Business and Professional Communication, 3rd edition
Kelly M. Quintanilla, Shawn T. Wahl
Chapter 7: Strengthening Teams and Conducting Meetings
Lecture Notes
Learning Objectives:
7-1 Distinguish between a group and a team
7-2 Explain the impact of the environment, the topic(s), and the participants on
communication within meetings
7-3 Analyze the roles and norms displayed by a group or team
7-4 Discuss the concepts for e&ective problem solving
Outline:
I. Introduction and Example of Target
A. Target CEO never uses the word “I” when talking about his company.
i. The company has a culture of collaborative communication; team members
are encouraged to use Target’s vast array of social media tools to
communicate.
B. Team communication is important because:
i. Your ability to relate with other people in teams is central to achieving
professional excellence.
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ii. Team communication helps you form professional connections and complete
projects.
II. How Do Groups Di&er From Teams?
A. Groups are de<ned as three or more people working toward a common goal or purpose.
B. Teams are de<ned as a group in which members share leadership responsibilities for
creating team identity, achieving mutually de<ned goals, and fostering innovative
thinking.
III. Conducting Meetings
A. Meeting Environment
i. Time considerations such as convenience for those a=ending and the length of
the meeting are important to take into account to ensure productive meetings
B. Meeting Topics (Agenda)
i. Agendas are essential to use in order to keep meetings on track. They typically
are forma=ed into several sections including a welcoming, approval of
minutes, speci<c points to be discussed, old business, new business,
arrangement of the next meeting, and a closing.
C. Meeting Participants
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i. Inviting the people who can contribute to the purpose to the meeting.
ii. Make sure all key members can a=end this meeting at this time.
IV. Team Roles
A. Teams require members to share leadership.
i. If you are the designated leader, think of yourself as a coach.
ii. Task roles are functional roles that help the team carry out tasks.
V. Team Norms
A. Norms are unwri=en rules of behavior that in*uence how we behave in the workplace.
B. Re*ect on what norms are operating within your workspace and read the employee
handbook.
VI. Problem Solving
A. Problem solving and decision making are not interchangeable terms.
i. Decision making is the act of choosing among a set of alternatives under
conditions that necessitate choice.
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B. Use John Dewey’s Re*ective Thinking Process
i. Step 1: Describing and Analyzing the Problem
a. Teams should take time to discuss the problem, share experiences, and
share feedback with one another.
ii. Step 2: Generating Possible Solutions
iii. Step 3: Evaluating All Solutions
a. Use criteria or standards that can be used to make a decision.
b. Use tools like keep/scratch, T-charts, decision matrices, and value ratings
to evaluate possible solutions.
c. One team member should be assigned the role of devil’s advocate to
make sure dissenting points of view are discussed.
iv. Step 4: Deciding on the Solution
a. Decision by the leader approach consists of members recommending or
advising a leader, with the leader making the ultimate choice, and is not
truly teamwork.
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c. Compromise is actually a lose-lose approach in which each member
gives something up and the goal becomes narrowing options rather than
developing an innovative idea.
d. Consensus decision making can be a time-consuming approach, but it is
an approach in which all team members work toward a solution or
agreement that all team members can support.
v. Step 5: Planning How to Implement Solutions
VII. Cultivating Innovative Thinking
A. Explorers seek out new information in uncharted land.
i. Explorers follow curiosity, leave their own turf, and look for lots of ideas and
information.
B. Artists put together ideas in new ways.
i. This is the creative stage.
ii. Teams should ask “what if” questions.
C. Judges question whether the team is meeting its objective.
D. Warriors develop and carry out the plan.
VIII. conflict in Team Meetings
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A. There is a need for con6ict, despite negative connotations.
i. Groupthink is the tendency for cohesive groups to make faulty decisions.
a. Causes of Groupthink: a highly cohesive group headed by a charismatic,
directive leader.
c. Meetingthink is the suspension of critical thinking.
1. False Empowerment: when a leader acts as if the rest of the
group has a say but will make the ultimate decision without
their input.
2. Overload: when group members cannot concentrate on the
issue due to having other things on their mind.
B. Productive conflict is achieved using positive professional excellence.
i. Five Stages of Team Development
a. Forming—groups are polite and impersonal as they test the waters.
b. Storming—con*ict appears and members engage in in<ghting and often
clash with the leader.
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d. Performing—members carry out the duties of the group.
e. Adjourning—group completes its work, resolves issues, and comes to a
close.
ii. Handling conflict brings out two responses.
a. Flight occurs when you choose not to engage or deal with a con*ict.
C. The Unite Approach requires team members to stop stating positions and start exploring
issues.
i. A position is a demand that includes a person’s solution to the problem.
ii. Interests are the needs and concerns underlying each position.
iii. Using the unite approach requires open communication.
a. Raise the issue by beginning with facts rather than opinions.
iv. Develop team habits to look for interests, the underlying positions on an issue.
IX. KEYS to Excellence in Team Communication
A. Know yourself by doing a self-inventory of how you have interacted with others in the
past and how your team members reacted to your communication.
B. Evaluate the professional context by identifying what is considered professional
communication and what is not.
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C. Your communication interaction occurs requires you to be critical of your communication
while talking with your team members.
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