Planning Together - The Art of Effective TeamworkBy George Gawlinski and Lois Graessle Does this definition of a team appeal to you? "People who depend on each other to some extent to get their work done." I warmed to it and this book immediately. The authors use simple, short words, that are carefully chosen, often with humour in mind, and strung together in a straight forward fashion, showing clear thinking and lack of pretensions. They describe their planning process as "a way of helping a team make sense of what it is trying to do and do it effectively". It is designed for use in any setting, and has a down to earth, real feel about it, and mostly avoids being worthy. An incredible amount of wisdom and good sense are interwoven with real life examples from the voluntary and public sectors. I liked the authors' style, and did not mind being reminded about some of the basics. For those of us who value visuals, there are amusing cartoons that re-enforce points in the text. Some work better than others. I was particularly drawn to the one in the Taking Stock section, showing a panic struck face reading the notice saying "Don't just do something - SIT THERE!" The 36 activity sheets, with titles including Checking for Burnout, Sharing Idiosyncracies, Active Listening, and Foul Up Factors are the best bit, and designed to be photocopied. They look like recipe sheets, with aim, timing and ingredients - "felt pens, 2 sheets of chart paper each, a room with space on the walls to display the charts, a facilitator". As a recipe for team planning, this is a wonderful resource - for the individual, team member, team leader, facilitator, trainer or consultant.
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