5.

1: Teams shoes and see things from their viewpoint, people are not
going to enjoy working with you.
“A team is a small group of people with complementary 7. Good communicator. By showing appreciation for what
skills who work actively together to achieve a common the person did well, and then explaining what they could have
purpose for which they hold themselves collectively done better, creates a positive framework for the criticism
accountable.” Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith Being a good communicator also means knowing when to stay
Think about what it means to be a part of a team--- a silent. Oftentimes, if you don’t have an insightful comment
successful team. What makes one team more successful than that will drive the discussion forward, it’s better to say
another? What does each team member need to do in order for nothing. Good listeners don’t receive the same formal
their team to be successful? What are the characteristics of an recognition as good talkers, but they’re just as valuable to a
effective team? team.
8. Confident. Confident people prefer to give compliments
A team is a special type of group in which people work that make people feel better, rather than slander their
interdependently to accomplish a goal. All teams need colleagues. Also, confident people aren’t as emotionally
members who believe in team goals and are motivated to work reactive to failure and criticism. While an insecure person may
with others actively to accomplish tasks -- whether those tasks view constructive criticism as a personal attack, a confident
involve recommending things, making or doing things, or person will view the same information as feedback that they
running things. Indeed, an essential criterion of a true team is can use to make improvements.
that the members feel “collectively accountable” for what they
accomplish. This sense of collective accountability sets the 9. Autonomous. Good leaders want dependable members to
stage for real teamwork, with team members actively working who they can assign a task and know that it’ll be completed by
together in such a way that all their respective skills are well the set deadline.
utilized to achieve a common purpose. A commitment to 10. Adaptable. Adaptability also means being flexible to the
teamwork is found in the willingness of every member to working habits and personalities of your members.
“listen and respond constructively to views expressed by 11. Persistent. “Success is stumbling from failure to failure
others, give others the benefit of the doubt, provide support, with no loss of enthusiasm.” Winston Churchchill
and recognize the interests and achievements of others.
When you’re working with a great team, every day can feel
11 Qualities of A Great Team Member like an ADVENTURE. With a bad team, your team can
Source: https://biz30.timedoctor.com/team-member-qualities/ quickly become a DUNGEON.

