The term team dynamics refers to the unconscious forces that determine the direction of a group’s performance because of the psychological state of the team members. Several aspects create the nature of a group’s dynamics, and some of the most salient of these aspects include; the nature of the job executed by the particular group, the personalities of individual members, how team members relate with each other, and the nature of the working environment (Brown, 2018). As mentioned in the previous paper, the group under study involves eighteen people that work in the healthcare sector. The group leader states that the group could be categorized as moderately successful in achieving its objectives, which means that there is room for improvement. Therefore, the content of this paper will discuss the challenges that are prevalent in group dynamics and use this information to anticipate prospective challenges. It will further discuss how to resolve the issues at hand effectively and expose this team to success.
Anticipated Challenges in Team Leadership
It is difficult to lead teams towards positive change, but the process is made significantly easier by simplifying the practical guide that will be utilized to deal with the challenges that emerge within a team. The particular team in context is made of two categories of members. Some team members have previously worked together on other related projects, while some are new to the team. Therefore, it is expected for such teams some form of disparity (Quinn & Quinn, 2016). New team members may be alienated or undermined when implementing the healthcare responsibilities and tasks that this team seeks to execute. Thus, the challenges present within this team that needs resolution involve the leadership, team members, and the culture (Nicholson, 2003). The group under discussion can be rated as moderately successful when it comes to achieving set goals, and it means that there is room for improvement.
Leadership is the most imperative part of a team because it creates the path other team members ought to follow. The success rate for this team is average, and the leadership highly contributes to the success of any team because it is the employees at the top tier who possess the power to influence the rest (Patrick, 2002). Therefore, our team’s performance reflects the type of leadership present. An average success rate is not ideal, especially in the healthcare sector. According to Brown (2018), this particular group’s leadership technique should be rated as a potential threat if it remains unresolved. As a result, the group leader in charge should communicate with all team members to understand their strengths and weaknesses and state what they feel would improve the team’s culture.
Conditions of Team Effectiveness
The different members of every team have personal differences in how they react to issues and how they resolve these issues. The variations present within team members account for the dysfunctions that destroy the chances of success for these groups. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the dysfunctions present within the team to produce the most congruent solutions to the problems at hand (Brown, 2018). One of the main dysfunctions present within the group is the absence of trust between the new and seasoned group members. The group members who have worked together before having a sense of trust, but trust is absent within the new team members.
The group’s leader has the mandate to ensure that all members can freely work through interpersonal relationships based on trust. The solution to this issue is to create a team-building exercise that will help all the team be vulnerable enough to trust each other and work collectively. Building trust within the group is extremely imperative because it eliminates the fear of conflict. People who trust each other can respect the opinion of fellow team members. Therefore, cultivating trust within the group dynamics creates a safe space where people can air their perspectives concerning various issues. When members listen to the views and opinions of each other, they feel like part and parcel of the group. Consequently, such team members commit themselves to achieve the set objectives of the team, which generally improves the effectiveness of these groups.
Optimal Methodology to Clarify Collective Purpose of the Team
Leaders must understand that collective performance is determined by the individual performance of every individual team member. Therefore, the most imperative thing that team members can do is understand each member. Team leaders need to be assertive to understand the strengths and weaknesses of all team members. A group team member has to utilize the strengths of every single team member and use them to improve the overall performance of the team. Every member should be delegated duties that they are most capable of implementing and encouraged to perform to their level best (Quinn, 2015). The team leader can further improve the team’s collective purpose by laying relevant strategies that enable members to be passionate and goal-oriented (Quinn, 2015). Doing so helps the group to have a positive attitude that is ready to deliver the best service possible rather than focusing on the problems at hand.
Cultivating the Culture of Authenticity in the Team. The culture of authenticity is salient in ensuring the longevity of any team. It cultivates trust among team members because they understand that they can depend on colleagues. The word authenticity has a comprehensive definition of being genuine, accurate, true, valid, dependable, reliable, and real (Quinn, 2015). A team that practices the culture of authenticity can achieve tremendous success because it helps team members commit to the team’s objectives. The culture of authenticity governs all basic interactions of team members, such as communication. Authentic communication means expressing their true feelings and opinions without fear of judgment. It also refers to the ability to listen to fellow team members without criticizing their perspectives (Quinn, 2015). Authenticity improves the bond between teams and helps them to focus on the set objectives.
Three Ways to Expose your Team to Excellence. Team excellence is the ability of team members to coordinate to achieve set objectives within a set deadline. The first thing a leader requires to expose their team to excellence is to be the first person to identify latent potential (Quinn, 2015). A leader must explore the hidden possibilities that can change the team’s trajectory; it requires leaders to be imaginative and practice critical thinking that is unconventional. The second way that can expose a team to excellence is to expose them to the environment of people who excel at what they do. Sometimes motivation is gained best by watching something executed rather than hearing about it (Lai, 2017). Therefore, benchmarking is essential for team members to learn multiple possibilities if people think unconventionally. The third way to expose a team to success is to focus on positive aspects of life (Quinn, 2015). Embracing a positive deviation within a team cultivates hope and the mentality among the team members. It will help them get rid of their conventional mental maps and believe that new possibilities can manifest in life.
References
Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: brave work, tough conversations, whole hearts. Random House.
Lai, L. (2017). Motivating employees is not about carrots or sticks. Harvard Business Review. Web.
Nicholson, N. (2003). How to motivate your problem people. Harvard Business Review. Web.
Patrick, L. (2002). The five dysfunctions of a Team—Patrick Lencioni. Jossey-Bass A Wiley Imprint. Web.
Quinn, R. E. (2015). The positive organization: Breaking free from conventional cultures, constraints, and beliefs (First Edition). Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Quinn, R. W., & Quinn, R. E. (2016). Change management and leadership development have to mesh. Harvard Business Review. Web.