Organizational Team Development Analysis

When an organisation undertakes initiatives or projects to address key challenges, improve performance, or seize opportunities, they usually require changes such as uses of technology, changes to processes, organisational structures, and job roles. However, it is not the organisation that changes but the employees do. It is the workers who have to change how they carry out their responsibilities and jobs. If the employees are not successful in implementing the changes in their job processes or if they fail to embrace the changes and learn new techniques of doing a job, the initiatives or projects will collapse ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . On the other hand, if they embrace and adopt the necessary changes, they will achieve the desired results. Although all individuals and changes are unique, about a century of research reveals that there are certain actions that can assist employees to make the transition through teamwork. The essay will seek to evaluate organizational team development. 

Change is a common occurrence in all organizations and business regardless of age, size, and industry. As the world changes, the competition is bigger and more dynamic. Therefore, businesses should change rapidly to adopt the incoming changes so that they can survive the increasingly competitive market. Organizations that do not handle the changes may struggle to survive while those that adopt or handle the changes are more likely to thrive. The concept of change management is common concept in most organizations today ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . However, how they handle the concept and the success of their efforts various tremendously according to the people involved, nature of the business, and the change itself. One of the key aspects of the concept is how the employees understand and embrace the change process. Employees should first understand the need for change and how it will affect them before they embrace the concept. 

Theory of the Five Disciplines as a Method of Change 

There are many theories of change, but the paper will focus on the Kurt Lewin's Change Management Theory. For instance, if a person has an ice cube but realizes that they require an ice cone, what do they do? First, they have to melt the ice cube or unfreeze it, then mould the water into the desired shape or change it, and finally, the new ice should be solidified or refreezing it. Therefore, the Kurt Lewin theory entails three main processes as shown in the diagram below. 

Figure 1 showing the three stages in the Kurt Lewin Theory 

The first stage, in theory, involves preparing all the stakeholders to accept the necessary changes that may involve destroying or breaking down the status quo so that the business can develop new operation ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . This process is called unfreezing. The best technique is by showing the employees why the current operations should not continue through evidence such as poor customer satisfaction surveys, declining sales volumes, or poor financial results and then challenge their behaviours, beliefs, attitudes, and values. The second step involves the change itself. It is where the employees look for new techniques of carrying out their activities. Employees start believing and acting in ways that will support the new path. The transition may not occur overnight, and the employees should take time to understand the new changes. They should actively participate in the changes so that they can contribute to its success. The final stage is refreezing. It is where the changes have taken shape, and the employees have embraced the new operations. The stage involves assisting all stakeholders to institutionalize or internalize the changes. The changes should always be used and incorporated into all the daily activities ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . The stability will allow the employees to feel comfortable and confident with the new techniques of working. 

The two learning disciplines that will be used in the paper are a shared vision and systems thinking. Systems thinking is a significant factor in the learning organization because it integrates or combines the other four learning disciplines and ensures they fuse into a credible practice and theory ( Senge, 2014) . The four other learning disciplines include mental models, personal mastery, team learning, and a shared vision. It allows the organization to identify and address problems or issues as a whole ( Hornstein, 2015) . It allows the organization to evaluate the relationship between all the parts. It is the incentive or means that allows the four other disciplines to work together. The main challenge explored by Senge in organizational management is that they perceive and focus on issues as different parts instead of seeing the different issues as a whole and a dynamic process in the business ( Senge, 2014) . 

Building a shared vision is the answer to the question by Senge, “What do we want to create?” it is the ability of an organization or a team to hold a shared picture of the future they desire to create ( Senge, 2014) . A shared vision has the power to be uplifting and to improve innovation and experimentation. When an organization has a shared genuine vision, the employees can learn and excel and not because they are forced to but because they desire to excel. Although many leaders have a personal vision, they may never be translated into a shared vision that can galvanize teams and organization because they do not have guiding practices and a set of principles ( Senge, 2014) . Visions can only be spread through reinforcing processes. Increased commitment, clarity, and enthusiasm rub off other employees in the company. When workers talk about their shared vision, the vision becomes clearer, and the benefits start to grow. 

Summaries of Team Development Exercises 

Session One 

The issue that was discussed was how businesses could ensure their employees are well trained and motivated while improving their productivity. Most employees desire to work in companies that are productive such as XYZ. The company has some of the most productive, motivated, and well-trained employees in the entire industry. The team tried to analyze techniques on how the model could be transferred to other companies at lower budgets. Some of the strategies used by XYZ include having an office that was entirely focused on the health and welfare of its employees. The team also ensured the employees could frequently stand and they could provide healthy meals for their employees. The team used the shared vision learning discipline because it created commitment and energy ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . Furthermore, building a common vision needs evaluation and strategic thinking. 

