60 minutes (10 minutes for individual work; 45 minutes for discussion; 5 minutes to summarize debriefing conclusions)
Work L–M P, T, D
1. To provide a team with an opportunity to identify similar and different values
2. To facilitate a team’s identification of its strengths and challenges based on a values profile
• Flipchart
• Sticky dots
• Team Values Assessment Worksheet
1. Distribute the “Team Values Assessment” worksheet and ask the participants to complete it.
2. On a flipchart, write the following, allowing plenty of space for participants to place their sticky dots under the numbers.
3. Give each person five sticky dots. Ask participants to place one under the number on each line that corresponds to their answers on the worksheet, spreading the dots out so they can be tallied.
4. Based on the placement of the dots, ask the team to identify the challenges they might face in working together.
5. Ask the team to identify strategies for maximizing their strengths and reducing the challenges they have identified. Encourage them to agree on specific behaviors they will use or avoid in carrying out these strategies.
Note: The dots clustered in one location could be a strength but could also be a weakness because the team is missing another value perspective. If the dots are polarized, this could be a source of internal team conflict.
1. Individuals bring their personal values to teams. Similar values across the team can be a strength (source of compatibility) or a weakness (lacking the perspective of the different value).
2. Inconsistent values among team members may be a source of conflict.
3. Sources of conflict can be reduced when a team is willing to openly discuss values and to identify ways to manage the differences.
© Executive Diversity Services, Inc., Seattle, Washington, 1998.
Please circle the answer that is closest to your point of view in each of the five areas.
A. Harmony or Surfacing and Resolving Differences
1. Disagreement is to be avoided at all costs.
2. Maintaining harmony is the primary value; anything can be worked out through the informal network without verbal conflict or embarrassment.
3. I don’t like conflict, but I am willing to engage in it when it is necessary to get the job done.
4. Conflict can be creative and productive, but it should be well managed.
5. Disagreements must be aired; harmony is secondary and is restored through direct verbal resolution.
B. Group or Individual Performance
1. I strongly prefer working in groups, and I am always careful to include people who need to be there or who may feel that they are being left out.
2. I like group work because of the broad range of input it brings to the issues.
3. I think sometimes group work is useful, depending on the task.
4. We can spend too much time in groups, losing focus and clouding the issues.
5. Groups are time wasters; I’d far rather work alone.
C. Internal or External Control
1. Fate is in our hands; we can identify and solve any problem with the assistance of analytical techniques and formalized problem-solving skills.
2. I can usually have an effect on my environment.
3. About half the time I have control over a situation, and half the time I just have to live with it.
4. The plan is pretty well set, but I can control how I respond to it.
5. Most issues are resolved by someone more senior than I; my job is to make the best of the plan.
D. Task/Product or Relationship/Process
1. We’re here to do a job. If we are to be competitive, we have to focus on the task.
2. We try to move quickly and get the job done, even if we also have to work with people we don’t much care for.
3. How we interact with other team members has an impact on the product; I try to consider both.
4. We can’t do anything without people; the best decision must first take people into consideration.
5. It isn’t what we do but how we do it that counts. The best decision is useless if the process has been bad; it won’t work.
E. Change or Tradition
1. If something isn’t broken, don’t fix it.
2. If something isn’t working, we should fix it but only after we are really sure it won’t work.
3. If something is broken, it will take care of itself. All things seek balance if we don’t tinker with them.
4. Change is usually creative and good; the status quo makes us lazy thinkers.
5. Change is almost always productive. It generates fresh ideas, products, and programs.
© Executive Diversity Services, Inc., Seattle, Washington, 1998.