teamwork and conflict management

• Complex tasks take too long to do on your own
• People can use their skills and knowledge to complete part of the task they are experts in
• Efforts of a team is greater than the sum of the individual efforts
• Factors that cause teamwork problems

  • Lack of common aim
  • Different ideas of how things should be done
  • Working at different speeds
  • Lack of skills for some tasks
  • No clear leader
  • Conflict between team members
  • Personal egos
• Effective team


  One should understand different types of teams, different team roles, team processes, team dynamics, and conflict management
• Types of teams


  • Informal teams
  • Formal teams
• Informal teams


  • Similar interests, naturally attracted to each other
  • Various advantages for the individual
• Formal teams


  • Created by management
  • May be democratic
  • Organisational goals divided into sub-goals
• Advantages of formal teams

  • Increased motivation
  • Productivity
  • Decrease costs and wastage
  • Improved decision making
  • Less duplication of effort
  • Ability to adapt to change
• Factors to consider when allocating team roles

  • Aim of the team
  • Size of the team
  • Expected life span of the team
  • Strengths and weaknesses of each member
  • Available resources
  • Accountability
• Team processes


  • Forming
  • Storming
  • Norming
  • Performing
  • Adjourning
• Team processes - Forming

  1. Members get together to start form a team

  2. How do I fit into the team?

  3. What are other members’ attitudes?

  4. Who will be the leader?
• Team processes - Storming

  1. Members find their roles and test others

  2. Conflict

  3. Discussions

  4. Try to make individual goals meet

  5. Creative process
• Team processes - Norming


  1. Team starts to work together towards a common goal

  2. Team roles assigned or assumed

  3. Agreement that all members are happy

  4. Team briefing

  5. Finding a workable solution
• Team processes - Performing

  1. Actual work is done

  2. Individuals or sub-teams working on their parts

  3. Problems addressed to function properly

  4. Productivity determined by how well members work together

  5. Often longest lasting stage of the team
• Team processes - Adjourning

  1. Group disbands because of success or failure

  2. Transform to form another team for another project
• Team dynamics


  How well the members of the team work together
• Reasons for problems in team dynamics

  • Lack of communication
  • Lack of leadership
  • Personality differences
  • Shortage of skills and resources
  • Lack of clear goals
  • Inadequate role allocation
  • Lack of commitment
  • Prejudice, beliefs, values and diversity
• Positive attitude in teams


  • Want to be part of the team
  • Work together to achieve common goals
  • Often succeed
• Negative attitude in teams

  • Forced to be part of the team
  • Each member has own interests at heart
  • Often fail
• Team briefing


  Vital communication tool in teamwork
• Team briefing


  • Led by team leader
  • Give direction and focus
  • Short and to the point
  • Clear expectations
  • Specify timelines
  • Avoid general discussions
  • Time for Q&A
  • Motivational and inspirational
  • Assist group to cope with change
  • Quantify support structures
• Team synergy


  Team work together to achieve the same goals
• Consensus vs Compromise


  • Consensus: all agree
  • Compromise: give-and-take
• Team often have a weak link
• Team constituted without the necessary skills can lead to issues
• Team member not doing their part can cause problems
• General theories of team dynamics

  • Easy to apply
  • DIY
• Specific theories of team dynamics

  • Questionnaires and analysis
  • Professionally done
• Belbin Team Roles


  A theory related to team dynamics
• Group Consensus


  A decision-making tool based on mutual consent
• Jungian Theory


  A widely used theory of personality by Carl Jung
• MTR-I approach


  Identifies specific roles and looks at team as a whole
• Margerison-McCann Profiles


  Identifies roles through different stages of the team
• Projects are definable tasks which are resourced with specific team members, budgets, and other resources to achieve a specific outcome
• Project management is an excellent example of team dynamics
• Role of the Project Manager

  • Planning
  • Organising
  • Leading
  • Controlling
  • Delegating
• Project Charter


  The “business plan” of the project
• Components of the Project Charter

  • Purpose statement
  • Scope statement
  • Project outcomes
  • Environmental scanning
  • Budgets
  • Chain of command
  • Precautions, assumptions and risks
• Conflict


  A state of disharmony or a clash between people, situations, ideas or elements