In the first article of this three-part series, Caroline Jones suggests it is important to understand that building, leading and working in a team is a complex ongoing process rather than a simple or technical event
While every early years setting operates within its own unique context, one thing all early years practitioners have in common is that they do not work in isolation. The responsibilities and demands of working with young children are such that they cannot be adequately met by one person working alone. The reality of early childhood settings is that your work as an early years practitioner requires effective interaction with other adults.
When early childhood workers talk about the staff at their setting, the word 'team' is often used. However, a team is more than just a group of people who happen to work together. It is defined by how they perform as a whole and relate to each other. The nature of those relationships will largely depend on the extent to which team members work co-operatively together.
Co-operation, in turn, will depend on the shared understandings within the team. A team is generally considered to be a group of people organised to work together towards a common goal. Where there is a strong team spirit, the needs of the team come before the needs of the individual. However, the individual is still valued in his or her own right as a member of the team.
While few would contest the value of teamwork, it is important to consider how perceptions of teamwork are reflected in the actual experience of belonging to a team. The nature, structure and number of people in a team will vary according to context.
Team structures
What constitutes a team will depend entirely on the size, layout and structural organisation of your early years provision. A large day nursery located in a house may have a large team consisting of the entire group including, for example, administrative staff, and then smaller teams working with specific children in various rooms. A childminder may work as part of a team or network including other childminders or be linked to a children's centre. A pre-school group based on a school site may work as a team both within and beyond the group. In a children's centre, the team could consist of professionals from a variety of agencies working with early years practitioners in a variety of groups.
Depending on the meaning given to the concept of team, parents, students and volunteers may or may not be included in the broader definition. Indeed, children may also be seen as part of the team. Regardless of its structure or definition, the essence of a team is that all those in the team work together effectively to achieve a common goal based on shared understandings.
Factors that bind a team
While the early years team may be diverse in terms of age, experience, pay, status, and qualifications, members are bound together by a shared responsibility for safeguarding and promoting young children's learning and development, in partnership with parents and carers. Whether you are the youngest, least experienced or the most well-paid practitioner, each of you has a part to play in a team.
Think who is in your team and how it is structured. Consider your own contribution to the team as a whole. It is useful to consider teamwork as a process involving:
- Shared values and a united purpose
- Commitment to working through issues
- Shared responsibility and joint activities
- Open and honest communication
- Camaraderie
- Access to a support system.
Effective teams are fundamental to providing quality childcare and education. In a well developed team, the needs of the team override the needs of individuals.
Even where an individual does not subscribe to a particular viewpoint, they remain loyal to the common goals. However, becoming a cohesive team may not be easy. It can take time, and requires effort not only from the team leader but from all those in the team.
Team building process
The team building process can be considered in various ways. Neugebauer and Neugebauer (1998) suggest that we could think of team building in terms of a five- step framework.
- Step 1 - Set achievable goals mutually agreed by members of the team
- Step 2 - Clarify roles and ensure roles are clear to all members of the team
- Step 3 - Build supportive relationships and opportunities for feedback
- Step 4 - Encourage active participation and value the contribution of team members
- Step 5 - Monitor team effectiveness through reviewing and planning for ongoing improvement.
It is not solely the designated leader's responsibility to think about these five steps, but a collective responsibility of all those in the team to work through the process of team building.
It may be useful to think about your team in terms of the five 'Cs' suggested by Jillian Rodd (2006). Different teams will be at different stages in the process of team building, and if you can identify which stage your team is at, you can collectively support the movement to effective performance at stage 4.
- Connecting - getting together as a team
- Confronting - where group members challenge ideas and conflict may occur
- Co-operating - consensus of opinion and shared understandings are being reached
- Collaborating - strong sense of members contributing to the team and assuming shared responsibility
- Closure - team disbands or someone leaves.
It is important that we think of ourselves as team players and ensure that we each play a part in the team around the child. Rather than just stick rigidly to our own views or designated roles, we need to communicate openly and honestly with colleagues, listening and accepting that we are mutually accountable to each other.
Role of the leader
While leadership is to a greater or lesser extent everyone's responsibility, the influence of the designated team leader or leaders is crucial to effective teamwork and ultimately on quality.
The first priority is to establish the overall aim of the group. A self-managing rural group, for example, could comprise a small group of volunteers brought together by a shared strong belief in the importance of community based-play. They would agree aims based on this shared commitment. In your own setting, your team could meet together to look at your aims and philosophy. You could then write a jointly agreed mission statement for your setting.
The role of the leader is concerned with co-ordination and communication, as leading a team needs to be people-oriented, not just task-oriented. The leader needs to get to know and develop the potential of each team member as an individual. This can be done through delegation and appraisal.
It is the role of the designated leader to enable the team to bind together into a cohesive community. The first step in team building is to help members become aware of what they do and how others respond to their actions, attitudes and behaviours. The leader also has to be able to thoughtfully intervene in order to carry out the following aspects of team leadership:
- Finding out what motivates the team
- Listening and responding to the concerns of the team
- Providing staff training, development and support
- Managing performance
- Communicating - listening and speaking
- Clarifying roles and responsibilities
- Providing a positive role model
- Promoting a climate of good relationships where individuals are valued
- Managing change and conflict
- Identifying priorities, developing action plans and evaluating
quality.
A team has been defined as a group of individuals who come together and use their talents to solve a problem or perform a task, knowing that if the team wins, all those in it win, and if they lose everyone loses.
It is essential to think about how you could improve your working relationships within your team. Consider the following questions:
- Does your team have a 'common purpose' or 'statement' or aims and objectives in your setting? Is it written down, and was the whole team involved in developing it?
- How do you initiate and sustain contact with other adults in a manner likely to promote trust and confidence in the relationship and the setting?
- How does your own practice contribute to the team?
- How can relationships within the team be improved?
- How can you support the designated leader?
Caroline Jones is course leader for the Early Years Foundation Degree at the Institute of Education, University of Warwick, and is the director of a group of early childhood settings based on school sites in the Midlands
Part 2 looking at developing an inclusive team culture and strategies for communication will appear in the 19 November issue of Nursery World.