The team members were quite open, and they freely discussed the issue. They arrived early for the session, and the whole team development exercise was successful. The team came up with eight strategic behaviours used by XYZ to make their employees well trained, motivated, and productive. Some of the strategies involve having a management with key technical skills and experiences that assist them in coaching the employees. Employees should be empowered to provide feedback and make decisions. Moreover, the management should have a clear strategy and vision for the employees and organization ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . Also, the company should express genuine interest in the welfare and health of its employees. To ensure the employees are well trained, the company should have career development programs. The organization should be productive and goal oriented. The management should focus on offering the optimum conditions for its employees to achieve the desired objectives. All in all, there should be proper communication channels from the employees to the management and vice versa. 

Session Two 

The team leader developed a training manual that included the team development exercises and the ground rules for the team. The team development materials were significant in developing strong team working skills. They also created a group email where they would share relevant information about the team. The objective of the session was to analyze the significance of teamwork in all organization or whether it was an unnecessary expense. Teamwork was important in every organization, especially when fostering employee unity, productivity, and improving company culture. Teamwork involves unique minds working to come up with a common solution. It allows the members to put together their collective experiences and skills to come up with unique solutions ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . Furthermore, it assists in improving project completion and communication channels within the organization because inefficient communication is one of the key issues in change management. 

Moreover, teamwork creates cohesion, an outcome of increased trust, chemistry, or both factors when different people work on similar tasks as a team. When workers engage in teamwork, they are highly likely to respect differing opinions and less likely to be confrontational. Cohesion, the long-term outcome of teamwork can greatly improve the speed and flow of projects and responsibilities within the organization. When employees use teamwork within the organization, they can easily gain new experiences and learn new skills from their colleagues. Also, the new skills and experiences are not limited to their team members ( Hornstein, 2015) . There may be an interdepartmental transfer of experiences and skills. Teamwork assists the organization to understand different behaviour and personalities, evaluate their shared vision, analyze their ground rules, and it enhances team learning. At the end of the two sessions, they could socialize with friends because they frequently communicated at work and via email. 

Lessons from the Team Development Sessions 

There are three levels of change when an organization desires to implement change management. The first is individual change management. It is a natural physiological and psychological reaction for employees to resist change. Individual change management requires the management to know how the employees will react to the change and what they need to do so that the change can be successful ( Hornstein, 2015) . It involves knowing the correct communication channels, the optimal time to conduct training, knowing the efficient techniques and skills to implement change, and how to coach employees on new skills and behaviours. 

When employees change, the company is believed to have undergone organizational change management if the employees have undergone individual change management. Organizational change management includes identifying the teams and people who require change management because of a project. It also involves formulating a customized plan to ensure there is proper communication to employees, training, leadership, and coaching so that they can change successfully ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . Building successful individual change management transitions should be the key focus of activities in an organization. Project management and change management should be implemented simultaneously because change management ensures that the changes proposed by the project are efficiently embraced, adopted, and used. 

Enterprise change management capability is one of the core competencies in an organization that allows it to change according to dynamic competition while adapting to the ever-changing global market. It ensures that effective change management is embedded in the company's leadership competencies, roles, projects, structures, and processes. The outcome of enterprise change management capability is employees to embrace changes more effectively and quickly ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . It also ensures that the company will adopt new technologies, responds rapidly to market changes while embracing strategic initiatives. The capability requires a strategic approach when implementing change management. 

One of the challenges faced during the team development exercise was a poor meeting environment. The team required a specific and special venue for the meeting. The meeting place should be conducive and quiet for efficient teamwork. The environment was noisy because it was located near a busy highway. In the first meeting, there was role confusion. Although the team was working towards a shared vision, every individual should have had a specific role within the team ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . Without delegation or allocation of roles, role confusion was inevitable. The team members did not have a proper understanding of their specific responsibilities within the team. Therefore, the roles were properly allocated through the group email. The responsibilities were assigned according to their skills and experiences as shown in table 1. 

Table 1 showing the responsibilities and job titles of team members. 

Team Schedule
Date: December 10 th , 2017.  Time: 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Job Title	Responsibilities
Me	Team leader
Program Manager	Controlling projects in the company.
Salesperson	Equipping the business with the correct tools for sales growth.
Software Engineer	Developing new products
Analyst	Delivering insights for innovation.
Lawyer	Shaping the future of internet law and policy.

Team efficiency can be improved by the teams’ commitment to ongoing evaluation and reflection. Other than appreciating the accomplishments of the team, they should also understand their development as a team. All teams undergo stages of development before they become successful teams. Each stage has its challenges, recognizable behaviours, and feelings. Understanding the behaviours of other team members and team learning is a significant aspect of self-evaluation ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . Before a team can utilize their collective skills and experience to achieve certain objectives, they must appreciate their diversity, have a genuine dialogue, and set ground rules. Furthermore, there should be conflict resolution techniques within the team to avoid the confrontational behaviour. 

