WorkLife Xcel

Your score indicated a moderate-high level of trust. Do any items below apply to your team? The benefits of trust between and among team members cannot be overemphasized. When trust is present, the team has a solid foundation for open and healthy communication. This environment enables members to listen attentively and provides teammates the opportunity to express views without rancor and judgment. Team members are situated in an atmosphere of acceptance and volunteer their positions with the task to appreciate everyone’s input before arriving at a consensus. When conflict occurs, members engage to resolve it respectfully and productively to arrive at the best possible solution that meets the team’s goals.

Your score indicated a low level of trust. Do any items below apply to your team? Absent a foundation of trust, members interact in a guarded and fearful manner. A climate of mistrust can develop for many reasons including poor communication, lack of respect, personality clashes, or possibly an absence of trust or confidence in the leader. Importantly, a lack of trust will inhibit productive team conflict. When discord and conflict are not recognized and addressed proactively, the creative process deteriorates with members focusing on their personal views and agendas, rather than outcomes that reflect critical evaluation, discernment, and a choice of the best possible solutions.

Your score indicated a moderate-high level of team awareness and development. Do any items below apply to your team? A healthy level of team awareness occurs when teams engage in activities that refine both individual and team skills; importantly, team synergy manifests as a result. As members have diverse personalities and work styles, these activities and seminars provide a testing ground where interaction leads to team awareness, deepens relationships, and enhances flow during a team project. Team activities may also expose areas of potential team discord and enables members to identify and address these issues earlier, thus avoiding a major breakdown during critical periods. In short, group activities foster team awareness, familiarity, and open relationships which are more resilient during intense team activity and these experiences pave the way for greater team cohesiveness, and ultimately, vibrant teamwork.

Your score indicated a low level of team awareness and development. Do any items below apply to your team? Without team development activities, the team enters the working phase of any project without the benefit of both personal awareness and team experiences which facilitate a smoother, more dynamic team process. Team members may certainly function capably but lack a clear experiential understanding of how one another’s work style, personality, and group behaviors influence team effectiveness. When conflict arises, members tend to view it as uncomfortable, unwelcome and undesirable. The team may seek to deny and minimize it by choosing an expedient solution, in contrast to a deliberate process of productive conflict management, discussion, and consensus-building.