Obstacles Of Team Dynamics

Obstacles of Team Dynamics

The ideology of teamwork is something that humans and animals have been practicing since the dawn of time. Dogs hunt in packs. Baseball and football are two of the most popular sports in America and these sports revolve around the concept of a team work to reach their goals. Even in a sport like NASCAR, where the driver is usually the main focus, teamwork is a necessity in order to successful. Even in our own homes families can function as a team to meet their everyday needs. With a society revolving around the aspect of teams, it’s inevitable that teams will be found in the workplace. It’s estimated that that the concept of teams has been adopted in up to 82% of the U.S. major corporations making team work one of the mot commonly require skill used in the workplace. (deJanasz, Dowd, and Schneider 2001). The concept of working within a team environment has many advantages. Working in teams, increases creativity, problems solving, innovation, improved processes, fosters better communication. (cite sources) However, working within teams has several common roadblocks that can hinder its benefits. Let’s explore some of these obstacles and ways to overcome them.

In high performance teams, there is a rich sharing of information and ideas that improve communication within the team.(cite source). Teams must communicate to be affective. If teams members consist of members who already know each other and have worked with each other on previous project, communication can occur more freely and a at quicker pace in order get to work faster. However, the luxury of member knowing each other is not always the case. When members don’t know each other, sometimes communication can become stagnant as the team tries to feel out the styles, peeking order and the habits of the team members. Teams don’t always have the luxury of being able to communicate face to face. If teams are not physically located in the same building, a clear communication method must be established on how the team will exchange information. Some of the different forms of communication that people use when members are not able to meet face to face are, conference calls, video conferencing, e-mail, instant messaging, online forums. The team must discuss the pros and cons of each method and adopt those that work best for the objectives they wish to accomplish. Working through these differences as a team, begins the brainstorming process and is a good way to break the ice and begin communicating.

The infancy stage of the team is also a great opportunity to discuss the goals and expectations of the team. When team members understand what the goals are, they can more directly relate and understand the role that each individual plays in accomplishing that goal. They can also relate how their work can affect the group and the steps that will be needed to get there. When goals and expectations are established, there leaves little room for members to not understand the quality standard that are needed. Famed college football coach Lou Holtz one said, Winning is never accidental. To win consistently, you must have a clear plan and intense motivation” (cite source) High performance teams have a clearly defined mission, purpose, and goals. Individual team members understand why the team has been formed and what is expected of the team. (direct quote)

The diversity of a team is an extremely important factor to consider and can be detrimental to a team if it is not taken into consideration. In a perfect world, a team can be put together by picking a variety of individuals that possess the skills needed in each task to complete the overall goal of the team. Sometimes however, teams can become too diverse. For instance, if a team is stretched on global scale, differences in ethics, dialects, languages, and even time zones can affect the cohesiveness of a team. Even teams composed of members from different department within the same company may have different dialects in the way they communicate. Would the IS department speak in the same terminology as someone working in the warehouse. Conversely, a team that lacks enough diversity can also become stagnant. If team members share the same skill sets and personality traits, there may not be enough diversity to become more innovative or think outside the box since everyone is used to doing things the same way. Teams that lack diversity may find it harder to become motivated because the status quo remains the same. Team diversity should be carefully thought out during the planning stages to help insure success.

Lack of participate can be one of the biggest obstacles preventing a team from succeeding. The old phrase, “a team is only as strong as it weakest link”, has never been truer. There are several reasons why member may not contribute to the progress of the team. Social loafing is a term used for this occurrence. This is due to the fact that members of the team are all unique. Unique in the sense that everyone has their own, work habits, pace, styles, and energy levels which can lead to some members doing more than others or at a quicker pace. (cite source) When ever a member is not doing their fair share, other members often carry a bigger burden on their shoulders, because they not only have to do their own work, but over compensate for the members who are not pulling their own weight. This often leads a host of negative occurrences like sloppy work and missed dead lines. To avoid this, set up benchmarks and periodic checkpoints to make sure tasks are being completed. Another