Building Smart Teams

Carol A. Beatty is a leading expert in the human and organizational issues that result from implementing change and has been teaching and conducting research in this field for 18 years. She is currently Director of the Queen's University Industrial Relations Centre and Associate Professor at the Queen's School of Business. She is a sought-after speaker, consultant, and trainer for a large number of national and international clients. Dr. Beatty recently completed a major study of high-performance work teams in several Canadian organizations. Through her research, she has identified three critical sets of process skills for building high-performance teams: good team management practices, problem-solving skills, and conflict-handling skills. Dr. Beatty contributes to many journals, including Business Quarterly, Sloan Management Review, and Human Relations. She is author of Employee Ownership: The New Source of Competitive Advantage (2001). Brenda A. Barker Scott (Master of Industrial Relations, Queen's University) is a faculty member, facilitator, and consultant at the Queen's University Industrial Relations Centre and has been helping leadership teams plan and implement system wide change for the past 10 years. Barker Scott has rigorously field-tested the teams theory and practice with a wide variety of international clients. She designs the professional programs for the Queen's IRC certificates in Human Resources Management, Industrial Relations, and Organizational Development, and she is an adjunct professor in the School of Policy Studies. Her current research projects focus on the characteristics of teams in complex work environments.

Chapter 1 Building High-Performance Teams: An Introduction Top-notch Teams - The What For and Why Your Roadmap: Introducing the Team Effectiveness Model Measuring Your Team's Progress How to Maintain High-Octane Group Functioning Exercises - The Starting Line: Assessing Your Team Chapter 2 Creating Top-Notch Team Management Practices Team Management Practices: Signpost #1 for Team Success More On the Model - Task, Social and Commitment Strategies: A Roadmap to Effective Teams The Team Management Practices Planner: Critical Conversations for Teams Creating Top Team Management Practices Using the Nine Planner Elements Exercises for Top-Notch Team Management Practices Chapter 3 Problem-Solving for Pros Team Problem Solving: Signpost #2 for Team Success What Confounds Successful Problem-solving? Thinking Traps and Biases What Supports Problem-solving Prowess? Introducing Our Model Exercises - Team Problem Solving for Pros Chapter 4 Handling Team Conflict Handling Team Conflict: Signpost #3 of Team Success Tools for Handling Team Conflict Exercises - Developing Team Conflict-handling Skills Appendix - Conflict: An Overview Chapter 5 Maintaining a Supportive Climate for Teams The Big Question: Are You Really Ready for Teams? Coach's Corner: The Art and Science of Implementing Teams Research Roundup: A Review of Change Management Literature