Recommendations 

Some of the core areas that most leaders evaluate are the relationships and performances within their teams. Researches and performance indicators reveal that effective teams will always perform better than employees who are working individual especially when multiple skills are necessary or in high-pressure situations. Most companies have recognized the significance of team building, and they are trying to implement the process in various organizations. However, creating efficient teams needs more than being committed to teamwork, it requires adequate experience and skills from the management to build effective teams ( Hornstein, 2015). If a manager does not have proper team building skills, the manager may risk limiting the efficiency and productivity of the teams to what the individual members can offer. On the other hand, when a manager fosters team building, they can easily unite the organization and team around a shared vision and improve productivity. 

The first step in building a productive team is establishing leadership and good relationships with all employees. When employees trust a leader’s judgment, they will perform their work efficiently even in the leader’s absence. Before a manager aspires to build a team, they should first improve their leadership skills. Building leadership skills does not mean asserting authority but fostering trust through transparency and honesty. When employees trust a manager, they will work efficiently even when the leader is not around. The manager should then attempt to know more about all team members, their dislikes and likes, their skills and experiences, and how they can be motivated ( Lozano, Ceulemans, & Seatter, 2015) . The knowledge is essential to leaders because it allows them to match each member's competencies and expertise to specific responsibilities that will improve their productivity and job satisfaction. Managers should involve employees in various decision-making processes. It will encourage employees to foster problem-solving skills through cooperation. 

It is significant to foster teamwork by building a relationship between colleagues and employees. When the team begins cooperating more, the manager should evaluate how they carry out their responsibilities and take the necessary responsibilities to enhance trust, communication, and cooperation amongst the team members. When conflicts occur within the team, the team leader should solve them amicably. The team leader should listen to both sides of the conflict and then act as the mediator. Another technique of solving conflict is by brainstorming solutions that assist in empowering colleagues and may help then find better solutions to issues. After the manager has established a proper relationship with the employees and between the employees, the manager should assist them to work together as a team ( Hornstein, 2015) . The team should be encouraged to share information with the company and amongst themselves. The manager should then improve the communication channels within the team and the entire organization. Efficient communication channels go beyond having frequent meetings; it involves being open to concerns and suggestions, being honest with the team, offering assistance, communicating clearly, and knowing about the health and welfare of all team members. 

Also, the team leader or manager should set ground rules. A successful team can be created by having team goals and values as well as analyzing individual performance alongside team performance. The team leaders should involve the team in all organizational processes so that they can know their roles and responsibilities in achieving the strategic objectives. One of the most key roles of every manager and organization is team building. It is not a responsibility that is completed within the short term and forgotten; it is often a long-term plan. It is always an ongoing process that the leader should guide and facilitate. As the team building exercise unfolds, the team members will improve the trust among themselves and with their team leader. Moreover, they will freely share their efforts and skills to achieve the desired results. 

Learning Resources 

There are various articles and books that will assist the team to understand change management. Some of the resources include: 

Cameron, E., & Green, M. (2015). Making sense of change management: A complete guide to the models, tools and techniques of organizational change . Kogan Page Publishers. 

Doppelt, B. (2017). Leading change toward sustainability: A change-management guide for business, government and civil society . Routledge. 

Goetsch, D. L., & Davis, S. B. (2014). Quality management for organizational excellence . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson. 

Hayes, J. (2014). The theory and practice of change management . Palgrave Macmillan. 

Conclusion 

The essay evaluates organizational team development. As the world changes, the competition is bigger and more dynamic. Therefore, businesses should change rapidly to adopt the incoming changes so that they can survive the increasingly competitive market. Change is a common occurrence in all organizations and business regardless of age, size, and industry. Systems thinking is a significant factor in the learning organization because it integrates or combines the other four learning disciplines and ensures they fuse into a credible practice and theory ( Senge, 2014) . The paper also summarizes the learning from the two team development sessions. It also evaluates how a team can improve their collective knowledge, experiences and skills. Moreover, it offers recommendations on how managers can build effective teams in the organization and how they can handle change management. 

Change management is a field that guides how organizations prepare, equip, and support employees to successfully adopt changes that will influence organizational outcomes and success. Change management offers a structured approach that supports the management and all employees in the organization as they make a transition from their current states to the desired future status. The changes can be an individual, organizational, or enterprise. There are various challenges and obstacles in change management. The process should be aligned with project management. It should also involve the core competencies and internal capabilities of the organization ( Hornstein, 2015) . Furthermore, it should receive wider support from the management so that it can be successful. However, creating efficient teams needs more than being committed to teamwork, it requires adequate experience and skills from the management to build effective teams. It should also involve having a genuine dialogue and setting ground rules. Finally, change management does not occur overnight; it is a continuous process that involves all stakeholders in the organization. 

References 

Hornstein, H. A. (2015). The integration of project management and organizational change management is now a necessity. International Journal of Project Management , 33 (2), 291-298. 

Lozano, R., Ceulemans, K., & Seatter, C. S. (2015). Teaching organisational change management for sustainability: designing and delivering a course at the University of Leeds to better prepare future sustainability change agents. Journal of Cleaner Production , 106 , 205-215. 

Senge, P. M. (2014). The fifth discipline fieldbook: Strategies and tools for building a learning organization . Crown Business.