1. Self-aware. Teams benefit when individual members are Organizations use teams in a variety of ways. Because of this
fully aware of their strengths and weaknesses, but it’s variety, there are many ways to classify teams and these
especially important that leaders understand the key attributes classifications help explain the psychological and
of their subordinates. Good leaders know how to delegate organizational differences among different types of teams.
effectively, while bad leaders give inappropriate work to the
wrong workers.
2. Committed to mastery. As Robert Greene, author Sundstrom (1999) identifies six types of work teams on the
of Mastery, states: “The time that leads to mastery is basis of the functions they perform:
dependent on the intensity of our focus.” When every member
of the team is committed to personal growth, this not only 1. Production teams, such as factory teams, manufacture or
creates an awesome working atmosphere, but it constantly assemble products on a repetitive basis.
brings new information into the organization which assists 2. Service teams, such as maintenance crews and food
creative problem-solving. services, conduct repeated transactions with customers.
3. Intrinsically motivated. When your teammates are 3. Management teams, composed of managers, work
passionate about their disciplines and intrinsically motivated, together, plan, develop policy, or coordinate the activities
the POSITIVITY IS INFECTIOUS. of an organization.
4. Project teams such as research and engineering teams,
4. Honest. Team members should be honest about their bring experts together to perform a specific task within a
achievements as well as their shortcomings. Everyone makes defined period.
mistakes from time to time, but when people try to shift the 5. Action or performing teams, such as sports teams,
blame and weave false narratives, disasters can entertainment groups, and surgery teams, engage in brief
occur. “Honesty is the fastest way to prevent a mistake from performances that are repeated under new conditions and
turning into a failure.” that require specialized skills and extensive training or
5. Positive. Positivity means finding a solution to a problem preparation.
rather than passing the blame and dwelling on things you can’t 6. Parallel teams are temporary teams that operate outside
control. normal work, such as employee involvement groups and
advisory committees that provide suggestions or
6. Empathic. Empathy is about being aware of how other
recommendations for changing an organization.
people feel. If you’re unable to put yourself in someone else’s
Theory on group dynamics is changing and becoming more  Members' ideas are dismissed or even ridiculed and their
sophisticated. Rather than simple models that look at cause- views are ignored.
effect relationships, new models focus on the conditions that  There are arguments between members of the group (as
help teams manage their own processes. Instead of looking at opposed to constructive differences of opinion).
group behavior as the sum total of individual variables, there  One or two members dominate the others and make the
is a focus on the emergent properties of teams. The search to decisions.
find the best approach to manage a team has been replaced by  Disagreements are put to the vote without being
the recognition of what is termed equifinality-- that there are discussed.
many ways for teams to operate successfully. Researchers  Some members are unhappy with decisions
have conducted a number of studies on work teams to and grumble privately afterward.
determine the characteristics that predict success. Successful  Little effort is made to keep to the point or to work to
teams have clear goals, good leadership, appropriate task deadlines.
characteristics, and mutual accountability with rewards.  There is a lack of clarity regarding goals and specific
A team must develop social relations among its members. The tasks are not agreed to.
social interactions necessary for teamwork require group  Roles are not delegated to particular team members.
cohesion and good communication. Cohesion comes from the  There is a lack of trust and helpfulness.
emotional ties that team members have with one another.  Members don't talk about how the group is working
Good communication depends on understanding and trust. or the problems it faces.
When team members fail to develop good social relations,
they do not communicate well, have interpersonal problems 5.2: Team Leader
that interfere with task performance, and are unable to reward
and motivate one another. This limits the ability of the team to Team leadership is a process whereby an individual influences
continue to operate. the progress of team members toward the attainment of a goal.
Leadership can be centralized in one person or distributed
What makes an effective team? among various roles. Teams vary in types of leadership,
selection of leaders, and delegation of leader powers. Teams
 It has a range of individuals who contribute in rarely exist without leaders, since leaders emerge through a
different ways and complement each other. A good team team’s interactions. Leaders may be designated, or teams may
produces more than the individual contributions of select their own leaders and be self-managing.
members.
 Clear goals are agreed on that everyone understands and The focus of the team leader depends on the situation the team
is committed to. faces and the maturity of the team. Leaders help the team
 Everyone understands the tasks they have to do and solve problems in order to meet its goals while developing the
helps each other. skills and abilities of the team members in order to meet goals
while developing the skills and abilities of the team members
 It has a coordinator who may adopt a leadership
