Lauren's Effective Teaming Journal

Team Creativity & Innovation Reflecting on Module 6 Readings Personal Takeaways & Key Insights:  Event-driven histories "Fail, fast, forward" Understanding the "Why?" Identify & Enthusiasm Personal commitment Creative synthesis leads to breakthroughs Divergent vs. Convergent thinking Summary of Reflection: In this module, we expanded upon core elements and defining characteristics of high-performing teams.  Several of these themes centered around a team's ability to establish a strong purpose and meaning related to the defined goals and objectives.  To achieve a strong sense of purpose, teams must possess high energy and enthusiasm with individual and mutual commitments to the over-arching goals.  Teams also need to allow space to evaluate failures or missteps in their work, quickly learn from these circumstances, and apply learnings to future work.  In my journal entry for this week, I outlined a peer who frequently stated "fail, fast, forward...

When to Form Teams & When to Coach Reflecting on Module 7 Readings Personal Takeaways & Key Insights:  Teams at the top are not advisable unless organizations are experiencing major changes Leaders should determine necessity based on evaluating:  Whether or not goals can be achieved through individual work Quality, skills, and attitudes of individuals needed for the team Overall leadership attitudes and decisions Prioritize team performance above individual performance Direction, structure, and context must precede any coaching attempts Summary of Reflection:  This module was helpful in understanding as a leader when teams are necessary and when they may not be beneficial. I initially felt leaders should demonstrate high-performing teams in their structure and interactions, and now I understand that this is unnecessary. As long as teams are well-designed and leaders focus on the key elements and characteristics outlined throughout the course, teams may still achie...