Communication

The Art of Team Communication

Where a team is concerned, communication can be the root of all evil or a seed planted to produce the future. Learning to communicate with another is an art and is the tunnel through which the future is seen. Through good communication, a team can thrive, grow, and create. Tone, clarity, and maturity are three major factors that must be present within a team to ensure good communication. Atop these factors, a group must also have certain personal characteristics to enable them to function adequately in the group. Accountability, dependability, and trustworthiness are key character traits one must hone for personal development in team settings. Communication within a team must also weld the coordination and balance needed to walk a tight rope. The organization of a group is directly related to how well a team can coordinate and balance its members. Each member will have well defined strengths and weaknesses which will define that members place within the group. Through proper balancing of member traits and characteristics, the leader can be defined. Team communication is a bundled package of several entities, once which cannot exist without the other. In order to develop good team communication all required entities must exist or be developed in order for a team to be successful, effective, and innovative. Not all teams and members will be fully comprised of these factors and characteristics, but it is likely they can be developed to form an innovative team.

Sculpting Team Communication

Effective team communication involves a great deal of strategy and preparation. To begin, it is necessary to understand the degree and type of work the team will be responsible for completing. Understanding the requirements of the work or assignment will be aid in mapping the plan for what type of communication will be needed and how each member can be used effectively. How often and when the members will need to communicate can also be dictated by work requirements. "Whether members are clear or unclear about their task also effects the way the task is acquired" (Browning, 1977,). Upon understanding the team's requirements, it will be mandatory to take an assessment of the teams personal attributes. Becoming familiar with the team member strengths and weakness will be the first step to communicating and working together effectively. Members can simply make a list of strengths and weaknesses or professional services are available to aid in the team assessment. Once the members are assets are identified it will become evident what positions will best suit them. While it is helpful to take advantage of the member's strengths, it will be most beneficial to have each member cross trained in areas found to be the weakest. Cross training team, members will allow members to be multi-functional, which will only make for a stronger team. There are many ways to build a foundation of good communication. Taking the time to assess the requirements and qualities of the team is a good first step.

Setting the Tone

How a person represents themselves to others is as important as every building block laid in communication. How a person speaks and sounds to another can make or break team unity. Therefore, single most important factor that defines oneself is personal tone. Tone is defined as the general quality or character of something as an indicator of the attitude or view of the person who produced it (Horowitz, 2006). In a team setting, tone can be used to convey ones feelings, attitude, and concern. However, if ones tone is not conveys properly it is possible their feelings will be misunderstood or misinterpreted.