so they have the collective capacity for leadership. They
style from autocratic to democratic depending on the
promote team learning by giving performance feedback to the
circumstances. Different people may assume the role of
team and using this information to help the team develop
leader for different tasks.
performance strategies that are more effective.
 There is a balance between the task (what do we need to
do?) and the process (how do we achieve this?) There are several approaches that team leaders can take to
 There is a supportive, informal support the team. Research on project team leaders at Google
atmosphere where members feel able to take risks and shows that effective leaders give the team freedom while
say what they think. being available to provide advice and support when needed.
 The team is comfortable with disagreement and can
successfully overcome differences in opinion. 9 Roles of Team Leader
 There is a lot of discussions in which everyone
participates. Team members listen to each other and 1. Provide purpose. Everything starts with → VISION.
everyone's ideas are heard. Capturing and communicating vision is your role as a team
 Members feel free to criticize and say what they think leader. Only you can do it. Create an inspiring vision. Provide
but this is done in a positive, constructive manner. the big picture and keep the vision of the big picture before
yourself and your people. Every team member … "has a role
 The group learns from experience: reviewing and
to play, and every role has its part in contributing to the
improving performance in the light of both successes and
bigger picture. Without that perspective, the team cannot
failures.
accomplish its goal, whether the team's "game" is sports,
business, family, ministry, or government," John C.
What makes an ineffective team? Maxwell, the author of The 17 Indisputable Laws of
Teamwork
 People talk more than they listen and only a few people
may contribute. 2. Build a star, not a team of stars. Your team will not reach
 Some members are silent and don't contribute. They its potential if players are unwilling to subordinate their
may be indifferent, bored, or afraid to contribute. personal goals to the good of the team. "Everybody on a
championship team doesn't get publicity, but everyone can  provide constructive feedback to the team on
say he's a champion." - Ervin “Magic” Johnson where and how it might improve
 encourage open communication among team
3. Establish shared ownership for the results. Start with members and communicate team views to and
yourself – share your own individual results with the group. from other teams
Shared responsibility is better achieved if the pay and reward  encourage self-criticism and rehearsal
system has a significant element that is dependent on the  strive for team consensus and win-win
overall outcome. Keep the team informed how individual agreements
members are performing – it is important if Individuals'  provide guidance to the team based on upper
rewards depended on the performance of the group as a whole. management direction
 escalate issues that cannot be resolved by the
4. Develop team members to the fullest potential. Bring out
team and communicate team views to upper
the best in your people. Help team members to develop so that
management
all of them could effectively participate on the team. Lead by
 serve as a focal point to communicate and
setting a good example.
resolve interface and integration issues with
5. Make the work interesting and engaging. Create an other teams.
enjoyable work environment. Encourage entrepreneurial
creativity, risk-taking, and constant improvement. This 9. Monitor, but don’t micromanage.
includes also the freedom to fail and have fun in the
workplace. Maintain healthy group dynamics. Facilitate  avoid close supervision; do not over boss; do not
problem solving and collaboration. dictate
 help keep the team focused and on track
6. Develop a self-managing team. Be a super leader.  communicate team status, task accomplishment,
Develop team members so that they can lead themselves. and direction
Don't give direct commands or instructions, use  intervene when necessary to aid the group in
questions (such as "What do you think should be done?") resolving issues
and coaching
Roles and Role Dynamics
 empower people, delegate authority, and be
open to ideas. In groups and teams, new and old members alike need to know
 trust your team, rely on their judgment. what others expect of them and what they expect from others.
 give your people authority to decide as much as A role is a set of expectations for a team member. When team
possible. members are unclear about their roles or experience
 encourage your team to engage in self- conflicting demands, performance problems can occur. Role
leadership behaviors such as self-observation, ambiguity occurs when a person is uncertain about his or her
role-playing exercises, and self-problem role. To do any job well, people need to know what is
solving. expected of them. Role overload occurs when too much is
 encourage your team or groups within your team expected and the individual feels overwhelmed with work;
to evaluate themselves and to give both positive role underload occurs when too little is expected and the
and negative feedback. individual feels underutilized. Role conflict occurs when a
 share with the team members certain areas of person is unable to meet the expectations of others. The
your responsibility. individual understands what needs to be done but for some
 ask for their input when you need to make a reason cannot comply. The resulting tension can reduce
decision satisfaction and affect both an individual’s performance and
relationships with other group members. There are four
7. Motivate and inspire team members. common forms of role conflict, these are:

