Shared Vision When Working Within A Team

As with any team, individuals will always have their own views and opinions on how things should be or should be done and this can create dispute or disagreement. One way to manage this is by having open communication and discussions, listening to feedback and working together and agreeing as a team practical ways and solutions to completing objectives.
To promote a shared vision within a team it is important to be aware of the objective you wish to attain. Team members also need to have a clear definition of what is expected of them and be given support to achieve this. The team need the knowledge and training to do the job. They need to know that a shared vision reflects on everyone.
As the team leader I need to promote a shared vision, there
needs to be trust, openness and communication. Sharing difficult challenges, and sharing the benefits that comes with success are essential. It is possible that everyone will not be willing to work as a unit and careful examination and explanation of the benefits that teamwork can bring changing minds and building a stronger team.
Some ways to address any difficulties or barriers to having a shared vision can be to request that staff members write down positive and negative ideas they have about teamwork.
For example, someone might be concerned that teamwork can hurt an individual and their expression of ideas. The ways in which a team can actually help empower an individual’s ideas should be highlighted in response.
If my team doesn't see the value or believe that working together cooperatively is a wise choice then the team will fail. It is of vital importance that each member must fully believe in and be committed to working together to achieve the aim of that group. Any member or members who aren't convinced that teamwork is a good idea will hurt the entire team effort. As the team leader it is vital that I promote the value of working together as a team to achieve our overall objectives which is to achieve positive outcomes for all our service users and thus ensuring a shared vision.
3.2 Review approaches that encourages sharing of skills and knowledge between team
members.
Knowledge sharing is one of an essential elements that will affect the growth of an organization. But still there are certain factors causing the unwillingness of people in sharing their knowledge especially the employee's behaviour in the work place.
It is useful to review the skills and experiences within the team from time to time, especially at times of change. Regular review becomes a normal team activity and encourages my team to know about specific and individual strengths. Collective skills and where there may be gaps that need to be filled. It offers a good model for team members to build on when considering their own professional development. It helps as the team manager make best use of all available resources.
Some of the approaches that I use as the team leader are as follows:
Shadowing- This is a very effective approach in encouraging the sharing of skills and knowledge with team members as it allows less experienced staff to learn from those who are more advanced and skilled within the organisation.
This is one of the more effective methods that I use with staff to encourage the sharing of knowledge and skills and supports with communication, trust and team building.
Presentations- A staff member may have been on or accessed some specific training that they feel may have some benefit to the team or have some knowledge and experience around certain aspects of working practices or new implementations that they could share with the team. A simple way of sharing this would be to set some time aside say, within a team meeting to share knowledge and support good practice.
Brainstorming sessions- This is a less frequently used method but is something that from time to time is a great tool for not only sharing of knowledge and skills but also identifying more practical ways and solutions to approaches and ways of working. A brainstorming session should be used for generating lots of new ideas and solutions. It should not be used for analysis or for decision making. Of course you will need to analyse and judge the ideas but this is done afterwards and the analysis process does not involve brainstorming
techniques.
Team meetings- These are always a good platform for the sharing of knowledge and skills and allows the whole team to share information. Even though this can be little more difficult at times if you have strong personalities within the team who are more vocal and opinionated which can cause conflict or frustrations with other team members. Providing as a manager I show effective leadership and manage team meetings effectively by promoting open communication, trust and team work then this is a great way for all staff to share knowledge and skills.