Enrique,
Es un placer discutir con usted lo que puede pasar con un equipo
en su desarrollo dentro de una organizacion. Desde mas que dos aqos estoy
encargado de nuestro programma de "calidad total" en mi empresa aqui en el
noreste de los EEUU.
Specifically, I teach a 3-day intensive workshop to our employees (over
300 have already taken the course in groups of 20). I differentiate
between self-directed work teams and high performance teams. Any kind of
team--teams which do things, teams which g uide, teams which
recommend--can or cannot be high performing. This phrase high performing,
in my way of presenting it, refers to the team PROCESS at a higher level
of abstraction than does the idea "self-directed."
Peter Scholtes, who wrote The Team Handbook, said in June that the term
"high-performing" is misleading. What after all, he asked, is a "medium
performing team--or a low-performing team?"
A tricky question, maybe, but I don't shrink from responding: a team is
high performing in a group of two to eight or so people who accomplish
more than an organization has historically expected from groups who try to
work together but have lacked the sense and application of good team
process.
If you, Enrique, are asking strictly about self-directed work teams, I
won't be able to respond adequately. My work has been almost exclusively
with problem-solving and process-planning teams. Perhaps the answer is
subsumed in the very name: "self-directed." Maybe such individuals would
continue best practice identification of new areas for improvement using
continuous improvement concepts, practices and tools. They would turn once
again the PDCA wheel of iterative improvement.
Based upon the problem-solving and process-planning team work I facilitate
within my company, I say that the "after" activity consists of focus once
again on the organization's processes using a weakness orientation ("What
Prevents us from...What are the obstacles to....Why can't we..."); use
Paretos to determine, in the case of problem solving, which problem will
next receive the attention of a newly constituted team.
Team work as we understand and work with it here has a beginning and an
end. The beginning is the chartering of the team with a document. The Team
Charter is signed by sponsor, leader, facilitator and members. It's a
guide for their work, a way to get everyone, quite literally, "on the same
page." More and more companies are using some form of chartering process.
The teamwork ends at the completion of the performing stage, with an oral,
usually visual presentation of the team's work to the sponsor, other
managers and co-workers. This presentation must in our culture include a
Plus/Delta reflection. That is, what w orked well in the team's work, and
(delta) what will we work to change in future team process to make the
experience even better.
I will end here, hoping that there may be some grains of useful
information.
Suerte,
--Barry Mallis Manager - Quality and Development MARKEM Corporation Keene, New Hampshire bmallis@markem.com or malli@top.monad.net tel: 603 352-1130 ext 2578 FAX 603 352 0525
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