disagreement in team meetings

Lack of Disagreement in Team Meetings is a Problem for Team Performance

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Lack of Disagreement in Team Meetings is a Problem for Team Performance

The main purpose of team development is to have employees work together harmoniously to improve work performance and contribute to innovation and continuous improvement. For this to happen team members must have meetings to discuss solutions to problems and look for ways to improve products, services and processes.

 

One of the problems that inhibit team from being effective and progressing in their development is lack of disagreement in team meetings. This is especially common in newly formed teams or for organizations that are shifting from an autocratic style of leadership to a participative.

 

Why would you want disagreements in team meetings if you want people to work together harmoniously? Lack of disagreements means that people are not voicing their ideas and opinions. Thus, there is limited discussion and challenging of the status quo.

 

People may be reluctant to challenge ideas for fear of conflict. They may not see conflict as positive and thus avoid disagreement.   Also, the team may not have expected risk taking and frank speaking to be a part of teamwork.

 

To resolve this the team needs to develop a team constitution that includes the need for disagreement and that team members are expected to speak frankly without penalty.

 

Leadership should also provide training to team members in conflict resolution and active listening.

 

Promoting open discussions in team meetings where members feel safe to express their ideas and challenge others is crucial to build effective teams that contribute to continuous improvement and find innovative solutions to problems.

 

active listening

Active Listening Workbook Practice Exercises

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Active listening must be practiced for it to feel natural. I explained all about active listening as an essential employee communication tool in my last article in video. Using my practice exercises can help you assure your understanding on active listening. It is highly recommended to use these exercises as part of a team meeting or workshop.

 

Active listening will enable team discussions to arrive at consensus, which is crucial for the evolution and empowerment of the team. It is also a must to learn to use diplomatic disagreement, another highly effective communication tool. I will cover this in my next article and video.

 

You can download the practice worksheet though this link.

 

active listening
how to achieve consensus

How to Achieve Consensus for Decision Making in a Team

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Guidelines for Making Decisions by Consensus

It is crucial that team members learn how to achieve consensus to make decisions as a team. As teams evolve the leader can involve the team in decisions that all members will support and be accountable for. The fully evolved team at times can take on managerial decisions with the approval of the manager.

 

In my last article and video on stage II of team development I covered the skills that team members need to learn to move to stage III. Consensus building is one of these essential skills.

What to Avoid in Arriving at Consensus

  • Avoid arguing blindly for your own opinion
  • Avoid changing your mind just to comply or to avoid conflict
  • Avoid going to a majority vote or tactics like flipping a coin

What to Seek in Arriving at Consensus

  • Encourage differences of opinion. Diverse viewpoint enhances the quality of the final decision,
  • Look for the most acceptable alternative for all members
  • Listen carefully to one another
  • Ensure the participation of all team members in voicing their viewpoint

how to achieve consensusWhen facilitating our leadership and team training workshops, I use non-verbal communication to see if the teams have achieved consensus. I ask for thumbs up for those in agreement, thumbs down for those against and hand wavering for those in between (see video).

 

Non-verbal communication is a great way to know if you have achieved consensus. If a member has thumbs down, then there is no consensus. You must continue your discussion until you get at least a mix of thumbs up or in between. This means you might need to find another alternative or modify the decision.

 

 

When a decision is reached through following these guidelines to consensus, you have a much greater chance that all actions needed to be taken to support the decision will be made.

 

Decision-making through consensus is a foundation for teamwork and will contribute to team members feeling empowered and motivated in their job.

 

model for building trust

The Model for Building Trust in Teams

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The Model for Building Trust Among Team Members

Trust is a fundamental element for building teamwork. Trust means that team members are reliable, accountable and will treat people with respect.

 

But trust needs to be earned. When new teams are formed, trust is usually low because team members don’t know each other well and tend to want to feel each other out.

 

For teams to move from the first stage of team development to the second stage they need to participate in setting ground rules, goals and objectives, procedures etc. They need to organize themselves and this requires discussion for everyone to give their input on decisions.

Making and Keeping Agreements

When people keep their agreements, trust is gained. When agreements are broken so is trust. An agreement is a verbal or written commitment from one party to another.  Agreements need to be clear, so the expectations are clear as well.  Fuzzy agreements create a potential for conflict and confusion.

 

Think of a recent situation when someone did not keep their agreement. How did you feel? Has this happened often with this person? What is your trust level on a scale of 1 to 10 for this person?

 

People should only make agreements or commitments that they can keep.

Credibility

When people keep the agreements and commitments they become credible. We can believe that what they say they will be done.  They become dependable.

 

Treating others with fairness and respect gives people credibility and makes them trustful.

Openness

When people are consistently truthful we know we can trust their words and actions. When we feel we are being listened to and understood we feel we can be open with that person.

 

Open people are unafraid about admitting their mistakes. They have nothing to hide.

 

The above elements lead to trust in relationships and among team members.

 

Everyone can perhaps be better at one of these elements. Review the descriptions and choose one thing you can work on to gain greater trust from others.

model for building trust