Area
What is known by the person about him/herself and is also known by others.
Quadrant 2: Blind Area, or "Blind Spot"
What is unknown by the person about him/herself but which others know. This can be simple information, or can involve deep issues (for example, feelings of inadequacy, incompetence, unworthiness, rejection) which are difficult for individuals to face directly, and yet can be seen by others.
Quadrant 3: Hidden or Avoided Area
What the person knows about him/herself that others do not.
Quadrant 4: Unknown Area
What is unknown by the person about him/herself and is also unknown by others.
The process of enlarging the open quadrant vertically is called self-disclosure, a give and take process between the person and the people he/she interacts with. As information is shared, the boundary with the hidden quadrant moves downwards. And as other people reciprocate, trust tends to build between them.
Johari Window in a Team Context
Keep in mind that established team members will have larger open areas than new team members. New team members start with smaller open areas because little knowledge about the new team member has yet been shared.
The size of the Open Area can be expanded horizontally into the blind space, by seeking and actively listening to feedback from other group members. Group members should strive to assist a team member in expanding their Open Area by offering constructive feedback.
The size of the Open Area can also be expanded vertically downwards into the hidden or avoided space by the sender’s disclosure of information, feelings, etc about himself/herself to the group and group members. Also, group members can help a person expand their Open Area into the hidden area by asking the sender about himself/herself.
Managers and team leaders play a key role here, facilitating feedback and disclosure among group members, and by providing constructive feedback to individuals about their own blind areas.Using the Tool:
The process of enlarging the open quadrant horizontally is one of feedback. Here the individual learns things about him- or her-self that others can see, but he or she can’t. If anyone is interested in learning more about this individual, they reciprocate by disclosing information in their hidden quadrant.
For example, the first participant may disclose that he/she is a runner. The other participant may respond by adding that he/ she works out regularly at the local gym, and may then disclose that the gym has recently added an indoor jogging track for winter runners.
As your levels of confidence and self-esteem rises, it is easier to invite others to comment on your blind spots. Obviously, active and empathic listening skills are useful in this exercise.