I was fascinated by the extract that Roy Lyford-Pike sent from "The
Systems Thinker" to the list about teams composed of members with
different styles.
The four team members in the extract fall precisely into Glenn Parker's
team member style model as defined in his Parker Team Player Survey. I am
familiar with this easy-to-use instrument from having used it with over
200 people in the course of facilitating a high performance team course.
Specifically from the extract, the 1st team member described using
Parker's model, is a "collaborator", whose primary attribute is focus on
vision.
The second team member is data-oriented, Parker's "contributor".
3rd, the "communicator" who is primarily focused on team process.
And finally, the "challenger" who likes to question and push the envelop.
In Parker's model, each of us has some aspect of all four styles; usually
one is primary. There is no good or bad style. Each has its strengths
and weaknesses. Often the primary style you personally perceive and
"score" is different from the style a co-worker perceives in you and
"scores" using the Parker Team Player Survey.
What I have liked about this survey is its ease of use and degree of
efficacy in learning situations. Here, an anecdote.
In one team course I facilitated, the group as usual was divided into 3
table groups of six persons each. They were working on a case study, and
each table team member had already scored the Parker instrument and had a
grasp of the strengths and weaknesses associated with each style in the
model.
During the break before the vase study work, I had asked one participant
("Rick") who was clearly a "challenger" to step into another
style--without telling anyone else at his table. This individual, a top
manager from a "sound equipment" manufacturing company known to every
audiophile, agreed to the task.
During the table de-brief, his table team members noted to the rest of the
class participants how differently the table had worked together. "Rick",
they noted, was somewhat quiet, and the discussion got very active and far
reaching. "Rick", for his part, was absolutely floored by the results of
his conscious conversion to another style. He said he saw in real
bio-feedback fashion the effect his primary style had on his team, and how
much more was surfaced when he actively listened while adopting another
team style.
I can only convey to you a small portion of the feeling of self-awareness
which "Rick" raved about for the next two days of the team course.
His response has been echoed by others. I find the Parker model an
easy-to-use workshop or classroom tool. Participants in the High
Performance Team course I facilitate use it along with its sister piece,
the Parker Team Player Survey: Styles of Another Person. That one is
filled out by two co-workers, then returned to the participant. Scoring
during the course reveals many interesting topics of conversation. But
most importantly, it's a sensitizing tool for the sake of understanding
the stages of team development through forming and storming.
The distributor for these 8.5"x11" booklets is still XICOM, woods Road,
Tuxedo NY 10987. I believe their phone # is 800-759-4266.
Best regards,
-- Barry Mallis bmallis@markem.com Total Quality Resource Manager MARKEM Corporation Keene, NHLearning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>