TEAM BUILDING BUSINESS VOCABULARY IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

BUSINESS VOCABULARY IN USE (ADVANCED) 8. TEAM BUILDING

 

A Teams In some (but not all) situations, tasks can be achieved more easily by teams with a common purpose, rather than by individuals. Of course, it’s important to develop team work through team building so as to get the best from the team. B Team players Meredith Belbin1 has identified these types of team members or team players: a. the implementer, who converts the team’s plan into something achievable. b. the co-ordinator, a confident member who sets objectives and defines team members’ roles c. the shaper, who defines issues, shapes ideas and leads the action. d. the plant, a creative and imaginative person who supplies original ideas and solves problems e. the resource investigator, who communicates with the outside world and explores opportunities. C Stages of team life The typical team goes through a series of stages. a. forming: the group is anxious and feels dependent on a leader; the group tries to discover how it is going to operate and what the ‘normal’ ways of working will be. b. storming: the atmosphere may be one of the conflict between members, who may resist control from any one person; there may be the feeling that the task cannot be achieved. EXERCISES 8.1 Look at the types of team members in B opposite and say if these statements are true or false. 1. Implementers are not interested in final results. 2. Co-ordinators tend to take a leading, organizing role. 3. Shapers tend to follow what other people say. 4. Plants can be useful in providing new ideas when the team has run out of steam. 8.2 Members of team brought together to work on a design project said the following things. Match them to the stages in C opposite. (There are two sentences relating to each stage.) 1. We had such a great time working together. 2. We’re really making progress now and we get on so well together. 3. We’re beginning to get to know each other better.

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