 be enthusiastic, inspire and energize people  Intrasender role conflict occurs when the same person
 set stretch goals sends conflicting expectations
 recognize and celebrate team and team member  Intersender role conflict occurs when different people
accomplishments and exceptional performance. signal conflicting and mutually exclusive expectations
 Person-role conflict occurs when one’s personal values
8. Lead and facilitate constructive communication. Lead and needs come into conflict with role expectations and
the rich array of types of communication exchanged  Interrole conflict occurs when the expectations of two or
between team members that include goal setting, task more roles held by the same individual become
assignments, work schedules, announcements, problem- incompatible, such as the conflict between work and
solving, performance evaluation, corrective feedback, family demands.
praise, discussions, etc.
Norms
 communicate in a way that is truthful and
believable to team members.
Are rules or standards for the behavior of team members.
Norms help clarify the expectations associated with a person’s
membership in a group. They allow members to structure their
own behavior and predict what others will do. They help
members gain a common sense of direction, and they reinforce
the desired group or team culture. When someone violates a
group norm, other members typically respond in ways that are
aimed at enforcing the norm. These responses may include
direct criticisms, reprimands, expulsion, and social ostracism.

Sample Team Norms or Guidelines

 Treat each other with dignity and respect.

 Transparency: avoid hidden agendas.
 Be genuine with each other about ideas, challenges, and
feelings.
 Trust each other. Have confidence that the issues
discussed will be kept in confidence.
 Team members will practice a consistent commitment to
sharing all the information they have. Share the complete
information that you have upfront.
 Listen first to understand, and don’t be dismissive of the
input received when you listen.
 Practice being open-minded.
 Don’t be defensive with your colleagues.
 Rather than searching for the guilty, give your colleagues
the benefit of the doubt; have a clean slate process.
 Support each other
 It's okay to not know the right answer and to admit it. The
team can find the answer.
 Problems are presented in a way that promotes mutual
discussion and resolution.
 Practice and experience humility—each of the team
members may not have all the answers.
 If you commit to doing something—do it. Be accountable
and responsible for the team and the team.

Team Cohesiveness

The cohesiveness of a team is the degree to which members

are attracted to and motivated to remain part of it. Persons in a
highly cohesive group value their membership and strive to
maintain positive relationships with other group members. In
this sense, cohesive groups and teams are good for their
members. In contrast to less cohesive groups, members,
members of highly cohesive ones tend to be more energetic
when working on group activities, less likely to be absent, and
more likely to be happy about performance success and sad
about failures. High-performance teams have core values,
clear performance objectives, the right mix of skills, and
creativity. Teamwork occurs when members of teamwork
together so that their skills are well utilized to accomplish
common goals.
6.1: Conflict Conflict may have both positive and negative effects on a
team. It can help the team operate better by exploring issues
Conflicts of various types are a natural part of the team more fully, but it can lead to emotional problems that damage
process. Although we often view conflict as negative, there are communication. Conflict is an integrate of the team process; it
benefits to conflict it is managed appropriately. People handle becomes unhealthy for the team when it is avoided or viewed
conflict in their teams in good social relations and develop as an opportunity to dominate an opponent. The benefits of
high-quality solutions. Teams can use a variety of approaches conflict are that it encourages the team to explore new
for managing conflicts. Developing a healthy solution to a approaches, motivates people to understand issues better, and
conflict requires open communication, respect for the other encourages new ideas. Controversies bring out problems that
side, and a creative search for mutually satisfying have been ignored, encourage debate, and poster new ideas.
alternatives. (in a dynamic team) Conflict is a normal part of a Conflict can have negative effects on a team by creating strong
team’s operation, and some conflicts cannot be fully resolved. negative emotions and stress, interfering with communication
The resolution of a conflict depends on the type of conflict. and coordination, and diverting attention from task and goals.

Sources of conflict Whether conflicts are productive or unproductive also depends

