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TeamShare
TeamShare provides an opportunity for teams to explore how open they are in their
communication patterns. It provides a structured experience in which teams can gradually
gain experience in opening up, and giving and receiving feedback.
TeamShare was designed to help
team members who are having difficulty in being open within the team. The instrument
begins with a self-analysis, moves to a partner analysis, and then finally to a full team
discussion. The exercise is structured in this manner to allow participants to gain
experience in the feedback process in a non threatening manner. The exercise includes
discussion questions and action planning so that team members can continue to increase the
openness of their team communication. TeamShare introduces team members to effective
feedback processes and gives them the tools they need to continue improving the process.
A Model of Team Communication
TeamShare applies the Johari
Window theory of interpersonal communication to team communication patterns. This theory,
developed by Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham (Luft, 1969), describes how individuals give and
receive information about themselves and others. In an ideal communication situation, the
words, ideas, and feelings of the sender of the communication would have the same meaning
to every receiver of that communication.
Unfortunately, as Luft and Ingham realized, in
any interaction there is information that is known to some individuals and unknown to
others. The Johari Window examines the interchange of information by presenting four modes
of information sharing based on what information is known or unknown to the self and to
the other party(ies) to that communication.
The Window has four panes:
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Open Self
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Blind Self
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Concealed Self
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Unknown Self
When to use TeamShare
TeamShare is beneficial for
teams that are having difficulty sharing information. In the TeamShare experience, teams
are provided with a vehicle for helping team members gain an increased feeling of trust
and begin to engage in fruitful dialogue about the team's patterns of communication. Teams
that tend to be closed and hold back in team discussions can use TeamShare to engage in a
non threatening examination of the openness of the team's communication. Team members will
also gain experience in giving and receiving feedback.
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