The Team® Handbook, 3rd ed.

Citation

Narasimhan, K. (2004), "The Team® Handbook, 3rd ed.", Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, Vol. 14 No. 2/3, pp. 259-260. https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520410528699

Learning in groups and working in teams to solve problems and satisfy customers has become one of the succeeding factors in the last two decades. Knowledge of team working is not only important for team leaders and facilitators of quality improvement schemes such as six sigma and “lean” methodologies, but also for team members. This revised edition of the Team® Handbook is a valuable aid in developing effective teams both in the manufacturing and service sectors. The authors have over 30 years’ experience in facilitating organizations develop effective teams.

The handbook comprises eight chapters, the preface, an 18‐page introduction, and four appendices. The preface not only briefly covers what is new in this edition, but also gives an idea of how the contents of a page are structured. The introduction is quite detailed and provides information on the process excellence approach to management. The four areas covered in some depth are management by results, the process excellence alternative, how to get started on process excellence methods and the role of project teams.

Each chapter is supported with a brief list of chapter's content, background information, main points, sketches, diagrams, tables, tips, and forms that can be downloaded from their Web site. In addition, space for writing notes is also provided. The chapters conclude with an action summary.

Chapter 1 deals with issues involved in using teams to respond to the changes owing to globalization and advancement in information technology. First, the context in which teams perform better than individuals is listed, then the different types of teams, their needs, and how to lead the inevitable change that is involved are briefly covered.

The three sections of chapter 2 deal respectively with the roles of team members, responsibilities of sponsors, coaches, team leaders and members before, during and after the project, and leadership team reviews to monitor progress of projects to revise priorities. The flow chart of roles and responsibilities and project selection worksheet for ranking projects are very useful tools.

Chapter 3 is a long one (70 pages) with two main sections (A and B) and deals with issues concerned with doing work in teams. Section A includes guidelines such as setting agendas, recording minutes and evaluating the meeting process for good meetings; skills and processes required to ensure effective discussions take place on important areas; and guidelines for making effective decisions, recording them, and planning ongoing work as a series of mini‐projects. Guidelines for team leaders, which forms the topic of section B, provides ideas for preparation for the first meeting, holding regular meetings, monitoring the progress, and closing a project. The application of tools such as affinity diagrams, prioritization matrices, effort/impact grids and preparing for effective presentation are also explained.

The application of tools such as SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process steps, outputs, and customers) diagrams, work‐flow charts/diagrams, data collection methods, deployment process maps to identify people involved in each process step, a seven‐step problem solving method and the application of storyboard are covered in chapter 4. A very brief insight into the application of FMEA (failure modes and effects analysis) is also given. The application of the various tools used in the seven‐step process is summarized in an illustrated storyboard checklist.

In chapter 5, a five‐step plan for managing and improving work, the seven‐step method for problem solving and the five‐step six sigma improvement approach with the acronym DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control) are covered in some depth. Sixteen improvement strategies are listed and a matrix depicting the use of these strategies at the various steps of the three methods or approaches is given. First an overview of the methods is given then the various steps are described in sequence. There is brief section on bringing a process under statistical control by identifying special causes.

Learning to work together is the theme of chapter 6, which is covered in five parts. Topics covered include team dynamics, stages of team growth, ten recipes for successful team working, and guidelines for giving and receiving constructive feedback.

Conflict is inevitable when people from various backgrounds are pooled together to work as a team, and dealing with this important aspect of teamwork is covered in chapter 7, in four parts. First, the benefits of conflict are highlighted followed by a brief consideration of the common responses (avoiding, smoothing, forcing, compromising, and problem solving) to conflict. How to recognize and prevent groupthink are also briefly touched upon. Ten common team problems and strategies for dealing with them are given.

Chapter 8 is a new addition to this edition. It includes information on advanced tools and techniques such as “brain‐writing” (a variation of brainstorming technique), challenging assumptions, asking questions, mapping ideas to create connections among multiple issues or ideas, and weighted‐score matrix for prioritizing options.

Appendix A is a glossary of terms; Appendix B is an illustrated example of a storyboard for the seven steps of a project; and Appendix C is a collection of seven activities that aid team building.

The handbook is very well written with illustrations and is packed with useful ideas and is an asset to any organization interested in developing effective teams.