on how the team tries to resolve its conflicts. Productive
Conflict may arise from many sources, including confusion conflicts are about issues, ideas, and tasks. The team typically
about people’s positions, personality differences, legitimate tries to resolve productive conflicts in a cooperative manner.
differences of opinion (differences in values and objectives of The team takes a learning approach to a conflict. Unproductive
team members, differing beliefs about the motives and actions conflicts are about emotions and personalities. The team
of others, and different expectations about the results of typically tries to resolve these conflicts with one side trying to
decisions), hidden agendas, poor norms, poorly managed dominate the other. In productive conflicts, team members
meetings and intergroup dynamics (“us”, and “them”). Finding focus cooperatively on solving the problems.
the root cause of the conflict is important; the team should not
waste time dealing with only the symptoms of conflict. 6.2: Conflict Management
Types of Conflict The way a team manages the conflict process determines
whether the conflict is constructive or destructive. The conflict
1. Substantive conflict involves fundamental disagreement management style a team uses can be either cooperative or
over ends or goals to be pursued and the means for their competitive. The cooperative style focuses on developing
accomplishment. collaborative style focuses on what is good for the individual.
2. Emotional conflict involves interpersonal difficulties that Constructively managing conflicts requires team members to
arise over feelings of anger, mistrust, dislike, fear, openly express their views, listen and understand the positions
resentment, and the like. of other team members, and then try to integrate the opposing
opinions into an agreement.
Levels of Conflict
Conflict Resolution Approaches
1. Intrapersonal conflicts often involve actual or perceived The types of conflict resolution approaches can be analyzed
pressures from incompatible goals or expectations of the using the following two dimensions: distribution (concern
following: about one’s own outcomes) and integration (concern about the
outcomes of others). These two dimensions are independent
o Approach-approach conflict occurs when a person and lead to the creation of five different approaches to conflict
must choose between two positive and equally resolution.
attractive alternatives
o Avoidance-avoidance conflict occurs when a person Lose-lose conflict occurs when nobody really gets what he or
must choose between two negative and equally she wants. It results when there is little or no assertiveness and
unattractive alternatives conflict management takes the following forms:
o Approach-avoidance conflict occurs when a person
must decide to do something that has both positive  Avoidance. This approach tries to ignore the issues or
and negative consequences denies that there is a problem
 Accommodation or smoothing. Some team members may
2. Interpersonal conflict occurs between two or more decide to give up their position in order to be agreeable
individuals in opposition to each other.  Confrontation. Acting aggressively and trying to win is
3. Intergroup conflict that occurs among members of one way to deal with a conflict
different teams or groups can also have substantive and/or  Compromise. One way to balance the goals of each
emotional underpinnings. participant and the relations among the teams is for
everyone to “give in” a little.
Impact of Conflict  Collaboration. When both sides of a conflict have
important concerns, the team needs to search for solutions
that satisfy everyone.
Win-Lose conflict occurs when one party achieves its desires emotions. The team leader needs to intervene and facilitate the
at the expense and to the exclusion of the other party’s desires. resolution of virtual conflicts to prevent them from continuing.
It may result from the outright competition and authoritative Since the core of the problem is often miscommunication, a
command face-to-face meeting is often necessary to resolve the
misunderstandings.
Win-win conflict is achieved by a blend of both high
cooperativeness and high assertiveness. Collaboration or Adapted from Fisher, Ury, and Patton (1991), the following is
problem solving involves recognition by all conflicting parties the structure for negotiation of a conflict:
that something is wrong and needs attention. The ultimate test
for a win-win solution is 1. Separate the people from the problem.
2. Focus on the shared interests of all parties.
 whether or not the conflicting parties see that the solution 3. Develop many options that can be used to solve the
achieves each other’s goals problem.
 Is acceptable to both parties, and 4. Evaluate the options using objective criteria.
 Establishes a process whereby all parties involved see a 5. Try again
responsibility to be open and honest about facts and
feelings.

Managing Team Conflicts

Teams can prepare for conflicts by creating an environment

that allows for dealing with conflicts without emotional and
relationship problems. Mediators or facilitators can help teams
to manage their conflicts by controlling communications and
building trust. Managing conflicts requires using negotiating
tactics to find solutions acceptable to all sides of the issue.

Preparing for Conflicts

Preparing for conflicts means developing approaches to

identify conflicts in the early stages and creating an
environment that supports constructive controversy so that
disagreements can be expressed. The most important aspect of
preparing for conflicts is to create a psychologically safe
communication environment that allows for constructive
controversy to occur. The goal is to make it safe for team
members to address task conflicts without creating unwanted
emotional problems within the team.

Teams engage in other preemptive conflict management

strategies to help avoid conflicts. Preemptive conflict
management strategies include the development of
cooperation and trust-building among members, team
contracts that identify how to handle difficult situations, and
the development of norms for managing communications
within a team.

Facilitating Conflicts

Successful conflict management requires developing trust

among participants. If members on one side trust members on
the other side and believe everyone wants a fair solution, they
are better able to negotiate a solution. Many conflict reduction
approaches are designed to build trust among the parties in a
conflict. Outside mediators or facilitators can sometimes help
manage team conflicts when the issues have become too
emotional. In highly emotionally charged situations, direct
communication can lead to threats and aggressive language.
Mediators help control the communications between people on
both sides of the conflict to ensure courtesy and respectful
communication. When conflicts escalate in virtual teams, the
first step in managing the conflict is to stop sending electronic
messages advocating your position or expressing your