What makes one group of people a great team and another group a difficult, painful experience for everybody? Team Spirit. I define Team Spirit as the collective awareness and alignment of the group. People mainly want to work and cooperate well together. Often they don't know how, or they are unable to deal with the interpersonal and power issues, or the complexity of the challenges they face. Team facilitation is concerned with raising team spirit to assist a team  achieve its potential in a manner that is fulfilling for its members.

Common issues addressed:

• Moving towards a vision that everybody wants to support
• Communicating and dealing with conflict effectively
• Managing challenging people, projects and tasks
• Facing up to and dealing with power and rank
  
• Dealing with unstable and paradoxical requirements

The Team Transformation Process

Team Transformation is a process. It begins with a discussion of what the team wants to achieve and where it is starting from. This may be accompanied, if desired, by interviews with people outside the team and a 360°audit to clarify needs.

An initial programme is agreed in consultation with the team. Duration and frequency of meetings are adapted to needs, commitment and progress rate. A typical format would be four to eight sessions over a six-month period, including an away day(s) where needed. Progress, priorities and agreed action plans are regularly monitored and reviewed. Tools, techniques and supporting theory are introduced as needed. Follow-up sessions over a longer period are provided if required.

Team facilitation is an organic learning process. It can be challenging and stretching, but the potential rewards are great.