Deoputy Grand Master's Newsletter
A note from "Dad" Brusoe:
One of my favorite DeMolay signs says "Leadership: In DeMolay We Teach it!" I wanted to pass along to all of you the Deputy Grand Master's newsletter and his views on teamwork. It is a MOST EXCELLENT Read!
Yours,
pwb
THE NEWSLETTER OF THE DEPUTY GRAND MASTER RIGHT WORSHIPFUL RICHARD J. KESSLER
PDF is here: https://nydemolay.net/ss/files/misc/2021%20feb%20ddgm%20newsletter.pdf
Text only format of the newsletter is below.
TEAMWORK - PART 1
Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. This concept is seen within the greater framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individuals who work together towards a common goal. Basic requirements for effective teamwork are an adequate team size. The context is important, and team sizes can vary depending upon the objective. A team must include at least 2 or more members, but can vary greatly. Caution to be taken to limit the team to promote productivity. Teams need to be able to leverage resources to be productive and have clearly defined in order for everyone to have a clear purpose. Teamwork is present in any context where a group of people are working together to achieve a common goal. The level of teamwork and interdependence can vary from low too high, depending on the amount of communication, interaction, and collaboration present between team members.
Even though collaborative work among individuals is very prominent today, that was not the case over half a century ago. The shift from the typical assembly line to more contemporary organizational models that contain increasing amounts of teamwork first came about during World War I and World War II, in an effort for countries to unite their people. The movement towards teamwork was mostly due to the Hawthorne studies, a set of studies conducted in the 1920s and 1930s that highlighted the positive aspects of teamwork in an organizational setting. After organizations recognized the value of teamwork and the positive effects it had on their companies, entire fields of work shifted from the typical assembly line to the contemporary High Performance Model.
Members can be involved. You can include them right off the bat!
Effective team characteristics:
Group Cohesion must be strong within the team. There is a positive relationship between group cohesion and performance.
Communication is another vital characteristic for effective teamwork. Members must be able to effectively communicate with each other to overcome obstacles, resolve conflict, and avoid confusion. Communication increases cohesion.
Common Goal Communication is important within teams to clearly define the team’s purpose so that there is a common goal. Having a common goal will increase cohesion because all members are striving for the same objective and will help each other achieve their goal.
Commitment is another important characteristic for teams. It occurs when members are focused on achieving the team's common goal.
Accountability is necessary to ensure milestones are reached and that all members are participating. Holding members accountable increases commitment within team relations
Basic team dynamics include:
Open communication to avoid conflicts.
Effective coordination to avoid confusion and the overstepping of boundaries.
Efficient cooperation to perform the tasks in a timely manner and produce the required results, especially in the form of workload sharing.
High levels of interdependence to maintain high levels of trust, risk-taking, and performance.
All these teamwork conditions lead to the team turning in a finished product. A way to measure if the teamwork was effective, the organization must examine the quality of the output, the process, and the members' experience. Specifically, the teamwork can be deemed efficient if the output met or exceeded the organization's standard, if the process the team chose to take helped them reach their goals; and if the members are reporting high levels of satisfaction with the team members as well as the processes which the team followed.