Building an effective team through GRPI model by Richard Beckhard

In every organisation, projects and tasks are completed effectively and successfully when there is an effective high performance team.

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Jon Katzenbach and Douglas Smith highlighted some common characteristics of high performance team in their book ‘The Wisdom of Teams’.

• Deep conviction of purpose and reason

• Elevated output and high standard of aims

• Collaborative accountability for common goal

• Respect for leaders

• Exchangeable skills

• Strong orientation of targeted audience

Richard Beckhard’s GRPI model (1972) provides a good structure to diagnose and identify different aspects of effectiveness and efficiency of a team especially when it is stuck.

GRPI stands for Goals, Roles, Processes and Interpersonal Relationships.

This short article will discuss about the GRPI model.

Goals

In every model or structure suggested by different articles and books, one of the crucial aspects is to have a common goal.

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This helps every member to know the ultimate purpose and aim of the formation of the team.

Without a clear vision of the expected outcome, the team may have difficulty even in maintaining a productive conversation leading to many disputes.

• Main objective of the team is clear to every member

• Clear Boundaries

• Understand urgencies and timeline

• Knowing the main tasks well

• Common desired results

Roles

Every member must understand their roles and responsibilities in the team.

Every member must understand that they are valued and important to the success of the project or task.

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Everyone has a part to play and every role assigned can be interconnected with shared responsibilities.

• Respect and accept the leader

• Clear understanding of individual roles and responsibilities

• Interconnectedness

• Being responsible and acceptance to the role assigned

• Good participation and involvement of all team members with good utilisation of resources

Processes

It is important to formulate effective processes to overcome possible obstacles that can hinder the progress of the task or project.

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By having clear processes, team members will know what to do when hindrance or problems arise.

• Clear standard operation procedures for decision-making and problem resolutions.

• Ways to think out of the box for alternative ideas

• Clear workflow

• Effective time management

• Commitment in carry out the plan set

• Standard review procedure and improvement plans

Interpersonal Relationships

In any organisation, relationship building is one of the keys to a good rapport so that every members are supportive and there is no offences taken when critical discussions are carried out.

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• Open and direct communication

• Have a listening ear

• Support and extend good ideas of others

• Supportive and encouraging culture

• Constructive procedure to resolve conflicts

In conclusion

GRPI model is just a guide to enable the team leader to have a clear overview of the conditions needed for a successful team.

The team leader plays an important role in many aspects of a successful team.

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With the necessary structures set up, the team leader can focus on developing individuals in the roles assigned.

Reference

Raue, S., Tang, S. H., Weiland, C., & Wenzlik, C. (2013). The GRPI model–an approach for team development. White Paper Draft, SE Group.

Fry, R. (2017). Richard Beckhard: The Formulator of Organizational Change. The Palgrave Handbook of Organizational Change Thinkers, 91-105.

Disclaimer: This is my personal reflection and I am not in any position to instruct anyone what they should do. I am not responsible for any action taken as a result of this post. My post can only be a reference for your further research and growth. By reading this post, you acknowledge and accept that. All images and pictures were taken from google images that are free from copyright under labelled for reuse.

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