Team Dynamics
Team Dynamics
Todd Lujan
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Introduction to Team Dynamics
The purpose of any team depends on the reason it was formed. Each team has different goals and outcomes. However, the dynamics of each team are generally the same. Regardless of the end goal of the team, the process of team development will follow a recognizable pattern. Teams are valuable and are frequently used because their ability to develop unique workable solutions. The definition of a team is:
noun 1. A group on the same side, as in a game. 2. A group organized to work together. verb 1. To harness together to form a team.2. To form a team.[From Old English t am] (American Heritage)
There are as many benefits to using a team as there are draw backs. Teams provide enhanced organizational efficiency. This is only true if the team has a solid charter with clear goals and expectations. Thompson, Aranda, and Robbins, discuss a major draw back to groups in Tools For Teams, "Sometimes it is used as a euphemism for suppressing legitimate disagreement with the manager's viewpoints or submitting to the will of others at all costs". (25) One benefit of using a team is to develop the best possible outcome. While the learning curve of a team is flatter than that of the individual, a good team will out perform the individual.
Roles and responsibilities
Each team has different needs, and each member may have different roles and responsibilities. Some of the roles will overlap. There are a number of undefined roles that member fill, sometimes with out their conscious knowledge. According to David Boje PHD, the following four roles are essential in having a balanced team: Trouble Shooters are the problem solvers, negotiators; they focus on putting out fires. Traditionalist are rule and policy makers, inspectors, they focus on hierarchy. Visionaries they are the designers, long...
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