Friday, the
first of November 2013, a very successful workshop was held, from 12 to 14 pm,
in Tunis Business School, with the presence of TBS Leaders Club members:
teachers and students. The club was honored to welcome a very special guest: Mr.
Radhouan Mejri, who is a trainer, graduated from IHEC Carthage School, with a
brilliant career and a lot of experience in different domains such as
translation, consultancy in many Nongovernmental organizations in Tunisia in
addition to important positions in both AIESEC and British council.
The
Introduction of the workshop was a question asked by Mr. Mejri “ Why are you
here ? “ and the answers kept becoming clearer , during the two hours spent at
the workshop. Future business men and women were taught how to discuss , how to
build a perfect team, how to become successful leaders and most importantly , how
to be honest and convincing as a part of a group of people having the same
needs and working together in order to achieve a common goal .
The first
step in building a team is developing a common need, and then, five other
levels are necessary. Forming the team is the very beginning: members ought to
be reserved and polite. Besides, everyone among them should try to avoid
conflicts and to accept the others. The challenge at this level is to manage
the team membership and to create a purpose.
Just after
the creation step, “storming “appears. It means that members start to notice
differences in their opinions which can lead them to struggles, conflicts, and
especially resistance to task requirements. Therefore, managing expectations
and roles becomes fundamental.
Once the
agreements on nouns and expectations are reached, it is the “Norming” level. Team
identity and renewed optimism start to be expanded and the challenge at that
point is managing both relationships and task efforts.
The
performing step starts when the energy of the group is felt. The members roles
are flexible, relationships between them is strong and each one knows exactly
what he is doing and why. At that level, the team needs to manage the tasks and
fulfill them, evaluate the results and strive for improvements in the future.
The last
step is “Adjourning” or “Mourning” which is the end of the project team and the
termination of all roles. So , basically , and In order to reach the desired
results , the members start with a need , set a purpose and some objectives ,
and , finally , practice activities .
As a
conclusion , Mr. Radhouan Mejri have defined the perfect team as a group of
people which is mainly built on differences , clear communication , trust , and
mutual respect . Moreover, the best team members are those who share effective
work procedures in addition to common vision and purposes. He also considers
the best team leader to be the one who facilitates the conversations by
creating a proper environment, listens to all sides of the story, analyses the
facts, takes decisions, shares resources, and praises publicly but criticizes
privately. “No one likes to be criticized in front of people, it is just
frustrating, though everyone loves to be praised in public, it makes someone
proud“ according to Mr. Mejri.
The
workshop has ended with giving certifications to the members of TBS leaders
club who did participate. In fact, the real certification was being part of the
discussion, sharing different opinions and learning. We have learnt, as a team,
to develop a culture of trust between us, to practice effective communication
and to ensure healthy relationships. We have learnt to set SMART GOALS: Specific,
Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely. We
have learnt to do our best and to expect the worst and finally, we have learnt
to be ourselves, the leaders of the future.
Fedia Bouslama
